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To say the iPhone 16 camera is a big leap over the iPhone 12 might be an understatement. From its higher-resolution 48-megapixel main camera compared to the iPhone 12’s 12-megapixel shooter, to its support for macro photography and significantly closer zoom, the iPhone’s camera has certainly come a long way over the past four years.
Since getting a better camera is one of the most popular reasons people upgrade their phones, according to CNET’s survey in partnership with YouGov, I decided to put the latest iPhone’s camera to the test against the iPhone 12 to see how dramatic Apple’s changes have been. Suffice it to say that if you’re upgrading from an iPhone 12 or earlier, you’ll notice a big jump in camera quality. I’m not even including new features like Photographic Styles or the Camera Control button; the sheer difference in general image quality is enough to make the iPhone 16 a worthwhile camera upgrade over the iPhone 12.
Each photo below was taken in the same place, at the same time with the iPhone 16 and iPhone 12. None of the photos have been edited. Except for where otherwise noted, each iPhone 16 photo was taken at the iPhone 16’s default 24-megapixel resolution.
iPhone 16 24MP vs. iPhone 12 12MP
The iPhone 16 photo looks brighter, sharper and much more colorful. You can really see the softness in the iPhone 12 image when looking at the grass, leaves and flowers near the lower left edge of the photo.
iPhone 16
This photo taken on the iPhone 16 is crisper and has more detail.
iPhone 12
This photo taken on the iPhone 12 isn’t as detailed as the same one taken on the iPhone 16.
iPhone 16 48-megapixel vs. iPhone 12 12-megapixel
The iPhone 16 photo below was taken at the sensor’s full 48-megapixel resolution. At first glance, these photos might look similar. When you zoom in, you can see that the iPhone 16 preserves so much more detail in everything from the bricks to the roof’s red lining even down to the plants in the lower left corner.
iPhone 16
The iPhone 16 captured much more detail than the iPhone 12 in this shot.
iPhone 12
This photo was taken with the iPhone 12. It’s not as detailed as the same photo taken with the iPhone 16.
Ultrawide camera
The iPhone 16 image has more contrast and detail. They might look similar at first. When you zoom in, you can see the grooves in the Astor Place Cube more clearly, as well as more detail and shadows in the trees in the background and the buildings. The iPhone 12 photo also looks slightly overexposed.
iPhone 16
The iPhone 16 ultrawide camera captured a better shot than the iPhone 12.
iPhone 12
The iPhone 12 ultrawide camera doesn’t capture as much contrast and detail as the iPhone 16 in my experience.
Macro mode
The iPhone 16 macro mode is much sharper and clearer, with more vibrant hues. There’s no competition.
iPhone 16
The iPhone 16 macro mode captured a nice, sharp photo of this pink flower.
iPhone 12
The iPhone 12 lacks macro photography mode, so this flower is slightly blurry.
Zoom at 2x
The plants in the iPhone 16 image are noticeably sharper, and you can see the grooves and water droplets on the leaves in much more detail. I couldn’t get the fish to stay still, but you can tell that the orange coloring looks more vibrant in the iPhone 16 photo compared to the iPhone 12 photo.
iPhone 16
This photo was taken at a 2x zoom on the iPhone 16.
iPhone 12
This photo was taken at a 2x zoom on the iPhone 12.
Zoom at 5x
This one is a no-brainer. Note that neither phone has a telephoto zoom lens, so these are digitally zoomed in. The iPhone 16 photo is sharper, plus the colors look much more vibrant and bold.
iPhone 16
The iPhone 16 5x zoom is much cleaner than the iPhone 12 zoom.
iPhone 12
This photo was taken at a 5x zoom on the iPhone 12.
Max zoom
The iPhone 16 has a max digital zoom of 10x, which is twice as much as the iPhone 12’s 5x digital zoom. The results speak for themselves.
iPhone 16
The iPhone 16 can zoom up to 10x digitally.
iPhone 12
The iPhone 12’s digital zoom tops out at 5x.
Low light
In this photo taken in a dim room in CNET’s office, the iPhone 16 did a better job of keeping the plant’s leaves in clear focus. You can really notice this near the top of the plant, which starts to get blurry in the iPhone 12’s photo. Plus, it was a lot faster at snapping photos in the dark compared to the iPhone 12.
iPhone 16
The iPhone 16 was able to take this photo faster and resulted in a sharper image.
iPhone 12
The iPhone 12 actually did a decent job taking a photo in a dark room, but the iPhone 16 image is sharper.
Selfie
The iPhone 12 image holds up surprisingly well here, but the iPhone 16’s is a little sharper, plus the iPhone 12 image looks slightly washed out near the top of my head because of the way the light is hitting it.
iPhone 16
The iPhone 16 selfie is slightly better than the iPhone 12 version. It’s sharper and was better at handling the light.
iPhone 12
The iPhone 12 still takes decent selfies.
Regular portrait
In this photo of my colleague Bridget Carey, the iPhone 16 did a better job of lighting her face evenly and portraying a more accurate skin tone, while her face looks washed out in the iPhone 12 image. There’s also more variability in the shadows captured by the iPhone 16, while in the iPhone 12 image, they’re more even in depth and darkness.
iPhone 16
The iPhone 16 did a better job at capturing accurate skin tones and lighting compared to the iPhone 12.
iPhone 12
This photo was taken on the iPhone 12. The lighting and skin tone accuracy isn’t as good as the iPhone 16 photo.
Portrait mode
This photo of Bridget shot in Portrait mode also looks better taken with the iPhone 16. In addition to the better lighting and more accurate skin tone, the iPhone 16 is better at separating the subject from the blurred background, making her pop more. Just look at the top of Bridget’s head where her hair meets the background to see what I mean.
iPhone 16
The iPhone 16 version of this photo is sharper and separate the subject from the background more cleanly.
iPhone 12
This portrait mode photo was taken on the iPhone 12. The iPhone 16 is better at separating the subject from the background.
For a phone that’s four years old, the iPhone 12 camera surprised me in a few circumstances. After comparing nearly a dozen sets of photos side-by-side, it’s clear that the iPhone 16 is a major step forward in photography.
