Hasta La Gadget!

It’s that time of year again when the latest iPhones hit shelves, prompting many to wonder if they should take the plunge into iOS for the first time, or upgrade to a new handset. Apple announced four new iPhones this week at its hardware event, mirroring the last year’s offerings. The new iPhone 13 and 13 mini feature smaller notches at the top of their touchscreens, the new A15 Bionic processor and longer battery lives. The higher-end iPhone 13 Pro and Pro Max smartphones have fancy finishes, 120Hz Super Retina XDR displays, and improved cameras along with the A15 Bionic chipset and better battery lives. Here’s how to order the iPhone 13 series and the iPhone 13 Pro series.

iPhone 13 and iPhone 13 mini

Apple

The iPhone 13 and 13 mini will be available for pre-order starting at 5am PT (8am ET) on September 17 and will be widely available on September 24. The iPhone 13 starts at $799 while the iPhone 13 mini starts at $699.

Pre-order iPhone 13 at Apple starting at $799Pre-order iPhone 13 mini at Apple starting at $699Pre-order iPhone 13, iPhone 13 mini at Best BuyPre-order iPhone 13, iPhone 13 mini at Walmart

Apple focused on refining the iPhone 13 series this year, trickling down some advanced features from last year’s Pro line to the standard models. Both the iPhone 13 and 13 mini have a nearly identical design to last year’s iPhone 12s, but they have a 20-percent small notch at the top and screens that are 28-percent brighter. Screen sizes have remained the same, too, measuring 6.1-inches on the iPhone 13 and 5.4-inches on the 13 mini. Apple managed to pack larger batteries in both handsets, so iPhone 13 users will get about 2.5 hours of extra use when compared to the iPhone 12, while iPhone 13 mini users will get about 1.5 extra hours. 

Inside both smartphones is the new A15 Bionic chipset and neural engine and Apple promises 50-percent better performance than the competition. The cameras have been upgraded as well: the dual system has a new wide camera sensor and lens along with the sensor-shift optical image stabilization system that we saw on the iPhone 12 Pro Max last year. Both the iPhone 13 and the 13 mini support expanded 5G as well, which will be available on 200 carriers in 60 countries by the end of this year.

As far as configurations go, the iPhone 13 and 13 mini are both available in 128GB, 256GB and 512GB storage capacities. Apple has a new lineup of colors as well: pink, blue, midnight, starlight and Product Red.

iPhone 13 Pro and iPhone 13 Pro Max

Apple

The iPhone 13 Pro and Pro Max will be available for pre-order starting at 5am PT (8am ET) on September 17 and will be widely available on September 24. The iPhone 13 Pro starts at $999 and the iPhone 13 Pro Max will start at $1,099.

Pre-order iPhone 13 Pro at Apple starting at $999Pre-order iPhone 13 Pro Max at Apple starting at $1,099Pre-order iPhone 13 Pro, iPhone 13 Pro Max at Best BuyPre-order iPhone 13 Pro, iPhone 13 Pro Max at Walmart

It’s all about the screens and the cameras for these smartphones. While screen sizes haven’t changed, both the iPhone 13 Pro and Pro Max have new Super Retina XDR displays with ProMotion, 1,000 nits of brightness and refresh rates up to 120Hz. We first saw this technology on the latest 12.9-inch iPad Pro, and now it’s been brought down to the higher-end iPhones.

The triple-rear camera system also got a big boost this year. It now features a new 77mm telephoto camera with 3x optical zoom, along with a new ultra wide camera that has a f/1.8 aperture and autofocus. The primary “wide” camera is the largest Apple has even put in an iPhone and it features a f/1.5 aperture and 1.9-micron pixels. Apple also made it possible to shoot at up to 6x optical zoom, enabling macro photography, and it added new features like Cinematic Mode for videos, which uses machine learning to get things like better focus, better low-light performance, Time-lapse and Slo-mo video and more.

Inside the Pros is the A15 Bionic chipset with a 16-core neural engine, which Apple says will help the iPhones run 50 percent faster than the competition. The company also touts the handsets’ enhanced durability and battery life. The iPhone 13 Pro series includes a surgical-grade stainless steel band and finishes that are resistant to abrasions and corrosions, and the lineup is IP68 water-resistant. As far as battery life goes, the iPhone 13 Pro should last 1.5 hours more than the iPhone 12 Pro and the iPhone 13 Pro Max will last up to 2.5 hours longer than its predecessor.

As for configurations, the iPhone 13 Pro and Pro Max come in 128GB, 256GB, 512GB and 1TB storage capacities and both are available in four colors: sierra blue, silver, gold and graphite.

Image credit – Jon Prosser x RendersByIan

Leading up to the Apple Watch’s launch, there were rumors that the watch could be undergoing a redesign to sport flat edges and a larger screen. Those rumors were kind of right because while we did get a bigger screen, the rumored redesign was nowhere to be seen. This has since led to speculation that maybe something happened last minute that forced Apple to change their plans.

While that is one possibility, John Gruber of Daring Fireball believes that the leaked renders might be accurate, but rather, they are based on designs intended for 2022’s Apple Watch Series 8.

According to Gruber, he notes that when it comes to hardware design, Apple probably started work relatively early on, and that the leaked renders are based on an advanced stage of the design. It actually makes sense because to switch out designs last minute would have a domino effect across their entire supply chain that could be a very expensive process. Not to mention they would also need time to test out the redesign.

In any case, we have said a few times before that based on the rumors, it seems that all the big changes and health features are apparently being “saved” for the Series 8, so if you can hold out from upgrading this year, next year’s model might be more exciting.

Flat-Edged Apple Watch Might Actually Be Next Year’s Design

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