Apple iPhone 13 Device Review

iPhone 13, 13 Mini, 13 Pro, and 13 Pro Max Review

When the word iPhone appears in a conversation, well not much introduction is needed. It honestly speaks for itself. Probably because it’s the most prominent smartphone made and marketed by Apple. What’s even better is the incredible advancement in terms of the announcement of new series released periodically. And this year the iPhone 13 series is the talk

First iPhone 13 pre-orders now shipping ahead of Friday release - 9to5Mac

Following the announcement of the iPhone 12 in October last year, Apple promised a new and advanced lineup, and of course, it came to pass—no disappointment. The iPhone 12 featured new technology and a fancy new design which is the Mini-sized version.

Well, not much has changed. The iPhone 13, 13 Mini, 13 Pro, and 13 Pro Max were released on the 13th of September, this year, alongside an updated entry-level iPad, Apple Watch 7, and iPad Mini 6—The event was spectacular. These updated iPhones come with an iOS15 ready to be installed, together with an upgraded camera, a new A15 Bionic processor, an upped storage and so much more.

The improvements, assuming you’re looking for a decent phone, really matter. But do these changes really convince us? Does the new iPhone lineup prove to be the greatest, well, since the last one? —to be fair, they have really brought some revolutionary changes. But a closer look at what the lineup offers and how the 4 versions perform, and their differences are much more important.

So, let’s just proceed to the best part…

The specs

With these clever advancements, Apple aimed to make the iPhone Pro Max or either of its siblings, a compelling upgrade made to fit the needs of different individuals—pros and those in need of an everyday consumption phone. So, the question remains, which will suit you best?

There is a lot to read on as far as the iPhone model is concerned. But before we head on to all that:

iPhone 13 lineup prices

One thing about the lineup is that the physical appearance of each isn’t so different from that of its predecessors. And so, is the pricing. This—pricing— is similar in most of the models except in the standard and mini options. This is because the 64GB storage option in the two, has been done away with. And if you are be expecting a price change for this, well, sorry to say, there isn’t.

Generally, the prices of this new lineup increase with the increase in storage. This is mostly seen in the models with the 1TB storage options feature. Available in the Pro Max model, the storage feature ups the price to $1,599.

For the normal prices of the iPhone 13 high-end Pro version—without the extra storage—comes a similarity to that of the Galaxy S Ultra and Galaxy S plus which costs $1,200 and $1,000 respectively.

  128GB storage 256GB storage 512GB storage 1TB storage
iPhone 13 Mini $699 $799 $999 NA
iPhone 13 $799 $899 $1,099 NA
iPhone 13 Pro $999 $1,099 $1,199 $1,499
iPhone 13 Pro Max $1,099 $1,199 $1,399 $1,599
  1. Design, size and color

The smartphone offers a similar Ceramic Shield display upfront, flat edges, and a durable glass back. Actually, even the IP68    water resistance is the same. The robust frame in the iPhone lineup together with all the advanced physical features makes the holding feel nice. However, Apple gave a ‘redesigned on the inside and out’ comment pointing at it being different from the others where, honestly, it’s hard to spot the differences.

The most obvious difference is noticeable in the edge. You will notice the volume controls, silent/ring switch and the power button have been slightly switched.

There are two more design changes in the iPhone44. One is the 20% smaller notch. This enables an undistracted time while watching videos in landscape mode with both sides at full screen. And most importantly the reduction in the Mini version is more interesting.

Considering the phone is narrower the notch swoops down a bit more making apps like Gmail—ones with a white background in portrait orientation— more fun to use. Secondly, the cameras on the rear which were placed vertically in the iPhone 12 are now arranged diagonally.

The iPhone 13 mini and13 are available in Pink, Midnight, Blue, Product (RED), and Starlight. While the13 Pro and 13 Pro Max are in Graphite, Silver, Sierra Blue, and Gold.

Unfortunately, there is one thing missing—the touch ID. This is an upgrade that would have been highly appreciated since the face ID, well, with our masks on, can be a hassle to use. Also, the smartphone had some problems unlocking with the Apple Watch. But this isn’t an issue since Apple is working on it.

