In a first, Apple’s new iPhone 13 series will hit Indian retail shelves on the same day as the US and other key global markets. It’s clear evidence that India is now one of Apple’s key global focus markets. Just like last year, Apple unleashed four new iPhones that pick up the baton from the iPhone 12 quartet. Of the four, iPhone 13 and iPhone 13 Pro Max are most likely to be the popular variants.
So, which new generation iPhone should you go with?iPhone 13 or go Pro? We break it all down for you:
1. Life in the fast lane
All the four new iPhones are propelled by Apple’s best of breed A15 Bionic chip that has a new 6-core CPU with two new high-performance cores and four new high-efficiency cores. Apple’s claims that the new 16-core Neural Engine is capable of 15.8 trillion operations per second with faster machine learning capabilities. Bottom line—everything from intense gaming to basic camera functions will be lighting quick.
2. There’s room for more memories
Apple has bumped up the base storage variants from 64GB to 128GB for the iPhone 13 and 13 Mini. About time too! The Pro versions become the first iPhones to boast of a 1TB internal storage variant. That might seem like a lot but not once you start shooting videos with these devices.
3. Ready to make a movie?
One of our favourite moments during the iPhone launch event was the clever Knives Out (the Daniel Craig starrer) parody. It showed off one of the new camera features (available on all the new iPhones) – Cinematic Mode. It automatically transitions focus while filming in real-time and thereby shifts focus when subjects enter or leave the frame. You can edit the depth-of-field effect in the video even after recording. We’ve tried this out with multiple subjects and scenarios and these videos are likely to flood Instagram pretty soon.
4. Long live the night
The dual rear camera on the iPhone 13 and 13 Mini gets a leg up with the Sensor-shift that was a feature reserved for last year’s iPhone 12 Pro Max. It stabilises the sensor instead of the lens. Shots are steadier and lowlight photography is sharper. The smartphones also have a new ‘Photographic Styles’ feature that gives you a choice of five styles (like ‘vibrant’ or ‘rich contrast’). You can change the tone of your image even before you capture it, unlike a post-shot filter.
5. The smartphone shooter to beat?
That’s Apple’s pitch for the cameras on the iPhone 13 Pro and the 13 Pro Max. The all-new wide-angle camera has a larger sensor with 1.9 µm pixels, the largest ever on iPhone. The impact: Less noise and faster shutter speeds across various lighting conditions to capture more details. All three rear lenses get night mode that enhances images and videos across scenarios and whether you’re zooming in or going ultra-wide.
6. Get up close and personal
The new macro mode (also available for slow-mo and time-lapse videos)opens up a host of new photo and video possibilities when you’re shooting with a minimum focus distance of 2 centimetres. Get ready to zoom into those embellishments on pretty food plates for new storytelling opportunities on the ‘gram.
7. Time to ditch those power banks?
Memes about iPhone’s poor battery life, soon, might be a thing of the past. The biggest change in the iPhone 13 is its battery life where a combination of a new processor and a formidable battery impacts power management. Apple pegs the improvement in battery life (over last year’s versions) at 2.5 hours for the iPhone 13 Pro Max and the iPhone 13 (and 1.5 hours for the Mini and 13 Pro).
8. Binge mode on
The 6.1-inch display Super Retina XDR OLED display on the iPhone 13 (the same size as last year’s iPhone 12) is 28% brighter this year. You will now experience a maximum outdoor brightness of 800 nits, with higher peak brightness for HDR content like photos and videos at 1200 nits. If you’re a serious gamer or use your iPhone as your primary binge-watching screen, then the immersive 6.7-inch Super Retina XDR display (1284 x 2778 pixels) on the Pro Max might be what you need. Apple has tweaked the display to offer an adaptive refresh rate from 10Hz to 120Hz. This delivers fast frame rates when you need it and conserves battery life when you don’t.
9. Will you go Pink or Sierra Blue?
We dig the ‘hero’ colours on the iPhone 13 and the Pro versions. The new pink colour option on the iPhone 13 (and Mini) is bound to elicit those second looks even though it’s subtle. This year’s new Sierra Blue (reserved for the Pro siblings) is probably the coolest blue we’ve seen on an iPhone yet. You’re unlikely to notice any major design changes over last year’s iPhone 12 series. We approve of the flat-edge design, that make the current generation of iPhones easier to hold. The one noticeable change (in the 13 and 13 Mini) is the realignment of the rear camera lens in a diagonal pattern. All the devices are a touch heavier to make room for the robust batteries.
Which iPhone 13 should you get?
If you already own one of last year’s iPhone 12 devices, then the new camera features or the 120Hz display on the Pro Max versions might be your only compelling reasons to switch. You will notice a change from design to battery life to the camera and display if you’re an iPhone 11 or earlier.
If you’re looking at the iPhone experience with the buttery smooth iOS 15 OS, then the iPhone 13 might be the popular choice. The camera is versatile, the battery is solid. The iPhone 13 Pro and the Pro Max are designed for serious camera buffs and equally for those of us who like to dig deep and explore the best of Apple’s hardware and ecosystem prowess.