# Apple iPhone 13 Hacker Approved page: https://hackerapproved.com/p/iphone-13/ 9 people recommended Apple iPhone 13 in Hacker News comments, 8 had mixed feelings and 14 criticized it, November 2025 to October 2026. It was recommended in 7 of 12 months, in 9 threads. It does not meet the Hacker Approved badge rule. **Verdict:** Criticized more than recommended: critics say the keyboard wears out and 4GB of RAM limits apps; those who recommend it cite its long battery life, years of reliable use and a quick feel after updates. Summary written by Claude from the comments below. ## What people warn about - Keyboard typing degrades or feels poor (2 comments in the sample): "the typing on the keyboard became progressively worse" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46764808)) "The keyboard is dumb. But speech recognition is ok." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47014382)) - Camera bump is awkward (2 comments in the sample): "I don’t like the bump, but I don’t think it’s a scheme to buy covers." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50245769)) "It was poor design on their part. The cameras bumps were welded over the back glass surface" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49097442)) - 4GB RAM limits large apps (2 comments in the sample): "I have trouble fitting models into memory on my iPhone 13 before iOS kills the app" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47664024)) "Really hard to fit anything larger on the 4GB of RAM on the iPhone 13" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47245418)) - Battery health declines, costly repair (2 comments in the sample): "While I have noticed degraded battery performance, the stated health has been stuck at 86%" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47220704)) "Apple requires me changing both the back glass and battery which is $500 CAD" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50254939)) ## Why people recommend it - Long battery life (3 comments in the sample): "I can leave it unplugged all weekend and come back Monday with enough charge to get me through the day." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48011180)) "most nights I put it on the charger with over 70% battery remaining" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49286630)) "Still an awesome phone with great battery life!" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49633236)) - Lasts years without problems (2 comments in the sample): "it was still running fine after 2 years of that, although the contacts in the lightning port did eventually corrode" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49094505)) "seems crazy long for it to be perfectly fine from a functionality perspective" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49631218)) - Feels quick after updates (2 comments in the sample): "disabling animations really gave a second life to my iphone" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49102153)) "My iPhone 13 actually feels quicker after the iOS 26 update" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47219182)) ## Other smartphones people recommend - [Apple iPhone](https://hackerapproved.com/p/iphone/): 438 recommend, 190 mixed, 789 criticize - [Fairphone](https://hackerapproved.com/p/fairphone/): 110 recommend, 42 mixed, 94 criticize - [iPhone 13 mini](https://hackerapproved.com/p/iphone-13-mini/): 105 recommend, 32 mixed, 44 criticize - [Apple iPhone Pro](https://hackerapproved.com/p/iphone-17-pro/): 90 recommend, 45 mixed, 138 criticize ## Where to get it - [Visit the official site](https://www.apple.com/iphone/) ## The badge A product earns the Hacker Approved badge when at least 10 people recommend it, recommenders outnumber critics at least 2 to 1 (mixed feelings count toward neither side), it was recommended in at least 4 of the 12 months and in at least 5 different threads, and no single thread supplies more than half of the people who recommend it. Health and money products are never badged. ## Cite as Hacker Approved, "Apple iPhone 13", https://hackerapproved.com/p/iphone-13/ (9 recommend, 8 mixed, 14 criticize; Hacker News comments, November 2025 to October 2026). Counts updated 3 Nov 2026, with data through October 31, 2026.