iPhone 13 Pro review: Putting the ‘Pro’ back in iPhone Pro | Laptop Mag
Our Verdict
The iPhone 13 Pro is no longer a Pro Jr. with specs to match the best that the iPhone 13 Pro Max or any Android flagship on the market has to offering.
For
- Bright 120Hz display
- Splendid camera performance
- Unmatched software support
- Outstanding battery life
- Untouchable functioning
Confronting
- Telephoto needs more accomplish
- Slow charging
- Notch needs to go
Laptop Mag Verdict
The iPhone 13 Pro is no longer a Pro Jr. with specs to match the best that the iPhone 13 Pro Max or any Android flagship on the market has to offer.
Pros
- +
Bright 120Hz display
- +
Fantabulous camera performance
- +
Unmatched software support
- +
Outstanding battery life
- +
Untouchable performance
- +
Cons
- -
Telephoto needs more attain
- -
Slow charging
- -
Notch needs to get
- -
Apple tree iPhone thirteen Pro
Price: $999 (starting), $1,499 (as reviewed)
Os: iOS 15
Display: 6.1-inch (two,532 x 1,170 pixels) 120Hz Super Retina XDR OLED
CPU: A15 Bionic
RAM: 6GB
Rear cameras: 12MP wide (ƒ/1.v); 12MP ultra-broad (f/one.8); 12MP 3x telephoto (f/2.8)
Front end cameras: 12MP (f/two.2)
Storage: 128, 256, 512GB or 1TB
Battery: 12 hours
Size: 5.8 ten 2.eight x 0.3 inches
Weight: 7.two ounces
iPhone 13 Pro, like the other iPhone thirteen models, looks nigh identical to its predecessor. But even so waters run deep and there is a powerful upgrade current underneath that seemingly placid exterior.
This is truer for the iPhone 13 Pro than any of the other iPhone 13 models. It not but gets the A15 Bionic processor and improved bombardment life nosotros saw across the unabridged lineup this year, but with the exception of the battery and screen size, it matches the iPhone 13 Pro Max spec-for-spec.
You are no longer choosing a lesser Pro iPhone, but a smaller Pro iPhone which makes information technology the best iPhone for most people this year and one of the all-time phones on the market.
iPhone 13 Pro price and configurations
The iPhone 13 Pro is available in four storage configurations starting at $999 for 128GB and topping out with a new 1TB choice for $1,499. 256GB is the Goldilocks model for many people at $one,099, while 512GB for $ane,299 should prove plenty for all but the most aggressive of digital hoarders.
All four models share otherwise identical specs including the new A15 Bionic processor, 6GB of RAM, and an upgraded triple camera array. There are 4 color options available with the new pale Sierra Bluish joining the familiar Silver, Gold, and Graphite.
Apple tree continues to hold the line with its pricing, although that may change side by side year. While the iPhone xiii Pro at $999 may non experience like a bargain, it feels like a ameliorate value than last twelvemonth's iPhone 12 Pro considering the updates you are getting this year.
As per usual, y'all aren't going to find outright discounts on the iPhone, merely the carriers and Apple tree itself accept some potentially enticing iPhone thirteen deals with merchandise-in offers that volition take some of the sting out of the $1,000 and up pricing.
iPhone 13 Pro design
As I mentioned at the outset, the iPhone 13 Pro is almost completely unchanged from the iPhone 12 Pro from a blueprint standpoint. This is no surprise afterwards final year'due south massive redesign and I'm still enamored with the distinctive squared-off look of the iPhone, just if y'all like your phone to stand out as the new iPhone, that isn't happening with the iPhone 13 Pro.
However, upon closer inspection, you will notice some slight changes to the iPhone 13 Pro. The near welcome of these is the smaller display notch. Apple tree claims that it is 20% smaller, which isn't the notch eliminating update that some were hoping for, but it is a perceptible departure.
On the flip side, the rear camera array of the iPhone xiii Pro is larger than on the iPhone 12 Pro. The lenses are wider and extend even farther from the back of the phone, enough to prevent iPhone 12 Pro cases from fitting the iPhone xiii Pro. I've been using an Apple leather case throughout my time with the telephone and I tin can't imagine setting it downwardly on its back while going caseless. In that location's definitely a payoff for the larger array as you'll see in the camera section, only from a purely aesthetic and usability standpoint, information technology's a step backward.
