iPhone 13 and 13 Pro Unboxing and Honest First Impressions

[Johnny907]

Trying to decide how I feel about it. The thing is as chonky as I’d feared and feels like a brick in my hand. I never had an issue with battery life on the 12 so I don’t know that this trade off is worth it frankly. Waiting to see how the new cameras perform as I put them through their paces.
The new screen is noticeably improved. Animations and scrolling is buttery smooth. It’s subtle at first but the more I use it the more I like it.

 

[Orange Bat]

Yeah, I‘ll just stick with my 6s Plus rather than this new boring thing!

Really, Apple knows that a majority of people buying this phone is updating from an older phone. For those people (like myself) this thing will be truly amazing. Updating to a new phone every year is boring. The technology is too mature to expect amazing, incredible updates from year to year.

I‘m keeping my 6s Plus, but I’m probably going to get the 13 Pro Max and just be bored with it.

 

[Biglethal69]

Sold 12 Pro to go Pro Max because of finger size well I’m so disappointed with my iPhone 13 Pro Max want to take it back.
My telco “Telstra” in Australia does not yet support cellular connection with any Apple Watch also no update till when, Took 7 hrs of chatting with Apple and Telstra to find that out!! and the bugs in iOS 15 are a joke. I should of bought a new TV with the $2019 here in Aussie.

 

[vroom2]

This might be the best review I have ever seen for an iPhone. Wether or not one wants to agree with what he is saying, this man has properly set expectations for anyone upgrading from a 12 pro series iPhone.
Thank you.

 

[wbeasley]

Woohoo.

upgraded from a three year old X Max.
awesome. Worth every dollar.

bigger. Heavier. Better.

 

[OneMike]

Great review as are most of your reviews

 

[themachugger]

By calling this year's upgrades good but "boring" you are definitely speaking to the jaded/privileged/wasteful crowd who upgrade every single year. I know it's your job to review everything every year but mind the delivery, maybe? It's why I no longer listen to Leo Laporte.

*I'm coming from an iPhone X and the capabilities of this thing are already blowing my mind just 1 hour in.

 

[gugy]

If you want less than honest reviews, check out Apple’s fav iJustine. I’m pretty sure she’d be able to hype-up Tim’s turds if he let her.
“Look, there’s some corn… no freakin’ way! Look how amazing it looks with the new macro lens!”

Man, that girl is annoying as hell. Her fame comes from her looks. Sorry to say.

 

[prizm]

People are bored with a smartphone? I mean, it's a phone. What do you expect? This?

 

[efktd]

Loving my 13 mini

 

[dms_91]

I picked up my 13 mini this morning. There were only 7 people in line about a half-hour before the Apple Store opened, and I was number 4. I was ushered into the store right when it opened and got my phone within a few minutes. When I left the store, no one was in line. So although others apparently aren't excited about this release, I'm quite happy. My new mini has a bigger battery, smaller notch, better camera and better cellular radio. If it turns out to be true that Apple will be discontinuing the mini, this iPhone will have to tide me over for quite a while. If they do continue making the mini, the 13 should still last me for quite a while.

Exactly! Congrats on getting your new 13 mini! If that had Pro Motion and a slightly bigger batter, I'd get it. But got the 13 Pro and LOVE IT! It's perfected!

 

[macjoshua]

Upgraded from my iPhone XS to the 13 Pro. So far, not worth the upgrade. Camera is better, things are a bit faster, I guess. ProMotion isn’t really that impressive.

 

[ThisBougieLife]

I think the aluminum siding on the 13 looks better than the stainless steel on the 13 Pro. Fewer fingerprints too.

 

[kwokaaron]

Upgraded from my iPhone XS to the 13 Pro. So far, not worth the upgrade. Camera is better, things are a bit faster, I guess. ProMotion isn’t really that impressive.

Thanks for the feedback! Was deciding whether it’s worth upgrading or not. Would you say day-to-day tasks are noticeably faster or not really?

 

[w5jck]

Im so tired of people expecting a completely new and revolutionary product every 12 months. Advancements dont always move that fast.

LOL, at Apple that NEVER happens. At least they used to be honest about it back in the day of adding “s” to the model the next year. Now they act like they just released the best update in the history of the world. Meh….

 

[Wags]

I stopped watching her stuff a long time ago. I just couldn't take the over the top excitement for the tiniest little updates any more.

That’s how got the Tim interviews.

 

[BigMacWithCheese1800]

What do guys think? Should I upgrade from my XS Max this year to the 13 pro max or should I wait until next year?

 

[tgwaste]

What do guys think? Should I upgrade from my XS Max this year to the 13 pro max or should I wait until next year?

definitely wait. If the rumors are true next year will be marvelous.

 

[BigMacWithCheese1800]

Sweet! Ya, should wait since my XS has no problems. Thanks!

 

[Stehsegler9]

Since you have a Mini, can you tell me how the screen looks with True Tone turned on? I couldn't believe how yellow mine is when I picked it up today. I ended up turning True Tone off, which is fine now (although a bit cooler than I like), but overall it make me wonder if my screen is defective.

I am glad I am not the only that noticed that. When I compare my old 11 pro max to the new 13 pro max the screen has very noticeable yellow tint even with True Tone and auto brightness turned off.

Its one of those thing once you see it you can’t I see it. I have noticed it in some of the comparison videos on YouTube as well. I’m surprised no one has mentioned this yet.

