iPhone 13 review: time to trade in your old smartphone

With the very impressive iPhone 12 as its predecessor, the iPhone 13 has big shoes to fill. The model managed to close the gap with the Pro models and was therefore the deal for the average consumer. However, that gap seems to have widened again this year. Is the iPhone 13 your best option or will another model run off with the title?

For the past week, I’ve been allowed to use the iPhone 13 as my default phone. In this review I will let you know what the smartphone has to offer you, to what extent it has become better and which points are a bit disappointing.

iPhone 13: what does the smartphone have to offer you?

To give you a good impression of what the iPhone 13 has to offer, I list the most important specifications for you:

• Display: 6.1-inch Super Retina XDR OLED
• Processor: Apple A15 Bionic processor
• Random access memory 4GB RAM
• Storage capacity: 128GB / 256GB / 512GB
• Battery: 3240mAh
• Payload: 20W
• Camera system type: dual camera system
• Cam 1: 12 megapixel main camera (f/1.6)
• Cam 2: 12-megapixel ultra-wide camera (f/2.4)
• selfie camera: 12 megapixels (f/2.2)
• Size: 146.7mm x 71.5mm x 7.7mm
• Weight: 174 grams

The iPhone 13 is available in Pink, Blue, Midnight, Starlight and (PRODUCT)RED colors. You get the smartphone with 128GB (€909), 256GB (€1029) or 512GB (€1259) of storage capacity.

A better iPhone 12

With the iPhone 13, Apple has chosen to use the same design as with the iPhone 12. As a result, people often assume that the upgrade is quite small. Something that is certainly true this year. It’s a pretty modest step up from last year, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t a step in the right direction. On the contrary.

The iPhone 12 managed to score high with a completely new design last year, but there was a lot more. The “affordable option” finally had an OLED display, the camera system was upgraded and the device was faster than ever. A pleasant smartphone that has become even better in 2021.

The iPhone 13 mainly shows this on three different fronts: the camera system, the battery and the display.

The iPhone 13 is not quite the same

At first glance, the iPhone 13 looks the same as its predecessor, but does carry a number of small changes in design. For example, the device is equipped with a smaller notch that makes the screen about 20% better. A pleasant development that is not of much use to you as a consumer at the moment.

On the one hand, this has to do with the fact that Apple itself does not do much with that extra space. For example, you still do not see the battery percentage in the top right corner of the screen. On the other hand, it is mainly because Apple “just” uses the same notch, but simply arranges it differently. Something that results in it being a bit longer and therefore coming into view when you watch a video full screen.

It’s a shame that Apple, after four years of using the much too wide notch, is content with this very small step forward. Anyway, it’s a step forward and it looks at least a bit better.

This also applies to the screen itself, because Apple has given the OLED panel a small upgrade. Where the previous model has a minimum brightness of 625 nits, the iPhone 13 takes it a step further. The new model offers at least 800 nits. A nice addition that makes the screen slightly better than last year.

Why the camera system is slanted

In addition to the notch, the camera system of the iPhone 12 also looks different. Where the lenses on the iPhone 12 were still on top of each other, they are now diagonally opposite each other. A lot of jokes have been made online about this “development”, but of course there is more to it.

The camera sensors have gotten better. For example, the iPhone 13 now has the Sensor Shift stabilization feature that was in the iPhone 12 Pro Max last year. This is only possible because the lenses have become considerably larger, which is also the reason for the new arrangement.

The result may also be there. Thanks to the new lenses, you have more light in your photos, so that the result is slightly better compared to last year. During the day the difference will not be noticeable, but in the evenings you will achieve more success with your photos. In terms of video, the difference is not very big, although you can now use the new Cinematic Mode. A nice addition, but I wonder how much the target audience of the iPhone 13 will use this.

A deep bow to Apple

The iPhone 13 is not such a big upgrade in appearance, but internally it is a party. For example, the new A15 Bionic chip is, as you might have expected, another improvement. The iPhone has also become significantly faster in 2021.

That is not the most striking thing in the past week, by the way. The iPhone 13 is incredibly economical and really gets the most out of its 3240mAh battery. I’m not lying when I say that, if you don’t overload it, you can really take the smartphone with you for two days without having to charge it. A screen time of between five and seven hours is achievable and I can’t remember the last time I saw it.

That is very nice, because the iPhone 12 simply had a less strong battery than an iPhone 11. The fact that Apple manages to combine all the advantages of the 12 and 13 with an excellent battery life is really worth the compliments.

iPhone 13 actually an iPhone 12s (and that’s great)

The iPhone 13 is not a smartphone for people who currently have the iPhone 12 at home. The upgrade is simply not big enough. This also applies to people with an iPhone 11 or older at home. In that respect, the iPhone 13 is an improved version of the iPhone 12 that has helped me tremendously over the past year.

With that in mind, you could actually say the iPhone 13 is just an iPhone 12s. And there’s nothing wrong with that at all. The “standard” model is and remains the best option for the general consumer.