Pssst, It's the same phone!
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
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iPhone 13 and 13 Pro Unboxing and Honest First Impressions
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I think Rene Ritchie will give her quite the run for her money.
He will run and she will chase after him?
And if she catches him, he will give her £12.50
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Not much to upgrade from non Pro 12. Finally iPhone Pro is getting ProMotion!! Battery life across the lineup seems to be good.
Went to an Xfinity store, waited ~1/2 hr before a rep helped me. Took a short while to get the paperwork done and initial setup for the 13 Pro.
Upgraded from 8 Plus to 13 Pro. I didn't need the bulkiness of the Pro Max which fits the 8 Plus dimensions as I had to decide between the Pro vs Pro Max. The smaller size difference won over.
It was a big adjustment as the iOS is different on the newer phone and that you no longer have the Touch ID button on the bottom of the phone.
Swiping for everything takes time to get used to. LOL!
The Pro's screen is actually bigger than the 8 Plus but without the bezels. If you really want the extra screen, pay the $100 difference for the Pro Max. At least with the Pro, it fits better in pockets!
Everyone who complains about the 'weight difference' needs to get a slapped to reality. Who actually notices ~1~2 ONCE difference in weight? Look at the iPhones' specs at Apple's website!
Be careful when transferring things over Direct connect via device to device transfer which I learned at the Xfinity store where I got the phone. It does Not work well!!
Some apps need to be installed and re-installed as there are issues that have been reported when people were setting up their phones and copying from iCloud backups.
Check the Settings as many need to be reset!
Had to Remove and Link up all the Email accounts since there was a delay in the email fetch!
The watch app needs to resync the iWatch to the iPhone as you're Only allowed 1 phone to be synced to a watch so remove it off the Older iPhone. The Fitness app Lost all my data from over a year's history including all the Reward Button earned!
After setup, there is an iOS 15 update patch that appeared so that was installed as iOS 15 already on the device.
Now it's time to copy over all the music/audiobook/movies back to the 13 Pro from iTunes.
Yes, iTunes v12.12.1.1 is the current version and Apple refuses to fix the monstrosity that's become of iTunes over the years. But you need it to edit those media files (i.e. file tagging features). Have to find an iTunes alternative as iTunes really sucks!
Did read that Apple stopped iTunes support for the Mac. Hopefully support will go on a little longer for the Window PC version.
Apple needs to remove the iPhone lock to Only 1 iTunes per PC and allow file management on the iPhones as that's been a constant complaint by users over the years.
You may want to do a 'clean install' instead by setting up the new iPhone as a new device then reinstall as many apps and files.
Now it's time to 'play' with the new iPhone 13 as there's six years of improvements to be discovered. The iPhone 13 Pro should last ~3~5 years before the next upgrade.
Good luck and enjoy!
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Rene is smart and knows what he is talking about. His reviews are incredibly in-depth, however his inability to even remotely criticise apple severely damages his credibility.
He's extremely biased. I can critique Apple, but then rationalize everything Apple has done, does, may do in the future. At the end of the day, Apple always wins with him, even contradicting himself.
I have no idea what you are talking about. I have a 13 pro max and viewing angle is great.
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No, once again, it’s fine.
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CarPlay is glitchy in my Jeep Rubicon. With directions through the radio it is not acting like it used to and is switching XM channels randomly.
Here, in this photo I’ve rotated it as close to 90 degrees as I can while still having something to see, and it’s still quite readable.
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I had an iPhone 8 so this was a major leap.
So my biggest worry was getting the device activated. That was easy.
moving data was a pain. Device to device failed at least twice and the iCloud backup didn’t seem to restore everything. Ended up wiping and restoring from back up. Ironically Apple Music no issues.
The 2nd biggest was the watch. I ended up having to factory reset it to get it to pair.
I also learned I should have unpaired watch from old phone first. Didn’t know that.
still getting used to Face ID and getting Apple Pay working but other than that I am happy. Will hold old device a few more days before I wipe and send back for credit.
biggest question is charging via a usb a to lightning speeds. Will have to play with it before I decide what to do.
So my biggest worry was getting the device activated. That was easy.
moving data was a pain. Device to device failed at least twice and the iCloud backup didn’t seem to restore everything. Ended up wiping and restoring from back up. Ironically Apple Music no issues.
The 2nd biggest was the watch. I ended up having to factory reset it to get it to pair.
I also learned I should have unpaired watch from old phone first. Didn’t know that.
still getting used to Face ID and getting Apple Pay working but other than that I am happy. Will hold old device a few more days before I wipe and send back for credit.
biggest question is charging via a usb a to lightning speeds. Will have to play with it before I decide what to do.
Definitely some serious weirdness with the Apple Watch pairing. I had to do multiple factory resets, and then it would say it was paired but throw the numeric code verification when in the Bluetooth settings. Then, after restoring it wasn’t communicating with the phone. Finally after rebooting everything and doing another hard reset on the Watch, I got it working.
Should be no need to unpair watch. Just launch the watch app on the new phone after it’s all done and it will ask you if you want to pair to the new phone. Best way to do device to device is with a cable - the USB 3 camera adapter and a usb-to-lightning cable. Took 30 minutes to transfer everything when I did it last night.
Issue solved with the latest "Security update" released by Apple. Suggest, if any issues occur, to check for updates first. Even though it is still called 15.0, it fixed my outstanding issues.
The screen id awesome, and the camera aHUGE improvement over my old XR.
Well done Apple!
Wow these fingerprints are terrible and make the phone look like some cheap chinese crap. Regular 13 is just better looking phone.
Attention please! Apple just released the new iPhones and iPhone pros! They're thinner, lighter, and cheaper - to the price of a slight decrease in battery life which will only affect a small number of users. The notch has been carefully re-engeneered: now it's slightly wider but shallower, and houses the speaker in a new and better position - overall an improvement on aesthetics and usability. The cameras and processor power have been just marginally decreased but, again, for functions seldom used by the average user and to the very welcome decrease in price - the new iPhone 12 is now selling $ 200 under the price of the previous iPhone 13!!!
If you see things this way, wouldn't you think Apple's genius came back?
If you see things this way, wouldn't you think Apple's genius came back?
LOL. You are only seeing them because the lens of my camera is an inch away from the phone.
I went from a 7 Plus to a 13 Pro Max. About the same dimensions as before but a little heavier. In terms of upgrade, this is a big jump in screen size, battery, cameras, cpu/gpu, and ram.
I miss Touch ID. Even if Apple wasn't ready to put it under the screen, I wish they had implemented it in the power button like the iPad Air.
Still getting used to not having a home button anymore. *swipe swipe*
I miss Touch ID. Even if Apple wasn't ready to put it under the screen, I wish they had implemented it in the power button like the iPad Air.
Still getting used to not having a home button anymore. *swipe swipe*
Notch and no USB-C... I think I'll stick with my otherwise perfectly fine XS Max for another year.