The iPhone 13 Pro is also slightly thicker heavier than last year'southward model; its 5.eight x 2.viii x 0.3-inch frame and 7.2-ounce weight is a perceptible bump up from the iPhone 12 Pro (5.8 x 2.viii x 0.29, 6.vii ounces), but information technology's for a proficient cause as you'll see when I get to the battery life. It does brand the iPhone 13 Pro heavier than its much larger-screened competitors like the OnePlus 9 Pro (half dozen.4 ten 2.9 10 0.34 inches, vii ounces) and the Galaxy S21 Plus (half-dozen.4 x 3 x 0.31 inches, 7.1 ounces).
While the AllState durability test showed that the iPhone xiii Pro remains brittle in a drib, it is even so 1 of the tougher phones on the market. Apple's Ceramic Shield display roofing is more than about protection from scratches than shattering. The IP68 dust and h2o resistance on the iPhone 13 Pro is also amongst the best with Apple boasting it can survive up to thirty minutes at 6 meters (~20 feet), which is double the depth competitors like Samsung claim for the Galaxy S21 Ultra.
Otherwise everything on the iPhone thirteen Pro remains the same. The Lightning port is still stubbornly in place and for wireless charging fans, Apple'south MagSafe is invisibly present on the dorsum of the phone. The left-side features the mute switch and volume up and down buttons, while the right adds just the multi-part side push button for summoning Siri and waking the phone.
My review unit is the gold model, which matches the iPhone 12 Pro Max I reviewed last yr. I said last year that this color option made me "feel a flake like a villain in a Bond movie" and I'one thousand sticking to that analysis. If anything Apple upped the ante with a purple leather example to get with it, giving my iPhone 13 Pro review unit the look of smartphone royalty.
However you felt about the iPhone 12 Pro design final yr, the iPhone thirteen isn't going to motion the needle upwards or down — for that, you lot'll demand to await until the iPhone xiv next twelvemonth.
iPhone 13 Pro displays
A quick glance at a specs sheet will testify yous that the iPhone thirteen Pro features a 6.1-inch Super Retina XDR display with a 2532 x 1170 pixel resolution, just like last year. Other than those precious extra pixels you are gaining at the superlative of the brandish from the smaller notch, it would seem like not much has inverse.
All the same, you'll notice a difference the moment you first scrolling through content or opening and endmost apps on the telephone. The iPhone 13 Pro has finally brought a fast refresh charge per unit display to the iPhone with ProMotion, Apple's name for its 120Hz adaptive refresh rate displays. It's similar to what we've seen from Samsung and other Android manufacturers for the last couple of years. The Galaxy S21 Ultra is the all-time comparison every bit it tin also calibration from 10Hz up to 120Hz based on what's on-screen and how y'all are interacting with it.
This update was overdue and is one of the all-time features exclusive to the Pro models this year. While Apple is in the process of getting tertiary-party developers upwards to speed on how to deliver the total 120Hz in their animations, buttery-smooth scrolling and the power efficiency benefits are already in place system-wide.
Yep, 120Hz is the highlight new characteristic of the display this yr, only it wouldn't of course thing if the display itself underperformed. Fortunately, that's non the case.
I turned to my frequent HDR testing companion "Our Planet" on Netflix to see how Apple's HDR support and reportedly brighter display handled the breathtaking cinematography. I was non disappointed. Watching the episode on jungles had an absolutely surreal look to it with the depth of color and lighting shift from the dead leaves on the forest flooring to the glint of lite through the green awning at the top all rendered flawlessly. A subsequent scene with an ant showed the color reproduction with the semi-translucent amber body of the emmet in crisp detail downwardly to the tiny hairs on its legs and trunk.
Looking at our lab testing, the iPhone 13 Pro color reproduction is quite adept at 82.5% of the DCI-P3 color gamut. The OnePlus 9 Pro (84.ix%) edged it out slightly, but it was good plenty to acme the Samsung Galaxy S21 Plus (73.five%) and the iPhone 12 Pro (81.9%). Information technology's worth noting that these comparisons are with the Android phones using their "Natural" setting, both feature a brilliant display mode which lets them heave much higher: 147.4% for the OnePlus 9 Pro and 150.4% for the Galaxy S21 Plus.
The Delta-E colour accurateness test results (lower is better) were solid, but not outstanding for the iPhone 13 Pro, with a 0.27. That is backside the OnePlus 9 Pro (0.20) and the Samsung Galaxy S21 Plus (0.eighteen), but a slight improvement over last year's iPhone 12 Pro (0.28).
