6 ms·

iPhone 13 announced with redesigned camera array and smaller notch

39 points by emdashcomma 5y ago

diebeforei485 5y ago
These battery life claims are impressive. I'd like to see how they hold up in the real world.
- judge2020 5y ago
  Every year they make the same claims, but in recent year that I've had an iPhone (8 Plus -> 11 -> 12) it will last all-day for 4-5 months before needing charging in the car (especially while doing multiple things like Music, Maps, and perhaps mobile food ordering [without CarPlay]). The chemical properties of li-ion seemingly can't be overcome without making the battery module physically bigger, which is why my next iPhone (14 or 15) will have to be the Pro Max version.
  - alibert 5y ago
    From my anecdotal evidence (+ research on the web), charging in car is the worse thing you could do to any phone. * charging in hot environment * charging in GPS mode with sunlight on the phone (very bad) * unstable current due to the way car alternator work * power charging with QC or USB-PD As a result, I have avoided all this and only charge with a genuine "low" current standard 2A Apple charger at night. Only exceptionally I will use a QC charger. I also avoid wireless charging with the excess heat. It has been 6 months and my battery health is still at 99%.
    - photojosh 5y ago
      Totally agree with all of this except "unstable current due to the way car alternator work"... as an electronics designer, if this is an issue then it's a really poorly designed car charger. CarPlay alleviates a lot of these issues fortunately.
      - alibert 5y ago
        Could you provide any advice on brands for a good car charger? Thank you.
        photojosh 5y ago
        I'm still using one I bought probably 10 years ago; it's a Belkin with 2x2.1A outputs. But I'd look at Anker too (have been happy with their wall chargers and headphones). If I were buying new I'd probably get USB-C now.
ultimoo 5y ago
13 Pro looks like a great phone on its own but not compelling enough to upgrade from 12 Pro.
- suprfsat 5y ago
  Thank you. I've been saying this every year since 2007.
  - zaptrem 5y ago
    IMO TouchID, Multitasking, Front Camera, LTE, Video, and the Touch Bar all fundamentally changed the smartphone experience and were worth upgrading over.
    - seanmcdirmid 5y ago
      If the iPhone 13 had TouchID, I would buy it in a heartbeat.
      - rpmisms 5y ago
        I look for two things in every phone: fingerprint reader and headphone jack. I had to switch to android after my iPhone SE (original) died.
        thinkling 5y ago
        Honest question: why are people keen on fingerprint sensors? I see this regularly. Is it privacy concerns with FaceID or convenience with a mask on, or...?
        rpmisms 5y ago
        I just like having less biometric data in my phone, being able to unlock it without looking at it, and being able to tape my front camera if I want.
        5y ago
curun1r 5y ago
Watching the stream this morning juxtaposed uncomfortably against the discussion earlier this morning about how Facebook knows that Instragram is damaging to teen psyches. So much of this update is focused on the cameras and the ability for the phone to almost automatically make people look good. I can't help but see this as a way of capitalizing on the insecurity that's being generated by the social media platforms. I get that Apple has to try to keep up with the camera arms race or other phones will win over the market of people who post to social media. But it's also saddening to see how much effort and dev work goes into feeding this cycle of insecurity. The more Apple can make people look "better than any filter", the more people are going to feel crushed when they look in the mirror.
- vineyardmike 5y ago
  > I can't help but see this as a way of capitalizing on the insecurity that's being generated by the social media platforms. I understand your concern, but i can't help but feel the exact opposite when viewing it. Also, have you met teens? They felt insecure long before smartphones. Cameras help us capture and store the world around us and high-end cameras are amazing. Bringing lots of that tech to phones means we all can capture it better. Maybe you don't, but many people photograph every moment of their life. And every family reunion and wedding and social gathering is full of people taking pictures to remember what grandma looks like today, and how happy she is with grandchild. Capturing that in vivid detail and with great images is crucial to re-living those moments, and really improves the experience of viewing photos for lots of peoples.
  - tdfx 5y ago
    Am I the only one who doesn't re-live these moments? I see people constantly interrupting special moments to capture them in photos and videos, but I have trouble finding anyone who derives a meaningful amount of satisfaction from them later on. I have lots of photos that I've spent way more time managing, transferring between providers, and worrying about than I've ever actually spent time browsing through. Am I an outlier? Are there people out there who really go through their old photos frequently for fun trips down memory lane, or are we optimizing for a situation that doesn't exist?
simonh 5y ago
News of the mini's demise seems to have been exaggerated. Again.
- nebula8804 5y ago
  All the rumors seem to point to them discontinuing the Mini line after the 13 Mini because of very poor sales of the 12 Mini(I heard they even stopped production of the 12 Mini for a while due to excessive stock). We won't know for sure until next year. I was planning to pick up the 13 Mini and selling off my 12 Mini so that I can lock in at least 5 years of support while I wait for Apple to come around again with another Mini in a couple years. I really hate large phones so the Mini has been wonderful. The colors this year are lousy though. Seems like maybe they had some supply issues. :/ iPhone 12 had a bright watermelon red. Combine that with a bright blue silicone case and you got colors you'd see on LEGO! :)
  - windowsrookie 5y ago
    The Mini will likely replace the SE after the Mini 13.
    - nebula8804 5y ago
      They will probably keep the Mini 13 around as their low tier model. However support will likely not be extended and will stay static.
  - photojosh 5y ago
    And the boosted battery life is a big deal for you Mini owners yeah? (I'm a Max guy myself, but totally get ppl who want the smallest phone.)
    - Tagbert 5y ago
      As it happens, the 12 Mini’s battery life was 1 hour less than the 12 Normal, so the 13 Mini offsets that and adds 1/2 hour. All in all, the battery life of the 12 Mini was not terrible, just not quite up to the same level as the rest of the 12 line.
jagger27 5y ago
I think this is the only time besides the A12X to A12Z bin and rebadge in iPad Pro that Apple hasn’t compared last year’s model directly to the new one. A15’s main processors don’t sound like a big improvement over A14. Maybe Apple didn’t think a 5% to 10% bump was enough to brag about in the keynote, even though that’s roughly what AMD and Intel regularly pull off between generations. I’m eager to see what really changed, and if it will hint at what’s coming with M1X/M2.
- photojosh 5y ago
  Seems there's an extra GPU core only enabled in some models and new video encoder/decoder (to support ProRes?), but beside that most of the work this year went into lowering power consumption. They made a big deal of the additional battery life (particularly useful for the Mini buyers). Which is fine, I don't ever feel like raw CPU speed is an issue these days: I can't really tell any the difference between my A12Z iPad and the A14 phone in day-to-day tasks.
fomine3 5y ago
As an asian, FaceID only (lack of TouchID) is a still huge deal breaker, especially because we noticed that covid situation lasts for a few years. I wish they change mind seriously. I wish I could buy mini + TouchID.

