iPhone 13 Pro Reviews: ProMotion and Longer Battery Life Highlight an Iterative Refresh

[iPrez]

Is it just me or the Sierra kinda grey silverish

 

[ActionFigures]

This is a nice little update but I can tell the 12 megapixel camera is starting to show its age, hopefully 48mp arrives next yr

 

[Brenster]

I had an iPadPro with ProMotion and it took me less than a day to not notice it anymore on my iPad mini, so I am not sure what you are talking about. Are you trying to convince others or yourself on the case for 120 Hz display refresh rate. If you are someone who constantly uses Pencil2 to draw there maybe a case.

What is more interesting is that Pencil support is a possibility on iPhone Pro in the near future, late Steve Jobs eat your words and RIP.

Not trying to convince anyone. My mind is already made up, and it impacts on me not one iota if anyone else upgrades because of it or not. And no, I’m not an Apple Pencil user. If Pencil support was the only key update for this cycle, I’d be sitting it out whilst others would be biting Apple’s hand off to get it.

Some reviewers, Marques Brownlee specifically, noticed ProMotion on their 13 Pro review units immediately. Other reviewers have said it looked a ‘bit smoother’ scrolling than the regular 13 and earlier iPhones without dwelling on it or even suggesting the feature is as significant as the camera and battery upgrades.

ProMotion is the key thing decider for my own upgrade, the difference between staying on the 12 Pro and getting the 13 Pro. Which is fine. If others don’t rate the feature as highly, I’m fine with that too. Ditto those who can see it but don’t care and those who are even interested. 😀

 

[jimbobb24]

I would like blind testing of promotion 120 hz to see how often people can pick it out. Maybe that already exists. But I don’t see blurring or text when I scroll right now

 

[jmgregory1]

I would like blind testing of promotion 120 hz to see how often people can pick it out. Maybe that already exists. But I don’t see blurring or text when I scroll right now

I’m sure someone will do the test, but it won’t matter what the results are. Tech people were able to generate clicks by making 120Hz a negative talking point, while really not showing why it was needed. All these reviewers would do quick swiping or scrolling to say “look how good it looks when doing this”, as if doing these things was a problem at 60Hz. Then they’d mention that it usually resulted in significantly reduced battery life. 120Hz isn’t a feature, it’s a spec.

 

[Brenster]

I would like blind testing of promotion 120 hz to see how often people can pick it out. Maybe that already exists. But I don’t see blurring or text when I scroll right now

Would be interesting to see a proper test carried out. A similar question was asked on Reddit a while back iPad Pro - How noticeable is 120Hz? with plenty of individual annecdotes to support everything from ‘Wouldn’t be without it’ to ‘Can’t see the difference’. How much of this is confirmation bias I don;t know - I suspect few would say they either couldn’t see or were indifferent the feature on a device they’ve paid for handsomely out of their own pocket.

 

[madge28]

I’ll be turning off 5G once I get an iPhone equipped with it. Most insane marketing hype for a new technology ever.

Not once in my life have I felt that LTE wasn’t sufficient enough. So, I’ll take the battery savings, thank you very much.

not everyone has the low standard you have when it comes to video quality. I always watch 2160p on YouTube when it's available and it's quite slow to jump forward/backward on LTE

Btw I live in Singapore where the internet speed is faster than in the US

 

[madge28]

Would be interesting to see a proper test carried out. A similar question was asked on Reddit a while back iPad Pro - How noticeable is 120Hz? with plenty of individual annecdotes to support everything from ‘Wouldn’t be without it’ to ‘Can’t see the difference’. How much of this is confirmation bias I don;t know - I suspect few would say they either couldn’t see or were indifferent the feature on a device they’ve paid for handsomely out of their own pocket.

wow one must really lack attention to detail if one can't differentiate 60Hz from 120Hz. It's super noticeable on the iPad Pro.

