Apple iPhone 15 vs iPhone 13

74 out of 100
Apple iPhone 15
VS
65 out of 100
Apple iPhone 13

Here we compared two flagship smartphones: the 6.1-inch Apple iPhone 15 (with Apple A16 Bionic) that was released on September 12, 2023, against the Apple iPhone 13, which is powered by Apple A15 Bionic and came out 2 years before. On this page, you will find tests, full specs, strengths, and weaknesses of each of the devices.

Select the amount of RAM to evaluate performance and value for money more precisely
Memory

Key differences

An overview of the main advantages of each smartphone
Reasons to consider the Apple iPhone 15
  • Delivers 98% higher peak brightness (1632 against 826 nits)
  • Better camera quality (According to DxOMark rating)
  • Shows 9% longer battery life (25:31 vs 23:23 hours)
  • Newer Bluetooth version (v5.3)
  • Uses a faster type of memory: LPDDR5 3200 MHz
  • 18% better performance in AnTuTu Benchmark (1672K versus 1413K)
  • Has 50% more RAM: 6GB versus 4GB
  • The phone is 2 years newer
  • Reverse charging feature
  • 17% faster in single-core GeekBench 6 test: 2612 and 2241 points

Review

Evaluation of Apple iPhone 15 and iPhone 13 crucial features
Display
Screen quality, color accuracy, brightness
Camera
Photo and video recording quality
Performance
CPU and memory performance (apps, system)
Gaming
Capabilities for playing modern games
Battery
Battery life, charging type and speed
Connectivity
Networks, ports, data transmission
NanoReview Score
Final comparison evaluation
Select your primary usage scenario to get a more accurate NanoReview Score
📱 Primary usage:

Value for money (Beta)

Should I update?
No 52% Yes
Maybe, but mainly if you specifically want better performance.
This is a situational upgrade. It makes the most sense if better performance matters to you.
Main improvements: performance, camera, and connectivity.

Tests and specifications

Comparison table of technical specifications and tests
Phone:
vs

Display

Type OLED OLED
Size 6.1 inches 6.1 inches
Resolution 1179 x 2556 pixels 1170 x 2532 pixels
Aspect ratio 19.5:9 19.5:9
PPI 460 ppi 460 ppi
Refresh rate 60 Hz 60 Hz
Adaptive refresh rate No No
Max rated brightness 2000 nits 800 nits
Max rated brightness in HDR 1600 nits 1200 nits
HDR support Yes, Dolby Vision Yes, Dolby Vision
Screen-to-body ratio 86.4% 87.1%
Display features - DCI-P3 - DCI-P3
Display tests
RGB color space 99.6% 129%
PWM 306 Hz 609 Hz
Response time 2 ms 7.5 ms
Contrast ∞ Infinity ∞ Infinity
Peak brightness test (auto)
iPhone 15 +98%
1632 nits
826 nits
Sources: NotebookCheck [3], [4]

Design and build

Height 147.6 mm (5.81 inches) 146.7 mm (5.78 inches)
Width 71.6 mm (2.82 inches) 71.5 mm (2.81 inches)
Thickness 7.8 mm (0.31 inches) 7.65 mm (0.3 inches)
Weight 171 g (6.03 oz) 174 g (6.14 oz)
Waterproof IP68 IP68
Rear material Glass Glass
Frame material Metal Metal
Colors Black, Blue, Green, Pink, Yellow White, Black, Blue, Green, Red, Pink
Fingerprint scanner No No
Repairability Average (2.96/5) -
Drop resistance Good (C) · 90 drops -
Screen-to-body ratio
86.4%
iPhone 13 +1%
87.1%

Performance

Chipset specifications of Apple iPhone 15 and Apple iPhone 13
SoC
Chipset Apple A16 Bionic Apple A15 Bionic
Max clock 3460 MHz 3230 MHz
CPU cores 6 (2 + 4) 6 (2 + 4)
Architecture - 4 cores at 2.02 GHz: Sawtooth
- 2 cores at 3.46 GHz: Everest
- 4 cores at 2.02 GHz: Blizzard
- 2 cores at 3.23 GHz: Avalanche
Manufacturing TSMC TSMC
Lithography process 4 nanometers 5 nanometers
Neural processor (NPU) Apple Neural Engine Apple Neural Engine
GPU
Graphics 5 core Apple GPU Apple GPU (4 cores)
GPU shading units 640 640
GPU clock 1398 MHz 1338 MHz
FLOPS ~1789.4 GFLOPS ~1712.6 GFLOPS

