Looking at the current iPhone 12 model range, which do you think is the most popular? There are many reasons to want the regular $799 iPhone 12. But what about the more expensive $999 iPhone 12 Pro?

As it turns out, the more premium iPhone 12 Pro is in greater demand than expected from shoppers, despite its premium. iPhone 11 has been Apple's most popular phone for the past year, so this is a shift.

The news was reported by Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo via 9to5Mac, who reported that Apple did not expect such strong demand for the iPhone 12 Pro. While it makes sense that the cheaper model would sell more units, demand for both devices appears to be about equal.

In other words, consumers are more interested in the 12 Pro than anyone expected. This is despite the cheapest model costing $200 more than the cheapest iPhone 12.

Supply-line information also confirms Kuo's report: according to Digitimes, Apple has ordered more chips for the LIDAR scanner, a feature that will only be available on iPhone 12 Pro and Pro Max models. This suggests that Apple was a bit caught off guard by demand for the 12 Pro.

It is not hard to see why people would want the Pro, as we have already mentioned that the iPhone 12 Pro is a better value than the standard model. iPhone 12 Pro offers a telephoto zoom, brighter display, and twice the standard storage.

The 12 Pro was also more durable in the iPhone 12 battery life test, lasting 11 hours and 24 minutes on LTE and 9 minutes and 06 seconds on 5G. The iPhone 12, on the other hand, lasted 10 hours 23 minutes on LTE and 8 hours 25 minutes on 5G.

Given the hardware similarities between the two models, it is suggested that the 12 Pro's enhanced camera also plays a role: not only does it have a LIDAR sensor and telephoto lens, but also software upgrades such as Night Mode Portrait and ProRAW The iPhone 12 is also available in a newer version. There is also a 512GB storage option, whereas the standard iPhone 12 is limited to 256GB.

Kuo has already predicted that the iPhone 12 and 12 Pro will ultimately account for 30-35% of iPhone 12 sales; depending on how well the 12 Pro sells, it could become the most popular iPhone 12 model overall. However, it is also possible that some of the popularity of the iPhone 12 Pro is simply attracting more early adopters, as it is still very early in its release cycle.

The iPhone 12 Pro Max and iPhone 12 mini will control 15-20% and 10-15% of demand, respectively. However, these two models will not go on sale until November 13.