iPhone 13 Pro vs Meizu 21 Pro (2026): Apple Polish or Chinese Flagship Value?
Buy the iPhone 13 Pro if you want the better camera system, the best video on either phone, and software support that runs for years — plus the ability to walk into a shop and get it serviced. Buy the Meizu 21 Pro if you want raw hardware: Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 performance, a 6.79-inch LTPO screen and 80W wired plus 50W wireless charging. The Meizu wins the spec sheet. The iPhone wins ownership.
In a hurry? Jump to → Quick verdict · Full spec comparison · Display · Performance · Cameras · Battery & charging · Updates · Buying gotchas · How we compared · FAQ
This is an unusual pairing, and it comes from a specific place: the Meizu 21 Pro (February 2024) is one of the cheapest ways to get 2024 flagship silicon, and people cross-shop it against a used iPhone 13 Pro (September 2021) at a similar price. Both are flagships, so nothing here is unusable. But they fail in opposite directions — the Meizu is faster hardware you may struggle to buy, update or repair, and the iPhone is older hardware with the smoothest ownership experience in the industry.
Quick verdict: iPhone 13 Pro vs Meizu 21 Pro
Choose the iPhone 13 Pro if you photograph and film. Three 12MP lenses with a 3x telephoto, LiDAR-assisted focus, ProRes and Dolby Vision video, and colour consistency the Meizu cannot match. Add years of iOS updates and worldwide service.
Choose the Meizu 21 Pro if you want the fastest phone for the money and charging that finishes before you have made coffee. It also has the bigger, sharper display and up to 16GB of RAM.
Outside China, most buyers should take the iPhone. Inside China, the Meizu is genuinely compelling.
Who wins what, category by category
| Category | Winner | Why it wins |
|---|---|---|
| Performance | Meizu 21 Pro | Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 leads the A15 by ~45% |
| Charging | Meizu 21 Pro | 80W wired + 50W wireless vs ~20W + 15W |
| Display size and sharpness | Meizu 21 Pro | 6.79in at 1368 x 3192 vs 6.1in |
| Battery capacity | Meizu 21 Pro | 5,050mAh vs 3,095mAh |
| Cameras | iPhone 13 Pro | Three lenses, LiDAR, better processing |
| Video | iPhone 13 Pro | ProRes, Dolby Vision, best-in-class stabilisation |
| Software support | iPhone 13 Pro | Years of iOS vs limited global updates |
| Availability and service | iPhone 13 Pro | Sold and repaired everywhere |
| Resale value | iPhone 13 Pro | Holds price; Meizu is hard to resell |
Score: iPhone 13 Pro 5 – Meizu 21 Pro 4. Close on count, but the iPhone's wins are the ones you cannot fix with money later.
iPhone 13 Pro vs Meizu 21 Pro: full spec comparison
| Specification | Apple iPhone 13 Pro | Meizu 21 Pro |
|---|---|---|
| Released | September 2021 | February 2024 |
| Typical 2026 price | ~$450–550 used | ~$620 imported |
| Display | 6.1" Super Retina XDR OLED | 6.79" LTPO AMOLED |
| Resolution | 1170 x 2532 | 1368 x 3192 |
| Refresh rate | 10–120Hz ProMotion | 1–120Hz LTPO |
| Peak brightness | ~1,200 nits (HDR) | ~1,250 nits |
| Processor | A15 Bionic (5nm) | Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 (4nm) |
| RAM | 6GB | 12 / 16GB |
| Storage | 128GB – 1TB | 256GB – 1TB |
| Main camera | 12MP with sensor-shift OIS | 50MP with OIS |
| Ultrawide | 12MP with macro | 50MP |
| Telephoto | 12MP, 3x optical | 10MP, 3x optical (72mm) |
| Extra sensor | LiDAR scanner | — |
| Front camera | 12MP with Face ID | 32MP |
| Video | 4K/60, ProRes, Dolby Vision | 4K/60 |
| Battery | 3,095 mAh (4+ years old) | 5,050 mAh |
| Wired charging | ~20W | 80W |
| Wireless charging | ✔ 15W MagSafe | ✔ 50W |
| Port | Lightning | USB-C |
| Launched on | iOS 15 | Flyme OS / Android 14 |
| Weight | ~204 g | ~205 g |
The Meizu 21 Pro is a China-market phone. Imported units may lack preinstalled Google services and carry region-specific band support.
