Ultimately, it feels like Apple's 2021 iPhones are about refining rather than offering something entirely new. This won't be exciting for those craving new toys and tech, but the iPhone 13 Pro is as nifty an Apple phone as you can buy it - so if you're in the market for an upgrade from an older generation, then it's gonna still feel really impressive.
Design & display
■6.1 inch Super Retina XDR OLED, 2532 x 1170 resolution (460 ppi), 1200 nits maximum brightness
■Apple ProMotion display technology (adaptive refresh rate of 10-120 Hz)
■Four color options: graphite, gold, silver, sierra blue
■Dimensions: 146.7 x 71.5 x 7.65 mm / weight: 204 g
■Stainless steel and glass materials
The design of the iPhone 13 corresponds in every way to that of its predecessor. It could easily have been called the iPhone 12S because there are no differences, but there are changes for those who look carefully.
On the front, the notch that houses the front camera, Face ID Smarts and other sensors has shrunk by around 20 percent - which results in a much narrower but higher cutout.
These changes, along with a slight increase in battery capacity, mean the iPhone 13 Pro is now heavier than previous iterations, too. It is now almost twice as heavy as the iPhone 5 - if you remember that far back - but the weight of around 200g is by no means too unwieldy. How have times changed, haven't they?
Apple iPhone 13 Pro vs iPhone 12 Pro:
Should You Upgrade?
Available in four adult colors - there's graphite, gold, silver and sierra blue - "going pro" mean you can't be too colorful. There are no pink or starlight options here, thank you very much, you have to look at the iPhone 13 mini for that.
The big change in terms of the iPhone 13 Pro's display is the introduction of Apple's ProMotion technology - as first introduced in the iPad Pro range in 2017 - for the first time in an iPhone.
This technology enables the display to automatically adjust the refresh rate based on the content on the screen. It starts at 10Hz and goes all the way up to 120Hz, just like you'll find in most Android phones over the last few years, adapted to the type of content that is shown on the display. Older screens are typically only 60Hz, so you get a potential doubling of the frames for improved smoothness.
This 120Hz spike count is especially exciting for gamers as it can result in smoother graphics depending on the game. The benefits can also be seen elsewhere, e.g.
It definitely makes for a smoother experience, although some people may not realize the benefits of Ultra HD over HD until it is pointed out, some may not notice the upgrade they enjoy. Side by side with the iPhone 12 Pro, you definitely will, but that's not how those devices are used in real life.
Refresh rates of smartphone displays: what does Apple ProMotion and 120 Hz mean and does it matter?
ProMotion is another refinement of an already very good display, but perhaps not as noticeable as if Apple gave the iPhone 13 Pro's display an always-on option or added Apple Pencil stylus support for those who just want to take notes as they can on an iPad.
Beyond ProMotion, the iPhone 13 Pro features many of the usual Apple display tech buzzwords to deliver a crisp and vivid experience that highlights everything: wide color (DCI-P3 color space), true tone , a contrast ratio of 2,000. 000: 1 and up to 1,200 nits maximum brightness for these High Dynamic Range (HDR) playback moments. That said, it's pretty much everything here - there isn't a screen technology Apple currently offers that isn't on this list.
Hardware & performance
■128/256 / 512GB / 1TB memory sizes
■Wireless charging and MagSafe
■A15 Bionic processor
■5G and WiFi 6
A new processor - the A15 Bionic - powers the iPhone 13 Pro experience, but it's getting harder and harder to see the speed increases between generations. Apple has been vague about how much improvement it really can see compared to previous models - and our basic tests show it's only about 15 percent faster than the previous iPhone 12 Pro (with the A14 Bionic processor).
Technically for a moment: the A15 processor presented here differs from the A15 of the standard iPhone 13 or 13 mini thanks to the additional graphic processing unit (GPU) - it's five cores versus four - but in reality it's you I'll do that in the most real use cases don't see it.
Remember, refinement is the name of the game here. And the A15 is fast and efficient. Apps load quickly. Crazy math in photos and videos works seamlessly. In short: the iPhone 13 Pro won't have to struggle with any task.
