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iPhone 13 Pro 13 pro returned: screen/weight/camera

T

tezzaC

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Jun 4, 2014
8
21
It’s come and gone, ordered as the Apple Store came back online Fri 17, delivered day 1, returned day 2 😩

Background
Upgrading from an iPhone 6 for personal use (using the amazing iPhone 12 for work), I had high expectations for the iPhone 13 pro as my next personal phone.

Thoughts ..
1- it’s beautiful and fast (graphite for what it’s worth), usual Apple high end engineering we all love
2- it’s just too heavy for one hand usage, not that I can’t carry it but just very uncomfortable in one hand usage (iPhone 12 I have hits the sweet spot in this respect) - I did not expect c. 45g vs ip12 to make such a difference
3- the 13 pro screen was sub par and this may well have been my (bad ?) copy: generally low brightness which seems a very common issue, when matched to iPhone 12 brightness it has a grey cast which means white is not white and feels just wrong (tried all the auto brightness/True Tone/colour filters with no success) and fiddling with settings kind of defeats the purpose of a ‘pro’ phone, arguably positioned as a luxury item
4- using telephoto lens I get horrible artifacts from oversharpening (i checked exif and it’s using 3x f2.8 77mm lens and not digital zooming the wider angle lenses)
5- ProMotion is slick but really not a big deal imho, a gimmick 2 which makes scrolling nicer but that’s about it ..
6- back camera protrudes way too much for my liking having an iPhone 6 and 12 where the case is flush

What’s next ?
Might look for a second hand/refurbed iphone12 which feels like great value proposition given marginal upgrades from 12 to 13 (non pro versions)

Not asking for people to agree/disagree or convince me otherwise, I just can’t reconcile the value proposition from apple here. I very much wish it had gone smoothly, maybe first batch bad luck quality issues but then again at £1,049gbp you expect much better, including weight ergonomics.
 
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Are you saying the display and camera quality are wore than your 6?

i understand that its big. But it the same size are the 12. why not get a mini?
 
maerz001 said:
Are you saying the display and camera quality are wore than your 6?

i understand that its big. But it the same size are the 12. why not get a mini?
Click to expand...
Display quality vs 12, and camera comments relate to protruding lenses and poor tele lens picture quality on my copy. 12 I am happy with it’s what I have (see intro) for work, I’ll just get another iPhone 12 second hand as 13 is marginal upgrade from 12.
 
My 13 pro screen is indeed dim, tomorrow I’ll test better but at night my old iPhone 8 easily is twice as bright
 
LonestarOne said:
Check you set tings. iPhone 8 screen has a maximum brightness of 625 nits. 13 Pro has a maximum brightness of 1000 nits. 625 is not 2 x 1000.
Click to expand...

I know, I just checked. Maybe OLED maximum brightness is dimmed at night? I don’t know what to check other than the brightness slider. Light/dark mode doesn’t change a thing. Neither night mode or true tone
 
I’m not impressed either.

First of all it gets really hot in the left top corner while using it for the most basic tasks.
Second reason is that the huge camera bumps are preventing it from sitting flat on my $99 wireless charger that apple says it’s compatible, because it doesn’t sit flat but there is a gap, the phone gets very hot while charging.

I expect the battery to deteriorate so quick and so much like never before on this model. Too much heat. Put it in a case and you cook it. Which is what Cook wants probably.
Not amused.
Unfortunately I sold my 12 pro already. I would return this in a blink of an eye.
 
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mxrider88 said:
I’m not impressed either.

First of all it gets really hot in the left top corner while using it for the most basic tasks.
Second reason is that the huge camera bumps are preventing it from sitting flat on my $99 wireless charger that apple says it’s compatible, because it doesn’t sit flat but there is a gap, the phone gets very hot while charging.

I expect the battery to deteriorate so quick and so much like never before on this model. Too much heat. Put it in a case and you cook it. Which is what Cook wants probably.
Not amused.
Unfortunately I sold my 12 pro already. I would return this in a blink of an eye.
Click to expand...
Sure you would. 🧐

Sounds like you just love to complain. 13 Pro Max. No issues.
 