The iPhone 13 Pro does relish i decisive display victory: peak brightness at 1,024 nits. That's the brightest smartphone display we've tested by a significant margin. The OnePlus nine Pro (722 nits), Galaxy S21 Plus (747 nits), and iPhone 12 Pro (743 nits) were all among the best last year all the same are distantly behind.
iPhone 13 Pro performance
Is there such a matter as having your telephone or laptop exist too fast? It feels like Apple is trying to notice that limit. The A14 Bionic held on to the summit spot as the fastest mobile processor on the planet through the release of the Snapdragon 888 and may notwithstanding pinnacle the Snapdragon 898 whenever it arrives, just Apple is already rocketing further into the upper atmosphere with the A15 Bionic.
When it comes to raw performance the iPhone 13 Pro, but like the iPhone 12 models terminal year, cannot be challenged by whatever existing real-earth tasks. Load dozens of Google Chrome tabs, run a YouTube video in the background, return a 4K video, and the iPhone 13 Pro will not bat an eye or driblet a frame. While support for the 120Hz refresh rate isn't available in about whatever apps or games at the moment, there's no question the A15 Bionic will handle that readily when developers update for the new display.
The iPhone thirteen Pro hit an well-nigh comical Geekbench 5 multi-core score of 4,718. That'south a shockingly pregnant jump from the iPhone 12 Pro (3,669) and obliterates the Galaxy S21 Plus (3,300) and the fastest Android phone we tested previously, the OnePlus ix Pro (3,685).
Graphics benchmarks were similarly stratospheric with 70 frames per second in the Wild Life Unlimited 3DMark examination. That's double the OnePlus 9 Pro (35 fps) and Galaxy S21 Plus (33 fps), and impressively ahead of the already incredible iPhone 12 Pro (51 fps).
And so while I go out of my way to affirm that at that place is but zero y'all can practise to slow downwards the A15 Bionic at nowadays, the reason all of that operation headroom is still relevant is the potential longevity of an iPhone. While many replace their phone after 2 to iii years, Apple tree will likely be providing software updates to the iPhone 13 Pro into 2027. It's plausible that, by then, this currently superfluous performance will be taxed to its limits.
iPhone xiii Pro sound
The iPhone 13 Pro has stereo speakers located at the top and bottom of the telephone and Dolby Atmos support and 3D spatial audio support.
I listened to Kane Brown and H.E.R.'due south "Blessed and Free," and the iPhone xiii Pro speakers delivered crisp and clean audio at a max volume that was more than enough to fill up my 12 x xviii-foot listening space. The blended harmonies and soft percussive backing sound tin can't friction match the output from a skillful pair of wireless headphones, but they are more than enough to make you forget virtually picking up a modest Bluetooth speaker to share a song or a quick video with someone.
iPhone 13 Pro battery life and charging
Battery life was the Achilles heel of the iPhone 12 lineup, but dissimilar the sick-fated Greek warrior, Apple's phone gets to fight another mean solar day. Now armed with an extra 280mAh of battery, the more efficient A15 Bionic processor, and its adaptive refresh rate brandish, the iPhone 13 Pro is ready to once more challenge the phones with the all-time bombardment life.
In our Laptop Mag battery test, which involves the phone continuously spider web surfing at 150 nits on cellular, the iPhone 13 Pro lasted an impressive 12 hours. That'due south almost a full 3 hours longer than the iPhone 12 Pro (9:06) and easily tops the Galaxy S21 Plus (9:42) and narrowly outlasts the OnePlus ix Pro (xi:44). That's with the phone in its adaptive 120Hz setting; drop it to its adaptive 60Hz setting and you would stretch that lead even further.
While concluding year's iPhones were the outliers in terms of battery life, this is more than just a return to normal for the iPhone equally the iPhone thirteen Pro too outlasts the iPhone 11 Pro (10:24) by over an 60 minutes and a one-half despite the addition of 5G and the faster 120Hz display.
You would be hard-pressed to impale the iPhone 13 Pro in a day of usage; I never managed it during the week I've spent with the telephone. My typical day with a review device starts at 7:30 a.m. and goes until 10:30 p.thou. with Netflix and/or YouTube streaming on Wi-Fi for roughly two hours, light web browsing, using social media, gaming for almost xxx-45 minutes and capturing photos and videos. I never got below 30% bombardment remaining on the iPhone 13 Pro, even on the days when I was capturing a considerable amount of photos and 4K video.