39 points by emdashcomma 5y ago

diebeforei485 5y ago

These battery life claims are impressive. I'd like to see how they hold up in the real world.

judge2020 5y ago
Every year they make the same claims, but in recent year that I've had an iPhone (8 Plus -> 11 -> 12) it will last all-day for 4-5 months before needing charging in the car (especially while doing multiple things like Music, Maps, and perhaps mobile food ordering [without CarPlay]). The chemical properties of li-ion seemingly can't be overcome without making the battery module physically bigger, which is why my next iPhone (14 or 15) will have to be the Pro Max version.
- alibert 5y ago
  From my anecdotal evidence (+ research on the web), charging in car is the worse thing you could do to any phone. * charging in hot environment * charging in GPS mode with sunlight on the phone (very bad) * unstable current due to the way car alternator work * power charging with QC or USB-PD As a result, I have avoided all this and only charge with a genuine "low" current standard 2A Apple charger at night. Only exceptionally I will use a QC charger. I also avoid wireless charging with the excess heat. It has been 6 months and my battery health is still at 99%.
  - photojosh 5y ago
    Totally agree with all of this except "unstable current due to the way car alternator work"... as an electronics designer, if this is an issue then it's a really poorly designed car charger. CarPlay alleviates a lot of these issues fortunately.
    - alibert 5y ago
      Could you provide any advice on brands for a good car charger? Thank you.
      - photojosh 5y ago
        I'm still using one I bought probably 10 years ago; it's a Belkin with 2x2.1A outputs. But I'd look at Anker too (have been happy with their wall chargers and headphones). If I were buying new I'd probably get USB-C now.