When it comes to size the iPhone Mini is 5.4 inches, standard 6.1 inches, iPhone 13 Pro 6.1 inches, iPhone 13 Pro Max 6.7 inches.

  1. ProMotion display

This feature is a brand name for Apple display which means updates and refresh rates that happens often— 60Hz or 60 times per second. But for this new model, they included a 120Hz refresh rate. This, when compared to the screens we have at home i.e., tv, is double the rate since they usually update at 60Hz. The feature has been available on the iPad Pro but has been now launched in the iPhone 13 Pro and iPhone 13 Pro Max.

The refresh rate determines how smooth and fast the scrolling is. And sailing content is a great experience than the smearing one. This feature, however, isn’t available in the mini. But that doesn’t stop it from giving its user an excellent time. In fact, when you compare it to the iPhone 12, there are some noticeable and visible improvements. So, no worries.

All the iPhone models have OLED screen panels.

The brightness increase rate favors people using it in the sun. This is because of the Super Retina XDR display which is 28% brighter than its predecessor—the change isn’t dramatic though. And when it comes to watching a movie, the HDR content can be screened at 1,200 nits on all the siblings.

The display size is also noticeable. The smallest display is on the iPhone 13 mini—5.4 inches with a resolution of 2340 x 1080 pixels, 476ppi. This makes this handful version the sharpest display of all. The largest is, of course, the iPhone 13 Pro Max. It has a resolution of 2778 x 1284 pixels, 458ppi, and a display size of 6.7 inches.

The 13 and 13 Pro have a similar display size o 6.1-inches while the resolution is 2532 x 1170 pixels, 460ppi.

  1. Camera

There are so many interesting facts about the camera in all four versions. just imaging taking pictures in low lighting. Or better still owning a phone that can help you measure height? Cool, right? Well, the iPhone 13 has a lidar scanner on the Pro Max and Pro versions unlike in the iPhone 12 lineup. Its main purpose is autofocused pictures and videos with low noise as well as quality shots even in low lighting. Additionally, Apple said that there will be a new feature, on the Pro models, called ProRES that includes video recording of up to 4K at 30fps, later this year.

Although the new lens setup is the most common visible change, it has come with a few more advantages. The large camera has 1.7μm pixels and a wider camera that gathers 47% more light. The improved cameras on the iPhone 13 and iPhone 13 Mini, has an ultrawide lens and are 12-megapixel wide. And for iPhone 13 Pro and Pro Max, the three rear cameras have telephoto lenses, are 12-megapixel wide, and are ultrawide.

Color temperature is an important fact to check on when buying a phone. Whether you want a rich contrast, vibrant, standard, cool, or warm one, the control should be yours. And alas the iPhone 13 lineup has the Photographic styles feature that is specifically for this purpose.

Wait, here comes the best part…the Macro photography and cinematic mode feature. The macro-Photography helps take pictures with the appropriate camera lens automatically while still offering a focused image. And the cinematic mode, just like the Apple Portrait Mode in the iPhone 7 plus, allows the subject to move around the frame and still remain in focus. This mode can be used while recording one or more subjects, and you can as well tap to the main focus or get a focus mode while editing.

However, as sweet as the deal sounds, there are some limitations. For the cinematic mode to work, there must be good lighting. And if there isn’t the camera app will warn you. The editing of the videos also needs to be done on Apple apps i.e., iMovie. And lastly, the cinematic mode can only be shot in p at frames per second.

  1. A5 Bionic and performance

The A15 Bionic is a faster chip and an advancement from the A14 Bionic in iPhone12. It offers a 4-core GPU, 6-core CPU, and a 16-core Neural Engine. This means the CPU works up to 5% faster and the GPU is in a place to handle rendering graphics that are 20% faster which is quite impressive. The iPhone 13 Pro model has the fastest GPU which is five cores while the iPhone 13 mini and iPhone 13 has our cores.

You can switch between tasks without any issues.