Outside of the processor, however, not much has changed. There are four storage sizes: 128GB, 256GB, 512GB and now a new 1TB option to pad it. Be careful which format you choose, though, as those looking to take advantage of the yet-to-be-released ProRes - a high quality video compression format - should opt for 256GB or more of storage to get 4K footage. Why? It's the file size. ProRes requires about 6 GB for one minute of footage. Buy the 128GB handset and you will be limited to 1080p recording, not 4K.
There are still 5G , Wi-FI 6 (802.11ax), Bluetooth, Apple's U1 chip for spatial awareness and wireless MagSafe charging to supply everything with power. If you want eSIM or dual SIM support, you get that too.
Apple may have almost made the transition to USB-C on the iPad lineup (but the standard iPad will still hold out) but hasn't made the move for the iPhone yet. There's still a Lightning port on the bottom of the phone that's hidden between the two speaker grilles. Maybe USB-C for iPhone 14 will come into play, we'll just have to wait ...
Cameras
Quad reversing cameras:
Main (26 mm): 12 megapixels, f / 1.5 aperture, 1.9 µm pixel size, dual-pixel autofocus (PDAF), sensor shift stabilization (OIS)
Ultra wide (0.5x; 13mm): 12MP, f / 1.8, PDAF
Zoom (3x; 77 mm): 12 MP, f / 2.8, PDAF, OIS
LiDAR scanner
Macro Mode, Night Mode, Film Video Mode, Photographic Styles
ProRes support "available soon"
Apple continues to focus on the camera experience with the iPhone 13 Pro, offering new photo modes, filters, and video options. This is where iPhone 12 Pro users will notice the most changes.
There are still three main lenses on the back in addition to the flash and LiDAR sensor , and the cameras are housed in a slightly larger housing that protrudes even more than ever before - the iPhone 13 Pro no longer sits flat on our Belkin Wireless Charger, for example - because the newer device has optimized the maximum aperture values and zooming.
All three sensors offer a resolution of 12 megapixels, but the lenses offer three very different recording options: ultra wide angle, standard wide angle and telephoto zoom. The combination of these also provides an almost seamless 6x zoom - optically, however, the Tele is only 3x - as you zoom through the different lenses without knowing that you are changing the camera system.
Only when the iPhone 13 Pro automatically switches to the new macro function do you notice something else on the screen - only for a split second, but it's still something that is a little irritating at times. Macro enables you to take photos from a distance of just 2 cm from your subject and opens the door to the world of close-ups for anyone interested.
The three new lenses don't just let you zoom into the action. The improved apertures allow more light to enter, making a faster shutter response plausible, which can help reduce image blurring - especially in poor lighting conditions.
To improve things further, is the dual optical image stabilization and sensor shift stabilization, and that's before you consider any computational corrections Apple is applying with this new A15 Bionic processor. The results are impressive, the photos are sharp and detailed. Not to mention, it's almost effortless to shoot, which is one of Apple's great strengths over the competition. No, it might not have the highest resolution, but given the ease of use, you won't have to worry about that. Regardless of whether it is recording on a bright and sunny day, with an overcast sky or in poor lighting conditions, we have no problems yet. Apple also went a step further with what it calls Photography Styles. In addition to taking into account filters that you can apply to a photo before or after the act, it also takes into account the layers within a photo, so the filter is only applied to the elements it believes need to be applied, such as skin tones to protect. There are four photography styles to choose from - high contrast, vivid, warm, and cool - with the ability to further customize the settings to suit your style. But be warned: you can only use this feature before taking a picture and cannot remove it after taking it. Thankfully, the results are subtle so you won't end up with a ruinous bleach bypass effect or anything like that. Perhaps the biggest new shout-around feature is the cinematic mode. Much like a portrait mode for video, it applies the blur effect to foreground objects in addition to the background objects, so that the faces of your subjects stay in focus as they move around the frame and gently blur everything else to give you a distinct depth of field. Area. This mode, which is automatically selected by default, also allows you to change the focus while recording or edit it later via a user interface. The results can be good, but certainly not always perfect. Similar to portrait mode for still images, the blur tends to get excessive at times, which can lead to a complete mess. For example, multiple faces in one shot can confuse the system, as can other objects, if it tries to capture all of the potential subjects. When done right, the results are very impressive, but be prepared to find it wrong as well. Fortunately, you can remove or reduce the effect if it didn't work the way you wanted. Our gut feeling is that this mode is only used by a handful of users and not by the masses.