If we focus on compute, the cores in the A14/M1 are excellent still, even in terms of efficiency. Mine holds up excellently. The iPhone 12’s 4GB RAM (6 on Pro) is its bottleneck.
The reason nearly no one wants the iPhone 12 is due to marketing, preferring to buy from Apple, and the 14’s new design, plus 13’s bigger batteries and 13 Pro’s 120Hz.
I sold a refurbished 12 Pro to a friend for very cheap and it should do well for a long time.
The iPhone 12.
Barely anyone wants to buy one.
You know what's 3 years behind the h100? Definitely something no one is seriously buying.
3 years behind is still way too far behind.
It took them 15 years to get 3 years behind.
It could take them another 15 to be 1 year behind.
And by then - who know - the chips of today might not matter. There might be some new kind of chip that they're even farther behind on.
Your guess is as good as mine that far in the future.