iPhone 13 vs iPhone 12

iPhone 12 came first: Apple announced it on 13 October 2020, opened pre-orders on 16 October and had it in US stores on 23 October. iPhone 13 followed on 14 September 2021, with pre-orders on 17 September and stores on 24 September. Both started at $799. Apple no longer sells either one new, so any price you see now is a reseller’s, and the real question is whether a year-newer phone is worth what a seller asks over the older one.

Neither is a Pro. If you want ProMotion, a telephoto lens or Dynamic Island, these aren’t the phones; the iPhone 14 Pro vs iPhone 13 Pro comparison covers that step. The mini models from both years are smaller phones and a separate choice.

Spec by spec

Spec	iPhone 13	iPhone 12
Announced	14 September 2021	13 October 2020
US launch	$799	$799
Display	6.1-inch, 2532 × 1170, 460 ppi	6.1-inch, 2532 × 1170, 460 ppi
Brightness	800 nits typical, 1200 nits HDR	625 nits typical, 1200 nits HDR
Chip	A15 Bionic, 4-core GPU	A14 Bionic, 4-core GPU
Storage	128GB, 256GB, 512GB	64GB, 128GB, 256GB
Rear cameras	12MP f/1.6 with sensor-shift, 12MP f/2.4 ultrawide	12MP f/1.6 with OIS, 12MP f/2.4 ultrawide
Zoom	2x optical out, digital up to 5x	2x optical out, digital up to 5x
Video	4K, with Cinematic mode	Dolby Vision up to 4K at 30; 4K up to 60; no Cinematic mode
Front camera	12MP TrueDepth	12MP TrueDepth, f/2.2
Battery	19 hours video, 15 streamed, 75 audio	17 hours video, 11 streamed, 65 audio
Wireless charging	MagSafe 15W, Qi2 15W, Qi 7.5W	MagSafe 15W, Qi 7.5W
Weight	174 g	164 g
Connector	Lightning	Lightning
Model	A2482	A2172

Storage decides most of it

iPhone 13 comes in 128GB, 256GB and 512GB. iPhone 12 comes in 64GB, 128GB and 256GB, with no 512GB model. A 64GB iPhone 12 fills up with photos and offline video in a way a 128GB iPhone 13 doesn’t, so the cheapest iPhone 12 you see is often the wrong comparison. Line up the same storage on both, and if the prices are close, take the iPhone 13.

A brighter screen, a newer chip and longer battery life

The screens are the same size and sharpness: 6.1 inches on the diagonal (6.06 inches as a plain rectangle), 2532 × 1170 at 460 pixels per inch, with a 2,000,000:1 typical contrast ratio. What changed is everyday brightness. iPhone 13 reaches 800 nits typical; iPhone 12 tops out at 625 nits, which Apple labels its typical figure. Both peak at 1200 nits for HDR, and neither has ProMotion, a 120Hz mode, an always-on display or Dynamic Island.

iPhone 13 runs the A15 Bionic and iPhone 12 the A14 Bionic. Both have a 6-core CPU, with 2 performance and 4 efficiency cores, a 4-core GPU and a 16-core Neural Engine. The 5-core GPU went into iPhone 13 Pro, not this phone. Neither chip comes with a RAM figure from Apple, and Apple doesn’t publish a battery capacity or a typical-use rating for either phone.

What Apple does give is playback time, and iPhone 13 wins every line: up to 19 hours of video against 17, 15 hours streamed against 11, and 75 hours of audio against 65. That’s two, four and ten hours more by Apple’s own tests, not a promise for a day of mixed use.

Cameras: Cinematic mode and steadier shots

Both have two 12MP rear cameras and no telephoto. The main camera is f/1.6 on both, with 100 percent Focus Pixels, and the ultrawide is f/2.4 with a 120-degree view. Zoom is the same: 2x optical out and up to 5x digital.

iPhone 13 adds sensor-shift optical image stabilization on the main camera, where iPhone 12 uses standard optical image stabilization, and it adds Cinematic mode for 4K video. iPhone 12 records HDR video with Dolby Vision up to 4K at 30 frames per second, 4K at 24, 25, 30 and 60, and 1080p at 25, 30 and 60. Neither lists ProRes or Log. Both have a 12MP TrueDepth front camera; iPhone 12’s is f/2.2.

What stayed the same

From the outside they’re nearly the same phone. Both are 146.7 mm tall and 71.5 mm wide; iPhone 13 is 7.65 mm thick against 7.4 mm and weighs 174 grams against 164, so it’s 10 grams heavier and a quarter of a millimeter thicker. Both have an aluminum frame, Ceramic Shield on the front, a glass back with an oleophobic coating, and IP68 water resistance to 6 meters for up to 30 minutes.

Both unlock with Face ID and keep the Ring/Silent switch; there’s no Action button or Camera Control on either. Both have Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth 5.0, an ultra-wideband chip and NFC, with GPS, GLONASS, Galileo, QZSS and BeiDou, but not the precision dual-frequency GPS of later iPhones. Neither lists Crash Detection or Emergency SOS via satellite.

5G isn’t new on iPhone 13. iPhone 12 already had 5G on sub-6 and mmWave with 4x4 MIMO, plus Gigabit LTE, and iPhone 13 lists 5G and Gigabit LTE too.

Charging matches as well. Both use Lightning, reach 50 percent in 30 minutes with a 20W adapter or higher (sold separately), and charge on MagSafe at up to 15W and on Qi at up to 7.5W. Apple now lists Qi2 at up to 15W for iPhone 13 but not for iPhone 12. Lightning adapters, also sold separately, give video out at up to 1080p. Each box holds the phone and a USB-C to Lightning cable, with no power adapter or EarPods. USB-C came later.

Buying one used

Check the model number. iPhone 13 is A2482 and iPhone 12 is A2172. Both take a nano-SIM plus eSIM. iPhone 13 supports dual eSIM and has a SIM tray; iPhone 12 doesn’t work with older micro-SIM cards. eSIM isn’t supported in every region.

Colors help too. iPhone 13 came in (PRODUCT)RED, Starlight, Midnight, Blue, Pink and Green; iPhone 12 in Black, White, (PRODUCT)RED, Green, Blue and Purple. Starlight, Midnight and Pink are 2021 colors, and Purple is a 2020 one.

Both shipped with iOS; iOS 15 arrived on 20 September 2021, just before iPhone 13 reached stores. With phones from 2020 and 2021, the iOS version matters more than the launch software: Apple gives neither phone an update term, so check its compatibility list for the iOS you’d get today.

What they cost

Both started at $799 in the US: iPhone 12 on 13 October 2020 and iPhone 13 on 14 September 2021. The mini was $699 in both years. Those launch prices are history now: resale prices depend on storage, condition and the seller, so check before you buy.