 

[Darth Tulhu]

I would like blind testing of promotion 120 hz to see how often people can pick it out. Maybe that already exists. But I don’t see blurring or text when I scroll right now

The thing with ProMotion (in my opinion) is feel.

The OS on my iPad Pro feels smoother and more responsive than in my 12 Pro.

As such, it becomes a pleasurable experience to scroll about, but eventually you lose sight of it when you're actually trying to complete a task; your mind is not on how smooth everything is but on the task at hand.

So I figure some that upgrade from a 12 because of ProMotion are looking for that kind of consistency between their devices.

I get my iPhone from work, and I almost wish I'd held on to my Samsung Note8 for one more year so I could get this feature. Alas...

 

[cardfan]

not everyone has the low standard you have when it comes to video quality. I always watch 2160p on YouTube when it's available and it's quite slow to jump forward/backward on LTE

Btw I live in Singapore where the internet speed is faster than in the US

Never know if a carrier is capping the quality of streaming apps. Not a big worry.

 

[snipr125]

Claimed by the Wall Street... The Pro Max could easily go until the next day.

Pro Max Battery life is pretty impressive! wow! Expecting to hit 2 days without a single charge

Please don't laugh at me, but with my general phone usage I reckon I would probably get 3-4 days out of a single charge on the 13 Pro Max!!!

 

[mashdots]

I’ll be turning off 5G once I get an iPhone equipped with it. Most insane marketing hype for a new technology ever.

Not once in my life have I felt that LTE wasn’t sufficient enough. So, I’ll take the battery savings, thank you very much.

while i agree for the most part, I feel a lot of the problem i experience with it is the US's unreliable networks. If you go into a poor coverage zone, I've noticed that speed drops off significantly. And the speed that I've seen in LTE isn't as fast or reliable as what you'd might experience in europe.

One time i was in the subway in berlin and my coverage was down to one bar with supposedly 3G and it was still felt really fast and pages loaded pretty quickly. I've never had something like that experience in the US.

 

[pratikindia]

What I’m personally interested in as follows in the Pro (I don’t bother with the 13 or the 13 Mini as they’re a bad value compared to the Pro this year, unlike back in the iPhone 11 days):

1, is the UW (ultrawide) image quality indeed far better than that of the 11/12 series? (I know the plain 13 and the 13Mini have the same old and pretty cr@ppy lens assembly as the earlier models, that is, the same quality.) Does it exhibit massive smearing towards the edges?

Note: I know CA (color aberration) is a major problem with anything UW so I don’t expect flawlessness in that respect. It’s mostly the sharpness that severely degrades the overall image quality in the "old" UW optics.

2, is the tele (77mm) lens automatically disabled behind the scenes in anything but good light and does the phone switch to using the normal lens instead and just apply cropping, resulting in way worse resolution than the tele lens could otherwise deliver? That has always been a problem with Apple’s implementation (particularly on the 7+, which didn’t sport an IS in the tele camera, unlike the successor models except for IIRC the 8+), even when shooting on a tripod where camera shake wouldn’t have been a problem.

3, does the main camera still exhibit “wobbling” upon loud music or other low-frequency sounds like in the 7+ or the 11? This has made most kinds of concert shooting impossible with (at least) the normal lens.

IMO, phones are not worth the upgrade for only camera. Phone camera photos are only good for small display like phone or tablet. It’s not good enough for print or for viewing on a large monitor. Once they reach at least 1 inch sensor quality, may be then.

 

[maerz001]

People expect WAY too much from smartphones these days as if we’re still in the early to mid 2010s when upgrades were only significant because there was still a lot of features to include and improve upon, but now we’ve reached a point where you can only improve upon the little things.

Sure, it would be nice if we had no notch and TouchID under the display which are coming but apart from that there is nothing more to be done really. People’s minds are still stuck in that 2010s innovative timeframe and they expect the same unrealistic big changes today when they have already been implemented back then. iPhones and phones in general are ‘boring’ now because there is nothing more to add to them. Save for the couple of features I pointed out above the ‘innovation’ that everyone is craving is done and I have no idea why they can’t see that.

