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%20(1).jpg "iphone 13 pro review: price, specs and features")
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%20(1).jpg "iphone 13 pro review: price, specs and features")
Introduction:
The iPhone 14 Pro is now available for purchase, and it improves on the already excellent iPhone 13 Pro in several ways.
I've reviewed a lot of phones in my career, but the iPhone 13 Pro is by far the best. Apple's latest handset raises the bar so high that it's difficult to find any real flaws with the iPhone 13 Pro, save for the lack of Touch ID and the fact that charging speed remains limited to 20W.
However, consider what the iPhone 13 Pro does offer. From the A15 Bionic's crushing performance to its excellent and bright 120Hz OLED display, this is one powerful device. If you like slim phones, this is about as good as it gets for a 6.1-inch screen phone. Best of all, there are no differences in features between this model and the iPhone 13 Pro Max. Both phones have the same telephoto zoom capabilities, and sensor-shift optical image stabilisation is available on all four iPhone 13 models. You're not sacrificing anything by going with the less expensive and smaller iPhone 13 Pro.
Price
iPhone 13 pro specs and features
Design
The iPhone 13 Pro appears to be very similar to the iPhone 12 Pro, with the exception of two key differences: a larger camera hump and a smaller notch. The first point is self-evident. When laying on a table or desk, the lenses and the square around them stand out quite noticeably — the phone is far from flat.
However, the smaller notch is noteworthy. According to Apple, it's about 20% smaller than the one we're all used to. When you hold up the new phone next to an iPhone 12 Pro, you can definitely tell the difference.
.jpg "iPhone 13 pro specs and features: Design")
Although the smaller notch is a step in the right direction, I still find it unsightly. Because Apple is still betting big on Face ID, the notch is here to stay for the time being — under-display TrueDepth tech is probably still a ways off.
On that note, Touch ID is a significant omission on the iPhone 13 Pro. According to rumours, Apple was testing in-display fingerprint technology similar to what is found on many of the best Android phones. In a world where the COVID-19 pandemic is still raging and many of us are strongly advised to wear masks, I believe Apple's failure to provide an unlock alternative to Face ID remains a problem. The workaround introduced with iOS 14.5 earlier this year is insufficient.
The iPhone 13 Pro has a substantial frame made of stainless steel. It feels heavier and more solid than the 7.19 ounces listed as the phone's weight by Apple. While my time with the phone has been limited, I did experience wrist and pinky fatigue while using it, more so than with my daily driver, the iPhone 12 Pro.
Because the design of the iPhone 13 Pro is largely unchanged, it feels like an iterative upgrade over its predecessor rather than one that pushes the boundaries. I believe Apple played it safe this year, focusing instead on display and camera improvements.
screen
The iPhone 13 Pro has the same size OLED panel as its predecessor and packs
a lot of pixels into a screen that measures 6.1 inches diagonally. This is
the latest version of Apple's Super Retina XDR technology, and it's
stunning. Colors pop, contrast is high, and viewing angles are excellent.
The
iPhone 13 Pro's display delivered in every way, whether I was playing the
anime-inspired, saturated Genshin Impact or watching the harsh orange scenes
in the latter half of Blade Runner 2049. Even bright neon pinks, magentas,
and purples in cyberpunk or retrowave images looked stunning.
In display benchmarks, here's how the iPhone 13 Pro's screen compares to the Galaxy S21 Plus and iPhone 12 Pro.
| iPhone 13 Pro | Galaxy S21 Plus (Vivid / Natural) | iPhone 12 Pro | |
|---|---|---|---|
| sRGB (%) | 117 | 212 / 104 | 116 |
| DCI-P3 (%) | 83 | 150 / 74 | 82 |
| Delta-E | 0.27 | 0.31 / 0.18 | 0.28 |
| Nits | 1024 | 747 | 742 |
The iPhone 13 achieved comparable colour saturation to its predecessor, and its Delta-E colour accuracy score (where 0 is perfect) was roughly the same as that of the iPhone 12 Pro. But take note of the maximum brightness we measured in our lab: A brightness of 1,024 nits is extremely bright.
.jpg "iPhone 13 pro specs and features: screen")
Of course, the highlight this year is the 120Hz ProMotion refresh rate on both the iPhone 13 Pro and iPhone 13 Pro Max. The ProMotion experience is excellent.
The display on the iPhone 13 Pro can automatically switch between 10Hz and 120Hz, providing a smooth experience that adapts not only to the content on screen, but also to how quickly your finger swipes across the glass.
It's difficult to go back to a 60Hz display after experiencing a 120Hz one. The same can be said for the iPhone 13 Pro, which has a noticeably smoother screen than the iPhone 12 Pro. In comparison, I strongly prefer the ProMotion display.
It is not only easier to read text on a web page while scrolling, but the crisp animations when switching between emails in Gmail or simply unlocking the phone all contribute to an extremely premium experience.
While I wouldn't say the iPhone 13 Pro has the best display on the market, it's certainly very good and much more competitive now that ProMotion is available.
cameras
The iPhone 13 Pro has three 12MP rear cameras, including a telephoto lens with a focal length of 77mm and 3x optical zoom. This year's main shooter has a larger sensor and a wider aperture at f/1.5, allowing it to let in more light than before.
The 12MP 120-degree ultrawide now has a larger sensor and autofocus for sharper super wide-angle shots. The new phone really shines in low light, especially when compared to its predecessor and the competition.
The iPhone 13 Pro comes with Photographic Styles, which are essentially preset filters, but calling them that would be a disservice. Each style is displayed in real time, allowing you to find the best lighting and colour balance options to complement the artistic look you're going for. From Vibrant to High Contrast, these modes introduce new ways to capture images without the need for post-processing filters. These are compatible with both the front and rear cameras. The gallery above shows the default mode and the four options you get out of the box — you can customise them later.
