iPhone 13 Pro

The iPhone 13 Pro is very similar to the iPhone 12 Pro at first glance and really is a kind of fraternal twin, there are differences between them. Some of them are elusive, others rush right at you.

The iPhone 13 Pro and 13 Pro Max are almost the same physical dimensions as the iPhone 12 Pro models they replace.

The iPhone 13 Pro continues to be IP68 water and dust resistant and is rated to last up to 30 minutes at a depth of up to six meters.

The silver, graphite and gold colors from last year are making a comeback, but Pacific Blue has been replaced with Sierra Blue, a much lighter hue that looks nice enough.

While USB-C is making its way into every other product, Apple still refuses to transition the iPhone line to a universal plug. You still get a USB-C to Lightning cable in the box, but no power adapter.

Storage options still start at 128GB, with 256GB, 512GB options, and now a new 1TB option. That's an obscene amount of storage for a phone, and really only worth using if you think you're going to shoot a lot of videos and photos.

The design changes you'll immediately notice are a smaller notch and a much larger camera module. The posterior chamber area is much larger and protrudes further. The iPhone 13 Pro and Pro Max share the same camera system and software features this year, so you don't have to buy a bigger camera to get a better camera.

The first thing you'll notice when you pick up the iPhone 13 Pro is how smooth everything is. Swipes, scrolls, animations, interfaces. Apple has always been good at this, but the iPhone 13 Pro's responsiveness and fluidity are on another level. This is thanks to the new OLED display, which is more energy efficient. Instead of constantly refreshing at 60Hz, the display can run from 10Hz to 120Hz.

There are no settings for this; your phone constantly adjusts display updates based on the content on the screen. Play a movie at 24 frames per second and the display will freeze at 24 Hz. Read static text and it will drop to 10Hz. Start scrolling and swiping and it will jump up to 120Hz.

Many apps that use standard iOS platforms for scrolling and full-screen transitions will automatically take advantage of this, resulting in a smoother look and feel. The upshot of all this is that the display is smoother and faster when it matters most, and more power efficient the rest of the time. This generally has a positive effect on battery life. The display is also brighter, hitting 1,000 nits in standard use, up from 800 nits on the iPhone 12 Pro (still maxing out at 1,200 nits for HDR content).

And now the A15 is faster. In a way, much faster.

Like the A14, the A15 is manufactured using TSMC's 5nm process and still features two high-performance cores and four high-performance cores.

In iPhone 13 and iPhone 13 mini, the A15 still has a quad-core GPU. However, in the iPhone 13 Pro and Pro Max, it has a fifth core. This 25 percent increase in the number of GPU cores makes it about 20-30 percent faster than the iPhone 13 and 40-50 percent faster than the iPhone 12 when it comes to 3D graphics and GPU computing tasks.

The A15 with a quad-core GPU delivers about 10-15 percent faster performance than the quad-core GPU in the A14, and the A15 with a fifth core is 20-30 percent faster than that. This really sets the iPhone 13 apart from the iPhone 13 Pro.

Apple has made other improvements as well. There are energy efficiency settings everywhere, including things like wireless radios. Updated image signal processor and video encoder and decoder.

It will probably be a few years before iOS apps and features that really push the A15 become commonplace. All of this work is equally about longevity as well as making your life better today.

Sometimes it can be difficult to find an argument in favor of greater smartphone performance. Millions of people use phones that are two or three years old and think they're fast enough for everything they do. If they need a new phone, they are more concerned with its affordability than its performance.

The iPhone 13 Pro is fast enough and lasts much longer than previous iPhones.

For starters, Apple simply put larger batteries across the entire iPhone 13 line. While the company won't reveal details, regulatory filings show that the iPhone 13 Pro has about 11 percent more battery capacity than the iPhone 12 Pro, while the iPhone 13 Pro Max's battery lasts about 18 percent more charge.

If you're using an older iPhone, you'll be shocked at how long the battery lasts. The iPhone 13 Pro is a big step up from the iPhone 12, but Apple has been steadily moving forward in terms of battery life over the years. The iPhone 13 Pro lasts about 50 percent longer than the iPhone 11 and twice as long as the iPhone Xs, introduced just three years ago.

The iPhone 13 Pro has an improved camera system, because of course it does. Every new iPhone does. The iPhone 13 Pro has seen significant improvements in both camera hardware and software.

