Now that we have talked about the reasons to buy or not to buy iPhone 13 and 13 Mini, let’s move on to the Pro models. The iPhone 13 Pro and 13 Pro Max, just like their younger siblings, come with a lot of improvements. These Pro models even take the iPhone 13 series a long way as compared to the vanilla models in terms of features, take 120Hz displays for an example. So let us see if you should buy the iPhone 13 Pro models or not?
iPhone 13 Pro, iPhone 13 Pro Max Reasons to Buy
The new iPhone Pro models come with a 120Hz display and that is probably their highlight as well, apart from the impressive cameras of course. Apart from this, they also have faster GPU, and bigger batteries. So let’s have a look at the reasons to buy them.
120Hz and Brighter Display
Apple finally introduced a high refresh rate display for its Pro models this year. A feature that has been available even on mid-level Android phones for over a year now, comes as “ProMotion” in Apple’s terms on the latest iPhone 13 Pro and iPhone 13 Pro Max.
Interestingly, Apple has offered it as an adaptive refresh rate that can go from 10Hz to 120Hz. The iOS 15 has also been upgraded to make the best use of the new “ProMotion display”.
The size of the display remains the same as last year, i.e. 6.1-inches for iPhone 13 Pro and 6.7-inches for Pro Max. The new panels are up to 25% brighter than last year, offering outdoor brightness up to 1000 nits and up to 1200 nits peak brightness. Other features like HDR and Ceramic Shield protection are also the same.
Improved Cameras
The iPhone 13 Pro lineup comes with a triple camera setup just like last year, however, there is an all-new Wide camera with a much larger sensor size of 1.9 µm pixels. This is the largest ever on any iPhone and also has ƒ/1.5 aperture.
To recall, the 12 Pro Max had a 1.7µm pixel size and an f/1.6 aperture lens for the main camera. This means that the wide camera offers a huge improvement in low-light conditions and it can capture up to 2.2x more light.
The telephoto camera also has a new 77mm f/2.8 aperture lens. This is up from 65 mm lenses from last year but it is a downgrade in terms of aperture. The Telephoto camera offers a 3x optical magnification over the main camera and a total 6x optical zoom range.
The new Ultra-Wide camera now also features a much wider f/1.8 aperture lens compared to the f/2.4 lens on the last year’s Pro models, bringing a 92% improvement for low-light situations. It also has a new autofocus system and offers brighter and sharper results.
The new lens also brings macro photography capability to the iPhone 13 Pro models with a minimum focus distance of 2 cm. The feature is also available for video recording including Slo-mo and Time-lapse.
The Sensor-shift Optical Image Stabilization, a tech that stabilizes the sensor instead of the lens is available on both models. Also, all the cameras on the Pro models support Night mode.
The new cameras also have support for “ProRes” video which is Apple’s professional video codec used for commercials and feature films. The ProsRes videos can be recorded at 1080p at 30 fps for 128GB storage models and at 4K 30 fps for other models. You can also edit the ProRes videos right on the iPhone 13 Pro models.
Just like iPhone 13 series, Dolby Vision HDR is also supported at up to 4K 60 fps on all models. So the iPhone 13 Pro series is the only smartphone in the world to offer an end-to-end workflow for video recording, i.e. capturing, editing, and sharing in Dolby Vision or ProRes.
Interestingly, the iPhone 13 Pro models can also record a depth map alongside the video that allows you to change the depth of field even after recording is done. It also supports Cinematic mode with an automatic focus change feature.
A15 Bionic Chipset with Faster GPU
We have already talked about Apple’s new A15 Bionic chipset, which is super powerful, made up of 15 billion transistors, and based on a 5nm process with 64-bit architecture. The chipset comes with the 2+4 CPU (performance + efficiency) structure with two big cores and as per Apple offers 50% faster performance than the competition.
Unlike the iPhone 13 models, the GPU in Pro models has 5 cores, giving it more speed and making it “50% faster” in terms of graphics as well. There is an in-built 16-core Neural Engine that has also been improved and delivers 15.8 TOPS (Trillion operations per sec).
