The iPhone 12 lineup is superior to the iPhone 11 family in several ways. There are four models instead of the three from last year, more choices, 5G, Apple's fastest A14 Bionic chip, and OLED displays across the board. The cameras have also been improved.

The new $699 5.4-inch iPhone 12 mini gives shoppers who prefer a smaller phone a choice, while the $1,099 6.7-inch iPhone 12 Pro Max is the largest display in iPhone history.

However, the standard $799 iPhone 12 and $999 iPhone 12 Pro are both 6.1 inches, leaving few options for those who like a larger phone without spending big money.

Samsung's value-oriented Galaxy S20 FE, on the other hand, has a 6.5-inch screen and is priced at $699, the same as the smaller iPhone 12 mini. the S20 FE has a plastic back and less RAM than other Galaxy S20 phones, and it has a lower It makes some trade-offs for the price. However, the display outperforms the iPhone 12 mini and has some advantages that Apple does not.

The S20 FE's larger display not only allows for more immersive video playback. You get a larger viewfinder for taking pictures, a larger keyboard for typing messages, and more space for viewing documents. Furthermore, unlike the iPhone 12 mini, the S20 FE offers 120 Hz refresh for smoother scrolling and gameplay.

It gets even better: the Galaxy S20 FE comes with 128GB of storage, twice as much as the iPhone 12 mini. And while the list price for the S20 FE is $699, you can easily find it already on sale for $599.

Don't get me wrong, the iPhone 12 mini has some advantages over the S20 FE. It has a faster A14 Bionic processor and improved image quality. In addition, the iPhone 12 mini benefits from a tougher ceramic shielded display.

However, the larger screen also means there is room for a larger battery: the S20 FE has a 4,500 mAh battery, while the iPhone 12 mini is said to have only a 2,227 mAh battery. The larger iPhone 12's 2,815 mAh battery lasted only 8 hours 25 minutes in a web surfing battery test; the S20 FE lasted 8 hours 58 minutes.

If I were Apple, I would be working on an iPhone SE Plus or a mid-range phone that offers a larger screen at a reasonable price. Sure, the iPhone XR is currently only $499, but these days 6.1 inches is on the small side; now that the iPhone 12 is available, the iPhone 11 is only $599 but has the same size display.

The Galaxy S20 FE isn't perfect, but it's the best phone at this price right now. And Apple doesn't have an answer for that.