As for the equipment, there are all new sensors. You'll notice a huge camera bump on the back, much larger than on the iPhone 12 Pro.

Telephoto zoomed from 2x to 3x, or 77mm equivalent focal length. This means that the aperture narrows from f/2.0 to f/2.8. This means better portraits with more beautiful natural bokeh. It allows you to approach distant subjects more naturally without the grainy digital zoom. And that slightly worse low-light performance is offset in part by the fact that you can now capture night mode shots with the telephoto lens.

The standard wide-angle camera that most people shoot most of their lives with now has a much larger sensor. The resolution is still 12 megapixels, but the pixels are 1.9µm larger and the aperture is larger than f/1.5. Apple claims it captures 2.2 times more light.

The ultra-wide camera has a wider f/1.8 aperture and performs better in low light, but the real trick is how well it focuses at close range for macro photography. The iPhone 13 Pro takes macro shots with ease.

In photo mode, the camera will automatically switch to ultra-wide when you get close, trying to maintain relative framing. Macro shots work in video too, even in slow motion, but you'll have to switch to ultra wide-angle manually.

Pros come with LiDAR, while non-Pro models do not. This helps AR apps perform better and delivers faster, more accurate autofocus in low-light conditions, as well as enabling both portrait and night modes at the same time.

The front camera has not changed. It's the same f/2.2 aperture 12MP selfie camera you'll find on the iPhone 12. You get better image processing, you can use photographic styles, and you can shoot in cinematic mode, but the hardware hasn't changed at all.

Cinematic mode is arguably less useful for the average iPhone user. This is a brand new video mode that shoots at 1080p at 30fps in Dolby Vision HDR

It's a cinematic term for changing focus throughout the frame to keep the subject in focus, or switching focus twice between foreground and background. Cinematic mode does this automatically and works surprisingly well, and focal length metadata is saved with the video so you can come back later to adjust focus targets when editing.

The iPhone 13 Pro is very similar to the iPhone 12 Pro at first glance and really is a kind of fraternal twin, there are differences between them. Some of them are elusive, others rush right at you.

The iPhone 13 Pro and 13 Pro Max are almost the same physical dimensions as the iPhone 12 Pro models they replace.

The iPhone 13 Pro continues to be IP68 water and dust resistant and is rated to last up to 30 minutes at a depth of up to six meters.

The silver, graphite and gold colors from last year are making a comeback, but Pacific Blue has been replaced with Sierra Blue, a much lighter hue that looks nice enough.

While USB-C is making its way into every other product, Apple still refuses to transition the iPhone line to a universal plug. You still get

Storage options still start at 128GB, with 256GB, 512GB options, and now a new 1TB option. That's an obscene amount of storage for a phone,

The design changes you'll immediately notice are a smaller notch and a much larger camera module. The posterior chamber area is much larger

The first thing you'll notice when you pick up the iPhone 13 Pro is how smooth everything is. Swipes, scrolls, animations, interfaces. Apple

While USB-C is making its way into every other product, Apple still refuses to transition the iPhone line to a universal plug. You still get a USB-C to Lightning cable in the box, but no power adapter.

Storage options still start at 128GB, with 256GB, 512GB options, and now a new 1TB option. That's an obscene amount of storage for a phone, and really only worth using if you think you're going to shoot a lot of videos and photos.

The design changes you'll immediately notice are a smaller notch and a much larger camera module. The posterior chamber area is much larger and protrudes further. The iPhone 13 Pro and Pro Max share the same camera system and software features this year, so you don't have to buy a bigger camera to get a better camera.

The first thing you'll notice when you pick up the iPhone 13 Pro is how smooth everything is. Swipes, scrolls, animations, interfaces. Apple has always been good at this, but the iPhone 13 Pro's responsiveness and fluidity are on another level. This is thanks to the new OLED display, which is more energy efficient. Instead of constantly refreshing at 60Hz, the display can run from 10Hz to 120Hz.

There are no settings for this; your phone constantly adjusts display updates based on the content on the screen. Play a movie at 24 frames per second and the display will freeze at 24 Hz. Read static text and it will drop to 10Hz. Start scrolling and swiping and it will jump up to 120Hz.