While the iPhone 13 Pro battery life is worthy of a place on Mountain Olympus, the charging reveals it to be a mere mortal. The 20W fast charging for the iPhone 13 Pro pales in comparison to the 65W Warp Charger for the OnePlus 9 Pro that can charge the phone to 99% in just thirty minutes. Using the 20W Apple charger (that yous need to purchase separately) the iPhone thirteen Pro striking 25% in 15 minutes and 53% later on 30 minutes. Wireless Qi charging either via a stand or Apple tree's MagSafe is nonetheless bachelor and we are starting to run across more than 3rd-party support for the latter.
iPhone 13 Pro cameras
While the faster operation and 120Hz brandish are great, the cameras are the biggest reason to upgrade to the iPhone xiii Pro. Last yr, the iPhone 12 Pro was a Pro Jr. to the iPhone 12 Pro Max when it came to the cameras with the lack of sensor-shift and a weaker telephoto lens. This yr, you get all of the photographic camera prowess in a smaller bundle.
That includes an upgraded 12MP wide-angle master sensor that now offers an astounding f/1.5 aperture and larger 1.9um pixels for improve low-light performance than ever before. The 12MP ultra-wide gets an even more dramatic boost up to an f/ane.8 aperture (from f/two.4). Finally, the 12MP telephoto extends to a 3x optical zoom from 2x, but information technology drops to an f/2.8 aperture from f/2.0.
Apple's A15 Bionic also unlocks improvements to the overall camera performance on the iPhone thirteen Pro with its new ISP (image signal processor) along with machine learning and AI enhancements aimed at enhancing computational photography and videography.
That'south just looking at the hardware; Apple has a number of new software features as well. While the Cinematic Mode which lets you capture shifting depth of field in video, is garnering considerable attention from reviewers, it feels at present like a gimmick that will go unused by nigh people. With that said, TikTok may have a field day with it.
The Photographic Styles, on the other hand, is a potential game-changer that I'll be surprised if others don't knock off in short order. Photographic Styles lets you lot fine-tune the iPhone camera output to your liking with tone and warmth settings. By default, you have Standard, Rich Contrast, Vibrant, Warm and Cool, simply you tin can tweak whatever of these styles and the photographic camera will then default to whatsoever you terminal chose with a new look simply a swipe away. For those iPhone fans who adopt the Pixel or Samsung look, yous tin at least come close. Every bit someone who has never been a huge fan of Apple's default wait, this may be the biggest innovation of the iPhone 13 camera.
The other new characteristic Apple introduced with iPhone 13 is a macro mode using the ultra-wide lens. While this largely feels like a gimmick too, you can capture some fun images with it and it is vastly superior to the output you'll become from the dedicated macro lenses seen on some Android phones. Apple has a little flake of tinkering to practice with this feature every bit, now, you have no control over it. Macro mode simply turns on when the iPhone detects that you are shut enough to something, only it's a jarring transition and tin can lead to some odd results.
Broad-bending camera
The wide-bending photographic camera on the iPhone xiii Pro is superb in virtually any lighting condition thank you to that new f/ane.five aperture. Here's a sampling of images that I've captured with it over the terminal calendar week including some in extremely low lighting. The offset shot is of my chickens which makes for a peachy example given the shaded expanse with less than optimal lighting. The iPhone 13 Pro still delivers the crisp white of our Brahma chicken with every private feather down to her tufted feet in sharp detail. You also tin can come across the squeamish natural bokeh from this lens despite my being a few feet back from her.
The witch gives you a great expect at the depression-calorie-free and nighttime mode functioning of the lens. I included a photo of the scene without night way to requite perspective on just how dark information technology was. Critically, the night way was able to exercise its thing 3 seconds, curt enough that your discipline doesn't have to be still life.
iPhone 13 Pro wide-angle camera
iPhone 13 Pro wide-angle camera
iPhone 13 Pro wide-angle camera
iPhone thirteen Pro wide-angle photographic camera
iPhone xiii Pro wide-angle camera
iPhone xiii Pro wide-angle camera - Night Mode on
iPhone 13 Pro broad-bending camera - Dark Mode off
The ultra-wide took a much more meaning leap than the broad-angle, at f/1.viii information technology now matches the aperture of the primary camera from many flagship Android phones. This won't matter for your daytime photos of landscapes, cityscapes or group photos, simply it will brand a departure for twilight or dark shots. You also now have access to night mode on the ultra-wide sensor, a feature that was previously limited to the primary camera.
