
(No, you won’t be able to reuse your iPhone 12 case for the 13.) Otherwise, it has the same overall design, a brighter 6.1-inch OLED display, the same 12-megapixel selfie camera, the same MagSafe wireless charging, the same water and dust resistance (IP68), and the same support for both sub-6GHz and mmWave 5G networks. In fact, the 13 looks almost identical to the 12 but is just a bit thicker and heavier, with substantially bigger camera bumps and lenses that swapped places.
1.9 MORE PLAYER MODELS PRO
It has a new processor, a bigger battery, 128GB of internal storage, and uses the same large camera sensor as the acclaimed iPhone 12 Pro Max, but you wouldn’t know it from its compact size. Out of the four iPhone 13 variants that Apple launched in 2021, the $829 iPhone 13 (unlocked) hits the sweet spot between price, pocketability, and features. Apple iPhone 13 Best iPhone to buy in 2022 The iPhone 13 can do it all: it hits the sweet spot between price, pocketability, and features. For those recommendations, you can check out our guide to budget smartphones. Or, if you want to get the best smartphone on a budget, you can find something really good for under $500 or even less. Find the one that suits you best, and you’ll be rewarded with many years of use before it’s time to start phone shopping again. Picking the right phone is mostly a matter of preference.
1.9 MORE PLAYER MODELS SOFTWARE
They’ll also generally get more years of software updates than cheaper phones: three years is a bare minimum here, and five is common. All of the devices featured here have great cameras, nice screens, good battery life, and are fast enough to keep up with your day to day. One good reason to spend this much on a phone is to go as long as possible before you have to buy a new one. That means it’s high season for phone deals, so you might be able to snag one of the outgoing models for a nice price if you’re lucky.

There’s even more good news: Hot Flagship Fall is just around the corner, and many of the models featured here are soon to be replaced with the next generation. In fact, our pick for the best overall phone is the $829 Apple iPhone 13, and Google’s Pixel 6 included here is priced more like a midrange device than all-out flagship. But, as the ceiling gets higher, devices in the more reasonable $600 to $800 range have gotten even more capable.

The absolutely premium phones, like the Apple iPhone 13 Pro Max and Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra, now cost well over $1,000, or about the price of a good laptop. Prices for flagship phones are higher than ever, and it’s unlikely that they’ll ever come back down.