Display: bigger and sharper vs smaller and better tuned
Both run adaptive high refresh rates, so neither feels dated. The Meizu's 6.79-inch panel is substantially larger and sharper (1368 x 3192, with a tall 21:9-ish aspect), and its LTPO drops to 1Hz to save power on static screens.
The iPhone 13 Pro's 6.1-inch ProMotion OLED is smaller but exceptionally well calibrated, with excellent HDR handling and Dolby Vision playback. It is also the far easier phone to use one-handed.
- Media and gaming: Meizu 21 Pro.
- Colour accuracy for photo and video work: iPhone 13 Pro.
- Pocketability: iPhone 13 Pro.
Performance: two and a half years of silicon
The A15 Bionic remains quick and efficient, but the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 is simply a newer, more powerful chip with far more RAM alongside it.
| Benchmark (approximate) | iPhone 13 Pro | Meizu 21 Pro |
|---|---|---|
| Geekbench 6 single-core | ~1,730 | ~2,200 |
| Geekbench 6 multi-core | ~4,600 | ~6,900 |
| AnTuTu v10 total | ~1,250,000 | ~2,000,000 |
| Sustained gaming | Very good, warms under load | Excellent, more thermal headroom |
Benchmark figures are typical published ranges from public test databases rather than our own runs — read them as a class gap, not an exact score for your unit.
Both play any current game. The Meizu's lead shows in long sessions, on-device AI features and heavy multitasking, where 12–16GB of RAM keeps far more apps resident than the iPhone's 6GB. Cross-platform benchmarks are indicative rather than exact, but the multi-core gap here is real.
Also Read: iPhone 14 Pro Max vs iPhone 15 Pro Max
Cameras: Apple's remaining moat
iPhone 13 Pro camera
- 12MP main with sensor-shift OIS and a large sensor for its generation
- 12MP ultrawide with autofocus, doubling as a macro lens
- 12MP telephoto with 3x optical zoom
- LiDAR scanner for fast low-light focus and Night mode portraits
- ProRes and Dolby Vision HDR video, still a professional-grade toolset
Meizu 21 Pro camera
- 50MP main with OIS
- 50MP ultrawide
- 10MP telephoto with 3x optical zoom (72mm)
- 32MP selfie camera
- 4K/60 video
On paper the Meizu has more resolution. In practice the iPhone 13 Pro produces more consistent results, particularly in mixed lighting, in portraits, and in any kind of video. Meizu's processing is competent but nowhere near Apple's tuning, and its telephoto sensor is smaller than the iPhone's. For stills in good light the two are close; for video the iPhone is in a different class.
Battery and charging: the Meizu's landslide
5,050mAh against a nominal 3,095mAh is a 63% advantage, and the iPhone's cell is over four years old — check its Battery Health and assume a replacement is due below 85%. Apple's efficiency narrows real-world endurance, but not by enough.
Charging is the bigger gap. 80W wired refills the Meizu in roughly 35 minutes and its 50W wireless charging is faster than the iPhone's *wired* speed. The iPhone 13 Pro needs about 90 minutes at 20W, or longer on 15W MagSafe. If charging speed annoys you, this comparison is already settled.
Software and updates: the deciding factor
The iPhone 13 Pro launched on iOS 15 and remains supported, with a longer runway than any Android phone of its generation. Updates arrive on day one, everywhere, for years.
Meizu's Flyme OS is fast and attractive but its global update record is thin, and China-market units typically ship without Google Play services — installable, but not officially supported. Combine that with limited service centres outside China and you have the Meizu's real weakness. It is not the hardware; it is everything around the hardware.
Which one should you buy?
Buy the iPhone 13 Pro if: you photograph or film seriously, you want years of guaranteed updates, you need service availability, you own other Apple devices, or you care about resale value.
