The iPhone 13 lineup focuses on bridging gap with real cameras

It’s that time of the year and Apple has announced a new series of iPhones. In most aspects, there’s only slight improvements from last year’s lineup. But if you’re working with a camera, the new iPhone 13 and 13 Pro series might be something you’d fancy, even if you just got the iPhone 12. 

iPhone 13 and 13 Mini

The most visible changes with this year’s basic iPhones is the new orientation of the camera module at the back that’s now diagonal, and the smaller notch which is 20% smaller. Just like before, the two share common features with the only difference being their size and battery life. It has a new A15 Bionic processor that doesn’t have metrics against its predecessor. Instead, they only said it has a new 6-core CPU, 4-core GPU, and 16-core Neural engine that all in all is 50% better than the competition.

The screen is also brighter at 800 nits which is 28% better than the iPhone 12, with peak brightness at 1200 nits when viewing HDR (High Dynamic Range) content. Up top is a re-engineered TrueDepth camera that’s sole purpose is to make the notch smaller. Size remains the same at 6.1 and 5.4-inches for the 13 and 13 Mini.

At the back are two new cameras that are now diagonal from each other. There’s a new wide camera that takes in 47% more light and now has sensor shift – a feature that made its introduction in last year’s iPhone 12 Pro Max. Meanwhile, the ultra-wide camera gets improved visibility in low light conditions and now produces less noise. 

Another improvement is in the processing of the images itself. Photographic Styles takes the ‘Picture Profiles’ of real cameras and brings it into the native camera app of the iPhone. It basically allows you to modify the tone and color of your image. Unlike a filter, you can use this as a default so that all your photos would have the same look. 

The iPhone 13 also dipped in filmmaking with the new Cinematic Mode. This is basically the Portrait mode but on video and gives the illusion of depth in your shots by having bokeh and shifting of the focused area. This can be done automatically with the phone detecting what and where the subject is, including where the subject is looking. Alternatively, you can manually do this via tapping on the detected areas that can be focused on. 

As for battery life, the new iPhone 13 lasts 2.5 hours longer than the 12, while the 13 Mini goes 1.5 hours more than the previous iteration.

The new iPhone 13 and 13 Mini are available in five colors – pink, blue, midnight, starlight, and (PRODUCT) RED. Storage now starts at 128GB and priced at P44,990 for the 13 Mini and P50,990 for the iPhone 13. 

iPhone 13 Pro and Pro Max

Just like the base iPhones, the Pro lineup gets a smaller notch and new cameras while having incremental improvements on other aspects. The XDR display is now brighter at 1000 nits (1200 nits for HDR) while also having ProMotion which automatically adjusts the refresh rate of the screen from 10Hz to 120Hz. The True Depth camera was also reworked for a smaller notch. 

Its A15 Bionic processor has the same CPU and Neural engine cores as the iPhone 13, but is a touch more powerful by having a 5-core GPU, 1 more than the non-pro iPhone.. Apple said this is for better gaming performance, video apps, and camera features. 

As for cameras, the telephoto remains as is, with the new wide camera being 2.2x better in low light, and the new ultra wide camera getting 92% improvement in low light and now has a macro feature for detailed close-up shots. Both models of the iPhone Pro will also get sensor-shift stabilization and all three cameras can now be used for night mode. This also resulted in a more prominent camera bump than before.

It also gets Photographic Styles and Cinematic Mode, but the Pro lineup takes the latter to another level. Aside from selective focusing, you can change the amount of bokeh in your shot even after you have taken the clip. Apple also said there will be an update later in the year that will allow the Pro series to take ProRes Video with a resolution of up to 4K 30fps right in the iPhone. This is beneficial to aspiring filmmakers who want to shoot with a more compact camera but retain the professional workflow and versatility of their video clips. 

Battery life was also bumped up for the Pro lineup, having 1.5hrs and 2.5hrs more than their counterparts from last year.

The new iPhone Pro and Pro Max will come in four colors – graphite, gold, silver, and sierra blue. Both models will be available with 128GB, 256GB, 512GB, and 1TB storage options starting at P63,990 for the 13 Pro and P70,990 for the Pro Max. 

Apple retains the iPhone SE 2021, iPhone 11, iPhone 12, and iPhone 12 Mini in their lineup.