Many apps that use standard iOS platforms for scrolling and full-screen transitions will automatically take advantage of this, resulting in a smoother look and feel. The upshot of all this is that the display is smoother and faster when it matters most, and more power efficient the rest of the time. This generally has a positive effect on battery life. The display is also brighter, hitting 1,000 nits in standard use, up from 800 nits on the iPhone 12 Pro (still maxing out at 1,200 nits for HDR content).

And now the A15 is faster. In a way, much faster.

Like the A14, the A15 is manufactured using TSMC's 5nm process and still features two high-performance cores and four high-performance cores.

In iPhone 13 and iPhone 13 mini, the A15 still has a quad-core GPU. However, in the iPhone 13 Pro and Pro Max, it has a fifth core. This 25 percent increase in the number of GPU cores makes it about 20-30 percent faster than the iPhone 13 and 40-50 percent faster than the iPhone 12 when it comes to 3D graphics and GPU computing tasks.

The A15 with a quad-core GPU delivers about 10-15 percent faster performance than the quad-core GPU in the A14, and the A15 with a fifth core is 20-30 percent faster than that. This really sets the iPhone 13 apart from the iPhone 13 Pro.

Apple has made other improvements as well. There are energy efficiency settings everywhere, including things like wireless radios. Updated image signal processor and video encoder and decoder.

It will probably be a few years before iOS apps and features that really push the A15 become commonplace. All of this work is equally about longevity as well as making your life better today.

Sometimes it can be difficult to find an argument in favor of greater smartphone performance. Millions of people use phones that are two or three years old and think they're fast enough for everything they do. If they need a new phone, they are more concerned with its affordability than its performance.

The iPhone 13 Pro is fast enough and lasts much longer than previous iPhones.

For starters, Apple simply put larger batteries across the entire iPhone 13 line. While the company won't reveal details, regulatory filings show that the iPhone 13 Pro has about 11 percent more battery capacity than the iPhone 12 Pro, while the iPhone 13 Pro Max's battery lasts about 18 percent more charge.

If you're using an older iPhone, you'll be shocked at how long the battery lasts. The iPhone 13 Pro is a big step up from the iPhone 12, but Apple has been steadily moving forward in terms of battery life over the years. The iPhone 13 Pro lasts about 50 percent longer than the iPhone 11 and twice as long as the iPhone Xs, introduced just three years ago.

The iPhone 13 Pro has an improved camera system, because of course it does. Every new iPhone does. The iPhone 13 Pro has seen significant improvements in both camera hardware and software.

As for the equipment, there are all new sensors. You'll notice a huge camera bump on the back, much larger than on the iPhone 12 Pro.

Telephoto zoomed from 2x to 3x, or 77mm equivalent focal length. This means that the aperture narrows from f/2.0 to f/2.8. This means better portraits with more beautiful natural bokeh. It allows you to approach distant subjects more naturally without the grainy digital zoom. And that slightly worse low-light performance is offset in part by the fact that you can now capture night mode shots with the telephoto lens.

The standard wide-angle camera that most people shoot most of their lives with now has a much larger sensor. The resolution is still 12 megapixels, but the pixels are 1.9µm larger and the aperture is larger than f/1.5. Apple claims it captures 2.2 times more light.

The ultra-wide camera has a wider f/1.8 aperture and performs better in low light, but the real trick is how well it focuses at close range for macro photography. The iPhone 13 Pro takes macro shots with ease.

In photo mode, the camera will automatically switch to ultra-wide when you get close, trying to maintain relative framing. Macro shots work in video too, even in slow motion, but you'll have to switch to ultra wide-angle manually.

Pros come with LiDAR, while non-Pro models do not. This helps AR apps perform better and delivers faster, more accurate autofocus in low-light conditions, as well as enabling both portrait and night modes at the same time.

The front camera has not changed. It's the same f/2.2 aperture 12MP selfie camera you'll find on the iPhone 12. You get better image processing, you can use photographic styles, and you can shoot in cinematic mode, but the hardware hasn't changed at all.

Cinematic mode is arguably less useful for the average iPhone user. This is a brand new video mode that shoots at 1080p at 30fps in Dolby Vision HDR

It's a cinematic term for changing focus throughout the frame to keep the subject in focus, or switching focus twice between foreground and background. Cinematic mode does this automatically and works surprisingly well, and focal length metadata is saved with the video so you can come back later to adjust focus targets when editing.