Apple iPhone 13

The iPhone 13 ranks at the 11th percentile for performance and 9th for battery in our database. It's a budget iOS option at CAD 429 with a solid 6.1-inch OLED display and the A15 Bionic chip. But nearly every metric puts it in the bottom 15% of phones we track.

The A15 Bionic is the star here, but our database puts it at the 11th percentile for performance. That's a weak spot compared to modern flagships, though it's not a surprise for a phone from this generation. The 6-core CPU splits into 2 performance cores and 4 efficiency cores, and the 4-core GPU handles graphics. The 16-core Neural Engine does the machine learning heavy lifting. In everyday use, apps open fine and iOS runs smoothly. But push it hard with demanding games or heavy multitasking and you'll feel the gap between this and the newer chips in the Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra or Pixel 10 Pro.

We're not going to sugarcoat it: an 11th percentile performance score means this phone lags behind most of what we track. The A15 was impressive when it launched, but our database doesn't care about nostalgia. It cares about numbers. And the numbers say this chip is now a weak spot, not a selling point.

Stacked against the Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra, the iPhone 13 gets absolutely demolished. The S26 Ultra is a current flagship with top-tier performance, camera, and display scores. The iPhone 13 sits at the 11th percentile for performance while the S26 Ultra is near the top of our charts. The Motorola Razr Ultra 2025 brings a foldable form factor and modern specs that make the iPhone 13 feel ancient. The Google Pixel 10 Pro offers a camera system that ranks far above the iPhone 13's 7th percentile showing. Even the Nothing Phone (4a) Pro, likely a mid-range device, probably outpaces the iPhone 13 in display and feature scores. The OnePlus 15 is another story entirely, with performance numbers that would embarrass the A15. The iPhone 13's only real advantage is price and the iOS ecosystem.

At CAD 429 in Canada and MXN 5,349 in Mexico, the iPhone 13 is priced as a budget option. The budget score of 6.8 out of 100 suggests it's not exactly a steal, but it's also not pretending to be a flagship. You're paying for the Apple ecosystem, the build quality, and a camera system that, while ranking at the 7th percentile in our database, still takes perfectly good photos for social media and everyday shots. The value proposition depends entirely on what you need. If you want iOS without spending flagship money, this is one of the cheapest ways in. If you care about raw performance per dollar, the Nothing Phone (4a) Pro or OnePlus 15 will likely give you more for less.

The iPhone 13 lands in our database with percentile rankings that are, frankly, rough. Build quality sits at the 14th percentile, performance at 11th, and battery at 9th. Against the current crop of phones we track, this thing is showing its age in nearly every category. But here's the thing: percentile rankings compare it to everything, including $1,200 flagships. The iPhone 13 was never meant to compete with those anymore. It's a budget play now, and at CAD 429 in Canada or MXN 5,349 in Mexico, it's priced like one.

What you're getting is a 6.1-inch Super Retina XDR OLED display at 2532 x 1170 resolution and roughly 460 PPI. The A15 Bionic chip with its 6-core CPU and 4-core GPU still handles everyday tasks fine. The dual 12MP camera system with the F1.6 wide and F2.4 ultra-wide captures solid shots. But the 60Hz refresh rate, 4G connectivity, and the fact that it ranks in the bottom 15% of our database for nearly everything means you need to know exactly what you're signing up for.

Skip the iPhone 13 if you care about performance, battery life, or camera quality. Our database puts it at the 11th percentile for performance, 9th for battery, and 7th for camera. That's a triple threat of mediocrity. If you're a heavy user who games, streams, or takes lots of photos, this phone will frustrate you. The 60Hz display feels sluggish next to the 120Hz panels on the OnePlus 15 or Galaxy S26 Ultra. And the 4G-only connectivity is a dealbreaker if you're in an area with 5G coverage. Android options at this price point simply offer more.

The iPhone 13 is a budget iPhone, full stop. Our database puts it at the 11th percentile for performance, 9th for battery, and 7th for camera. Those are not numbers you buy for bragging rights. You buy this phone because you want iOS, you want Face ID, you want the Apple ecosystem, and you don't want to spend CAD 1,000 or more. At CAD 429, it's a reasonable entry point. But if you're not locked into Apple, there are better options at this price. The data is clear: this phone is a weak spot in nearly every category we measure. It's not a bad phone. It's just an old one.