Video Capture
For several years, the iPhone was the phone to get if you were interested in video recording. The iPhone 13 Pro now includes Cinematic Mode, which is essentially the portrait video we've been hearing about. This new mode is much more than that, though, offering a truly professional and artistic way to shoot videos. Cinematic Mode not only adds a bokeh effect around your subject, but it also tracks it as you shoot.
It can, for example, detect when a subject enters or exits the frame and dynamically shift the focus accordingly. Alternatively, if the subject looks behind them, the iPhone 13 Pro will move to the area that the person is looking at. In this mode, you can record at 1080p 30 frames per second. Cinematic Mode is really cool in practice, and it expertly demonstrates the power of the A15 Bionic's Neural Engine, but I'm not sure how often an average user will use it.
The iPhone 13 Pro supports Dolby Vision HDR at up to 4K 60 fps for a more traditional video approach. You can also shoot in ProRes format, which lends itself well to professional-grade editing — which, thanks to the phone's processing power, you can also edit on the iPhone 13 Pro. However, only the 256GB, 512GB, and 1TB iPhone 13 Pro models support ProRes in 4K 30 fps. For ProRes, the 128GB version is limited to 1080p at 30 frames per second.
Performance
The A15 Bionic system-on-chip is new to the iPhone 13 series. On the Pro models, it has a six-core CPU and a five-core GPU, as well as an upgraded Neural Engine. (The iPhone 13 and iPhone 13 mini use quad-core GPUs). The iPhone 13 Pro, when combined with 6GB of RAM, is a veritable powerhouse, leagues ahead of the best Android has to offer. The A15 outperforms the Snapdragon 888, demonstrating Apple's mastery of silicon.
The graphical prowess of the iPhone 13 Pro should not be underestimated. Apple claims that the GPU in the A15 Bionic is 50% faster than the competition (likely referring to the Snapdragon 888 and its Adreno 660 GPU). Because iOS doesn't allow you to track framerates in games, measuring real-world gaming performance is difficult, but more intensive titles like Genshin Impact and Asphalt 9 look great on the iPhone 13 Pro.
I included the iPhone 12 Pro in this comparison to demonstrate the generational advancement from last year. The A15 Bionic not only outperforms the A14, but it also outperforms the Snapdragon 888 in the Galaxy S21 Plus. Nothing in Android can compete with the A15, even if synthetic benchmarks aren't always representative of real-world performance.
We use Adobe Premiere Rush to simulate real-world performance by having a phone transcode a 4K video file to 1080p. The iPhone 12 Pro can already complete the test in 27 seconds, while the Galaxy S21 Plus takes nearly a minute.
The transcode was completed in just 26 seconds by the iPhone 13 Pro. It's not a significant upgrade over the A14-equipped iPhone 12 Pro, but it extends Apple's lead over Qualcomm.
Wild Life by 3DMark is a graphics benchmark, and I included both the original and Extreme test results. Even the iPhone 13 Pro is brought to its knees by the Extreme Unlimited benchmark. However, the average framerate in the original Wild Life Unlimited test shows a significant improvement over the A14 and a significant leap ahead of the Galaxy S21 Plus is the most powerful phone available right now.
| iPhone 13 Pro | Galaxy S21 Plus | iPhone 12 Pro | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Geekbench 5 (single / multi-core) | 1733 / 4718 | 1116 / 3300 | 1585 / 3669 |
| Adobe Premiere Rush (Mins:Secs) | 0:26 | 1:00 | 0:27 |
| 3DMark Wild Life Unlimted (Score / FPS) | 11,963 / 70 | 5571 / 33.3 | 8619 / 51 |
| 3DMark Wild Life Extreme Unlimited (Score / FPS) | 2766 / 16.5 | 1447 / 8.5 | Not measured |
Android and its plethora of devices certainly have their own strengths, but the hardware powering the ecosystem falls short of Apple's own chips.
This year, Apple improved its phones' 5G capabilities, building on the steps taken with the iPhone 12 series. This time around, the iPhone 13 Pro has more 5G bands, which means it can work in more places and on more carriers. Smart Data Mode is back, allowing your phone to switch to LTE when 5G isn't required (and theoretically saving on battery life).
We're still in the early stages of 5G, and due to some rollout issues, the experience isn't always better everywhere you go. But that's a carrier issue. You can be confident that the iPhone 13 Pro has the hardware to handle future network upgrades.
Battery life
We don't know the battery capacity of the iPhone 13 Pro because Apple doesn't reveal that information. Teardowns will fill in the gaps, but Apple has confirmed that this year's iPhones have larger batteries.
To that end, Apple claims that the iPhone 13 Pro has a 1.5-hour longer battery life than the iPhone 12 Pro. Apple's battery life estimates are typically conservative, so I was eager to see how the new phone would fare in the Tom's Guide battery test, in which we force a phone to endlessly reload web pages over a cellular connection until it dies.
The larger battery in the iPhone 13 Pro pays off handsomely, increasing the phone's longevity by nearly 3 hours over its predecessor and by more than 2 hours over the Galaxy S21 Plus for a total time of 12 hours and 18 minutes. For comparison, the previous iPhone lasted 9 hours and 6 minutes, while the Galaxy S21 Plus lasted 9 hours and 41 minutes.
The iPhone 13 Pro continues to use a Lightning connector rather than USB-C, as do the new iPads. There's also no charger in the box, continuing a trend begun by Apple with the release of the iPhone 12.
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