iPhone 17e vs. iPhone 13: Is it time to upgrade?

The iPhone 13 was a great phone at the time, but that was back in 2021. As such, we’re now at the point where many may be thinking about upgrading. Apple just launched the iPhone 17e, its latest affordable iPhone, which could be an attractive proposition for anyone using an older iPhone. 

If you’re still on an iPhone 13 and thinking about moving up to the iPhone 17e, here’s what you need to know. 

To start, let’s compare the specifications of the new iPhone 17e and iPhone 13:

iPhone 17e vs.
iPhone 13:
Price

Apple doesn’t make a “cheap” iPhone, but the iPhone 17e is the cheapest non-refurbished iPhone you can get. Pricing for the iPhone 17e starts at $999 for a 256GB model, which is $200 cheaper than a 128GB iPhone 13 was at launch. 

Here’s complete pricing for the iPhone 17e and how it compares to all 2025 iPhone models:  

Picking up an iPhone on a mobile plan can occasionally save you money, with providers offering discounts across the length of your repayment term or bonus trade-in value. If you’d prefer to pay off your new iPhone on a plan, here are the cheapest iPhone 17e plans: 

iPhone 17e vs.
iPhone 13:
Camera

The camera situation on the iPhone 17e means upgrading from the iPhone 13 isn’t exactly a linear improvement. The iPhone 17e has just one rear-facing camera, which will definitely take better photos than your old iPhone 13, but you don’t get an ultra-wide lens. This means the iPhone 17e is a little bit less versatile than the iPhone 13 for photography. 

If you’re not the biggest photo taker, this might not be a huge issue, but you might want to consider the standard iPhone 17 instead if you’re a more avid shooter. 

Both the iPhone 17e and iPhone 13 have a 12MP selfie camera, but you’ll get better images from the iPhone 17e. 

Here are some camera samples from the iPhone 17e: 

iPhone 17e vs. iPhone 13:
Connectivity

The iPhone 13 was the second last phone to use Apple’s Lightning connector, while the iPhone 17e charges via a USB-C port. You get a USB-C cable in the box, but no actual charger. 

While the flexibility of USB-C is a nice improvement, it does mean any Lightning accessories you may have will officially be useless if you upgrade to the iPhone 17e. That’s not ideal, but it is a reality anyone with an older iPhone will need to deal with initially. 

Like the iPhone 13, the iPhone 17e has 5G connectivity, WiFi 6, and support for both a single physical nano SIM as well as eSIM. There are no changes of note here. 

One quirk worth mentioning is the iPhone 17e does’t have an Ultra Wideband (UWB) chip, while the iPhone 13 does. UWB is used to enable precision finding on AirTags – the feature where your iPhone points you in the direction of your lost tag if it is nearby and gives you an estimate of how many metres away it is. 

If you’ve already got AirTags (or are interested in picking them up), you’ll likely want to look at upgrading to a different iPhone. 

iPhone 17e vs.
iPhone 13:
Design

When it comes to design, there aren’t too many changes between the iPhone 13 and the iPhone 17e. They almost look identical, camera bump aside. 

The main difference is the mute switch has been replaced with an Action Button. This can still be used to mute and unmute your phone, but you can also configure it for other tasks, such as turning on your torch or opening the Translate app. 

You also have a smaller range of colours to pick from. While the iPhone 13 was available in green, pink, blue, midnight, starlight, and red, the iPhone 17e is only available in soft pink, black, and white. This might be a bit of a bummer if you prefer colourful phones, but you can always use a case to a more interesting hue. 

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iPhone 17e vs.
iPhone 13:
Display

The iPhone 17e and iPhone 13 have an identical display: a 6.1-inch “Super Retina XDR” screen. If you’re happy with your iPhone 13’s screen, then you’ll be happy with what the iPhone 17e has to offer. 

There is an upgrade to durability, however. The iPhone 17e uses Ceramic Shield 2 protection, while the iPhone 13 used the first-generation version. This makes the iPhone 17e more scratch-resistant. 

iPhone 17e vs. iPhone 13:
Performance

The iPhone 17e is powered by Apple’s A19 chipset, which is four-generations newer than the A15 found in the iPhone 13. The newer chip is naturally faster, and as a result, the iPhone 17e should feel all around zippier. 

The iPhone 17e is also part of a breed of newer iPhones that can run the kinds of AAA games that were previously only playable on dedicated consoles or gaming PCs. Titles like Resident Evil, Assassin’s Creed, and Death Stranding. 

iPhone 17e vs. iPhone 13:
Battery

Apple never releases battery capacity figures for its devices; instead, it prefers to talk about use cases. With iPhones, Apple talks about how many hours of video playback you’ll get. 

For the iPhone 17e, Apple says you can get up to 21 hours of streamed video playback, or up to 26 hours of on-device video playback. These figures are a solid increase from the iPhone 13, where Apple claimed 15 hour sof streamed video playback or up to 19 hours on-device. 

In our real-world testing, we found the iPhone 17e was consistently able to get at least six hours of screen time per charge at a minimum, so you shouldn’t have any problem getting through a full day of usage. 

It’s also worth noting that if you’ve had your iPhone 13 from launch, your battery has degraded. As a result you’d be getting less time from each than you did when the iPhone 13 was new, and by comparison, this will make the iPhone 17e battery feel even better. 

The iPhone 17e and iPhone 13 both have identical charging speeds: Apple says you can take them from flat to 50% in about 30 minutes. Both devices support MagSafe charging too. 

Should you upgrade to the iPhone 17e?

If you’ve had your iPhone 13 for a couple of years, there’s no question that the iPhone 17e is a step up. While losing the ultra-wide camera may put some off it, the Phone 17e represents a significant upgrade in most other ways. 

Of course, if your iPhone 13 still meets your daily needs, there’s a decent argument to stick with it for a little longer. The iPhone 13 still runs Apple’s latest software, and is likely to continue to receive major operating system upgrades for a couple of years. 

This does also, however, mean you should still be able to get a solid trade-in price for the iPhone 13, which can help ease the sting of spending $1,000 on a new device. 

If you haven’t decided yet, read our review of the iPhone 17e here, or alternatively, our comparison between the iPhone 17e and the standard iPhone 17.