The next iPhone announcement is less than a week away. On Tuesday, September 14, Apple’s “California Streaming” event will lay to rest all of the rumors about the iPhone 13. Let’s take a look at what we are expecting from the iPhone 13 announcement.
Mirroring the iPhone 12 Lineup
We don’t expect any big surprises here. There will be four models of the iPhone 13, just as there were for the iPhone 12. Apple will announce the standard iPhone 13 along with a Mini, Pro, and Pro Max version. A recent filing for the revised MagSafe charger with the FCC confirms this. In the filing, Apple references four new iPhone models alongside the four “legacy” iPhone 12 models.
Naturally, Apple has not revealed the exact pricing of the iPhone 13 lineup. The price structure should be the same as we saw with the iPhone 12. The iPhone Mini will probably cost about $100 less than the base model, while the iPhone 13 Pro will likely start $200 higher than the standard iPhone 13.
However, the starting prices could be increased by as much as 20% for “advanced and mature process technologies”. This would mean the baseline iPhone 13 starting at $829, instead of $799. An August report from DigiTimes suggests this, but we will have to wait and see.
Of course, everyone wants to know what colors will be available for the iPhone 13. A Ukrainian retailer may have leaked all of that early. Its blunder suggests the iPhone 13 Mini and iPhone 13 will be available in six colors: black, blue, purple, pink, white, and Product RED. The iPhone 13 Pro and Pro Max, according to the retailer, will be available in black, silver, gold, and bronze. No more Pacific Blue, apparently.
The iPhone 13 Announcement Should Feature Display and Camera Upgrades
Ming-Chi Kuo predicts that the iPhone 13 Pro and Pro Max models will offer a better refresh rate then we’ve ever seen on an iPhone. The analyst believes these models will have LTPO technology offering a 120Hz refresh rate. Other high-end smartphones have already done this, including the Samsung Galaxy S21 and OnePlus 9 Pro.
The iPhone 13 Pro and Pro Max models could offer several upgrades to the cameras. Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman thinks a video version of Portrait Mode is coming, along with a higher quality option to record video called ProRes. He also suggests a new filter system to intensify the appearance of photos is incoming, but only on the iPhone 13 Pro and Pro Max. The new phones could also see an upgraded A15 chip with more performance boosts.
We also saw rumors that all models of the iPhone 13 would ship with the LiDAR scanner introduced on the iPhone 12 Pro and 12 Pro Max. More recent speculation says that won’t be happening.
We may see a smaller notch on the iPhone 13 compared to previous models. We’ve heard of Apple looking into newer display and selfie camera technology allowing it to reduce the size of that annoying notch in the display.
Expect Larger Batteries on the iPhone 13
All of the additional features and functionality means more need for power. Apple probably does not want its devices to suffer shorter battery life, so we are expecting to see a boost to the battery size. One leak suggests the following for iPhone 13 battery sizes:
- iPhone 13 Mini: 2,406 mAh (up from 2,227 mAh)
- iPhone 13: 3,095 mAh (up from 2,815 mAh)
- iPhone 13 Pro: 3,095 mAh (up from 2,815 mAh)
- iPhone 13 Pro Max: 4,325 mAh (up from 3,687 mAh)
Understand, these increased battery sizes might not mean longer battery life. If the new iPhone is hungry or four battery, these increases could just maintain the battery life of the previous generation.
Getting Ready for the iPhone 13 Event
Of course, these are all still just rumors. In a few short days, the event will be upon us and we will continue to offer coverage here at TMO of the news.
Will it have the number 13 in the name? Not that I am superstitious, but that many people are.