Benchmarks

Benchmark comparison of Apple iPhone 15 and Apple iPhone 13
Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)
iPhone 15 +17%
2612
2241
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)
iPhone 15 +26%
6705
5317
Compute Score (GPU)
iPhone 15 +23%
22764
18447
Compute Score (GPU) 22764 18447
Single-core score 2612 2241
Multi-core score 6705 5317
Sources: Geekbench [3], [4]
AnTuTu Benchmark 11
iPhone 15 +18%
1672293
1413275
CPU 462812 410975
GPU 453603 370837
Memory 222511 164151
UX 533367 467312
Total score 1672293 1413275
Samples [9 tests] [26 tests]
3DMark Solar Bay
iPhone 15 +23%
3979
3225
Stability 74% 76%
Graphics test 15 FPS 12 FPS
Section 1 20 FPS 16 FPS
Section 2 15 FPS 12 FPS
Section 3 11 FPS 9 FPS
Graphics score 3979 3225
3DMark Wild Life Extreme
iPhone 15 +17%
2868
2445
Stability - 74%
Graphics test 17 FPS 14 FPS
Graphics score 2868 2445
Sources: 3DMark [5], [6]

Recent User Tests

The latest benchmark tests that have been submitted by users
Apple iPhone 15
DateBenchmarkResult
📘 2026-09-19 (Bear lover)AnTuTu 111714105
📘 2026-09-14 (ZUSEPRO)AnTuTu 111603687
📘 2026-08-15 (Julian Ludwig)Geekbench 6 GPU24336
📘 2026-08-15 (Julian Ludwig)Geekbench 6 CPU2615 / 6477
📘 2026-08-12 (j0elz)AnTuTu 111638319
Apple iPhone 13
DateBenchmarkResult
📘 2026-09-19 (Vova)AnTuTu 111297615
📘 2026-09-18 (charlesddd)AnTuTu 111461749
📘 2026-09-08 (lUjekSh)Geekbench 6 GPU18864
📘 2026-09-08 (lUjekSh)Geekbench 6 CPU2327 / 5604
📘 2026-09-03 (Yulik🇺🇦)AnTuTu 111289105

Memory

RAM
RAM size 6 GB 4 GB
Memory type LPDDR5 LPDDR4X
Memory clock 3200 MHz 2133 MHz
Channels 4 2
Storage
Storage size 128 GB 128 GB
Storage type NVMe NVMe
Memory card No No

Software

Operating system iOS 17 (Can be upgraded to iOS 26.5) iOS 15 (Can be upgraded to iOS 26.5)
OS size 18 GB 18 GB
OS updates 7 years -
Security updates 7 years -

Battery

Capacity 3349 mAh 3227 mAh
Max charge power 20 W 20 W
Battery type Li-Ion Li-Ion
Replaceable No No
Wireless charging Yes (7.5 W) Yes (7.5 W)
Reverse charging Yes No
Bypass charging No No
Fast charging Yes (58% in 30 min) Yes (54% in 30 min)
Full charging time 1:50 hr 1:46 hr
Battery cycles 1000 cycles -
Battery life tests
Web browsing 10:47 hr 09:29 hr
Watching video 16:55 hr 13:58 hr
Gaming 05:36 hr 05:12 hr
Standby 112 hr 114 hr
General battery life
iPhone 15 +9%
25:31 hr
23:23 hr

Main camera

Matrix 48 megapixels 12 megapixels
Image resolution 8064 x 6048 4032 x 3024
Zoom Digital Digital
Flash Dual LED Dual LED
Stabilization Optical Optical
8K video recording No No
4K video recording Up to 60FPS Up to 60FPS
1080p video recording Up to 60FPS Up to 60FPS
Slow motion 240 FPS (1080p) 240 FPS (1080p)
Angle of widest lens 120° 120°
Lenses 1) Standard: 48 MP
2) Ultrawide: 12 MP
1) Standard: 12 MP
2) Ultrawide: 12 MP
Camera features - Bokeh mode
- Pro mode
- Bokeh mode
- Pro mode
Standard lens
Image resolution 48 MP 12 MP
Aperture f/1.6 f/1.6
Focal length 26 mm 26 mm
Sensor - Sony IMX603
Sensor size 1/1.5" (≈ 0.67 inch) 1/1.9" (≈ 0.53 inch)
Pixel size 1 micron 1.7 micron
Autofocus Phase autofocus (Dual Pixel) Phase autofocus (Dual Pixel)
Stabilization Optical Optical
Ultra-wide lens
Image resolution 12 MP 12 MP
Aperture f/2.4 f/2.4
Focal length 13 mm 14 mm
Sensor Sony IMX633 Sony IMX372
Sensor size 1/2.55" (≈ 0.39 inch) 1/3.4" (≈ 0.29 inch)
Pixel size 1.4 micron 1.4 micron
Stabilization Digital Digital

