The discontinued iPhone 11 makes the iPhone 12 the best budget iPhone you can buy
When you buy through our links, Insider may earn an affiliate commission. Learn more.
- Apple removed the iPhone 11 from its lineup when it announced the iPhone 14.
- While the SE is still the cheapest, the iPhone 12 is now the best budget iPhone in terms of value.
- For $599, the iPhone 12 is a reliable phone with great performance and cameras.
Email address
By clicking ‘Sign up’, you agree to receive marketing emails from Insider as well as other partner offers and accept our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy
In addition to the new iPhone 14 series, Apple also revised its lineup. Gone is the iPhone 11, which means the best value iPhone you can buy is now the iPhone 12 (starting at $599).
The iPhone SE (starting at $429), which came out in early 2022, is still the cheapest iPhone Apple sells, but we think the iPhone 12 offers more bang for the buck. It offers a more balanced experience than the iPhone SE, which is top-heavy on performance, but severely lacking in screen size, design, battery life, and camera options.
The iPhone 12 is still an excellent phone, even if it’s two-years-old.
Lisa Eadicicco/Business Insider
The iPhone 12 is two years old, and while it doesn’t have the latest features and performance as the iPhone 14, it’s still an excellent option if you’re on a budget.
Why the two-year-old iPhone 12 is still a great iPhone
The iPhone 12 runs on Apple’s A14 Bionic, which is only one generation behind the iPhone 14.
Lisa Eadicicco/Business Insider
Running on the A14 Bionic processor, the iPhone 12 is perfectly capable of running apps and games quickly and smoothly for years to come. It also comes with a dual-lens camera that still takes great high-resolution photos and 4K videos.
In fact, the iPhone 12’s A14 Bionic processor is only one generation behind the iPhone 14’s A15 Bionic, and we expect it’ll continue to perform like a one-year-old phone rather than a two-year-old phone.
Both the iPhone 12 and iPhone 14 look nearly identical, connect to 5G networks, and will get iOS updates for several years that include new features, improvements, and security patches. Even iPhone 8 users who bought their phone in 2017 are still getting the latest updates from Apple, which offers the best support out of any phone maker.
The iPhone 12 will likely lose iOS updates two years earlier than the iPhone 14, but most people tend to upgrade well before Apple ends support.
The iPhone 12 is compatible with most MagSafe accessories, where the iPhone 11 wasn’t.
Lisa Eadicicco/Business Insider
The iPhone 12 is also compatible with many of the same MagSafe chargers and accessories as the iPhone 14.
The only downside to the iPhone 12 is its comparatively shorter battery life. Still, it easily lasted us a whole day in our review testing.
If you’re looking for a good, reliable phone and you’re not concerned about getting the latest and greatest, the iPhone 12 is an ideal choice. If you want something that’s closer in specs to the iPhone 14, we also suggest you look at the iPhone 13, which is also still for sale and starts at $599 for the Mini model and $699 for the standard model.