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tezzaC said:
It’s come and gone, ordered as the Apple Store came back online Fri 17, delivered day 1, returned day 2 😩

Background
Upgrading from an iPhone 6 for personal use (using the amazing iPhone 12 for work), I had high expectations for the iPhone 13 pro as my next personal phone.

Thoughts ..
1- it’s beautiful and fast (graphite for what it’s worth), usual Apple high end engineering we all love
2- it’s just too heavy for one hand usage, not that I can’t carry it but just very uncomfortable in one hand usage (iPhone 12 I have hits the sweet spot in this respect) - I did not expect c. 45g vs ip12 to make such a difference
3- the 13 pro screen was sub par and this may well have been my (bad ?) copy: generally low brightness which seems a very common issue, when matched to iPhone 12 brightness it has a grey cast which means white is not white and feels just wrong (tried all the auto brightness/True Tone/colour filters with no success) and fiddling with settings kind of defeats the purpose of a ‘pro’ phone, arguably positioned as a luxury item
4- using telephoto lens I get horrible artifacts from oversharpening (i checked exif and it’s using 3x f2.8 77mm lens and not digital zooming the wider angle lenses)
5- ProMotion is slick but really not a big deal imho, a gimmick 2 which makes scrolling nicer but that’s about it ..
6- back camera protrudes way too much for my liking having an iPhone 6 and 12 where the case is flush

What’s next ?
Might look for a second hand/refurbed iphone12 which feels like great value proposition given marginal upgrades from 12 to 13 (non pro versions)

Not asking for people to agree/disagree or convince me otherwise, I just can’t reconcile the value proposition from apple here. I very much wish it had gone smoothly, maybe first batch bad luck quality issues but then again at £1,049gbp you expect much better, including weight ergonomics.
Click to expand...
Ok.. and ? Who cares really on individual decisions like this ? No one
 
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I like the 13 pro and am not returning it over this but I agree the weight is too high. If it isn’t reduced substantially on the 14 I may go down to a mini or quit the pro train.

The screen is dope though. Not sure how that’s failing you.
 
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I'm in a similar boat… two days into this and I’m actually considering returning the 13 Pro and going back to my iPhone X. The weight is really affecting my use case of the phone. I’m often in loose shorts at home and the phone is actually dragging them down to the point where it’s uncomfortable. The added weight also makes it less enjoyable to hold in general like in bed or on the couch. Additionally, the square edges and increased screen size from 5.8” to 6.1” just makes it less comfortable to use one handed. Picking up my iPhone X compared the the 13 Pro makes me really miss the nimbleness and lightweight of the X. The 120hz is nice but you get used to it so fast… the extra cameras are cool but I don’t know if it’s worth the bulk… I’ll give it another day or two but I’m leaning towards returning to my perfectly functioning X.

btw this is coming from a 28 year old who lifts 4 times a week…
 
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Imho too quick.

like you it felt a bit heavier day one but this is day two and I’ve adjusted. Same as when I had my iPhone 11 Pro Max sent to me (theft) and I had to get an iPhone in the meantime (mini). I got used to the lighter phone so when the iPhone 11 came, it felt heavy at first.

then I got used to it.

even placed it in my pocket no problem. And despite what my avatar picture might show (yeah I use my own actual pic) I’m not that tall or big… and it’s fine for me.

(battery life sucks tho. Best battery or longest battery life yet my arse).
 
AbSoluTc said:
Sure you would. 🧐

Sounds like you just love to complain. 13 Pro Max. No issues.
Click to expand...
Not gonna lie it does get a little hot right underneath the camera but besides that the screen is way too bright even on 50%
 
doboy said:
I feel that people who make these kinds of quick decisions are having more of a buyer’s remorse than actually being dissatisfied with the product. They haven’t had the device for long enough to give it a fair shakedown.
Click to expand...
It’s not that we haven’t had ours long enough, but for me I thought the camera and the 120 hz screen would be a nice upgrade for me over my 12 Pro. Knocking my head against the table, I realize that this was an S upgrade and I Should’ve waited for the iPhone 14. Thank goodness that Apple has a good liberal return policy. The iPhone 13 is a good phone but………
 
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