The new iPhone 13 and iPhone 13 mini are here. Though many headlines have focused on the iPhone 13 Pro and iPhone 13 Pro Max, the iPhone 13 is the phone that many of us will be angling for, and it’s a considerable upgrade over last year’s iPhones.
After all, if you’re not a camera nut, you might not need the Pro’s extra telephoto lens camera and other photography features. Though, please note, the cameras on the iPhone 13 are a big step up from last year’s iPhone 12.
Or maybe you prefer the design of the iPhone 13 with its glossy finish and brighter colors? And you may have heard about one of the iPhone 13’s key upgrades: Battery life.
Supposing you like the iPhone 13 but want something smaller and more pocketable? The 13 has a smaller sibling (and this is something the 13 Pro can’t match) in the shape of the iPhone 13 mini, a compact handset which does everything the iPhone 13 does, but for smaller hands or those who don’t care for big phones.
The iPhone 13 and iPhone 13 mini are identical in design, colors, processor, cameras and more—in fact, they’re the same in every way except screen size, battery size and price. So, this review applies to both phones and there’ll be a special iPhone 13 mini section down below that enumerates the differences.
So, should you buy the iPhone 13? And what will you miss by not getting the Pro? Read on.
Apple iPhone 13 In a Nutshell
Pros:
- Strong cameras
- Better battery life
- Stunning display
Cons:
- Familiar design
- Lacks the Pro extras
Apple iPhone 13: Technical Specifications
Price From $899 | Cameras: 12MP ultra wide, 12MP wide, 12MP Face ID camera | Processor Apple A 15 Bionic | Display: 6.1-inch OLED 2532 x 1170 pixels, 460 pixels per inch| Storage: No SD slot, 128GB-512GB internal Memory: not stated | Battery: Up to 19 hours video playback | Dimensions: 5.78 x 2.82 x 0.3 inches, 146.7 x 71.5 x 7.65mm | Weight 6.14 ounces, 174g
Apple iPhone 13 mini: Technical Specifications
Price From $799 | Cameras: 12MP ultra wide, 12MP wide, 12MP Face ID camera | Processor Apple A 15 Bionic | Display: 6.1-inch OLED 2340 x 1080 pixels, 476 pixels per inch| Storage: No SD slot, 128GB-512GB internal Memory: not stated | Battery: Up to 17 hours video playback | Dimensions: 5.18 x 2.53 x 0.3 inches, 131.5 x 64.2 x 7.65mm | Weight 4.97 ounces, 141g
Design
The look of the iPhone 13 is a definite evolution of the iPhone 12, featuring the same flat edges and display that replaced the iPhone 11’s pillowed screen and sides. There are differences between this year’s phones and last year’s but you have to look closely. The display is identical in size and resolution to the iPhone 12, which is a 6.1-inch OLED panel with 460 pixels-per-inch.
But the TrueDepth camera unit on this phone, and all the 2021 iPhones, has been redesigned. It’s the cut-out at the top of the screen that has been there, unchanged, since Apple switched iPhones from Touch ID to Face ID and it’s always been wide and shallow.
Now, thanks to Apple moving the components of the camera unit and the earpiece speaker around, the notch, as it’s called, is suddenly a tiny bit deeper and a whole lot narrower. Apple says the new cut-out is 20% smaller than before. It’s a noticeable change, though as with previous notches, I found that as soon as I started using the iPhone, I ceased to notice the cut-out. Even so, smaller is better.
The other change is bigger. Apple has redesigned the camera panel on the back of the iPhone 13 and 13 mini. Last year, the two camera lenses were arranged vertically with the flash and microphone to the right. This time, the lenses are much bigger than before. And to make them fit into a panel not much bigger than before, the lenses have been repositioned diagonally. The result looks good and is a striking design, but of course, the point of the new cameras is that they can take better pictures.
Other key aspects of the iPhone 12 remain in place, like the Ceramic Shield that makes the screen better protected against drops, the glossy glass back with matte glass camera panel, aluminum antenna band carefully color-matched to the phone’s back and useful water-resistance.
The new iPhones also use the same MagSafe set-up. If your last iPhone was before the iPhone 12, as it will be for many people choosing to upgrade right now, MagSafe will be a new feature. It’s a ring of magnets which means that when you place the iPhone on a MagSafe charger, the phone is guided automatically into place perfectly. The days of waking up to find your phone didn’t charge overnight because you’d placed it down erratically are gone. MagSafe is also found in other accessories like cases and the wallet accessory which attaches magnetically to the back of the iPhone. It now comes with Find My compatibility so you can see where you left it from your iPhone.
The colors aren’t quite the same as last year, either, with a noticeably different shade of blue and no green this year. The full range of five colors is: Pink, Blue, Midnight, Starlight, and (PRODUCT)RED. Starlight is a cross between silver and gold, while Midnight is a black with notes of blue. In the right light, Midnight looks like a deep purple shade.
