iPhone 12 or iPhone 13 ?

In 2021, Apple introduced the iPhone 13 as the successor to the popular iPhone 12. The iPhone 13 comes with several enhancements, including improved rear cameras, extended battery life, the A15 Bionic chip, and more. Positioned as devices that offer more features than the low-cost iPhone SE or iPhone 11 but are more affordable than the Pro models, the iPhone 13 is expected to be a popular choice among consumers.

Considering that the iPhone 12 and iPhone 13 share many features, you might wonder if purchasing the older model is a viable option for saving money. Our guide will help you decide which of these two iPhones is best for you. However, overall, the iPhone 13 is only a minor upgrade over the iPhone 12.

Let's compare the iPhone 12 and iPhone 13:

Similarities:

• Both have a 6.1-inch OLED Super Retina XDR display with HDR, True Tone, P3 wide color, and Haptic Touch.
• Face ID.
• 6GHz 5G connectivity (and mmWave in the U.S.).
• Six-core A-Series Bionic chip.
• 4GB of memory.
• Dual 12MP ƒ/2.4 Ultra Wide and ƒ/1.6 Wide cameras with two-times optical zoom out.
• Photography features including Night mode, Deep Fusion, True Tone flash with Slow Sync, Portrait mode, and more.
• Videography features including 4K video recording at up to 60fps, HDR video recording with Dolby Vision, Audio zoom, slo-mo video up to 240fps at 1080p, Night mode Time-lapse, and more.
• Ceramic Shield front.
• IP68 rated splash, water, and dust resistance.
• Aerospace-grade aluminum.
• MagSafe and Qi wireless charging.
• Lightning connector.
• Available with 128GB and 256GB storage options.
• Available in (PRODUCT)RED.
Although the iPhones share many notable features, there are meaningful differences between the iPhone 12 and iPhone 13, such as their processors and battery life.

Differences:

iPhone 12:

• Super Retina XDR display with 625 nits max brightness (typical).
• A14 Bionic chip.
• Dual SIM (nano-SIM and eSIM).
• Smart HDR 3 for photos.
• Dolby Vision HDR video recording up to 4K at 30fps.
• Up to 17 hours of battery life during video playback.
• Weighs 164 grams.
• Available in Purple, Blue, PRODUCT(RED), White, and Black.
• Available with 64GB, 128GB, and 256GB storage options.

iPhone 13:

• Super Retina XDR display with 800 nits max brightness (typical).
• 20 percent smaller notch.
• A15 Bionic chip.
• Dual SIM (nano-SIM and eSIM) and dual eSIM support.
• Smart HDR 4 for photos.
• Photographic Styles.
• Dolby Vision HDR video recording up to 4K at 60fps.
• Cinematic mode video recording with shallow depth of field (1080p at 30fps).
• Up to 19 hours of battery life during video playback.
• Weighs 174 grams.
• Available in Starlight, Midnight, Blue, Pink, Green, and PRODUCT(RED).
• Available with 128GB, 256GB, and 512GB storage options.
Now let's take a closer.

Display

The display on both the iPhone 12 and iPhone 13 is a 6.1-inch OLED Super Retina XDR display with HDR, True Tone, P3 wide color, and Haptic Touch. The primary difference in the display is that the iPhone 13 can reach a brightness of 175 nits higher than the iPhone 12 during typical non-HDR use, although this may not be a significant reason to choose the newer model.

Processor

When it comes to the processors, the iPhone 13 features the A15 Bionic chip, while the iPhone 12 is equipped with the A14 Bionic chip. The A15 chip in the iPhone 13 offers a modest performance improvement over the A14 chip in the iPhone 12. Benchmarks indicate that the A15 chip provides approximately 10 percent better single-core performance and 18 percent better multi-core performance compared to the A14 chip. In terms of graphics tasks, the iPhone 13 performs roughly 15 percent better than the iPhone 12's A14 chip.

Camera

Both the iPhone 12 and iPhone 13 are equipped with dual 12MP rear cameras, including a ƒ/2.4 Ultra Wide and a ƒ/1.6 Wide camera. However, the iPhone 13's Wide camera boasts a larger sensor, allowing it to capture 47 percent more light. This results in reduced noise and brighter images. Additionally, the Ultra Wide camera on the iPhone 13 features a new sensor that captures more detail compared to its predecessor.
The Wide camera on the iPhone 13 also incorporates sensor-shift optical image stabilization technology, which enhances video stability and improves overall image quality.
While both devices are capable of recording Dolby Vision HDR video, the iPhone 13 takes it a step further by supporting up to 60 frames per second (fps), whereas the iPhone 12 is limited to 30 fps. This improvement allows for smoother and more immersive video recordings on the iPhone 13.

Battery Life

One significant point of differentiation between the iPhone 12 and the iPhone 13 lies in their battery life. The iPhone 13 offers an impressive 19 hours of battery life during video playback, surpassing the iPhone 12's 17 hours by two hours. When it comes to streaming video, the iPhone 13 provides 15 hours of battery life, whereas the iPhone 12 offers 11 hours. Moreover, the iPhone 13 can stream audio for an additional 10 hours compared to the iPhone 12. Therefore, the iPhone 13 is clearly the superior choice for users seeking maximum battery life from their iPhone, as compared to the iPhone 12.
Storage
The iPhone 12 is available in storage capacities of 64GB, 128GB, and 256GB, while the iPhone 13 offers options of 128GB, 256GB, and 512GB. Consequently, if you require more than 256GB of storage, opting for the iPhone 13 will provide you with the choice of a larger 512GB capacity. Otherwise, both devices offer the same storage options.

Price

You can purchase the iPhone 12 128gb is £359.95 and the iPhone 13 for the exact GB size and condition is £464.95.

Conclusion

In our humble opinion the differences between the iPhone 12 and the iPhone 13 is not adequate enough to spend an additional £100. Yes the iPhone 13 has been refined to include a slightly faster processer however in the grand scheme of things this will not affect your day to day use.

Further specs and comparison on both models can be found by going to gsmarena.com