More RAM and 1TB Storage
Apple offers 8GB RAM options with all the Pro models this year as compared to the 6GB RAM on the last year’s Pro models. Apart from this, there is also a new 1TB storage option for both the Pro models, which will lure the consumers who want to record videos in high resolution and fear that their storage will fill up soon.
Better Battery Life
The battery life on Pro models has also improved significantly. Because of the adaptive refresh rate of the screen, more efficient chipset, and iOS optimizations, the bigger cell even offer more power.
As per Apple, the iPhone 13 Pro will now last 1.5 hours more than 12 Pro, and the 13 Pro Max can last 2.5 hours more than the 12 Pro Max on a single charge.
Apple didn’t mention anything about fast charging this year at the launch event. This means the new iPhone will also support 20W wired fast charging and 15W charging with a MagSafe wireless charger.
Just like iPhone 13 models, there is also a Smart Data feature that will switch from 5G to LTE to save battery. Talking about the 5G, as mentioned in the previous article, Apple has improved the connectivity with more 5G bands. This will allow the new iPhones to work in more places on 5G networks.
iPhone 13 Pro, iPhone 13 Pro Max Reasons Not to Buy
Now let’s talk about some of the reasons why you might not want to buy these iPhone 13 Pro models. One of them could be the high pricing, and some of the reasons are the same as were with the iPhone 13 models.
No Visible Change in Design
Just like we told in the previous article for iPhone 13, the Pro models’ design also remains similar to last year. The stainless steel body comes sandwiched between the glass panels. The dimensions of the new iPhone Pro models are also similar to last year’s Pro models, i.e. 7.65mm thickness for 13 Pro and Pro Max both.
However, it is the weight that has increased significantly. The scale for 13 Pro goes all the way up to 203grams, and for iPhone 13 Pro Max it tops to 238grams. Just like iPhone 13 models, the notch housing the TrueDepth front camera is now 20% smaller.
The new iPhone 13 Pro and 13 Pro Max come in Graphite, Gold, Silver, and Sierra Blue color options.
No Accessories
As we have already told you and you might also know, from the last year Apple has stopped providing all accessories except cables with its phones. However, when you spend a fortune on a phone, at least you can expect these things in return. Well, for Apple it doesn’t matter which model it is, you will have to buy a charging brick separately if you don’t already have it.
No Touch ID
We have already told about Touch id also. People are expecting this feature from Apple for the last 2-3 years, but this old feature has not returned yet. For now, you have to rely on Face id and see how accurate it is this time, especially when we are continuing to wear masks.
Also, read | How to Unlock Your iPhone While Wearing a Face Mask No Apple Watch Required
Wrapping Up
So as you have seen there are some very cool features in the iPhone 13 Pro models which are also a huge improvement even compared to the 13 and 13 Mini. For example, the cameras in these Pro models are quite improved, GPU is faster, and most importantly they have a high refresh rate display. So if all these features mean a lot to you and you can afford to spend a huge amount on them, then you can go for these Pro models.
Price & Availability
This year’s Apple iPhone Pro models start at the same price as the last year. The iPhone 13 Pro price in India is set at Rs. 1,19,900 for the base model. Interestingly, there are new 1TB storage options also available this time.
Check all the Indian and US pricing here:
- iPhone 13 Pro 128GB– Rs. 1,19,900 ($999)
- iPhone 13 Pro 256GB– Rs. 1,29,900 ($1099)
- iPhone 13 Pro 512GB – Rs. 1,49,900 ($1299)
- iPhone 13 Pro 1TB – Rs. 1,69,900 (($1499)
- iPhone 13 Pro Max 128GB– Rs. 1,29,900 ($1099)
- iPhone 13 Pro Max 256GB– Rs. 1,39,900 ($1199)
- iPhone 13 Pro Max 512GB – Rs. 1,59,900 ($1399)
- iPhone 13 Pro Max 1TB – Rs. 1,79,900 ($1599)
The iPhone 13 Pro series will go on sale via Apple Authorized Retail Stores across India starting from September 24. The pre-orders start from September 17 at 5:30 PM.
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