All owners of popular iPhone warned of ‘multiple issues’ affecting devices
If you have a certain iPhone model, you might have noticed a degradation in performance recently.
If you don’t own an Android phone, chances are you have an iPhone. Apple helped revolutionise the mobile market with the first iPhone in 2007, and has released new versions every year since.
One improvement Apple has made is just how long iPhones last. New models are now supported for six or more years of software updates, and in 2026 people are upgrading their iPhones far less frequently than in previous years.
But one expert is warning anyone with an iPhone 13 to be aware that their phone could be suffering from issues today, many of which could be related to the same problem - battery degradation.
These issues include overheating, problems with the camera app, and the phone generally running much slower than it once did.
“After nearly five years on the market, users are reporting multiple hardware and software issues appearing with the iPhone 13 model, largely traced back to battery degradation,” said Lee Elliott, mobile phone expert at Compare and Recycle.
“Gradually over time, as the battery goes through hundreds of charge cycles, the device's battery starts to age chemically, and its ability to hold charge declines. Once this starts to take effect, the device can no longer supply the peak power it once had to run intense tasks smoothly, often resulting in the phone lagging and freezing.”
Compare and Recycle, which is a UK-based phone recycling and comparison website, also revealed that Google searches for the terms ‘iPhone 13 slow’ and ‘iPhone 13 battery’ have gone up 175 percent and 60 percent in the past year respectively.
Released in 2021, the iPhone 13 was one of four phones in the iPhone 13 range, along with the iPhone 13 mini, iPhone 13 Pro and iPhone 13 Pro Max. It’s safe to assume all four of these phones will be experiencing battery issues today, especially if owners have used them every single day for five years.
Apple's John Ternus shares insight into the new iPhone
“With newer apps and iOS core updates requiring more processing power and memory, this can push an older device's internal memory to its limit,” Elliott said.
Apple offers to replace the battery of any iPhone 13 model in the UK for £85.
That could prolong the life of your iPhone 13 and get a year or more’s use out of it. If you want to check your current battery health, you can view this in the Settings app on your iPhone. Head to Settings > Battery > Battery Health.
But Elliot goes on to warn iPhone 13 series owners another unwanted milestone is fast approaching.
“iPhone 13 users only have two major iOS updates to expect before Apple drops the support for this model meaning that there will be more risks with using an unsupported iPhone including data leaks and security breaches in addition to frequent shutdowns and freezes,” he said.
“When a phone nears the end of iOS support, trade-in values start decreasing, so it is wise to consider a timely upgrade to avoid disappointment when it comes time to trade in.”
Elliot even goes so far as to recommend avoiding iOS updates, instead waiting for “a more stable version”. Apple recommends updating to the latest iOS whenever it is available on to ensure your device has all the latest security updates.
