Apple just announced the iPhone 13 earlier this week, adding a third option in its lineup of iPhones with edge-to-edge screen. In order to make your purchasing decision easier, let’s break down some of the key differences between the iPhone 11, iPhone 12, and iPhone 13. At a high level, all thee devices look very similar, so are there any key differences that put them apart and is it even worthwhile upgrading to the iPhone 13? Before we can determine the right option, we have to look at the main features that matter the most.
Design: No major differences
The iPhone 11, 12, and 13 are identical in design with very similar dimensions. The iPhone 11 is slightly larger and heavier than the iPhone 12 and 13. Without looking at the camera design on the back, you will not be able to tell them apart visually. All three devices have IP68 splash, water, and dust resistant rating as well.
Display: IPS vs OLED
In terms of the display, all three devices feature a 6.1 inch display. The main difference is that iPhone 11 has an IPS display with 828p resolution (1792 x 828 px with 1400:1 contrast), whereas iPhone 12 and 13 have OLED HDR display with 1170p resolution (2532 x 1170 px with 2,000,000:1 contrast). However, I have been using the iPhone 11 for past 2 years now and I have never felt that the display resolution or performance was ever an issue.
In addition, the iPhone 13 has 800 nits of brightness versus 625 nits on iPhone 11 and 12, but this is not a notable difference that should be considered.
Camera: No major differences
The iPhone 11, 12, and 13 all share the dual 12MP cameras (Wide and Ultra Wide). One of the differences is that iPhone 11’s wide camera has ƒ/1.8 aperture compared to ƒ/1.6 aperture on iPhone 12 and 13. The iPhone 13 does have a larger sensor with 1.7-micron pixels, which will provide better performance in low light conditions. The front camera is identical on all three devices with 12MP TrueDepth camera and ƒ/2.2 aperture. There is a new feature called cinematic mode for automatic video focusing on the iPhone 13 but it is not something you will find useful for day to day video recording.
Performance: No noticeable differences
As usual, Apple has introduced a newer version of the processor chip but we don’t expect the everyday consumer to notice any noticeable difference between the iPhone 11, 12, and 13 with A13, A14, and A15 Bionic chip, respectively. All devices feature the Bionic Chip with 6-core CPU (2 performance and 4 efficiency cores) and 4-core GPU. The iPhone 11 is still very capable device with very good performance, so we don’t recommend making your purchasing decision based on the performance of these devices.
Battery: No major differences
The battery on all three phones is incrementally better but apple claims that all devices offer at least 17 hours of video playback and the iPhone 13 offers 19 hours. Apple claims that the iPhone 13 has 2.5hrs more battery life than iPhone 12, so the battery performance is not drastically different as all devices will get your through your typical day.
Cellular: 4G vs 5G
In terms of cellular connectivity, the iPhone 12 and 13 offer 5G (sub-6 GHz and mmWave) connectivity, whereas iPhone 11 offers 4G LTE. The network speed using 5G definitely makes a noticeable difference but 5G network coverage is still not as good as 4G. In the current timeline, you are more likely to get a 4G signal in majority of the places you will visit. In addition, 5G technology has its limitations so we would recommend to not make your purchasing decision based on 5G. Check out our article on 5G technology for more info: WHAT IS 5G TECHNOLOGY – IS IT THE FUTURE WE WANT?
In conclusion, you can go for iPhone 12 or 13 with 5G if your area has appropriate network coverage but the iPhone 11 with 4G connectivity is going to provide more than enough speed for all your usage needs.
Key differences between iPhone 11, iPhone 12, and iPhone 13:
Based on our comparison above, here is a quick summary of the differences between the three iPhone from Apple. The main difference is in the Display and Cellular connectivity, where the iPhone 11 provides an inferior performance compared to the iPhone 12 and iPhone 13. Interestingly, there is no major difference between the iPhone 12 and iPhone 13.
| iPhone 11 | iPhone 12 | iPhone 13 | |
| Design | No major differences | ||
| Camera | No major differences | ||
| Performance | No noticeable differences | ||
| Battery | No major differences | ||
| Display | 828p IPS | 1170p OLED HDR | |
| Cellular | 4G LTE | 5G | |
Storage and Pricing Comparison
Given the comparison above, there are clear differences between the iPhone 11 and newer iPhones. However, we didn’t see any major difference between the iPhone 12 and iPhone 13. The only thing that remains to be seen is the storage option and pricing. Let’s compare the pricing and find out which iPhone configuration makes the most sense for new buyers.
When comparing the storage options, things get a little interesting as there are configuration options that are clearly better and worse. We have summarized the storage options and pricing info in the table below. The options highlighted in green are recommended as they provide the best bang for your buck. Starting with the iPhone 11, if you are okay with the display and cellular connectivity (not a bad choice for sure), then your next best option is to get the 128 GB iPhone 11 for $549, which is only $50 higher than the base model with 64GB. You will definitely appreciate the extra storage space over the lifetime of the device.
However, if you have decided that the display and cellular connectivity on iPhone 11 is a dealbreaker then your next best option is to get 64GB iPhone 12 for $699. Apple has discontinued the 64GB storage option on the iPhone 13 so if you are okay with the 64 GB storage, then iPhone 12 is the best option as you get all the same features for a lower price. If you must have larger storage than 64GB with OLED display and 5G, then iPhone 13 is the only logical option available as there is only $50 difference between iPhone 12 and iPhone 13 for storage options. Lastly, we don’t recommend anyone to buy the 512GB iPhone 13 as cloud storage is available and you could get an iPhone 13 Pro for that price.
| 64GB | 128GB | 256GB | 512GB | |
| iPhone 11 | $499 | $549 | N/A | N/A |
| iPhone 12 | $699 | $749 | $849 | N/A |
| iPhone 13 | N/A | $799 | $899 | $1099 |
In summary, here is our recommendation based on the features and pricing offered by Apple:
- First Option: iPhone 11 with 128GB
- Second Option: iPhone 12 with 64GB (if you want OLED and 5G)
- Third Option: iPhone 13 with 128GB or more (if you want OLED, 5G, and more storage)
Source: Apple
I am officially a tech addict and enjoy providing my views on matters related to this industry. I am always interested in trying out new tech gadgets and I have owned multiple smartphones including the legendary HTC One, SGS2, Nexus 4, iPhone 4, 5S, 6S, XR, Note 9. You can ask me any tech related questions in the comment section or on twitter @hookedNav