Apple ‘s iPhone lineup used to be quite simple. When Steve Jobs announced the original iPhone over 15 years ago, there was good one model and it was merely available on AT & T. therefore, if you wanted an iPhone, the only decisiveness you had in 2007 was whether you wanted 4 or 8GB of storage. much has changed in the past ten and a half. You can find an iPhone to fit into any budget and get entree to features like iMessage, FaceTime, Apple Music, iCloud and more. When Apple released the iPhone 13 series in 2021, I was impressed by the upgrades. The phones had new cameras, more storage, bigger batteries and bright screens. That does n’t mean they are the best iPhone options for everyone, though. I broke down all the models on the marketplace so you can decide which iPhone model best suits your needs. Miss the home push button ? then check out the iPhone SE. Like the iPhone 13 design, but not its price ? Consider final year ‘s iPhone 12 and 12 Mini. Want a small phone with a good battery life sentence ? then the iPhone 13 Mini is a must. And what about the two-year-old iPhone 11, is it still worth it ? In brusque, yes .
current iPhones, compared
| Model | Starting price | Screen size | No. of rear cameras | CPU | Release date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| iPhone SE | $429 | 4.7 inches | 1 | A15 Bionic | March 2022 |
| iPhone 11 | $499 | 6.1 inches | 2 | A13 Bionic | September 2019 |
| iPhone 12 Mini | $599 | 5.4 inches | 2 | A14 Bionic | November 2020 |
| iPhone 12 | $699 | 6.1 inches | 2 | A14 Bionic | October 2020 |
| iPhone 13 Mini | $699 | 5.4 inches | 2 | A15 Bionic | September 2021 |
| iPhone 13 | $799 | 6.1 inches | 2 | A15 Bionic | September 2021 |
| iPhone 13 Pro | $999 | 6.1 inches | 3 | A15 Bionic | September 2021 |
| iPhone 13 Pro Max | $1,099 | 6.7 inches | 3 | A15 Bionic | September 2021 |
To complicate your decision, some iPhones have two cameras, others have three and still others have four ( including the front-facing selfie camera ). You should besides take into report that about every current iPhone model has Face ID except one : the iPhone SE ( 2022 ). Having a lot of options is n’t bad, but it can feel overpower when buying a fresh iPhone.
To help you figure out which is the best iPhone for you, I thoroughly reviewed and tested each one on this list, from their batteries to camera performance. I included current iPhone prices, though iPhone deals are known to happen, so do n’t assume your only choice is paying fully price. besides, this list is based on stream models that Apple sells. If you ‘re shopping around, you might notice that carriers and third-party sellers offer discontinued models, like the iPhone 12 Pro and 12 Pro Max. besides, if you ‘re looking for an Android call or another smartphone outside of Apple ‘s offerings, read our guidebook to help find the best phone for your needs .
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The $ 829 iPhone 13 is a solid upgrade and refining to end year ‘s iPhone 12. Some will be disappointed because it ‘s not radically different from previous models, but that ‘s actually part of the charm. Familiarity has been one of the keys to Apple ‘s achiever with the iPhone. The iPhone 13 has a closely identical squared-off design as the iPhone 12. It supports 5G and MagSafe load. It comes with fresh cameras on par with the ones from last class ‘s top-of-the-line iPhone 12 Pro Max. It besides gets a larger barrage which in our tests lasted 4.5 hours more on a single tear than the iPhone 12. Add in the A15 Bionic chip, a modern Cinematic mode which is basically a video recording translation of Portrait mode and iOS 15 and you have an excellent phone. The iPhone 13 earned a CNET Editors ‘ Choice Award. besides, if you activate it on a carrier, Apple drops the price to $ 799 .
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The $ 1,099 iPhone 13 Pro is the best iPhone Apple has always made. With the latest iPhone series, Apple far defined the difference between its Pro and non-Pro phones by packing the 13 Pro with a high-refresh rate expose, macro photography mode, ProRes video recording and the best cameras on any iPhone ever made. In terms of plan, the 13 Pro has an elegant flat finish back and glazed stainless steel sides. Compare that to the glossy binding and matte aluminum sides on the iPhone 13. The display on the 13 Pro supports what Apple calls ProMotion. Depending on what ‘s being shown on the filmdom, the review rate switches between 10 and 120Hz. In use, the screen looks leading. Animations look polish, graphics appear crisp and evening mundane things like scrolling feeds look well. It runs io 15 and supports 5G and MagSafe charging. Like the regular iPhone 13, the 13 Pro has an A15 Bionic chip but gets an supernumerary GPU core which gives the telephone a boost for bet on and video edit. The iPhone 13 Pro is stellar, which is why it earned a CNET Editors ‘ Choice Award. Read our Apple iPhone 13 Pro review .
