Review iPhone 13: better on many points

Bert van Dijk

In terms of 5G, little has changed with the iPhone 13. The fastest mmWave frequency is still only available on iPhones sold in the US. Furthermore, especially the screen, the camera and the battery life have been improved. With the new A15-bionic processor, Apple is raising the bar again with a 15 to 20 percent speed increase. Impressively, this processor is now 62 percent faster than the fastest processor in an Android smartphone. With an additional graphics core, the iPhone 13 Pro models perform 55 percent better than the iPhone 12 Pro and are powerful enough for demanding games and processing 4K images in the professional ProRes format. Compared to some Android phones, iPhone 13 charges quite slowly at 1.5 hours. Apple would consciously choose a slightly longer charging time, because this would be better for the life of the iPhone battery. With a standard 20W charger (which Apple does not include), you can charge the battery for about half in thirty minutes.
TIP: You charge a little faster if you use the heavier Mac charger. Wireless charging actually takes longer.

The iPhone 13 models differ in size, colors and number of cameras

THE APPEARANCE DIFFERENCES
Outwardly, not much has changed compared to the iPhone 12. You can still easily recognize the iPhone 13 Pro by the three camera lenses. The iPhone 13 and the iPhone Mini have two cameras with larger sensors on the back, which Apple has therefore placed at an angle. Furthermore, the notch, a camera cutout at the top of the screen, has become 20 percent narrower, but because that space is not used to show more information, it is not of much use. The iPhone 13 has a matte edge and a shiny back in brighter colors. The colors of the iPhone 13 Pro Max are a bit more chic in combination with a matte back and shiny edge. The color Sierra Blue looks very nice in Apple’s photos, but is usually more gray than blue, depending on the light.

‘PRO’ CAMERAS
Very nice is that two of the three cameras from last year’s top model are now also present on the iPhone 13 mini and the standard iPhone 13. These sensors capture 42 percent more light, so you can take better photos in low light. In an extensive test by DXOmark, both devices for photography scored just as well as the iPhone Pro 12 Pro Max. For video, both iPhones score 4 points higher than last year’s top model and only 2 points lower than the iPhone 13 Pro.
On all iPhone 13 models, you can now use the Photographic Styles choose from default† rich contrast† lively† hot and cool† The tone and contrast of each style can be adjusted slightly to your own preference. It is not yet possible to take a photo in multiple styles in quick succession and after taking the photo you can no longer change the style. With HDR4, the iPhone 13 now recognizes up to four individual people and the style set has no unnatural effect on skin tones.
TIP† If you want to keep all post-processing options open, it’s better to shoot in the uncompressed ProRaw format.

VIDEO MODE
The new video mode automatically focuses on the main subject and makes the environment less sharp. If someone turns around during filming, that other person comes into sharp focus very smoothly. Animal faces are also well recognized. It is also very nice that you can also enter afterwards iMovie† photos and the Clipsapp you can choose what comes into focus. The video mode (and the photographic styles) also work with the front camera.
However, this new feature still suffers from some teething problems. You sometimes see some unnatural effects around faces. Also unfortunate is that it only works up to 1080p resolution at 30 frames per second. Fortunately, outside the video mode, you can film in 4K Dolby Vision quality at 60 frames per second.

The iPhone 13 Pro now also has a telephoto lens with 3x zoom

Apple this year made the smallest Pro version even more attractive with the same good cameras as the larger Pro Max model. Both iPhone 13 Pro models now have 3x The iPhone 13 Pro now also has a telephoto lens with 3x zoom. On the previous iPhone 12 Pro Max that was 2.5x zoom and the previous iPhone 12 Pro had to make do with 2x zoom. A nice improvement for lovers of a handy smartphone. For photography, both iPhone 13 Pro models received 144 points from test website DXOMark, which is good for a shared fourth place. For video recording, both Pro devices achieved the highest score DXOMark has ever awarded a smartphone camera with 119 points.

Since the iPhone 11, the iPhone has a night mode. Especially in those situations with less light, you notice that the cameras have been further improved. Compared to the iPhone 12, they are 92 percent more light-sensitive. This allows you to take better photos with better colors in low light. I was even able to take a picture of the starry sky. A new feature is that you can also use the night mode on the telephoto lens and that you can also make people stand out against a blurred background with the LIDAR scanner. It’s a shame that Apple has only improved the front camera in software and that camera doesn’t follow you with the Centerfeature that is present on the cheapest iPad.

	With the iPhone Pro you can you up to 2 cm away take beautiful macro photos

MACROM MODE AND PRORES VIDEO
At a distance of 14 cm, the iPhone Pro automatically switches to the ultra-wide angle lens and you can focus very close to 2 cm for beautiful close-ups. Fortunately, the lens transition looks better in video than when taking photos. Apple is going to solve this problem with a setting to turn macro mode on or off. From iOS 15.1 you can record video in very high ProRes quality with both iPhone 13 Pro models. ProRes is actually a kind of ProRaw for moving images with more options for post-processing. A minute of 4K recording at 60 frames per second takes up 6 GB. That is why you can film with a maximum of 1080p resolution with an iPhone 13 Pro with 128 GB in ProRes quality. To film in the highest 4K resolution in ProRes, you need to buy at least an iPhone 13 Pro with 256GB memory storage. However, after 75 minutes of filming, even an iPhone with 512 GB is already quite full. It takes a very long time to transfer those large video files via the Lightning port. It is therefore hoped that Apple will provide the next iPhone Pro models with a USB-C connection.

ECONOMICAL OLED PROMOTION SCREEN
The OLED screen of the iPhone 13 looks great, but unfortunately it only refreshes 60 times per second. In scrolling and action games, you can clearly see the difference with the screen of the iPhone 13 Pro models. The screens now output 800 nits instead of 625 nits. This allows you to see the screen better in a bright environment. A big improvement is the ProMotion screen on both Pro models. With this technique that Apple has been using with the iPad Pro for years, the frame rate varies. With a lot of movement in a game, the screen switches to 120 Hz. This keeps images and text much sharper when scrolling quickly. Also Augmented Realityeffects look more realistic on a 120Hz screen. With a still image, the screen at 10 Hz is very economical with the power consumption.
Together with the economical new processor and a slightly larger battery, this gives a 2.5 hours longer battery life than the previous Pro models. The fact that you can watch video for three hours longer with the iPhone 13 Pro with a 4 percent smaller battery than the iPhone 13, clearly shows how much power the Pro-Motion screen saves by switching back to 24 Hz. This allows you to watch no less than 28 hours of video with the iPhone 13 Pro Max. Because of course nobody looks at each other for so long, the power consumption for various activities was also measured. It showed that the battery life of the iPhone 13 Pro was only a few minutes longer during varied activities than with the regular iPhone 13.
For ProMotion, developers still have to indicate in their apps that they want to use the variable frame rate.

CONCLUSION
Apple has managed to make the new iPhones even better on many points. We expect that the iPhone 13 Pro in particular will be chosen more often. With the new ProMotion screen and the best cameras in a handy format with macro recordings and 3x zoom, this version will appeal to many photo and video enthusiasts. If you have an iPhone that is older than the iPhone 11, you can take beautifully exposed shots with all iPhone 13 models in many more situations.

Bert van Dijk is a volunteer of HCC!apple. New iPhone and iPad tips every month: apple.hcc.nl