  1. Battery life

The iPhone 13 has an extended battery life than the iPhone 12 lineup. This is because of the A15 Bionic chip, bigger battery, and iOS 15. Despite Apple not revealing the battery specs, another source showed that there is a significant capacious cell than in the iPhone 12. The iPhone 13 Pro Max has the best battery life of Up to 28 hours. However, the bigger the battery, the bigger the phone. So, if you do mind a handful phone, then the iPhone 13 Pro Max isn’t for you.

The iPhone Mini powers for nearly 17 hours, while the other two—13 and 13 Pro—are at least 19 hours and 22 hours respectively. All these, when compared to the previous lineup, are a sizable leap.

iPhone 13, 13 MINI, 13 PRO AND 13 PRO MAX SPECS

iPhone 13 mini iPhone 13 iPhone 13 Pro iPhone 13 Pro Max
Storage 128, 256, 512GB 128, 256, 512 GB 128, 256, 512, 1TB 128, 256, 512, 1TB
Processor A15 Bionic A15 Bionic A15 Bionic A15 Bionic
Screen size 5.4 inches 6.1 inches 6.1 inches 6.7 inches
Rear cameras Dual 12MP (Wide, ultrawide) Dual 12MP (Wide, ultrawide) Pro 12MP (Telephoto, Wide, Ultra-Wide) Pro 12MP (Telephoto, Wide, Ultra-Wide)
Front camera 12MP TrueDepth 12MP TrueDepth 12MP TrueDepth 12MP TrueDepth
Zoom None / 5x digital None / 5x digital 3x optical / 15x digital 3x optical / 15x digital
Adaptive refresh No No Up to 120Hz Up to 120Hz
Water resistance IP68 IP68 IP68 IP68
Resolution/ppi 2340 x 1080/476 2532 x 1170/460 2532 x 1170/460 2778 x 1284/458
Colors Red, Starlight, Midnight, Blue, Pink Red, Starlight, Midnight, Blue, Pink Graphite, Gold, Silver, Sierra Blue Graphite, Gold, Silver, Sierra Blue
Size 5.2 x 2.5 x 0.3 inches 5.8 x 2.8 x 0.3 inches 5.8 x 2.8 x 0.3 inches 6.3 x 3.1 x 0.3 inches
Weight 4.97 ounces 6.14 ounces 7.2 ounces 8.5 ounces
Battery life (video playback 8:41 10:33 11:42 12:16
Starting price $699 $799 $999 $1,099

 

Conclusion

Despite the upgrades being mostly under the hood, they are precisely made to give you a more improved experience. Fancy new features, great battery life—except in the mini— who wouldn’t want that? If you are still wondering if it’s worth it getting one, aim to focus on the fundamentals. ‘What upgrades are there?’ ‘Is there a promise that the game will get better?’ — once the debate is over and have a final answer, head on to the store and purchase that dream phone.

But most importantly, don’t forget to get the best screen protector from Tech Armor. A smartphone with such features deserves to be taken care of. And that’s your responsibility.

 

The iPhone 13 lineup just announced

iPhone 13 Recap

As was very accurately predicted, the most anticipated event in Apple’s annual calendar happened on the 14th of September 2021. Apple’s events are always grandiose showcases with impeccable production. In true Apple fashion, they somehow managed to one-up what they did last year, with a lot of drone shots. It was quite cinematic – the amazing transitions, cinematography, lighting – everything was top-notch. It was quite the visual spectacle.

Twitter was part of the celebrations as well. For every tweet that included the trending #AppleEvent hashtag, the like button turned into a glowing Apple logo before quickly turning back into a heart when clicked. iPhone 13 was also trending, of course, and as Tim Cook walked on stage, the world awaited the reveal of the heavily leaked new iPhones. Were there any surprises? Read on to find out.

The iPhone 13 Line-up

A Closer look at iPhone 13 & 13 Mini

Design

The non-pro iPhone 13 has a new look for the advanced dual-camera system with the lenses arranged diagonally instead of vertically as was the case for the iPhone 12. Every year, Apple makes a slight design change to make it easier to distinguish previous versions from the current releases, and re-arranging the camera array was their choice for this year.