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With accompaniment for 5G being its crown jewel feature, the $ 729 iPhone 12 marked the begin of a new generation of iPhone. It has a flat-sided design with felt aluminum sides, a 6.1-inch OLED screen, an A14 Bionic check, support for MagSafe charging and Apple ‘s Ceramic Shield covering on the front to help reduce scratches and damage from drops.
The iPhone 12 Mini is simply a smaller adaptation of the 12 with a 5.4-inch display and a price tag that ‘s $ 100 less. The selfie, wide and ultrawide cameras on the iPhone 12 and 12 Mini are good, but decidedly a gradation down from those on the newer iPhone 13 and 13 Mini. therefore, if your precedence is a call with the best camera possible, this is n’t the best iPhone for you. If you choose to get an iPhone 12 or 12 Mini and can afford to pay $ 50 more, I recommend upgrading from 64GB of storage to 128GB. besides, if you activate either call on a carrier, the price drops an extra $ 30 .
Read our Apple iPhone 12 review .
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Who said small phones do n’t exist any more ? The iPhone 13 Mini ( $ 729 unlock, $ 699 on a aircraft carrier plan ) is bright because it has everything the iPhone 13 has — it ‘s just smaller. And if you ‘re concern about battery life, do n’t be. The iPhone 13 Mini packs a bigger battery than last year ‘s iPhone 12 Mini. In our tests, this iPhone mini lasted 3.5 hours longer than the 12 Mini on a unmarried charge. It besides lasted an hour longer than the full-sized iPhone 12 in the lapp quiz. unusually the 13 Mini has about identical wide and ultrawide cameras as final year ‘s iPhone 12 Pro Max. One way you can tell is the rear cameras are positioned diagonally to each other to make room for the larger stabilized detector. The iPhone 13 and 13 Mini are the same telephone. But one is little and the early is n’t. That said, I only recommend you get the 13 Mini for its size. It ‘s $ 100 cheaper than the iPhone 13, which might be a alluring reason if you ‘re trying to save money. But if you are n’t very well with a little call you might be frustrated by its size. Read our Apple iPhone 13 Mini review .
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The foremost thing you should know about the $ 1,199 iPhone 13 Pro Max, is that in our tests, it has the longest battery life of any telephone we ‘ve ever tested. The next thing you should know is that unlike the 12 Pro and 12 Pro Max, the 13 Pro and 13 Pro Max are identical in pretty much every way and even have the lapp camera. In kernel, they are the same phone, just different sizes. The 13 Pro Max has a 6.7-inch ProMotion display, compared to the 6.1-inch one on the 13 Pro. The Max is besides bigger and weighs more. partially of that extra weight comes from the 13 Pro Max ‘s larger battery. If you can handle the size of this phone colossus, it ‘s the best iPhone for most situations, and it ‘s worth every penny of its senior high school price .
Read our Apple iPhone 13 Pro Max follow-up .
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At $ 429 you might think the only appeal of the iPhone SE ( 2022 ) is its price. true that is a boastfully factor. On the outside, the iPhone SE has a about identical body to the iPhone 8, but upgraded with the same glaze found on the back of the iPhone 13. It ‘s the only iPhone on this list that has Touch ID, which some people silent prefer over Face ID. On the inside, the SE has the same A15 processor as the iPhone 13, which takes the 2017 television camera hardware and gives it an injection of Apple ‘s 2022 computational photography charming. The SE represents the classic iPhone blueprint but with the total ability to run the latest version of io and apps .
Read our Apple iPhone SE ( 2022 ) review .
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If you do n’t need hold for 5G, the iPhone 11 at $ 499 is a good deal, even in 2022. You get so much for that price like an A13 central processing unit, good cameras, a firm battery biography and the choice of six colors. The 11 has curved sides in contrast to the straight-sided 12 and 13 series. The biggest drawback is the old stylus screen which uses an LCD gore rather of a courteous OLED one. But do n’t let that turn you off, the screen door distillery looks good in habit. If you have an supernumerary $ 50 in your budget, I recommend getting the 128GB translation of the 11 .
Read our Apple iPhone 11 review .
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