I hate to break it to you, but you’re probably going to want to upgrade to the iPhone 13.
With a few big exceptions. If you have an iPhone 12—especially if you have an iPhone 12 Pro—you don’t need to upgrade. If you’ve already decided that you’re splurging on the iPhone 13 Pro or Pro Max, then you should read my WIRED colleague Julian Chokkattu’s review of that phone. (The Pro’s features are slightly more advanced; plus, some people just want a really, really big phone.) And if you’re an Android user, as billions of people are, you might prefer to stick with Android. In fact, some of the best Android phones out there already have the fancier features of the iPhone 13.
But I’ve been using the non-Pro version of iPhone 13 for just under a week now, and I’ve used the iPhone 13 Mini for a few days too. I’m almost certainly going to upgrade to the iPhone 13 from the iPhone 11 I’ve been using as my daily phone. The iPhone 13’s build is nicer, a callback to the sleeker, flat-edged iPhones of the past. It has a bigger battery than last year. And I’ve been showing “cinematic video” clips of my cat to pretty much anyone who’s vaccinated and willing to come closer than social distancing rules allow.
The iPhone 13 is what a “basic” iPhone should be. As Apple has introduced variations of its phones over the years, with Pro, Max, and Mini now part of the annual lineup, it has also employed a classic product differentiation strategy; the standard models of iPhone have had less brilliant displays, lesser cameras, or pitiful base storage amounts compared to the Pros.
There are still some minor differences between the iPhone 13 and iPhone 13 Pro, but the gap between the two has closed. If you’re one of those people who has been holding on to your iPhone for years—and kudos to you for that—and are now eyeing an upgraded device, the iPhone 13 may be all the phone you need.
Case Study
The new iPhone has a smaller screen notch and a slightly thicker body. Photograph: Apple
At first glance the iPhone 13 looks exactly like the iPhone 12. The iPhone 13 has the same-sized 6.1-inch display. Its frame is made of aerospace-grade aluminum, its cover slip is glass, and its sides are flat, unlike the rounded edges of the iPhone 11. It has a “Super Retina XDR” display.