Other than the camera module, the chassis (or the beautifully-formed aerospace-grade aluminum frame as it was described during the announcement) remains largely the same. This year’s colors were unveiled to be an all-new Pink, Blue, Midnight, Starlight, and Product Red.

A much-rumoured detail about the new iPhones was confirmed when the smaller notch was revealed. After years of having the large obtrusive notch at the top of the display, Apple finally did something about it. This is another differentiating factor from the iPhone 12. The reductions were possible because the true-depth camera system has been re-engineered to make it take up less room while taking up less space, thus the increased screen real estate.

Battery

Internally, the iPhone 13 has been completely re-architected to make room for new additions, and more importantly, a bigger battery! While Apple did not confirm the actual sizes of the batteries for this year’s standard iPhones 13, battery improvements are always welcome.

Apple claims that on iPhone 13 Mini most users will experience 1.5 more hours in their day than with iPhone 12 Mini. They also claim that the standard iPhone 13 lasts 2.5 hours longer than iPhone 12. Them branding it as ‘incredible all-day battery life is a bit of a stretch, however.

 

Display

Size aside, the design is the same across the iPhone 13 and iPhone 13 mini, as was the case with last year’s iPhone 12 and 12 Mini. Both phones feature an improved, more advanced Super Retina, XDR display. The display is 28% brighter up, going up to 800 nits of peak brightness. This makes it even more suitable for use even when outside. This improved display delivers an immersive viewing experience with support for Dolby Vision, HDR10, and HLG meaning that the content shot on and for these platforms and technologies will be viewed as intended.

Processor

Things are about to get a little technical now. Ready?

Apple’s lead in the smartphone SoC (System on a Chip) category just got a little wider with the A15 Bionic. Apple’s control over the entire iPhone makeup gives them the capability to incorporate innovations across the entire system. This, in turn, enables the delivery of improved performance and power efficiency. The A15 is built on 5nm architecture which enables the inclusion of nearly 15 billion transistors on the chip. The result? An absolutely smooth, optimized, and efficient experience when handling demanding workloads. The A15 houses a powerful new 6-core CPU with two high-performance and four high-efficiency cores for graphics-intensive tasks like advanced games. The A15 Bionic also features the latest 4-core GPU with the new 16-core Neural Engine to handle all the machine learning requirements. In addition to the performance improvements, iPhone 13 features a new Display Engine, a new video encoder, and decoder, and twice the system cache. All this is to make video playback as smooth as it has ever been

 

Camera

With the A15 Bionic also comes an improved camera system on iPhone 13. There’s an all-new 12mp wide camera with a larger 1.7 micron-pixels sensor that should capture more light with a wide f-1.6 aperture. Amazingly, Apple decided to bring the iPhone 12 Pro Max exclusive Sensor-Shift technology to all iPhones in this year’s line-up. Sensor-Shift introduced advanced Optical Image Stabilization for even better images, especially in low-light. Apple also included a new ultra-wide camera that is set to help “reveal more of the dark areas with less noise”.

A brand-new feature announced for iPhone 13 is Cinematic Mode. According to the details provided during its showcase, once the recording starts, Cinematic Mode will hold focus on the subject even when they’re moving. Additionally, focus transitions are said to happen automatically and in real-time, for example, from one subject to another. Cinematic Mode is said to anticipate when a subject is about to enter the frame and intelligently racks focus to them when they do. When a subject gazes away from the camera, iPhone 13 itself changes focus and then back. This is certainly one of the features that most people will want to test out for themselves when the phones are released. If it does what it says on the box, iPhone will almost be the default phone for millions of content creators, even more than it is already.

Pricing and Availability

It was great to see that even with the improvements it starts with and the fact that the starting capacity is now 128 GB (plus a new 512 GB option), iPhone 13 Mini still starts at just $699 and $799 for the standard iPhone 13. There are also opportunities to get up to $700 off in the US when you trade in a qualifying iPhone.

