Apple’s new iPhone 13 range is filled with upgrades across the range, composed of iPhone 13 Mini, iPhone 13, iPhone 13 Pro and iPhone 13 Pro Max New phones display a new camera system, a modified design with a smaller notch, longer battery life and one variety of colors. And the whole The iPhone 13 lineup starts with 128 GB of storage, which means the phone will likely have plenty of space for your photos, apps, music and so on for the price of $ 729 (£ 679, AU $ 1,199) for the Mini and $ 829 (£ 779, 1 AU $ 349) for the base iPhone 13 Although if you wanted to level up, now you can get a iPhone 13 Pro with up to 1TB storage.

Meanwhile, the IPhone 12 and iPhone 12 Mini aren’t going anywhere. Prices for both phones have come down, so they now start at $ 599 for the 64GB iPhone 12 Mini and $ 699 for the 64GB iPhone 12. If you can settle for less storage space, then the IPhone 12 models are still great phones which run very fast, support 5G, and are powered by Apple’s A14 Bionic chip. The iPhone 12 Pro and 12 Pro Max, however, were dropped to make way for the 13 Pro and 13 Pro Max.

Read more: CNET iPhone 13, 13 Mini, 13 Pro and 13 Pro Max Reviews

Let’s go over some key differences between Line 13 and Line 12, to help determine whether you might want to go for a 2021 iPhone or stick with a 2020 iPhone.

Price

At first glance, the iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 Mini’s starting prices are $ 100 cheaper than the corresponding iPhone 13 models, but that’s before you factor in storage space. Both iPhone 12 models start at 64GB, which several years ago was a lot of space. Now, with bigger and bigger apps and cameras taking even more detailed photos with videos, you might run into that storage limit during your time with the phone. The iPhone 13 starts at 128GB, so if you compare that with a 128GB iPhone 12, you now only see a price difference of $ 50.

For that $ 50 difference, you get what you pay for by opting for the iPhone 13, which we’ll get to in the following sections. But if all you want is a 5G iPhone and you’re unlikely to install a ton of apps on it, the iPhone 12 is indeed cheaper while still retaining most of the same features as the iPhone 12. ‘iPhone 13.

Battery life

While we are still doing battery tests on the iPhone 13 lineup, the initial statistics provided by Apple are quite promising. The iPhone 13 is estimated to run 2.5 hours longer than the iPhone 12, while the iPhone 13 Mini is expected to run 1.5 hours longer than the 12 Mini. In CNET editor Patrick Holland IPhone 13 and 13 Mini review, he notes that the two phones easily get through a day on a single charge. This was especially noticeable since his personal iPhone 12 Mini typically requires a 3pm charge to get through the day.

A15 Bionic vs. A14 Bionic

For most tasks, the A14 Bionic and A15 Bionic chips will likely both handle your FaceTime calls, texts, apps, games, and streaming videos with little noticeable difference. However, the iPhone 13’s A15 Bionic may already be designed to be compatible with new devices and software being developed by Apple. Recent reports suggest that Apple could work on an augmented reality and VR headset which could use iPhone 13 and future iPhone models as a host device.

Currently, the iPhone 13 chip powers the Cinematic video recording mode on 2021 phones. In this mode, the phone can automatically focus on subjects as they enter the frame while not focusing on others, giving your videos a cinematic look. These videos can also be edited after the fact if you want more control over who is in focus.

Cameras

The camera specs for iPhone 13 and iPhone 12 are the same. Both phones include 12-megapixel sensors on the front and rear cameras. But that doesn’t say everything about the differences in photo processing between phones.

On the iPhone 13, the new camera layout gives the wide-angle camera a larger sensor with sensor-based stabilization. The iPhone 13’s new diagonal camera layout allows this sensor to be larger, while the new ultra-wide camera sensor helps it collect more light. On the software side, the iPhone 13 also includes Photographic Styles, which let you customize the way your camera develops your photos. These styles are not like Instagram filters, as they analyze the subject of your photo and apply the selected style as needed.

That said, the iPhone 12’s cameras still aren’t left out, including many of the same improvements offered by iOS 15. In our review, Holland notes that the iPhone’s camera upgrades 13 do not make drastic differences, but the improvements between the models from year to year have been noticeable.

Specification vs. specification

Check out the table below comparing the iPhone 13, iPhone 13 Mini, iPhone 12, and iPhone 12 Mini to see a spec-by-spec comparison among the non-Pro iPhones currently available. Let us know in the comments if you’d rather save money with the iPhone 12, jump in with a new iPhone 13, or if your current iPhone is still the best for all your everyday needs.