Purchasing in another country

If its locked to an italian cellular service provider it will only work with that service provider.

It would need to be unlocked for it to work with American carriers. Make sure it is actually unlocked, and not set to lock to the first carrier used to activate it. Buy it directly from Apple and choose the Sim free option if one is available.

Also note that the warranty will only be valid in the European Union. So if any repairs or replcements are needed once you are in the U.S, you would need to physically take it to a European Apple store for service. Apple will not take international shipments for service.

The iPhone 12 sold in the U.S. is indeed a different model than the one sold in Europe. The U.S. does have somewhat different cellular bands.

"Would it function in the U.S.?" Yes, to some extent.

Further, an iPhone 12 purchased in Europe will not be repairable in the U.S., and its warranty may well not be honored.

turbod_94 wrote:

I was hoping there wouldn’t be too much of a difference.

I don't believe there is a big difference. And I think it only affects 5G cellular data.

It should work for the most part, it just won't be able to use the high speed millimeter wave 5G in the US when they are available.

But will be able to use the regular 5G, 4G and 3G networks.