DxOMark main camera tests

Photo quality
iPhone 15 +11%
147
133
Video quality
iPhone 15 +6%
153
144
Generic main camera score
iPhone 15 +16%
145
125
Bokeh 80 65
Preview 84 76
Zoom 114 65
Samples Photo samples of Apple iPhone 15 from DxOMark Photo samples of Apple iPhone 13 from DxOMark

Selfie camera

Megapixels 12 megapixels 12 megapixels
Image resolution 4032 x 3024 4032 x 3024
Aperture f/1.9 f/2.2
Focal length 23 mm 23 mm
Sensor Sony IMX714 Sony IMX514
Sensor size 1/3.6" (≈ 0.28 inch) 1/3.6" (≈ 0.28 inch)
Pixel size 1.12 micron -
Autofocus Phase autofocus Phase autofocus (Dual Pixel)
Stabilization Digital Digital
Video resolution 2160p (4K) at 60 FPS 2160p (4K) at 60 FPS
Depth sensor (TOF 3D) Yes Yes
DxOMark front camera
Photo - 128
Video - 143

Connectivity

Wi-Fi standard Wi-Fi 6 (802.11 b/g/n/ac/ax) Wi-Fi 6 (802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ax)
Wi-Fi features - Dual Band
- Wi-Fi MiMO
- Wi-Fi Direct
- Wi-Fi Hotspot
- Wi-Fi Display
- Dual Band
- Wi-Fi MiMO
- Wi-Fi Direct
- Wi-Fi Hotspot
- Wi-Fi Display
Bluetooth version 5.3 5
Bluetooth features LE LE, A2DP
USB type USB Type-C -
USB version 2 2
USB features - Charging
- USB-Storage mode
- OTG
- Charging
- USB-Storage mode
- OTG
DisplayPort Yes -
GPS GPS, GLONASS, Beidou, Galileo, QZSS GPS, GLONASS, Beidou, Galileo, QZSS
NFC* Yes Yes
Infrared port No No
Network
Number of SIM* - 1
Type of SIM card eSIM Nano
eSIM support* Yes Yes
Hybrid slot No No
LTE Cat* 18 18
5G support Yes Yes

Sound

Speakers Stereo Stereo
Headphone audio jack No No
FM radio No No
Dolby Atmos Yes Yes
Speakers test
Max loudness
81.6 dB
iPhone 13 +2%
83.2 dB

Other

Category Flagship Flagship
Announced September 2023 September 2021
Release date September 2023 September 2021
Launch price (MSRP) $799 $800
Successor - Apple iPhone 17 - Apple iPhone 17
SAR (head) 0.98 W/kg 0.99 W/kg
SAR (body) 0.98 W/kg 0.98 W/kg
Sensors - Barometer
- Proximity sensor
- Gyroscope
- Accelerometer
- Ambient light sensor
- Compass
- Face recognition sensor
- Barometer
- Proximity sensor
- Gyroscope
- Accelerometer
- Ambient light sensor
- Compass
- Face recognition sensor
Bundled charger Not included -
*Disclaimer! NFC, GSM network support, and some other specs can be different depending on the country.

Conclusion

After analyzing all the data, we think that the Apple iPhone 15 is definitely a better buy.

Cast your vote

So, which phone would you choose?
1840 (52.4%)
1673 (47.6%)
Total votes: 3513

User opinions

You can share your opinion or ask a question in the comments below
🌐 Register your profile and become part of NanoReview community!
Avatar
Iphone September 23, 2025 at 02:31 AM
Same same but same because of most 99% Same close specifications close performance
+23 Reply