As last year, Apple has four as part of its 2021 special event new iPhone models presented, which visually hardly differ from the iPhone 12 series. Under the hood, the manufacturer has made some changes, which we already discussed extensively in the introductory article. In a nutshell: They deliver more power, have new cameras on board according to Apple and the notch has become slightly narrower.
- iPhone 13 Pro and Pro Max: Top models are now similar
- iPhone 13 without 120 Hertz and without telephoto zoom
- iPhone 12 and 12 Mini are only worthwhile as 64 gigabyte versions
- iPhone 11 and SE (2020): Apple’s cheapest models
With the introduction of the new models, the manufacturer is removing some older models from the range: In addition to the 12 Pro models, the iPhone Xr, which was already superfluous last year, has also been removed from the portfolio. The iPhone SE (2020), the iPhone 11 and the two basic models of the iPhone 12, which have also been reduced in price, are still sold.
With the new portfolio, Apple covers a wide range of prices, from a little under 500 euros for the iPhone SE goes up to over 1,800 euros for the new one terabyte storage option of the iPhone 13 Pro Max.
iPhone 13 Pro and Pro Max: Top models are now more similar
Apple is now replacing the Pro models of the iPhone 12 series with the iPhone 13 Pro and Pro Max. They are the first smartphones from the manufacturer that run at 120 Hertz -Display are equipped. This means that the Pro-Motion technology of the iPad Pros now also makes it onto pocket calculators. The competitors from the Android camp have been offering this feature for years. So far, however, nobody has missed this function on the iPhones, as the system is already running quite smoothly. The fact that they now have the higher refresh rate should still be a small gain.
More on the subject
- Apple iPhone 13 Mini to 13 Pro Max are official: This is how they look, it’s inside
- iPhone 13 is getting heavier: Apple kept these details to itself at the event
- iOS 15 and iPadOS 15: These iPhones and iPads will receive the big updates on September 20th
Even With the new A15 bionic chip, Apple has gone a step further and this time, as with the M1 chip, g Easily launched two slightly different variants. The chip in the Pro models has one more GPU core than the A15 chip in the basic models. In terms of performance, according to the first benchmarks, the chip with a five-core GPU in particular can deliver: The GPU performance has apparently been increased by 55 percent compared to the iPhone 12 Pro (Max). The CPU performance shows rather moderate increases of ten percent in the single and up to 18 percent in the multi-core Geekbench benchmark, as Macrumors was able to find out.
Especially the better GPU values ​​should benefit the new Pro-Res video function, which is used for the first time in the new Pro versions. In contrast to the previous year, there is a feature parity between the Pro models – both versions have the same functions, with the models with the smallest memory recording Pro-Res videos with a lower resolution.
iPhone 13 without 120 Hertz and without Telezoom
The new basic models of the iPhone 13 family have been upgraded by Apple in some ways: So it is no longer just pros that are equipped with sensor shift technology, which corresponds to an improved optical image stabilization, so to speak. As in the previous year, the basic models again have a dual camera without optical telephoto zoom. In addition, the smaller models lack one or the other camera function, which is largely tolerable. According to Apple, however, it has improved the light sensitivity of all 13 versions so that photos in night mode are less noisy.
On the lidar sensor that Apple introduced last year for the iPhone 12 Pro, Apple has also used it this year for its Basic models dispensed with. According to Apple, the scanner helps improve portraits in night mode, faster autofocus in adverse lighting conditions and AR kit functions.
With the new basic models, it is pleasing that the smallest memory is now 128 gigabytes, while last year’s iPhone versions started at 64 gigabytes. That was actually out of date even then.