iPhone 13: 5 things to know about Apple's latest smartphones
The iPhone 13 is unlucky for some (mainly iPhone 12 users)
September can only mean one thing for Apple fans: new iPhones! That's right, the Apple metronome continues to click and with it the arrival of new fangled phones for you lot to lust after.
On the surface, the iPhone 13 may disappoint some. It looks pretty much like an iPhone 12 which means that Apple isn't ridding itself of that pesky notch just yet. But what it has done is improve things under the hood, which means it's brought out a lot of percentages to prove just how fast (and faster than the iPhone 12), the new iPhone 13 range is.
If you weren't riveted to Apple's keynote (we don't blame you, you are busy people), here are 5 things to know about the iPhone 13 and its powerful bedfellows, the iPhone 13 Pro and iPhone Pro Max, and diminutive sibling the iPhone 13 Mini.
1. There are four iPhone 13s to choose from!
Whatever your phone needs, Apple has you covered with its iPhone 13 range. The OG iPhone 13 and the iPhone 13 Pro are blessed with a 6.1-inch screen, the iPhone 13 Mini has a 5.4-inch screen. the displays are OLED, or to use Apple's parlance, have a Super Retina XDR display. Fancy. The iPhone Pro Max has a massive 6.7-inch screen and with it a 120Hz refresh rate.
It also notes that its 'Ceramic Shield' tech is tougher than any smartphone glass. Which is a little bit 'my dad is harder than your dad' but we'll let it stand.
2. There's a notch. It's a smaller notch but still a notch
With many a smartphone manufacturer doing away with notches (for some years now), Apple has stuck to its design guns and has decided that notch on the front screen is STILL the way forward. Hmm. At least the one on the iPhone 13 are some 20 percent smaller.
The good news is that it takes up less space at the top of the handset but you may well be looking on at the hole-punch displays of myriad Android devices in envy.
3. The design is a tweak, not an overhaul
Think of the iPhone 13 as like the old-school 'S' range for iPhone. There are many improvements but they are mostly chip, camera and battery focused. The look of the phones are very similar to that of the iPhone 12 range. In fact, the biggest change has to do with the camera bump on the back - Apple has decided to add the iPhone 12 Pro Max camera and add it to the iPhone 13. A hand-me-down then, but a bloody good one at that.
Other nice changes include the colour schemes. Apple is now offering a rather fancy range of colours for the iPhone 13 and iPhone 13 Mini. There's a new pink, blue, midnight and starlight and Project Red finish to choose from.
When it comes to the iPhone 13 Pro and iPhone 13 Pro Max, there's an extra lens thrown in for good measure and the colours are Sierra Blue, Silver, Gold and Graphite.
4. The iPhone 13 has more power and battery life
Thankfully it hasn't forgotten about battery life and reckons its new iPhone 13 will offer a decent battery life. Take, the iPhone 13 Mini, that has 90 minutes better battery life than the iPhone 12 Mini, and the iPhone 13 the same. This ups to 2.5 hours more battery life for the iPhone 13 Pro Max, compared to its predecessor.
5. It's all about the cameras on the iPhone 13 range
As we've mentioned, the iPhone 13 has nabbed the camera bump from the iPhone 12 Max Pro, so you are getting (compared to the iPhone 12) a sensor that's nearly 50 percent bigger than last year, while there's two 12MP lenses - one is ultra wide, offering a 120-degree field of view.
Couple this with things like sensor-shift stabilization technology and a new cinematic mode (which is said to shift focus in real time when filming) and what you have is a cracker of a camera.
As for the iPhone Pro 13 and iPhone Pro 13 Max, there's an addition Telephoto lens for Macro shots.
iPhone 13 release date and price
The iPhone 13 range is set for release on September 24th, with pre-orders starting 17 September. As for price, they start a $799/£779 for the iPhone 13 and $699/£679 for the iPhone 13 Mini.
The iPhone Pro starts at £949 and the iPhone 13 Pro Max is £1,049.
Storage wise, it starts from 128GB and goes all the way up to 1TB if you fancy the iPhone 13 Pro Max.
