After waiting for what seemed like forever, Apple has finally released its long-awaited iPhone 13 series. This phone comes with a similar design element to its predecessor with some notable changes in its software and internal components. The iPhone 13 series is powered by the new A15 Bionic chipset, and the phone now enjoys a longer battery life. But let’s take a deeper look at the iPhone 13 Pro and examine how it compares to its predecessor; iPhone 12 Pro.
The iPhone 13 Pro sits above the base model in the series when it comes to relevant specs and features including a more powerful camera and durable battery. In the new Apple smartphone series, there is a more considerable leap in the difference between the iPhone 13, iPhone 13 Pro, and iPhone 13 Pro max. As a result, you should expect some gaps in performance between the iPhone 12 Pro and iPhone 13 Pro. With a similar starting price of $999 and some other similar features, why should you upgrade from the iPhone 12 Pro to the iPhone 13 Pro? You’ll find out in this article.
New iPhone 13 Pro Specs
- 1-inch all-screen OLED display
- Super Retina XDR Display coupled with ProMotion up to 120Hz
- A15 Bionic chip
- Powerful 12MP camera system
- 3x Optical Zoom
- Multiple Storage Options; 128GB, 256GB, 512GB, and 1TB
- IP68 Water resistance
- 2532 x 1170/460-pixel resolution
Design
People who expected an all-new design from the iPhone 13 Pro would surely be disappointed upon its release. The iPhone 13 Pro bears a lot of physical resemblance to its predecessor. The only major difference between the both of them is a narrower notch at the top and an altered camera bump.
There’s pretty much the same display size and the iPhone 13 Pro matches up with the same dimensions as the iPhone 12 Pro. But the former seems to be a bit thicker because of the bigger battery included in this year’s smartphone.
Display
Samsung created a lot of buzz when it released the LTPO display technology alongside the Galaxy S21 series. Many people instantly identified that this display improvement is a big step in the right direction for the manufacturer. The phone enjoys an interesting variable display refresh rate and offers the use of an ultra-smooth scrolling experience when it’s in use. The phone would also switch to energy savings to preserve its battery.
Unlike the models before it, the iPhone 13 Pro also adopts the LTPO display which includes a ProMotion tech that was added to the iPad Pro 2021. Due to these adjustments, the smartphone’s refresh rate can reduce to as low as 10Hz and increase up to 120Hz. The display system will refresh according to the needs of the user.
There are also some similarities in display size and resolution between both phone models. Both phones are designed with a 6.1-inch OLED display screen with a resolution of 2532 x 1170. The iPhone 13 Pro comes in a narrower notch and offers a better viewing experience that fills up the screen more. The display of the iPhone 13 Pro is also considerably brighter as it offers 1,000 nits of outdoor brightness and about 1,200 nits of HDR brightness. Its predecessor was only able to manage a max brightness of 800 nits.
Hardware and Performance
We all know that Apple produces some of the fastest chipsets on the market and with their new Bionic processor; A15 Bionic, the manufacturer can keep its noses in front of competitors. The A15 Bionic is without any doubt, the fastest processor to be used in a smartphone and is about 50% faster than its closest competitor – when running graphic-intensive tasks. There’s a 4-core GPU that is capable of running graphics 30% faster and the chip also sports an improved 16-core neural engine.
As if all of that processing power was not enough, the iPhone 13 Pro was also released with a 6GB R which is the same thing you’ll find on the iPhone 12 Pro. This year, Apple has increased the storage capabilities of the Pro mode to 1TB. If you’re looking for optimal performance with enough space to store all your 4k videos, look no further than iPhone 13 Pro.
Camera System
The aperture on iPhone 13 Pro’s ultra-wide camera has been adjusted from f/2.4 to f/1.8. The great thing about this improvement is that the camera now offers 92% better shots in low-light conditions. There’s also a new 77mm telephoto camera enabled with 3x optical zoom and another wide camera with an f/1.5 aperture.
The camera system on the iPhone 12 Pro is pretty much the same thing as the iPhone 13 Pro but loses out due to some slight improvements. The aperture, sensor, optical zoom, low-light shooting, and pixel size of this year’s Pro model are considerably improved. There are also some newly added tricks such as macro photographic and Cinematic mode.
Battery Life
Apple has failed to disclose the battery capacity of the iPhone 13 pro and other models in the lineup. However, it claims that you will get an hour and a half more battery life on their new phone when compared to the iPhone 12 Pro. When considering the inclusion of a new and more powerful chip, as well as ProMotion refresh rate, the 1.5 hours increase in battery life is a welcome idea.
Apple maintains a similar approach to the iPhone’s battery life and tries to keep it consistent from one model to another. Overall, the battery has been improved but it will still be tested by real-life scenarios to prove the truth behind the numbers.
Conclusion
Apple has put in a lot of work and made two high-end smartphones. Yes, the iPhone 12 Pro and 13 Pro have a lot of similarities, but the latter just manages to keep its nose in front. For the same price, you get a new chipset, a better camera, and better battery life. If you want to maintain the trend of using high-end smartphones, it seems like an upgrade wouldn’t be so much of a bad idea.
