As soon as the first drops of information startled trickling about the brand new iPhone 13, Apple fans all around the world started speculating wildly about the new iPhone’s features and technical details. As the official launch event on the 14th of September closed in, rumors about the new Apple smartphone grew larger and larger.
Now that Apple has officially unveiled the iPhone 13 and its different models, it’s time to look how the iPhone 13 differs from earlier Apple smartphones, most importantly the iPhone 12. In this article we’ll share everything we know about the iPhone 13 so far, including its price, size, camera, final release date as well as the different models of iPhone 13.
Release date
Apple is not letting consumers wait for long for the new iPhone 13 models as the pre-orders for new iPhone 13 models begin on September 17th 2021, only three days after the September 14th release event. The phone’s will be released on the 24th of September, so the most enthusiastic Apple fans will get their hands on this new smartphone soon. The release and pre-order dates are the same for all four new iPhone 13 models. For comparison, the previous iPhone 12 was released less than a year earlier in 2020.
New iPhone 13 Models
In their Apple Special Event held in Apple Park in California, Apple unveiled four new iPhone models. For Apple veterans the naming conventions of the new iPhone 13 models probably don’t come as a surprise. The new 15th generation iPhones revealed are the regular iPhone 13 and a smaller iPhone 13 mini. Alongside these two models Apple also released two more expensive high-end models, iPhone 13 Pro and iPhone 13 Pro Max.
Here are the details of the new iPhone 13 models in short.
iPhone 13
Display: 6.1-inch Super Retina XDR display
Camera: Dual 12 megapixel camera with wide and ultra wide lenses.
Processor: A15 Bionic Chip
Storage capacity: 128 GB, 256 GB, 512 GB
Battery: Video playback up to 19 hours
Operating system: iOS 15
iPhone 13 mini
Display: 5.4-inch Super Retina XDR display
Camera: Dual 12 megapixel camera with wide and ultra wide lenses.
Processor: A15 Bionic Chip
Storage capacity: 128 GB, 256 GB, 512 GB
Battery: Video playback up to 17 hours
Operating system: iOS 15
iPhone 13 Pro
Display: 6.1-inch Super Retina XDR display
Camera: Three 12 megapixel cameras with wide, ultra wide and telephoto lenses.
Processor: A15 Bionic Chip
Storage capacity: 128 GB, 256 GB, 512 GB, 1 TB
Battery: Video playback up to 22 hours
Operating system: iOS 15
iPhone 13 Pro Max
Display: 6.7-inch Super Retina XDR display
Camera: Three 12 megapixel cameras with wide, ultra wide and telephoto lenses.
Processor: A15 Bionic Chip
Storage capacity: 128 GB, 256 GB, 512 GB, 1 TB
Battery: Video playback up to 28 hours
Operating system: iOS 15
Price
The prices of the new 15th generation iPhone 13 models vary between countries and markets. In addition to the model, the iPhone 13’s storage capacity affects the phone’s price. The prices for the four iPhone 13 models (with 128 GB of memory) start approximately at:
- iPhone 13 mini: $699 / 829€
- iPhone 13: $799 / 929€
- iPhone 13 Pro: $999 / 1179€
- iPhone 13 Pro Max: $1,099 / 1279€
Features
Apple has equipped the four new iPhone 13 smartphones with a number of exciting features and advanced technology. Next we’ll look more in detail at some of the most important changes and additions made to the Apple iPhone 13: camera, size, display, processor, battery and design.
Camera
All four iPhone 13 models come with impressive back and front cameras as well as some additional features that make taking pictures and filming video easy. One new feature of the iPhone 13’s camera is the positioning of the camera’s lenses. Whereas previous models had the two lenses of the phone’s dual back cameras aligned vertically, the two lenses of iPhone 13 and iPhone 13 mini are now arranged diagonally.
Meanwhile, iPhone 13 Pro and iPhone 13 Pro Max are equipped with three lenses, including a wide, ultra wide and telephoto lenses with 12 megapixels. All four models also support Apple’s Night Mode feature that makes professional-level low light photography easy. According to Apple, one big improvement of the iPhone 13’s camera over the previous iPhone 12 models is its ability to take photos in dark and dimly lit environments. The iPhone 13’s front cameras are also 12 megapixels, making them great for taking portraits and selfies as well as shooting video.
Size and display
The smallest of the iPhone 13 models is iPhone 13 mini with a 5.4-inch display, while both the iPhone 13 and iPhone 13 Pro pack a display of 6.1 inches. The largest iPhone 13 Pro Max is 6.7 inches. This means that the new iPhone 13 models are as big as the previous year’s four iPhone 12 smartphones.
However, where the new iPhone 13 smartphones have improved is the display itself, as all four are equipped with a Super Retina XDR display. The OLED display can reach the max brightness of up to 800 nits for the regular iPhone 13 and iPhone 13 mini or 1000 nits of the more expensive iPhone 13 Pro and iPhone 13 Pro Max. The two high-end models, iPhone 13 Pro and iPhone 13 Pro Max, also come with special ProMotion technology that enables a refresh rate up to 120Hz.
