Can’t afford an iPhone 15? Then don’t forget the iPhone 13
Apple doesn’t have what you would really call a mid-range phone; I’m sure the iPhone SE 2022 costs $429 / £419 / AU$719, which is arguably at the bottom of the mid-range (and at the top end of the best budget phones), but the spec sheet isn’t exactly impressive. Then you have the iPhone 15 from $799 / £799 / AU$1,499. This leaves a gap between these two price points for a mid-range Apple phone. There are plenty of Android alternatives, but nothing with a shiny, partially bitten apple.
But this is where the iPhone 13 comes into the picture. Now two generations old, it’s still sold by Apple, only the price has dropped from the original sticker price of $799 / £779 / AU$1,349 to a much more palatable $599 / £599 / AU$1,099 – trade in an old iPhone and you can get more discount on this new price.
And I still think the iPhone 13 is worth considering if you’re looking for an iOS-based smartphone but don’t have the money for the latest mode or Pro versions. While the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max offer the best overall iOS experience and I think are worth their flagship price, things are trickier to justify with the iPhone 15.
Take away the Dynamic Island – it’s still a bit monotonous with what it can do so far. Ignore the admittedly welcome switch from Lightning to USB-C connectivity. Then you are left with a new iPhone that looks quite similar to the iPhone 13.
There are two rear cameras in main and ultrawide configurations – the iPhone 15’s main camera is now 48 megapixels, but the 12MP sensor on the iPhone 13 still delivers great photos in a variety of lighting conditions, with a difference in quality likely is only noticeable to people who really look for it. I highly doubt you’d be disappointed with the iPhone 13’s camera performance unless you did something crazy like popping out of a Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra.
Speaking of performance, the iPhone 13 comes with the A15 Bionic chip, while the iPhone 15 has an A16 Bionic, taken from the iPhone 14 Pro; this means slightly more power over the base iPhone 14. But as someone who regularly uses an iPhone 13 Pro, which also has the A15 Bionic, I struggle to notice much difference in day-to-day performance between this and the powerful A17 Pro on my iPhone 15 Pro Max. In reality, you only need the extra power to play games like Death Stranding, which has been ported from the PC and gaming console arena to Apple’s high-end phones.
So the iPhone 13 may be two years old, but I still think it’s a viable iPhone now that it’s cheaper than ever. Take a look at the box below as it will show you the best iPhone 13 prices in your region.
Overpriced and underspecified
But even if you have the money to spend, I don’t think I’d recommend an iPhone 15. While our iPhone 15 review praises Apple’s latest ‘basic’ phone, and it has a lot of nice things like slightly sculpted edges and some camera tweaks beyond a 48MP bump, I think it’s lacking for its price.
Apple’s stubborn determination to stick with a 60Hz display when many of the affordable models on our best Android phones have 90Hz or 120Hz displays makes the iPhone 15 hard to swallow at its price. I also just don’t think it offers enough when the iPhone 15 Pro for $200 / £200 / AU$400 offers an extra camera, a much more powerful chip, a dedicated action button, a 120 Hz LTPO display and a beautiful titanium display. chassis.
I think if you feel you can live without the specs of the iPhone 15 Pro, you can easily do without the few additional features the iPhone 15 offers over the more competitively priced iPhone 13.
Being one of the most popular models on our best iPhone list, it seems that many people agree that the iPhone 13 is an attractive phone even in 2024. From my perspective, it’s a viable mid-range iPhone, at least until Apple updates the iPhone SE.