 

iPhone 13 Pro and Pro Max

Design

iPhone 13 Pro comes in four ‘striking’ finishes that are different from the standard iPhone 13. There is Graphite, Gold, Silver, and an all-new Sierra Blue. Just as is the case with the standard iPhone 13, the Pros have a (20%) smaller notch. On the back is a familiar-looking triple camera system, with a stainless-steel trim that surrounds the Sapphire Crystal lenses of each of the cameras. The inside is said to be ‘completely redesigned to support the latest technology inclusions including an all-new camera system, a new display, and a bigger battery.

Better A15 Bionic

The Pros are also powered by the A15 Bionic which features the earlier-mentioned CPU, GPU, a faster Neural Engine, as well as a new ISP (Image Signal Processor) which is said to provide improved noise reduction and tone mapping. As an improvement on the standard iPhone 13 and 13 Mini, the Pro models’ A15 Bionic includes a new 5-core GPU for even better handling of graphic-intensive tasks.

Display

The new Super Retina, XDR display is also present on the Pro models, with an improved peak brightness of 1000 nits, a 25% improvement on last year’s iPhones.

If there is one feature everyone wanted confirmation on, it was the inclusion of a high refresh rate display. The confirmation did come, but it was bittersweet: It is only on the Pro models. The highly anticipated ProMotion display is finally on iPhone, with the capability of refreshing from as low as 10 Hz to as high as 120 Hz. IOS is also completely optimized to take full advantage of this. When swiping between apps, or scrolling, the system adapts the frame rates to precisely match the speed of the user’s finger.

Camera

The iPhone 13 Pro camera system has a new 77 mm telephoto camera with 3x optical zoom. There is also a new ultrawide-angle camera with autofocus and a larger f 1.8 aperture, providing up to a 92% improvement in low light. The third camera is a wide camera with a larger f-1.5 aperture and 1.9 micron-pixels for up to 2x improvement in low light. The ultrawide camera also has Macro Photography. Its design and autofocus system enables incredibly sharp focus and can magnify subjects with a minimum distance of 2 cm. Additionally, all the cameras, including the telephoto, have night mode.

Apple also announced a feature that lets you ‘personalize your iPhone camera’ dubbed Photographic Styles. The feature is said to bring your individual preferences right into the advanced image pipeline, applying local edits like a photo editor would, but in real-time as the photo is being rendered.

The iPhone 13 pro camera system also has some advanced video capabilities. The ultrawide camera enables Macro slo-mo videos which should look amazing. The 3x telephoto has improved zooming capabilities and offers a new focal length for video. Coupled with Cinematic mode, it uses machine learning and disparity to create a depth map that’s built into the video so that the depth effect can be changed, including the level of bokeh and where the focus is applied – even after capture.

ProRes is a feature that is set to come further down the line. With it, you can now record up to 4k at 30 fps right in the camera app thanks to the efficiency of the A15 Bionic, IOS 15, and a larger battery.  iPhone 13 Pro is said to last more than 1.5 hours longer in your day than iPhone 12 Pro. iPhone 13 Pro Max will apparently last more than 2.5 hours longer than iPhone 12 Pro Max.

Pricing and Availability

The iPhone 13pro still starts at $999 and the iPhone 13pro max still starts at $1099. The Pro models have a new 1 TB storage option. All four models of the iPhone13 line-up go up for Pre-order on the 17th of September and will all be available on September 24th.

 

Final Thoughts

Depending on your expectations, you were either disappointed because some of your expectations weren’t met or underwhelmed because you knew almost everything that was coming. The rumors of this year’s iPhones being referred to as the 12S might have been on to something because there’s no day and night difference between last year’s iPhones and the new ones. The notch is smaller, and ProMotion finally made it to Apple devices after making it to Android years ago, but at least it’s here. It is only for the Pro models though, which is set to anger a lot of people who were looking forward to buying the non-Pro versions.

Another drawback is that 4K recording is not available for the 128 GB storage options, but there may be a logical and technical explanation for that. Features like MagSafe and Ceramic shield are still present, and the iPhone is now capable of recording when your MagSafe wallet is disconnected from the phone, making it easier to track in case it is lost.

The physical changes may be indistinguishable to most users, but the changes under the hood are set to give an improved experience regardless. After all, it is an iPhone and people will buy it. If you will make sure you get the best protection for whichever model you get at Tech Armor.