Iphone 13 Series: It's Not What We're Thinking

 

     We are thrilled to release to you the new Iphone 13 series. 

-Tim Cook-

     The Iphone 13 series(Iphone 13 Mini, Iphone 13, Iphone 13 Pro and the Iphone 13 Pro Max)  all make up Apple's Iphone line up for the year 2021. They were all launched during a special event at Apple Park in California on the 14th of the September. These flagship smartphones take over from their predecessors(Iphone 12 series) with minor differences. The iphone 13 series had undergone several tests on three major aspects: screen, battery and camera and had recorded successes in all three aspects. Let's begin with the lower flagship smartphone in the series(the 13 and 13 Mini).

Iphone 13 and 13 Mini

     The Iphone 13 mini is a pocket friendly and compact flagship smartphone. This is very portable and quite user friendly. The Iphone 13 has a design which is similar to that of Apple's previous products with minor differences such as the diagonal arrangement of the rear camera. Pre orders for the 13 and 13 Mini began on the 17th of September and became available for purchase barely few days later. During the unboxing, I noticed that Apple have also removed the plastic wrap of theirs for better recycling. Iphone 13 and 13 Mini are available in five colours: Midnight, Starlight, Product Red, Blue and Pink. They both have an embedded Apple A15 Bionic chip which features a 6-core CPU, 4-core GPU and a 16-core neutral engine. The Iphone 13 Mini feature a 5.4 inch(14cm) display with a resolution of 2340 by 1080 pixels. The Iphone 13 on the other hand features a 6.1 inch display with Super Retina XDR OLED technology at a resolution of 2532 by 1170 pixels. Both smartphones features a 60 Hz refresh rate display. They both feature the same camera system with three cameras: one front facing and two back facing cameras(with larger sensors for implementation of optical image stabilization). The camera bump on the 13 and 13 Mini enables the phone to balance more when placed on a flat surface. The 13 and 13 Mini are 0.3mm thicker and 10g heavier than the 12 and 12 Mini. The Mini comes with a 2348mAh powered battery and the 13 comes with a 3240mAh powered battery. The Iphone 13 Mini starts at $699 and the Iphone 13 starts at $799. Now let's head on to the next phase. 

 

Iphone 13 Pro and 13 Pro Max

     The Iphone 13 Pro and Pro Max are Apple's bigger flagship smartphones for the year 2021. They are available in four colours: Silver, Graphite, Gold and Sierra Blue. The Iphone 13 Pro features a 6.1 inch display while the 13 Pro Max features a 6.7 inch display. Both smartphones have a 120 Hz refresh rate display. 

     The Iphone 13 Pro and Pro Max both have incredible battery performances which has been proven true after rigorous testing by various reviewers. The Iphone 13 Pro is made up of a 3095mAh powered battery. The 13 Pro Max is made up of a 4325mAh powered battery. The PROs are 2.5 hours longer(in terms of battery life) than their predecessors. 

      They both feature four cameras: one front facing and three back facing cameras. As with the 13 and 13 Mini, the back facing cameras contain larger sensors for light gathering. The ultrawide cameras also have autofocus for the very first time. The  starting price for the 13 Pro is $999 while the starting price for the Iphone 13 Pro Max is $1099. 

General Features and Comparisons with the Iphone 12 Series 

 

     Here are some general features of the Iphone 13 series and the comparisons with their predecessors. 

     Processor - All Iphone 13 flagships are powered by the new A15 Bionic chipsets. After a CPU benchmark test, the A15 Bionic chip aided Iphone 13s are found to be 15% better than the Iphone 12s. The Iphone 13 and the 13 Mini have 4 GPU cores and it is over 20% better than the Iphone 12 series while the 13 Pro and Pro Max have 5 GPU cores and have proved to be over 60% better than the Iphone 12 series in terms of graphic performances.

     Wireless Charging - Apple has also improved on the Magsafe Wireless Charging (Only Option) on this one since there is no charger in the box. They say the Magsafe wallet comes with an inbuilt tracker so that if it falls off the phone, you know the exact location it fell. That's pretty cool by me!

     Screen - Apple mentioned that they were going to reduce the sizes of their notch which they did but hasn't really been effective as it is impossible to see your battery percentage on the screen. Quite bad! Aside that, the Iphone 13 Pro have an improved and adaptive refresh rate of 120Hz which makes the screen highly sensitive thus enhancing faster scrolling experiences.

     Camera - The 13 series in general utilize the latest computational photography engine called Smart HDR4. The series also have another feature "Sensor Shift" which uses magnets and sensors to aid adjustment and positioning for better photographic experience. They also have five photo modes: Standard, Vibrant, Warm, Cool and Rich Contrast. In my opinion, I think I will vote Rich Contrast as the best. With the 13 Pro, you can shoot videos in Pro Res mode. But watch out for this, just 10 minutes of shooting a Pro Res video could take up to 100gigabytes of storage. Now, that's awful. Also, the new "Cinematic Mode" feature basically allows users to effortlessly shift focus between subjects during video production with a  technique called "rack focus". The new feature doesn't exactly bring that "dream come true" wish of every smartphone video user. Although, Apple has a good reputation with quality smartphone videos so far. There has been a major upgrade in the camera with now much bigger sensors and wider apertures to gather more light and I must say this is the biggest upgrade ever on an Iphone. There is a 3x zoom on the Iphone 13 Pro and Pro Max that is dependent on lighting. The Pro and Pro Max can also use their ultrawide cameras to take macro photos. The problem is when you move 14cm towards an object, it automatically enters ultrawide mode zooming in and enabling you to take a closer, more detailed look of an object but this always creates a worse looking photo because the macro mode activates too early.

     Battery - This year's Iphone line up had incredible and durable batteries especially the Pro and Pro Max. The 13 and 13 Mini lasts 1.5 hours longer than their predecessors. The 13 Pro and Pro Max lasts 2.5 hours longer than their predecessors. The main idea in any case is the battery performs pretty well. 

     Storage - The 13 series all start with a storage option of 128GB. Although, there is a 1TB option for the 13 Pro Max.

     Sadly, there have been unfavourable developments. According to recent reports, Apple is likely to cut down the production of the Iphone 13 models due to chip shortages.  In fact, Apple is planning to cut down their  initial target of 90 million units of the various Iphone 13 models to 80 million units. What this means is that the Iphone 13 Flagships might not even get to as much users as possible. This whole issue arose due to the inability of Apple's major supplier Broadcam and Texas Instruments(TI) to deliver enough components on time for manufacturing. There is even a bigger issue at hand. Major chip manufactures warn that by next year, there will be high scarcity of chips causing them to be in high demand by smartphone manufacturers.

      So is the Iphone 13 series a better upgrade over the 12s? My thoughts would be ''Yes''. What are your thoughts? Leave a comment in the comment section below.