Display
Notch apart, the screen is similar to last year’s iPhone 12 display, but not quite. This is another OLED screen that’s HDR-compatible so you can watch movies or TV shows. The display supports HDR10, HLG and Dolby Vision. Older iPhone staples are also here, like True Tone, which adjusts the white balance so that the colors on screen look especially natural.
But the main change is in brightness. OLED doesn’t always look as bright as you might like but this display has peak outdoor brightness of 800 nits, so it’s easier to read in sunlight. And if the content you’re looking at is HDR, then the peak brightness leaps further to 1,200 nits.
The display is one of the major differences between the iPhone 12 and 12 Pro, the latter of which offers a 120Hz screen; that is, one that refreshes faster to give a smoother effect. The Pro display also goes brighter even than this new iPhone 12 display.
Cameras
Apple describes the iPhone 13 as having its most advanced dual-camera system. The main camera has the biggest sensor in a two-camera iPhone, with bigger pixels to boot. As a result, it can gather 47% more light, it’s claimed. This is important, especially for low-light situations.
The second camera is an ultra wide, and both cameras have 12MP sensors. The wide camera now also has sensor-shift optical image stabilization, first seen on last year’s iPhone 12 Pro Max. That was the most powerful iPhone for photography then and now technology like this has found its way to the entry-level iPhone.
Enough of the statistics—how does it perform? The iPhone 13 cameras are excellent, delivering strong detail and great color fidelity. As an everyday camera, this is hard to beat.
But there’s more. Apple has introduced two new features on the iPhone 13. First, there’s something called Photographic Styles, which lets you choose a signature style for your photos. There are five styles. As well as standard, there’s rich contrast, vibrant, cool and—my favorite—warm. Once you’ve shot in this style, you can’t change it afterwards, but you can switch between styles in settings so your next photo could be cool instead of vibrant, for instance.
The second new feature is a video upgrade that’s just brilliant. Cinematic mode is like Portrait mode for movies. It blurs the background as you shoot, and it uses the powerful A15 Bionic processor to change depth of field on the fly. So, as somebody walks into frame, the focus switches to them, or as somebody in the background turns and looks at the camera, they’re suddenly in sharp focus.
Night mode has also been enhanced. It now works even better and results are impressive. The photo below was taken, I kid you not, in pitch darkness, with a model who is not known for sitting still. Although the long exposure took a couple of seconds, Apple’s advanced processor was able to stitch multiple images together to create a decent picture. It’s not as razor-sharp as daylight images, but it’s pretty cool.
It’s an amazing effect and happens automatically, although you can override this to put the depth of field where you want. You can even change your mind afterwards and edit the footage to adjust the blur.
Performance
The A15 Bionic is an all-new chip which Apple says is 50-percent faster than the competition. Who knows what that means exactly, but what becomes clear as you use it for even a short time is this is a very fast, high-performance phone. Of course it does the simple things like opening apps instantly, playing video smoothly, and so on. But the chip comes into its own to make things like Cinematic mode work so straightforwardly and effectively.
The chip is power-efficient, too, and contributes to one of the best pluses in the iPhone 13: increased battery life. On the iPhone 13, the battery life increase is around 2.5 hours, Apple says, and that chimes with my tests.
How about the iPhone 13 mini?
If you prefer a smaller phone, the iPhone 13 mini is a remarkable handset. It has a 5.4-inch OLED display. But where other manufacturers swap out key components for less powerful ones in smaller, cheaper compact phones, Apple has put the same A15 Bionic chip in the mini as well. Last year’s iPhone mini had a problem in that the battery didn’t quite last the full day. Now, with one-and-a-half hours more battery life, that problem is solved.
As mentioned above, apart from being smaller than the iPhone 13, the only other difference is the price. It starts at $100 less than the iPhone 13.
What do you miss from the iPhone 13 Pro?
The Pro models are the priciest and most potent iPhones. Along with a third camera and 120Hz fast-refresh screen, the iPhone 13 Pro has an upgraded version of the A15 Bionic powering it. This allows it to do more things like shooting macro photos and video, and record video in the advanced Apple ProRes codec, though this feature is coming later. Like the 13 and 13 mini, the Pro versions have improved battery life.
Is the iPhone 13 worth it?
The iPhone 13 would be worth buying even if the only upgrade was the brilliant battery life increase. But it’s not. The enlarged, improved cameras with cool new features like Cinematic mode, the brighter screen, the smaller notch and the blazing-fast performance are all excellent too.
If you want a smaller phone, the iPhone 13 mini has all the above, including more than enough battery life. Still, the iPhone 13 is probably the iPhone most people will buy, and they shouldn’t be disappointed.
