Apple iPhone 13 Pro
Shares rank 27 of 46 smartphones by recommenders
Owners praise its well-built hardware and long life, though software problems and battery drain are the common complaints.
8 people recommended Apple iPhone 13 Pro in Hacker News comments, 1 had mixed feelings and 5 criticized it, November 2025 to October 2026.
Summary written by Claude from 12 comments.
14 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 8
- mixed feelings
- 1
- warn against or regret it
- 5
The record
Recommended in 5 of 12 months
In 7 different threads.
- November 2025: recommended
- December 2025: not recommended
- January 2026: recommended
- February 2026: not recommended
- March 2026: recommended
- April 2026: recommended
- May 2026: not recommended
- June 2026: not recommended
- July 2026: not recommended
- August 2026: not recommended
- September 2026: recommended
- October 2026: not recommended
Why it doesn’t carry the badge
- 8 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, not met.
- 1.6 recommenders for every criticNeeds 2 to 1 or better, not met.
- Recommended in 5 of 12 monthsNeeds 4 or more, met.
- Recommended in 7 threadsNeeds 5 or more, met.
- The biggest thread supplies 25% of its recommendersNeeds half or less, met.
The same rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. Mixed feelings count toward neither side. How the badge works
What people say about it
Reasons grouped from a sample of 12 of the 14 opinions about it, picked in proportion to how many people recommend it, have mixed feelings and criticize it. Each mark is one comment in the sample. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Well-built, durable hardware
“I will say my 13 Pro is a beautiful piece of hardware but the software shortcomings are beginning to pile”
Comment from 20 Jan 2026 in “Apple testing new App Store design that blurs the line between ads and results” “I feel like all iphones these days are built like tanks. The waterproofing helps a ton.”
Comment from 24 Sep 2026 in “Apple iPhone 4 “Antennagate” Q&A (2010) [video]” Lasts years without problems
“This thing will probably last a few more generations at this rate.”
Comment from 24 Sep 2026 in “Apple iPhone 4 “Antennagate” Q&A (2010) [video]” “It's been perfectly fine for the last almost 4 years”
Comment from 27 Jan 2026 in “Apple introduces new AirTag with longer range and improved findability”
What people warn about
Each mark is one comment
Software bugs and shortcomings
“I had issues on my iphone 13 pro where switching between two apps would lead to one app "forgetting" what screen it was on.”
Comment from 12 Aug 2026 in “Google launches Pixel 11 Pro Fold” “Swipe typing is so horrible I had to disable it.”
Comment from 2 Dec 2025 in “Apple to beat Samsung in smartphone shipments for first time in 14 years” Battery drains faster than before
“it seems to lose charge much more rapidly than it used to”
Comment from 9 Sep 2026 in “iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max” “my iPhone 13 Pro‘s battery has been draining 30% faster”
Comment from 12 Sep 2026 in “Will there be a 7G?”
Other smartphones people recommend
The four most recommended other smartphones, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
| Product | Recommend | Mixed | Criticize | Approval | Months | Had for | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apple iPhone | 438 | 190 | 789 | 36% | 12 | 7 yrs97 people | — |
| Fairphone | 110 | 42 | 94 | 54% | 12 | 3 yrs14 people | — |
| iPhone 13 mini | 105 | 32 | 44 | 70% | 12 | — | Approved |
| Apple iPhone Pro | 90 | 45 | 138 | 39% | 12 | 4 yrs24 people | — |
| Apple iPhone 13 ProThis page | 8 | 1 | 5 | 62% | 5 | — | — |
Also compared with iPhone SE, Jolla Phone, Nokia N900 and Apple iPhone 12 mini.
What people said
12 of the 14 opinions about it, picked in proportion to the three counts, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“This thing will probably last a few more generations at this rate.”
“I feel like all iphones these days are built like tanks. The waterproofing helps a ton.”
“my iPhone 13 Pro‘s battery has been draining 30% faster”
“it seems to lose charge much more rapidly than it used to”
“I had issues on my iphone 13 pro where switching between two apps would lead to one app "forgetting" what screen it was on.”
“That phone seemed to get better battery life than current models.”
“it also ran faster on the 13 pro than the previous edition”
“I've yet to get it resolved.”
“It's been perfectly fine for the last almost 4 years”
“I will say my 13 Pro is a beautiful piece of hardware but the software shortcomings are beginning to pile”
“It is quite nice on iPhone”
“Swipe typing is so horrible I had to disable it.”
Counts come from 1,791,911 Hacker News comments labeled by Claude, November 2025 to October 2026, with data through October 31, 2026. Counts updated 2 Nov 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.