Processor
All four iPhone 13 models come with a brand new powerful A15 Bionic -chip. The A15 Bionic -chip makes the iPhone 13 an extremely powerful smartphone and enables a longer battery life as well. According to Apple, the A15 Bionic and its 6-core CPU is up to 50 percent faster than its competitors. This makes the iPhone 13 well capable of even highly demanding tasks and applications, such as augmented reality (AR) and mobile gaming.
The new A15 Bionic also powers some other advanced features of the iPhone 13, such as the phone’s Cinematic Mode that is capable of recording in Dolby Vision HDR as well as the Photographic Style feature for customizing photos.
Storage
When it comes to the iPhone 13’s storage capacity, all four models are available with 128GB, 256GB and 512GB of memory. However, the most expensive versions, iPhone 13 Pro and iPhone 13 Pro Max, can be purchased with 1 terabyte (TB) of memory. This makes the iPhone 13 Pro and iPhone 13 Pro Max the first iPhone models with the impressive storage capacity of 1 TB that rivals even many modern desktop computers.
Battery life
According to Apple, the battery of the new iPhone 13 models has been greatly improved over previous models. For example, the better battery life of iPhone 13 mini and iPhone 13 Pro should last 90 minutes longer than the corresponding iPhone 12 models. The iPhone 13 and iPhone 13 Pro Max should see an even greater improvement of 2,5 hours when compared to the previous iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 Pro Max.
The battery of iPhone 13 and iPhone 13 Pro should last up to 75 hours of audio playback, while the same number for iPhone 13 mini and iPhone 13 Pro Max are 55 and 95 respectively. In addition, the new iPhone 13 models come with wireless charging and the fast-charge feature that many Apple fans are familiar with from some previous models.
Design and colours
When it comes to the design of the new iPhone 13 models, there are no great changes when compared to iPhone 12 released just a year earlier. However, Apple has done a minor redesign by making the notch surrounding the phone’s front-facing camera slightly smaller. This in turn gives more space for the phones’ Super Retina XDR displays.
When it comes to colours, both iPhone 13 and the smaller iPhone 13 mini come in five different colours: Starlight, Midnight, Blue, Pink and Product Red. Apple’s new high-end smartphones, iPhone 13 Pro and iPhone 13 Pro Max, are both available in four colours, Silver, Graphite, Gold and Sierra Blue.
iPhone 13 vs iPhone 12
Apple’s previous smartphone model, the iPhone 12, became available only a year ago and was on sale in most countries by the end of 2020. Alongside iPhone 12 there were also three other models released at the end of 2020: iPhone 12 mini, iPhone 12 Pro and iPhone 12 Pro Max.
All four iPhone 12 models were made available in a variety of colors as well as versions with different amounts of storage capacity. The range of iPhone 12 models are all equipped with a powerful A14 Bionic chip, a processor that made using the iPhone 12 a smooth and fast experience. With the A14, users could also run a wide range of demanding tasks, including apps utilising augmented reality (AR) technology.
The iPhone 12’s camera was also at least an impressive 12MP dual camera in the back and another 12MP front camera. However, the most advanced models of the four, iPhone 12 Pro and iPhone Pro Max came with a camera with three lenses: ultra wide, wide and telephoto lenses. The latter of the two was also packed with an impressive battery that could last up to 20 hours of video playback.
Overall, no matter which iPhone 12 model you choose, you’ll be getting a powerful Apple smartphone with a number of great features and advanced technology. In other words, you can get a great Apple smartphone by choosing one of the older models as well.
Wrap up: Should you buy the new iPhone 13?
During the exciting release event, Apple also announced the new 9th generation iPad and iPad mini as well as the new Apple Watch Series 7, alongside the greatly anticipated iPhone 13 and its A15 Bionic -chip. In case you still have questions, here’s what you need to know about the iPhone 13.
- When is the iPhone 13 release date?
- Preorders for iPhone 13 start on September 17 and shipping begins on September 24th.
- What are the different iPhone 13 models?
- The new iPhone 13 models include iPhone 13, iPhone 13 mini, iPhone 13 Pro and iPhone 13 Pro Max.
- How much does the iPhone 13 cost?
- Prices for iPhone 13 models range approximately from $699 (829€) to $1,099 (1279€) depending on the model and storage capacity.
- Can I still buy older iPhone models?
- Can I buy a used iPhone 13?
- Unfortunately we cannot provide used and refurbished iPhone 13 smartphones yet, but check back soon once they are in stock. Meanwhile, you can explore the other iPhone models we provide.
Although the new iPhone 13 and other 15th generation iPhones come with a number of new features and improvements, you shouldn’t disregard the earlier models, such as the iPhone 12 and even iPhone 11. Both are packed with a variety of features that make them a great choice even in 2021. On top of that, you can purchase a fully functional, environmentally friendly and affordable alternative by getting a refurbished iPhone from Swappie.
Check out Swappie’s selection of all of the iPhone 12 and iPhone 11 smartphones as well as other great models. All of Swappie’s used and refurbished iPhones go through our 52-step testing process, so you will get a phone that is as good as new. We also provide fast shipping and comprehensive warranty for all of our refurbished smartphones. On top of that, Swappie’s refurbished iPhones are a more affordable option than buying a brand new smartphone.