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Refurbished iPhone 13: our best-selling iPhone right now

Of every phone that leaves our Sydney facility, one model goes out the door more often than any other. A refurbished iPhone 13 sits at the point where an iPhone stops feeling like a compromise and starts feeling like the obvious choice: still fast, still getting Apple's software updates, and a long way under what it cost new. If you have been circling a few models and cannot work out where the sweet spot is, this is the case for the 13 — with today's prices, what you give up against a newer phone, and where it beats the 12 and the 14. The quick answer The iPhone 13 is the best-value iPhone we stock. It starts at $429 for 128GB in Good condition, against an Australian launch price of $1,349 for the same phone. You get the A15 Bionic chip, a 6.1-inch OLED screen, a dual 12-megapixel camera with sensor-shift stabilisation, and a phone Apple still supports with the current release of iOS. Step down to an iPhone 12 and you save about $130 but lose a generation of chip and camera. Step up to an iPhone 14 and you pay about $60 more for changes most people will never notice. If you want one recommendation and no homework, take the 13 in Excellent at $439 and stop reading. What $429 actually buys you Here is the current range, checked against our live stock on 21 September 2026. Prices are per grade for the 128GB model: Good — $429. Fully working, with visible marks on the body and light wear you will notice if you look for it. Excellent — $439. Minimal wear, micro-scratches at most. Ten dollars for a noticeably tidier phone is the easiest upgrade on this page. As New — $459. No visible signs of use. The 256GB model runs $469 / $479 / $499 across the same three grades. There are also a handful of 256GB units with a replaced battery from $502 if you want the longest possible runway before a battery service. Colours in stock today cover Midnight, Starlight, Pink, Red, Green and Blue, though not every colour exists in every grade — Midnight and Green are the deepest. Every grade describes cosmetics only. Function is not on a sliding scale: a Good phone and an As New phone go through the identical 72-point inspection and both have to come out working at 100%. What you are choosing between is how the phone looks in your hand, not what it does. If that distinction is new to you, our guide to what a refurbished phone actually is unpacks the whole process. The A15 Bionic is why this phone has aged so well The iPhone 13 shipped with Apple's A15 Bionic — a 6-core CPU, 4-core GPU and 16-core Neural Engine. Apple then used that same chip family in the iPhone 14 and the iPhone 15's base model. That is the single most useful fact about buying an iPhone 13 in 2026: Apple kept shipping this silicon for years after, so "a 2021 phone" understates how current it feels. Practically, that means apps open without hesitation, the camera processing is instant, and nothing about ordinary use — messaging, maps, banking, video calls, a few hours of streaming — asks anything difficult of it. It is also why the software window is comfortable. Apple's compatibility list for iOS 27 includes the iPhone 13, and the oldest model still on that list is the iPhone 11 from 2019. Apple has not dropped a model in two releases running. The camera, honestly Two 12-megapixel cameras: a Main lens at ƒ/1.6 with sensor-shift optical stabilisation, and an Ultra Wide at ƒ/2.4. Sensor-shift was the headline upgrade on the 13 and it earns its keep — it is the stabilisation system Apple had previously reserved for the Pro Max, and it is the reason handheld shots in a dim pub or at a kid's evening sport come out usable rather than smeared. Video goes to 4K at 60 frames per second with Dolby Vision HDR, and Cinematic mode does the rack-focus effect at 1080p. What you do not get is a telephoto lens — that stayed on the Pro models, so anything past 2x is digital crop. If zoom is the thing you care about most, that is the one honest reason to look at an iPhone 13 Pro instead. Battery health, without the vagueness Battery is where pre-owned iPhones get sold badly, so here is the plain version. Apple designed batteries in the iPhone 14 and earlier to hold 80% of their original capacity at 500 full charge cycles, under ideal conditions. A four-year-old iPhone 13 has been through a fair share of those cycles, and no seller can honestly tell you otherwise. What we can tell you is the floor. Every device we sell is tested to a minimum of 80% battery health, and we will not list one below that. Apple's own rated figure for the 13 is up to 19 hours of video playback at full capacity, so 80% of that remains a full day's use for most people. If you are a heavy user, the replaced-battery units mentioned above are worth the extra. iPhone 12, 13 or 14 — where the money goes The three models either side of each other, at today's starting prices: iPhone 12 — from $299. A14 chip, no sensor-shift stabilisation on the standard model, shorter software runway. The right call only if the budget is firm. iPhone 13 — from $429. A15, sensor-shift, the best battery life of the three in Apple's own ratings. iPhone 14 — from $489. Same A15 chip family, plus Crash Detection and satellite SOS. Real features, rarely used ones. That $60 gap between the 13 and the 14 is the one people agonise over, and we wrote a whole piece on it: iPhone 13 vs iPhone 14. The short version is that the 14 is the same phone with a safety feature bolted on. Where Mobile Federation fits We are Australian owned, and every device is inspected and dispatched from our own facility in Sydney — not drop-shipped by a third-party seller. Phones are fully unlocked, Australian-compatible models, and ship free by express post. In the box you get the device, a brand new Australian-approved USB cable and a SIM eject tool; the original retail packaging does not survive a phone's first owner. The part worth pausing on is what happens after the sale. Every phone we sell — this one included — is backed for two full years, covering manufacturing faults and hardware failures that turn up in that window. It does not cover a drop or a swim, and we are upfront about that. There is also a 30-day satisfaction guarantee if the phone simply is not for you. The full warranty and returns terms are published in plain language. For context, the ACCC is clear that a warranty like this sits on top of your automatic consumer guarantees rather than replacing them — a 24-month promise is an addition to your rights, never a substitute. Frequently asked questions Is a refurbished iPhone 13 still worth buying in 2026?Yes, and it is the model we sell most of. It runs the current version of iOS, uses the same chip family Apple shipped through to the iPhone 15's base model, and costs under a third of its Australian launch price. How long will an iPhone 13 keep getting iOS updates?Apple does not publish a support end date. What we can say is that the iPhone 13 is on Apple's compatibility list for iOS 27, and Apple's current cut-off is the iPhone 11 from 2019 — which suggests several more years of updates rather than several more months. What battery health does a refurbished iPhone 13 come with?A minimum of 80%, tested on every device. Units with a replaced battery are listed separately and priced accordingly. Which condition grade should I buy?Excellent, for most people. It is $10 above Good and the difference in how the phone looks is out of proportion to the price. All grades are functionally identical. Is the iPhone 13 waterproof?It was rated IP68 from the factory — up to 6 metres for 30 minutes. Treat that as a splash allowance on any four-year-old phone, not a swimming licence. Liquid damage is excluded from warranty cover, on our policy and on Apple's. Ready to buy an iPhone 13 in Australia? If you want one phone that does everything most people need, for the least money, this is it — and at $429 it is the best iPhone 13 deal we can put in front of you. Have a look at the refurbished iPhone 13 range, pick your storage, grade and colour, and it ships free by express post with two years of cover behind it.