The iPhone 13 and iPhone 13 Mini (stylized as iPhone 13 mini) are smartphones that were developed and marketed by Apple. They are the fifteenth generation of iPhones, succeeding the iPhone 12 and 12 Mini. They were unveiled at an Apple Event in Apple Park in Cupertino, California, on September 14, 2021, alongside the higher-priced iPhone 13 Pro and iPhone 13 Pro Max flagships. Furthermore, they were released on September 24, 2021. Improvements over the iPhone 12 include a 512 GB storage variant, BeiDou positioning support, and HDR video recording at 60 frames per second, doubling the frame rate of its predecessor.
The iPhone 13 Mini was discontinued on September 12, 2023 without a successor, and the iPhone 13 was discontinued on September 9, 2024 with the announcement of the iPhone 16.
History The iPhone 13 and iPhone 13 Mini were officially announced alongside the ninth-generation iPad, 6th generation iPad Mini, Apple Watch Series 7, iPhone 13 Pro, and iPhone 13 Pro Max by a virtual press event filmed and recorded at Apple Park in Cupertino, California, on September 14, 2021. Pre-orders began on September 17, 2021, at 5:00 am PDT. Pricing started at US$799 for the iPhone 13 and US$699 for the iPhone 13 Mini.
Together with the iPhone 12, the iPhone 13 Mini was discontinued on September 12, 2023, with the announcement of the iPhone 15 and 15 Pro. The iPhone 13 continued to be sold until the announcement of the iPhone 16 and 16 Pro on September 9, 2024, when it was discontinued alongside the iPhone 15 Pro.
The iPhone 13 Mini was the final Mini iPhone offered by Apple due to a lack of demand for the Mini series, possibly in part because, just as thin, it also had a 25 percent smaller battery, at only a 12.5 percent discount. Despite the smaller display, the impact on usable video playback time was still about 10 percent (17 vs. 19 hours according to Apple's own comparison data).
Design
The iPhone 13 has a flat chassis analogous to that of contemporaneous Apple products, with some differences such as the rear cameras being larger and arranged diagonally. The Face ID True Depth sensor housing on the iPhone is 20% narrower, though slightly taller, than its predecessors.
The iPhone 13 and iPhone 13 Mini are available in six colors: Midnight, Starlight, Product Red, Blue, Pink, and Green.
On March 8, 2022, at Apple's Special Event, “Peek Performance”, Apple revealed a new Green color option, which was released on March 18, 2022.
Color Name Midnight Starlight Product Red Blue Pink Green
Specifications
Hardware The iPhone 13 and iPhone 13 Mini use an Apple-designed A15 Bionic system on a chip. The iPhone 13 and 13 Mini feature a 6-core CPU, 4-core GPU, and 16-core Neural Engine, while the iPhone 13 Pro and 13 Pro Max feature a 5-core GPU.
Display The iPhone 13 features a display with Super Retina XDR OLED technology at a resolution of 1170×2532 pixels and a pixel density of about 460 PPI with a refresh rate of 60 Hz. The iPhone 13 Mini features a display with the same technology at a resolution of 1080×2340 pixels and a pixel density of about 476 PPI. Both models have the Super Retina XDR OLED display with improved typical brightness up to 800 nits, and max brightness up to 1200 nits.
Cameras The iPhone 13 and 13 Mini feature the same camera system with three cameras: one front-facing camera (12 MP f/2.2) and two back-facing cameras: a wide (12 MP f/1.6) and ultra-wide (12 MP f/2.4) camera. The back-facing cameras both contain larger sensors for more light-gathering, with new sensor shift optical image stabilization (OIS) on the main camera. The camera module on the back is arranged diagonally instead of vertically to engineer the larger sensors.
The cameras use Apple's latest computational photography engine, called Smart HDR 4. Users can also choose from a range of photographic styles during capture, including rich contrast, vibrant, warm, and cool. Apple clarifies this is different from a filter because it works intelligently with the image processing algorithm during capture to apply local adjustments to an image and the effects will be baked into the photos, unlike filters which can be removed after applying.
The camera app contains a new mode called Cinematic Mode, which allows users to rack focus between subjects and create (simulate) shallow depth of field using software algorithms. It is supported on wide and front-facing cameras in 1080p@30 fps.
Charging The iPhone 13 and 13 Mini have Lightning fast charging at 20 Watts, and wireless charging via MagSafe at 15 W (iPhone 13) or 12 W (13 Mini), or via the Qi protocol at 7.5 W.
Software
iPhone 13 and iPhone 13 Mini were originally shipped with iOS 15 at launch. They are compatible with iOS 16, which was released on September 12, 2022. iOS 17, which was revealed at Apple's WWDC 2023 event, is compatible with the iPhone 13 and 13 Mini. The next-generation Qi2 wireless charging standard has been added to the iPhone 13 and iPhone 13 Mini with the update to iOS 17.2. They are compatible with iOS 18, which was released on September 16, 2024.
These phones support the current public release of iOS, which is currently iOS 26, which was released on September 15, 2025.
The iPhone 13 and 13 Mini are able to make calls via FaceTime Audio / Video (which is restricted in some regions), Voice over LTE (VoLTE), and Wi-Fi Calling. Wi-Fi hotspotting is also possible.
Manufacturing The iPhone 13 and 13 Mini were manufactured on contract by Pegatron and Foxconn for Apple.
Release
Availability by country
September 24, 2021
October 1, 2021
October 8, 2021
October 22, 2021
October 29, 2021
November 19, 2021
Reception TechRadar praised the iPhone 13 for its design, battery life, and powerful hardware, but criticized the absence of a 120 Hz display.
Repairability Some iPhone 13 parts are paired to the motherboard. The user is warned if a paired component (e.g. screen, battery) is replaced by independent repair shops, the Face ID sensors may completely cease to function if replaced. On later iOS versions, Apple removed this limitation. Apple technicians have a proprietary software tool to pair components.
See also History of the iPhone List of iPhone models
References
External links – official site