There are actually quite a few things which Apple still lacks when you look at the competition.

Periskope camera, pen support, 100W charging, desktop computing like samsung Dex…

Apples 4 new models (and some verly old) basically just difference in the screen size and cams.

but they don’t offer different styles. Like folding phone or one with punch hole, touch id. there should be more choice like on their Mac line

 

[mrochester]

wow one must really lack attention to detail if one can't differentiate 60Hz from 120Hz. It's super noticeable on the iPad Pro.

I can’t tell the difference between an iPhone 12 mini and 11” iPad Pro.

 

[jmgregory1]

I can’t tell the difference between an iPhone 12 mini and 11” iPad Pro.

Just to test this, I opened this web page on both my M1 12.9” iPad Pro and my 12 Pro Max and scrolled on both to see how noticeable the difference between 120Hz and 60Hz is. The first thing I noticed was my iPhone screen was way more yellow, even though settings on both included having True Tone on. But that’s neither here nor there. As far as scrolling smoothness goes, they both scroll smoothly, but it is noticeable in how you can very easily read text as you’re scrolling on the iPad Pro, whereas the iPhone 12 PM looks a bit more blurry.

As I’ve said in other posts, I know I won’t complain when I own an iPhone with ProMotion, but this “benefit” of being able to read text while scrolling is not something I would normally be doing anyway.

 

[840quadra]

The Verge Dieter Bohn When I scroll on the iPhone 13 Pro, the text stays readable instead of turning into a blur. Things moving on the screen are smoother. It feels more like a direct interaction with my finger because the iPhone can literally change its refresh rate to match my movement.

That is a bit of an exaggeration.

As an iPad Pro owner that has to slum it with an iPhone 11 Pro Max as well, the scrolling on the oder iPhone still produces perfectly legible text. It’s not like it is an iPhone 3G with really sluggish scroll renders and low PPI resolution. Yes there is a difference between the ProMotion and Non equipped screens, but it isn’t like we are in the dark ages with older devices.

 

[iDento]

"a ProMotion display with a variable refresh rate up to 120Hz" Something that until recently I never knew I "needed", and as an owner of a XS and a new iPad Pro 11" still don't understand why I need it. I must be the most tech dense person in the room. 😆

I've had an iPad Pro 11' since 2018, I can not see the 120Hz" damn thing everyone is talking about 🐣

 

[ctjack]

Apple generously gave $790 for 12PM, which makes upgrade to 13PM for only $300 after trade-in. Other carriers at best buy make it even better with additional $100-$200 savings on top of Apple's $790 quote.
At this point, we were not planning to upgrade, but looking forward to upgrade wife's 12PM at a given prices.

 

[Wanted797]

I’ll be turning off 5G once I get an iPhone equipped with it. Most insane marketing hype for a new technology ever.

Not once in my life have I felt that LTE wasn’t sufficient enough. So, I’ll take the battery savings, thank you very much.

Good idea! I’ll be deleting the music app immediately as well.

Not once in my life have I felt cassettes weren’t sufficient enough. So I’ll take my walkman thank you very much.

 

[bradman83]

I really want the 13 Pro Max battery…but I go jogging with my phone in my pocket and that has to feel like a brick.

Really hoping the 13 Pro battery is better than 12 Pro…13 Pro is perfect size for me, just need better battery life.

You know some people pay good money for running weights that help their jogs burn more calories. Sounds like the 13 Pro Max could solve your problem! (Apple would also be happy to sell you a watch to measure said calories being burned).

 

[DontSweatIt]

Wasn't palnning on upgrading from a 12 pro but Verizon will give me a $1000 trade in so a 13 pro fro free hell yeah I'm upgrading for just a $40 tax and a new case hell yeah 120 hz.