This shot of a pond at sundown shows off some of these capabilities with the sensor exposing properly for the sun in the background along with the greenery in front of me without losing the deep blue of the sky. Equally I mentioned, the macro functionality on the ultra-wide is the other notable addition, and while you lot won't likely use information technology likewise oftentimes, this shot of an ant crawling across a flower in our garden should requite you lot an idea of the level of detail it is able to capture.
iPhone 13 Pro ultra-broad camera
iPhone xiii Pro ultra-wide macro
iPhone 13 Pro ultra-wide macro
Samsung Milky way Z Fold three telephoto 2xiPhone xiii Pro ultra-wide macro
iPhone 13 Pro ultra-wide photographic camera
iPhone 13 Pro ultra-wide macro
Telephoto camera
The telephoto on the iPhone 13 Pro is the biggest disappointment to me. To exist clear, you tin get some fantastically precipitous results with it. While the epitome that I captured of the imperial flowers didn't really require a telephoto to capture, information technology was still one of my favorite photos that I took with the iPhone 13 Pro so far.
Where I am disappointed is the 3x optical zoom. The equivalent of a 77mm lens, it just isn't quite enough to me. Having used the Milky way S21 Ultra with a 10x optical zoom, the extra reach makes a considerable difference. This photo of a white heron landing in the altitude is the all-time example I accept so far. It's an OK shot, but I lose as well much detail when I crop to zoom in on it. Trying to extend to the 15x digital zoom and things fall apart completely. The S21 Ultra can easily get to 20x or even 30x and deliver usable images. Conspicuously, Apple yet has a lot of communicable upwardly to exercise here.
iPhone xiii Pro telephoto 3x zoom
iPhone xiii Pro telephoto 3x zoom
iPhone 13 Pro telephoto 15x zoom
iPhone thirteen Pro telephoto 15x zoom
iPhone 13 Pro telephoto 3x zoom
iPhone xiii Pro telephoto 3x zoom
Front-facing camera
The front-facing camera on the iPhone thirteen Pro is the only sensor that went unchanged from terminal year. That's non really an outcome; the 12MP sensor still performs excellently, and when used with Apple tree's varied Portrait lighting options can deliver some of the all-time selfies of any telephone. Looking at my samples ,I feel like Apple tree has taken another footstep forwards with its computational photography for portraits as well with the forepart-facing photographic camera given how it handled my occasional stray hairs at the edges amend than it did in the past.
iPhone 13 Pro front-facing camera
iPhone 13 Pro front-facing photographic camera
iPhone 13 Pro front-facing photographic camera
iPhone xiii Pro forepart-facing photographic camera
iPhone 13 Pro software
The iPhone 13 Pro runs iOS fifteen, which is also available for any iPhone going dorsum to the iPhone 6S from 2022. Leaving aside the features, which we'll touch on briefly, this is the most significant software advantage Apple enjoys with double the length of software support that the best Android phones offering.
iOS 15 isn't a massive sweeping update to the operating system, instead, I'd characterize information technology as a collection of conveniences. Each small update and added feature makes the overall user experience better, but none of them lone volition make or break your iOS experience.
Some notable updates include the ability to have FaceTime calls with Android users, elevate and drib content between apps and temporarily mute notifications for any app. None of those sound like they are going to change your life, only they add up.
Lesser line
The lack of any meaningful design changes for the iPhone this twelvemonth is going to cause some to dismiss these phones, particularly given the compelling iPhone 14 rumors we're already hearing. However, the iPhone thirteen Pro in particular is a massive step upwards versus last year'southward model.
It rights all of the wrongs of the iPhone 12 Pro with near three boosted hours of battery life, a photographic camera array that matches the iPhone 13 Pro Max, and a 120Hz ProMotion brandish. The lack of a periscope zoom photographic camera and truly fast charging are the only features that hold me back from saying this can match the best that Android has to offer, but information technology handily wins the performance war, and so information technology's a question of priorities.
If you merely purchase a new iPhone every 3 to 5 years, then I understand the inclination to wait for a potentially big redesign adjacent year. Just rumors are merely rumors, and the iPhone 13 Pro will not disappoint should y'all splurge on i today.
Source: https://www.laptopmag.com/reviews/iphone-13-pro
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