Apple iPhone 13: Is It The "Best" Apple Could Do?

The iPhone 13s are here and here is all you need to know about the products. Unlike every year, this year Apple had some major promises to fulfil, and it seemed to have done that. However, one thing remains constant, Tim Cook saying that this is the "best" iPhone ever made. Here is everything you need to know about the latest iPhones, what is likeable and what might not be very likeable. Understanding all of these points is important in order to make a decision about whether to go with Apple's latest offering or not. Will these new iPhones actually beat the competition?

Design

The design of the Apple iPhone 13 series is uncannily identical to the design of the phones from the previous generation. In times when brands like Samsung, Mi and Huawei try to come up with a new design language every year single to uniquely identify themselves, Apple believes that the iPhone design is "iconic" which keeps them from making a lot of changes to the design of the phones. The major difference that can be seen in the phones of every generation are the colours.

Colours

Apple has made a very interesting choice of colour palette this time around. For the normal iPhone 13 and 13 Mini. There are 5 colours, the pink and the red look promising and better than before. For the Pro models, there are a few standard colours that Apple has that do change, like the Black and white. However, there is always one new colour that stands out every year, the hero colour. This is the colour that is shown in all the promotion videos for the phone. It was midnight green for the iPhone 11 Pro, Pacific Blue for the iPhone 12 Pro, and now we have the Sierra Blue for the iPhone 13 Pro.

Smaller Notch

The notch has remained a constant from Apple's side since the iPhone X came out. A number of Android phones have come out since then, making the design look old and obsolete. The company has not got rid of it entirely this time, but it is now 20% smaller due to the earpiece being pushed to the top bezel. This means that it gives slightly more screen real-estate on the top, so Apple might bring back the battery percentage icon. The bezels around the flat screen of the phone are even. The presence of a notch keeps Apple from making any sacrifices for the selfie camera, which has been seen in multiple Android phones. This also keeps the Face ID, which is the best facial recognition on a smartphone, running.

Storage

Storage has always been an issue with the base variant of the iPhones. The option of 64 GB with no options of expansion makes no sense in the age of heavy-duty data. In 2021, 64 GB is not good enough and would get full before the day ends, in some cases. This has been upgraded with the newer iPhone 13 series. Every phone in the series comes with a base variant of 128 GB storage, and the top variant of the iPhone 13 Pro goes all the way up to 1 TB. All of this starting at the same price as last year's phone. Surprisingly, it is cheaper in the UK than last year.

Bigger Battery

This time around, Apple has prioritized the battery and its performance. It does not take a rocket scientist to realize that a bigger battery is better for the consumers. It will make the phone last for longer, but would also make it less appealing to the masses because of its design and weight. There have been times when Apple focused so much on the design and in-hand feel that they miss out on giving enough battery to the consumers. That has changed this time around. The iPhone 13 Mini and 13 Pro gives users 1.5 hours of more screen on time and with the normal 13 and 13 Pro Max, the users will be getting an extra 2.5 hours of screen on time.

120Hz Refresh Rate

One thing that the smartphone community has been emphasizing over and asking from Apple is screens with higher refresh rates. For the past year, Apple has been coming out with phones with a 60Hz refresh rate. This time they have changed it. The iPhone 13 Pro and iPhone 13 Pro Max will come with a refresh rate of 120Hz. This is going to be a massive jump for the users and experience. One thing to make a note of is that the normal iPhone 13 and the Mini version still come with a 60 Hz refresh rate. The inclusion of a 120 Hz refresh rate panel might not be groundbreaking, as almost all the Android flagship phones come with it, but it is important to understand that the competition comes out with multiple phones every year across ranges but Apple only comes out with 4 variant of the same phone. They have to cater to a huge diversity of users and therefore, it makes sense why Apple would not want to go all out with the normal iPhone 13 or 13 Mini because there might be users who would not want the highest piece of tech that the company has to offer.

A15 Chip

One of the most interesting aspects of the new iPhone 13 series is the A15 chipset. According to the launch event, this chip has a 50% faster CPU and a 30% faster GPU. These numbers are crazy, but can also be misleading. The percentage boost in performance is not in comparison to last year, but the competitors. The A14 Bionic chip was already ahead of the competition, and pitching the A15 as even better without giving any actual comparisons or numbers can be confusing for a number of users. It is very hard to know exactly how faster is A15 than the A14 chip. However, the bottom line is that it does come with a better chip set and a faster and more reliable reception of 5G.

Cameras and Optics

For starters, Apple has improved the cinematic video mode. Apple has had portrait mode photos for a while now, and when it was first introduced in the iPhone 7 Plus it was a strenuous task. The data from two separate cameras had to be processed, create a depth map, and then apply different levels of blur to different parts of the image according to that depth map. However, five generations of chips later, Apple finally has enough processing power to be able to perform a similar type of computation 30 times per second.

If this tech works, then shooting a movie with a phone would make the overall cost much cheaper and convenient. While shooting cinematic video with this iPhone, you already have the ability to refocus the video after you've taken it. Plus, this phone can use its ultrawide camera to anticipate when someone is about to walk into the frame of the main camera and get the focus ready for the object. Every single camera on every single one of these new iPhone 13s has been upgraded. For the iPhone 13 and 13 Mini, you have a new main camera with a larger sensor that apparently lets in 47per cent more light and then also an upgraded ultrawide camera to try and keep parity. Put simply bigger sensors equals more light equals better photos.

Here's where the iPhone 13 pros start to pull ahead. It really does feel like Apple is making sure that the pros feel pro this year, but then they've kept the normal iPhone 13s as the more simple, iterative upgrade for people who just don't care about their phone as much. On the pro iPhones, the zoom camera has been upgraded to three times optical zoom. The ultrawide now lets in a lot more light, up to 92 per cent. The main camera can apparently let in 2.2 times more light. It might sound hard to put numbers on the camera improvements but these are huge upgrades, going by the numbers.

Charging Situation

One of the concerns that a lot of users might have with the newer iPhones, is the charging situation. None of the iPhone 13s come with a charger in the box. The only cable you get in the box is the USB-C to lightning port cable, for which you will need a USB-C charging brick. Which is something you would not have if you haven't bought an iPhone since the iPhone 11. It also really feels like that Apple is really pushing the MagSafe narrative. To look at it, it is an inconvenience. MagSafe is not a complete wireless charging solution, it just adds more steps to the charging process. It is also slow at 15W, this arrangement does not make sense to people who want to choose convenience over technology.

Where Do the New iPhones Stand with the Competitors?

The new iPhones come very close to destroying the competition. The new A15 chip is faster and comes with better optimization. With the improved cameras and the upgraded refresh rate, Apple has solved every major issue that people had. They have also managed to make it cheaper in certain regions. However, the normal iPhone 13 and 13 Mini are less competitive because some people might still think that this piece of tech is obsolete. Not having a 120Hz refresh rate in 2021 is a big deal in a flagship phone.