iPhone XS vs iPhone 12: should you switch phones?

Despite its age, the iPhone XS is still a very good phone today. It's even on par with the iPhone 12 on some features. With the iPhone XS, you get a clean design, very good software support, a quality chip and an OLED screen.

The iPhone 12 does improve in a few areas that may be important to some. For instance, the iPhone 12 is the first 5G-enabled iPhone. The second is the camera, representing three generations of improvement over the iPhone XS.

iPhone XS camera vs iPhone 12: what are the differences in terms of photography?

The iPhone XS's camera is capable of 12 MP shots through both its f/1.8 wide-angle and f/2.4 telephoto lenses. Moreover, the telephoto lens is capable of 2X optical zoom.

The iPhone 12's camera captures similar-resolution 12MP shots, improves the aperture to f/1.6 on the wide-angle lens, and swaps the telephoto lens for an ultrawide f/2.4 lens. 

The iPhone 12 camera without a doubt works better in low light. It includes night mode and Deep Fusion, two well-regarded camera features from Apple. So if taking pictures is important to you, the iPhone 12 is probably a better choice.

iPhone XS vs iPhone 12: what are the performance differences?

The iPhone 12 is faster thanks to its newer processor, Apple's A14. But because of the power-hungry 5G, its battery life is no better than that of the iPhone XS (unless, of course, you turn off 5G). The A14 in the iPhone 12 is twice as fast as the A12 in the iPhone XS. You'll notice this mostly if you're playing demanding games, not in everyday use.

The iPhone 12 is obviously the technically superior model, but the iPhone XS is still an excellent smartphone today, especially if you have a tighter budget and are not a professional photographer.