Buy the Meizu 21 Pro if: you live in a market where it is sold properly, you want top-tier performance and the fastest charging in this comparison, or you want the biggest, sharpest screen.
Alternative worth considering: a global-market Android flagship gets you most of the Meizu's hardware with proper support — see OnePlus 13 compared.
What the spec-comparison sites won't tell you
- Imported Meizu units may have no Google services. Chinese ROMs ship without Play Store, and side-loading it is not the same as official support. Confirm the ROM before buying.
- Band support varies. A China-market phone may miss bands your carrier relies on, which can mean poor signal rather than no signal — harder to diagnose.
- The iPhone 13 Pro is on Lightning. USB-C arrived with the iPhone 15, so you are keeping a separate cable for this phone.
- 50W wireless charging needs Meizu's own charger. On a generic Qi pad you will get a fraction of that speed — budget for the proprietary one.
How we compared these phones
We used Apple's technical specifications and Meizu's published sheet, cross-checked against GSMArena's Meizu 21 Pro listing and independent reviews. Apple does not publish battery capacity or charging wattage, so those figures come from teardowns and third-party charging tests and are marked approximate. We also weighted two factors that spec tables ignore entirely but that dominate this particular matchup: regional availability, since the Meizu is primarily a Chinese-market device whose software configuration differs by ROM, and battery age, since the iPhone here is bought second-hand. Benchmark ranges come from public databases; cross-platform comparisons between iOS and Android indicate class rather than exact real-world speed.
Related reading
Bottom line
iPhone 13 Pro vs Meizu 21 Pro is hardware against ownership. The Meizu 21 Pro wins performance (Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 by roughly 45%), screen size and sharpness, battery capacity and charging — 80W wired plus 50W wireless makes the iPhone look antique. The iPhone 13 Pro wins the camera system, video by a wide margin, software support, service availability and resale value. If you can buy and service a Meizu properly where you live, it is a lot of phone. If you cannot, the iPhone 13 Pro is the safer flagship.
Specifications, software versions and street prices in this comparison were checked in July 2026. We revisit head-to-head guides whenever either phone gets a major OS update or a lasting price change.
Next step: browse every matchup on our phone comparisons hub, or open full spec sheets in the phone specifications directory.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which is faster, the iPhone 13 Pro or Meizu 21 Pro?
The Meizu 21 Pro. Its Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 posts roughly 45–50% higher multi-core scores than the iPhone 13 Pro's A15 Bionic, and it pairs that with up to 16GB of RAM. Both feel instant in everyday use.
Does the iPhone 13 Pro still get iOS updates?
Yes. It launched on iOS 15 and remains on Apple's supported list, comfortably ahead of the iPhone 11 in runway. That is its strongest advantage over the Meizu, whose global software support is limited.
How much faster does the Meizu charge?
Dramatically. The Meizu 21 Pro does 80W wired and 50W wireless, filling in roughly 35 minutes. The iPhone 13 Pro takes about 90 minutes at around 20W wired, or slower on 15W MagSafe.
Which has the better cameras?
The iPhone 13 Pro overall. It has three 12MP lenses including a 3x telephoto plus a LiDAR scanner, ProRes and Dolby Vision video, and Apple's processing. The Meizu has a 50MP main and a 10MP 3x telephoto, and is competitive for stills but behind on video.
Is the Meizu 21 Pro sold globally?
Not widely. It is primarily a Chinese-market phone, so buying one elsewhere usually means importing, and units may ship with Flyme OS configured for China without Google services preinstalled. Check the ROM version before ordering.
Which screen is better?
The Meizu's is bigger and sharper — 6.79 inches at 1368 x 3192 with LTPO 1–120Hz. The iPhone 13 Pro's 6.1-inch ProMotion OLED is smaller but brighter in HDR and better calibrated out of the box.
Which should I buy in 2026?
The iPhone 13 Pro for most people outside China — better cameras, better video, far easier to buy and service, and years more updates. Choose the Meizu 21 Pro only if you want maximum performance and charging speed and can live with import and software limitations.
