Both the iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 Pro are a big step forward from the iPhone 11 series, but they are not without their drawbacks. The biggest issue is the shortened battery life with 5G, which probably led to Apple's decision not to use a 120 Hz screen this time around.

There are two possible reasons for this issue: first, the iPhone 12 series has a lower capacity battery than the iPhone 11 lineup. iPhone 11 has 3,110 mAh and iPhone 11 Pro has 3,046 mAh, while iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 Pro have a 2,815 mAh battery.

The second cause is a bit trickier: as the iPhone 12 battery tests show, the introduction of 5G clearly drains the battery. However, Apple can still do something about this, and the good news is that it has already committed to taking that step with the upcoming iPhone 13.

A teardown video recently published on Chinese social networking site Weibo proved what many feared: the iPhone 12 uses Qualcomm's 7-nanometer X55 5G modem, which is not known for its power efficiency.

However, Apple has already confirmed that this will change with the iPhone 13. Instead, the company revealed its plans on page 71 of its settlement with Qualcomm.

"Apple intends to commercially launch new models of Apple products between June 1, 2021 and May 31, 2022 ("2021 Lunch"), some of which will use the SDX60 Qualcomm Chipset," the document explains.

This is a big deal: the 5-nanometer X60 chipset can be integrated directly into the phone's chipset, resulting in a smaller footprint and less battery drain. Not only that, but 5G performance should also be improved since mmWave and Sub-6GHz 5G networks can be combined simultaneously.

Prior to the release of the iPhone 12, some rumors said that the iPhone 12 would receive this game-changing upgrade early on, but unfortunately that did not happen. This was not surprising, though, given that Qualcomm itself had said that phones with this chip would first appear next year.

Even without this 5G modem, however, the iPhone 12 series is a significant upgrade over the previous model. Not only is performance 50% faster, but 5G connectivity means faster browsing and downloads across the board. There is also the introduction of MagSafe wireless charging and Ceramic Shield, which, according to Apple, increases the level of protection from drops by up to four times.

All of this makes for an attractive package and, as we noted in our 4-star iPhone 12 review, "a serious step forward for the most popular iPhone." Our 4.5-star iPhone Pro review is even more glowing, stating that it "lags a step behind in battery life, but outperforms every Android phone in its class in performance and camera quality."