diff --git a/Doc/using/ios.rst b/Doc/using/ios.rst
index 774856e8aec2ac..5d0924be8d906d 100644
--- a/Doc/using/ios.rst
+++ b/Doc/using/ios.rst
@@ -33,6 +33,17 @@ running, so you only need to deal with the Python code itself.
 Python at runtime on iOS
 ========================
 
+iOS version compatibility
+-------------------------
+
+The minimum supported iOS version is specified at compile time, using the
+:option:`--host` option to ``configure``. By default, when compiled for iOS,
+Python will be compiled with a minimum supported iOS version of 13.0. To use a
+different miniumum iOS version, provide the version number as part of the
+:option:`!--host` argument - for example,
+``--host=arm64-apple-ios15.4-simulator`` would compile an ARM64 simulator build
+with a deployment target of 15.4.
+
 Platform identification
 -----------------------
 
diff --git a/Misc/NEWS.d/next/Build/2024-07-02-12-42-25.gh-issue-120831.i3eIjg.rst b/Misc/NEWS.d/next/Build/2024-07-02-12-42-25.gh-issue-120831.i3eIjg.rst
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000000..3784cc66c41219
--- /dev/null
+++ b/Misc/NEWS.d/next/Build/2024-07-02-12-42-25.gh-issue-120831.i3eIjg.rst
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+The default minimum iOS version was increased to 13.0.
diff --git a/configure b/configure
index 19786f18e61726..d4fd7d4fc9c954 100755
--- a/configure
+++ b/configure
@@ -4108,7 +4108,7 @@ printf "%s\n" "\"$MACHDEP\"" >&6; }
 # On cross-compile builds, configure will look for a host-specific compiler by
 # prepending the user-provided host triple to the required binary name.
 #
-# On iOS, this results in binaries like "arm64-apple-ios12.0-simulator-gcc",
+# On iOS, this results in binaries like "arm64-apple-ios13.0-simulator-gcc",
 # which isn't a binary that exists, and isn't very convenient, as it contains the
 # iOS version. As the default cross-compiler name won't exist, configure falls
 # back to gcc, which *definitely* won't work. We're providing wrapper scripts for
@@ -4523,8 +4523,12 @@ if test "$cross_compiling" = yes; then
 		_host_device=${_host_device:=os}
 
 		# IPHONEOS_DEPLOYMENT_TARGET is the minimum supported iOS version
+		{ printf "%s\n" "$as_me:${as_lineno-$LINENO}: checking iOS deployment target" >&5
+printf %s "checking iOS deployment target... " >&6; }
 		IPHONEOS_DEPLOYMENT_TARGET=${_host_os:3}
-		IPHONEOS_DEPLOYMENT_TARGET=${IPHONEOS_DEPLOYMENT_TARGET:=12.0}
+		IPHONEOS_DEPLOYMENT_TARGET=${IPHONEOS_DEPLOYMENT_TARGET:=13.0}
+		{ printf "%s\n" "$as_me:${as_lineno-$LINENO}: result: $IPHONEOS_DEPLOYMENT_TARGET" >&5
+printf "%s\n" "$IPHONEOS_DEPLOYMENT_TARGET" >&6; }
 
 		case "$host_cpu" in
 			aarch64)
diff --git a/configure.ac b/configure.ac
index df146cc9cf0b75..190f1f4a286232 100644
--- a/configure.ac
+++ b/configure.ac
@@ -382,7 +382,7 @@ AC_MSG_RESULT(["$MACHDEP"])
 # On cross-compile builds, configure will look for a host-specific compiler by
 # prepending the user-provided host triple to the required binary name.
 #
-# On iOS, this results in binaries like "arm64-apple-ios12.0-simulator-gcc",
+# On iOS, this results in binaries like "arm64-apple-ios13.0-simulator-gcc",
 # which isn't a binary that exists, and isn't very convenient, as it contains the
 # iOS version. As the default cross-compiler name won't exist, configure falls
 # back to gcc, which *definitely* won't work. We're providing wrapper scripts for
@@ -774,8 +774,10 @@ if test "$cross_compiling" = yes; then
 		_host_device=${_host_device:=os}
 
 		# IPHONEOS_DEPLOYMENT_TARGET is the minimum supported iOS version
+		AC_MSG_CHECKING([iOS deployment target])
 		IPHONEOS_DEPLOYMENT_TARGET=${_host_os:3}
-		IPHONEOS_DEPLOYMENT_TARGET=${IPHONEOS_DEPLOYMENT_TARGET:=12.0}
+		IPHONEOS_DEPLOYMENT_TARGET=${IPHONEOS_DEPLOYMENT_TARGET:=13.0}
+		AC_MSG_RESULT([$IPHONEOS_DEPLOYMENT_TARGET])
 
 		case "$host_cpu" in
 			aarch64)
diff --git a/iOS/README.rst b/iOS/README.rst
index 96cb00eb2e9bfe..4d7c344d5e9e17 100644
--- a/iOS/README.rst
+++ b/iOS/README.rst
@@ -188,7 +188,7 @@ especially important, as many parts of the standard library (including the
 ``ctypes`` module at runtime.
 
 By default, Python will be compiled with an iOS deployment target (i.e., the
-minimum supported iOS version) of 12.0. To specify a different deployment
+minimum supported iOS version) of 13.0. To specify a different deployment
 target, provide the version number as part of the ``--host`` argument - for
 example, ``--host=arm64-apple-ios15.4-simulator`` would compile an ARM64
 simulator build with a deployment target of 15.4.