 

[Matt Leaf]

Question you have to ask is, where can phones really go from here?

Samsung are trying with fold and flip, but is change for the sake of change that necessary?

Apple could go in a couple directions I think. One would be an Apple Camera, a product that really takes their camera IP and takes it to a whole new level. Niche product I suppose.

The other thing I think Apple might do, to compete with the Flip and Fold, is an Apple Watch that literally grows up and jumps off the wrist. So a portable, square device, but one that’s grown out of Watch OS rather than iOS. The future Mini, really.

It’d be a really simple device, but one for people who don’t want an insane phone, maybe even a cheaper one, in a palm sized footprint. “We took what we learned from the Apple Watch”… lol. You can hear it already.

 

[TheWatchfulOne]

By calling this year's upgrades good but "boring" you are definitely speaking to the jaded/privileged/wasteful crowd who upgrade every single year. I know it's your job to review everything every year but mind the delivery, maybe? It's why I no longer listen to Leo Laporte.

*I'm coming from an iPhone X and the capabilities of this thing are already blowing my mind just 1 hour in.

Agreed.

I think of it this way: the iPhone 13 is neither "boring" nor "exciting". It just either does what you need or it doesn't.

A better approach to reviewing might be something along like "this phone has features x, y, z. It is capable of doing a, b, c. If you're coming from iPhone 12 it's not a huge upgrade. If you are coming from iPhone 8, it is leaps and bounds above all that you have known an iPhone to be."

The original iPhone was amazing. Every new version after that is an improvement on what came before. That makes iPhone 13, by definition, the best iPhone so far. Improvements should always be welcome no matter how small.

On the other hand, the video is titled "honest first impressions" and if his honest first impression is that it's boring, then he should be free to say so.

 

[Ronald Reagan]

Just say it… it’s the 4th gen. iPad Pro of iPhones.

 

[Stehsegler9]

I just watched a review that someone suggested where it mentions the 13PM is cooler than 12PM.

I am starting to wonder if there is a tolerance in their display manufacturing for the 120hz screen. The 13 I have is definitely a lot more yellow than my old 11 max. And I have seen a couple of review videos with side by side comparisons that show the 13 a fair bit more yellow than the 12. Also, I wouldn't call it "warm". To test it I loaded a camera profiling test image. In that the areas that should be 100% white are yellow. Skin tones don't look much better.

I had this issue a few years ago with an iPad. The replacement I got from Apple didn't have that issue. But it took a while to convince the person in the Apple store that there was even a difference in colour in first place.

I also found that some video apps don't seem to (yet?) properly support the variable refresh rate. Again in a side by side comparison while watching a trailer for an animated film the 11 Pro Max display looked a lot sharper while the 13Pro Max looked washed out.

Given they particularly point out the XDR quality of the display in their marketing I really thought this was going to be better.

 

[Frennz]

It's iPhone 13 launch day, and customers around the world are receiving their iPhone 13, 13 mini, 13 Pro, and 13 Pro Max orders, plus the new devices are also in Apple retail locations. We picked up one of the new iPhone 13 models and both of the iPhone 13 Pro models for a quick unboxing and an honest overview of the feature set.

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Apple's iPhone 13 models have more environmentally friendly packaging, so you just need to pop open the box and your iPhone is right there with no more protective plastic. There are a few papers, a SIM ejection tool, and a Lightning to USB-C cable. No charger or EarPods, of course, because Apple dropped those last year.

The iPhone 13 models are heavier than the iPhone 12 models, and it's definitely noticeable with the Pro Max. We have the Silver iPhone 13 Pro Max, and the Sierra Blue iPhone 13 Pro, which is a much lighter blue than last year.

As for the iPhone 13, we have the Starlight color, which is meant to be a silver/gold hybrid, and on the iPhone, it's nearly white. It's quite attractive. Unsurprisingly, the camera bumps are massive, and the notch is smaller, a feature that's mostly obvious when putting the iPhone 13 next to an iPhone 12.

Aside from the notch tweak and the camera bumps, the iPhone 13 design is on the boring side because it's basically identical to the iPhone 12 design.

The iPhone 13 Pro models have a ProMotion display, and that's definitely a noticeable improvement. Scrolling is super smooth, and it looks great. ProMotion will definitely be the standout feature for people who pick a Pro model.

There are new camera capabilities, including a Macro mode. It's fun to play around with, but will have limited use in the real world. As other reviews have pointed out, there's an irritating quirk with macro mode -- if you get too close to the subject, the camera switches to another lens, and you have to reset the shot to get back to macro mode.

Apple added a new Cinematic Mode, which is more or less Portrait Mode for video. It works okay, but it's a little bit buggy and it's not super fantastic. You're also getting Photographic Styles, which apply filters to just part of your image, which is kind of useful.

Make sure to check out our video to see all the camera features in action, and we'll have more in-depth camera coverage coming up next week.

Battery life should be significantly improved based on what Apple has boasted for the new iPhones, but we'll need some more time to test that out. In a nutshell, these are basically iPhone 12 models with a few new bells and whistles. There's nothing earth shattering here, so you don't need to upgrade if you've already got one an iPhone 12 or 12 Pro, but there are some solid features for those coming from an older device.

Let us know what you think of the new iPhone 13 models in the comments.

Article Link: iPhone 13 and 13 Pro Unboxing and Honest First Impressions

Thanks for the honesty. I appreciate your candor. Hopefully, next iPhone will step up a bit more.