- iPhone 12 dummy models have been floating around online for months, but this week, someone compared the dummy to an iPhone SE and an iPhone 7.
- The 5.4-inch iPhone 12 is slightly wider than the original iPhone SE, but not quite as wide as the iPhone 7. With its flat edges, the iPhone 12 might be more comfortable to grip.
- The 5.4-inch iPhone 12 is one of four new models Apple will reveal this fall.
Apple has not taken any major risks with the design of its flagship iPhone models in recent years, but based on recent leaks, the iPhone 12 should bring one notable change to the table: Flat edges. Apple started rounding off the edges of the iPhone years ago, but in 2020, the company is expected to return to the design language of the iPhone 5s.
Dummy models of the iPhone 12 have started to pop up online as well, giving us a better idea of what the phone may look like, but unsatisfied with the coverage of those dummies, MacRumors forum user iZac chose to buy one himself so that he could produce a size comparison that he had yet to see anyone else make.
After trying and failing to get a feel for the size and the shape of the iPhone 12 by “trawling through YouTube videos to freeze frame and squint,” iZac visited Chinese online shopping site Taobao and bought a dummy model to do his own detailed size comparison between the 5.4-inch iPhone 12, the first-gen iPhone SE, and the iPhone 7, which uses roughly the same design as the second-gen iPhone SE and has the exact same dimensions. These were his takeaways after getting his hands on the dummy model and stacking it up against the other two:
Quick takeaway is, it’s ~6mm wider than the iPhone SE and ~3mm thinner (narrower) than the iPhone 7 that I’ve scaled it against. This lines up with the CAD drawings I previously drew based on the leaked resolution, which I calculated as 2.8mm thinner than the iPhone 7. The round profile on the [iPhone] 7 makes it appear thinner in images. it‘s also stacked on the bottom so doesn’t help with perspective. I used the portrait camera to try to reduce that factor.
Apple is expected to launch four iPhone 12 models this fall in three different sizes. Rumors and reports suggest there will be a 5.4-inch model, two 6.1-inch models, and a 6.7-inch. It’s interesting to see the mashup design of the iPhone 12 sitting next to the old iPhone SE and the more modern iPhone 7. According to iZac, the iPhone 12 dummy “does feel like a bit more of a stretch than the SE,” but he prefers the flat sides.
We’re months away from the unveiling of the iPhone 12 series, but if you’re trying to decide whether or not the “new” design is for you, these size comparison photos from iZac might help. We still don’t know when the iPhone 12 will go on sale, but a recent report suggests that Apple is facing “months of delay” currently.
