At their big September event yesterday, Apple introduced the iPhone 13 series. Among other models, it features the iPhone 13 Pro and iPhone Pro Max. But unlike last year, this duo is leaps ahead of the baseline iPhone 13. The CEO Tim Cook notes that, with the new ProMotion screens and improved cameras to longer battery life and up to a terabyte of storage, the iPhone 13 Pro and 13 Pro Max are the most ‘Pro’ iPhones ever.
High refresh rates have become a staple in Android smartphones. But Apple is only now hopping on this trend (not counting their iPad tablets.) Both Pro models offer 120Hz ProMotion displays — a feature that dynamically adjusts the frame rate between 10Hz and 120Hz.
The iPhone 13 Pro display is 6.1” across and the iPhone 13 Pro Max rocks a 6.7” panel. At 1000 nits, the phones also deliver 25% higher brightness. The battery-saving LTPO Super Retina XDR screens keep the phones efficient. Apple promises at least 2 hours of extra battery life on average.
Not much has changed in the design, except for the 20% smaller notch that houses the Face ID system. The edges are still flat and are made of chrome stainless steel. The matte glass shell is available in four colors — the new sierra blue, gold, silver, and graphite. Naturally, the body is IP68 rated against spills and dust.
Apple has also stepped up the photography experience. By combining the new image signal processor (ISP) inside the A15 Bionic chip with improved hardware, the triple-camera on the iPhone 13 Pro and Pro Max is more powerful and advanced than ever. The wide lens of the new additions to theiPhone price list has a larger sensor that collects 1.5x more light and a wide f/1.5 aperture to capture more light in poor lighting. The sensor-shift OIS is now found across the board. The ultra-wide camera automatically doubles as the macro lens and captures brighter and sharper images. And the 77mm telephoto camera — with 3x optical zoom — rounds off this setup.
The cinematic mode masterfully tracks subjects and blurs the background in real-time. The iPhone 13 Pro and Pro Max shoot in Dolby Vision HDR when using Cinematic video. Plus, the whopping 1 TB of storage allows for ProRes recording — think the RAW image editing format but for video.
Lastly, we turn to the engine inside the iPhone 13 Pro and iPhone 13 Pro Max. The new A15 Bionic chip now supports even more 5G bands and allegedly features the fastest GPU in any smartphone. Also, the new ISP lowers noise and improves tone mapping. iOS 15 comes preloaded with the Pro phones, but the accessories are still missing from the box.
The baseline 128GB iPhone 13 Pro starts from $999 (~ Rs. 168,400) and the Pro Max starts at $1,099 (~ Rs. 185,300.) The top-end 1 TB editions of the iPhone 13 Pro and Pro Max will set you back an eye-watering $1,499 (~ Rs. 252,800) and $1,599 (~ Rs. 269,600.)