 

[Sxr71]

The 13 Pro reminds me of the iPad Pro 4th Gen. Not quite as bad, but a very incremental upgrade—with the pro motion display being the only standout, unexpected feature. I‘ve upgraded every year since the 5s, but this year breaks that cycle.

Here’s to hoping the 14 Pro Max is a quantum leap forward. 🍻

You reminded me of the iPad 3. No other parallels to this situation but that was replaced in 6 months with a far superior model. I felt so ripped off on tah

Just to test this, I opened this web page on both my M1 12.9” iPad Pro and my 12 Pro Max and scrolled on both to see how noticeable the difference between 120Hz and 60Hz is. The first thing I noticed was my iPhone screen was way more yellow, even though settings on both included having True Tone on. But that’s neither here nor there. As far as scrolling smoothness goes, they both scroll smoothly, but it is noticeable in how you can very easily read text as you’re scrolling on the iPad Pro, whereas the iPhone 12 PM looks a bit more blurry.

As I’ve said in other posts, I know I won’t complain when I own an iPhone with ProMotion, but this “benefit” of being able to read text while scrolling is not something I would normally be doing anyway.

Well said. Pretty much only useful if someone uses an app with a running ticker or an auto scroll. I suppose 120Hz would let you double the speed and hence give you a lot more range there.

I’d love to have it and frankly the actual major implication of it is actually on the low refresh rate side. While reading a stationary page 10 fps is more than enough.

This is a part of why you are getting battery life.

Also this upgrade is still meaningful overall for people who use the phone more for certain things. I love needing about these cameras. They are crazy good now. Just typing this makes me want to hit the order button. But I realized I don’t use the camera much at all.

Also the trade in value is great but it does not account for 2 years prepaid Apple care+. I don’t think they would let me transfer that AppleCare+ to a new 13 pro. So i’m $100 behind right there and i’m not going through eBay hassles for this upgrade. I’ll just keep it.

If anything the 12 pro solves the most important problem with all glass phones. It is significantly more durable than any other iPhone before it. I mean even the metal doesn’t scratch its color off. The screen barely ever scratches even in the pocket with my keys.

So if you have an 11 pro you will love this thing.

 

[DontSweatIt]

You reminded me of the iPad 3. No other parallels to this situation but that was replaced in 6 months with a far superior model. I felt so ripped off on tah

Well said. Pretty much only useful if someone uses an app with a running ticker or an auto scroll. I suppose 120Hz would let you double the speed and hence give you a lot more range there.

I’d love to have it and frankly the actual major implication of it is actually on the low refresh rate side. While reading a stationary page 10 fps is more than enough.

This is a part of why you are getting battery life.

Also this upgrade is still meaningful overall for people who use the phone more for certain things. I love needing about these cameras. They are crazy good now. Just typing this makes me want to hit the order button. But I realized I don’t use the camera much at all.

Also the trade in value is great but it does not account for 2 years prepaid Apple care+. I don’t think they would let me transfer that AppleCare+ to a new 13 pro. So i’m $100 behind right there and i’m not going through eBay hassles for this upgrade. I’ll just keep it.

If anything the 12 pro solves the most important problem with all glass phones. It is significantly more durable than any other iPhone before it. I mean even the metal doesn’t scratch its color off. The screen barely ever scratches even in the pocket with my keys.

So if you have an 11 pro you will love this thing.

You know every celluar company is basically handing a iPhone 13 pro for free right?

 

[Sxr71]

You know every celluar company is basically handing a iPhone 13 pro for free right?

Yeah but also the cellular landscape is being made. So we don’t really know which carrier is going to be good. I can’t commit to any of these.

What it is really means is pay upfront and we’ll give you a credit monthly if you stay on our service. I may or I may not.

I personally only do prepaid and buy unlocked. If I needed multi line then I think the prospect is much better because you get huge discounts.