ultimoo 5y ago

13 Pro looks like a great phone on its own but not compelling enough to upgrade from 12 Pro.

suprfsat 5y ago
Thank you. I've been saying this every year since 2007.
- zaptrem 5y ago
  IMO TouchID, Multitasking, Front Camera, LTE, Video, and the Touch Bar all fundamentally changed the smartphone experience and were worth upgrading over.
  - seanmcdirmid 5y ago
    If the iPhone 13 had TouchID, I would buy it in a heartbeat.
    - rpmisms 5y ago
      I look for two things in every phone: fingerprint reader and headphone jack. I had to switch to android after my iPhone SE (original) died.
      - thinkling 5y ago
        Honest question: why are people keen on fingerprint sensors? I see this regularly. Is it privacy concerns with FaceID or convenience with a mask on, or...?
        rpmisms 5y ago
        I just like having less biometric data in my phone, being able to unlock it without looking at it, and being able to tape my front camera if I want.
        5y ago

curun1r 5y ago

Watching the stream this morning juxtaposed uncomfortably against the discussion earlier this morning about how Facebook knows that Instragram is damaging to teen psyches. So much of this update is focused on the cameras and the ability for the phone to almost automatically make people look good. I can't help but see this as a way of capitalizing on the insecurity that's being generated by the social media platforms. I get that Apple has to try to keep up with the camera arms race or other phones will win over the market of people who post to social media. But it's also saddening to see how much effort and dev work goes into feeding this cycle of insecurity. The more Apple can make people look "better than any filter", the more people are going to feel crushed when they look in the mirror.

vineyardmike 5y ago
> I can't help but see this as a way of capitalizing on the insecurity that's being generated by the social media platforms. I understand your concern, but i can't help but feel the exact opposite when viewing it. Also, have you met teens? They felt insecure long before smartphones. Cameras help us capture and store the world around us and high-end cameras are amazing. Bringing lots of that tech to phones means we all can capture it better. Maybe you don't, but many people photograph every moment of their life. And every family reunion and wedding and social gathering is full of people taking pictures to remember what grandma looks like today, and how happy she is with grandchild. Capturing that in vivid detail and with great images is crucial to re-living those moments, and really improves the experience of viewing photos for lots of peoples.
- tdfx 5y ago
  Am I the only one who doesn't re-live these moments? I see people constantly interrupting special moments to capture them in photos and videos, but I have trouble finding anyone who derives a meaningful amount of satisfaction from them later on. I have lots of photos that I've spent way more time managing, transferring between providers, and worrying about than I've ever actually spent time browsing through. Am I an outlier? Are there people out there who really go through their old photos frequently for fun trips down memory lane, or are we optimizing for a situation that doesn't exist?

simonh 5y ago

News of the mini's demise seems to have been exaggerated. Again.

nebula8804 5y ago
All the rumors seem to point to them discontinuing the Mini line after the 13 Mini because of very poor sales of the 12 Mini(I heard they even stopped production of the 12 Mini for a while due to excessive stock). We won't know for sure until next year. I was planning to pick up the 13 Mini and selling off my 12 Mini so that I can lock in at least 5 years of support while I wait for Apple to come around again with another Mini in a couple years. I really hate large phones so the Mini has been wonderful. The colors this year are lousy though. Seems like maybe they had some supply issues. :/ iPhone 12 had a bright watermelon red. Combine that with a bright blue silicone case and you got colors you'd see on LEGO! :)
- windowsrookie 5y ago
  The Mini will likely replace the SE after the Mini 13.
  - nebula8804 5y ago
    They will probably keep the Mini 13 around as their low tier model. However support will likely not be extended and will stay static.
- photojosh 5y ago
  And the boosted battery life is a big deal for you Mini owners yeah? (I'm a Max guy myself, but totally get ppl who want the smallest phone.)
  - Tagbert 5y ago
    As it happens, the 12 Mini’s battery life was 1 hour less than the 12 Normal, so the 13 Mini offsets that and adds 1/2 hour. All in all, the battery life of the 12 Mini was not terrible, just not quite up to the same level as the rest of the 12 line.

jagger27 5y ago

I think this is the only time besides the A12X to A12Z bin and rebadge in iPad Pro that Apple hasn’t compared last year’s model directly to the new one. A15’s main processors don’t sound like a big improvement over A14. Maybe Apple didn’t think a 5% to 10% bump was enough to brag about in the keynote, even though that’s roughly what AMD and Intel regularly pull off between generations. I’m eager to see what really changed, and if it will hint at what’s coming with M1X/M2.

photojosh 5y ago
Seems there's an extra GPU core only enabled in some models and new video encoder/decoder (to support ProRes?), but beside that most of the work this year went into lowering power consumption. They made a big deal of the additional battery life (particularly useful for the Mini buyers). Which is fine, I don't ever feel like raw CPU speed is an issue these days: I can't really tell any the difference between my A12Z iPad and the A14 phone in day-to-day tasks.

fomine3 5y ago

As an asian, FaceID only (lack of TouchID) is a still huge deal breaker, especially because we noticed that covid situation lasts for a few years. I wish they change mind seriously. I wish I could buy mini + TouchID.