The new iPhone 13 line is now officially here. As has become the norm, training is divided into the iPhone 13 and the iPhone 13 Pro. On the surface, the iPhone 13 and iPhone 13 Pro are very similar phones. Both have a 6.1-inch screen and the A15 Bionic processor inside, but look closer and you’ll notice some key differences.
If you’re trying to make a buying decision between the iPhone 13 and the iPhone 13 Pro, go below to find out everything you need to know about comparing the iPhone 13 to the iPhone 13 Pro.
In this comparison, we focus specifically on the 6.1-inch iPhone 13 and the 6.1-inch iPhone 13 Pro. There are many similarities between the iPhone 13 mini and the iPhone 13 and iPhone 13 Pro Max, but there are also some key differences. Stay tuned 9to5Mac over the next few days and weeks to get additional comparisons between Apple’s iPhone line as it currently stands.
iPhone 13 vs. iPhone 13 Pro: screen
The iPhone 13 and iPhone 13 Pro include 6.1-inch Super Retina XDR displays with OLED technology with a resolution of 2532 x 1170 pixels. This equates to 460 pixels per inch. However, the iPhone 13 Pro has a maximum brightness of 1000 nights, compared to the iPhone 13 of 800 nights. However, for HDR content, both can reach a maximum brightness of 1200 nights.
There is an important difference between the screens of the iPhone 13 and the iPhone 13 Pro: ProMotion technology. Exclusive to the iPhone 13 Pro, Apple’s ProMotion display technology brings adaptive refresh rates of up to 120Hz to the iPhone for the first time. This means that the screen refresh rate of the iPhone 13 Pro can vary between 10Hz and 120Hz depending on what you do on the device.
In real world use, this should mean that things like scrolling and animations are much smoother. ProMotion also makes the screen more efficient because it can be reduced to 10 Hz when doing something like reading.
Other screen features of the iPhone 13 and iPhone 13 Pro include:
- Contrast ratio 2,000,000: 1
- True Tone screen
- Wide range of colors (P3)
- Haptic Touch
- HDR screen
Design
In terms of design, the iPhone 13 and iPhone 13 Pro are similar, with flat edges and almost edge screens. Both devices also feature slightly smaller notches at the top, which measure approximately 20% smaller in terms of width.
An important difference is that the iPhone 13 is made of what Apple knows as “aerospace-grade aluminum,” while the iPhone 13 Pro is made of “surgical-grade stainless steel.” This means the iPhone 13 has a brushed aluminum finish, while the iPhone 13 Pro has a glossy stainless finish.
The difference in materials makes the iPhone 13 Pro slightly heavier than the iPhone 13. The iPhone 13 weighs 174 grams, while the iPhone 13 Pro weighs 204 grams.
The dimensions are the same between the iPhone 13 Pro and the iPhone 13:
- Height: 146.7 mm (5.78 inches)
- Width: 71.5 mm (2.82 inches)
- Thickness: 0.30 inches (7.65 mm)
The iPhone 13 and iPhone 13 Pro have a resistance to splash, water and dust IP68. According to this classification, the iPhone 13 and iPhone 13 Pro can withstand submersion up to a maximum depth of 6 meters up to 30 minutes.
The best cases of the iPhone 13:
Battery performance and life
The iPhone 13 and iPhone 13 Pro run on a Bionic A15 processor, which includes a 6-core CPU with 2 cores of efficiency and 4 of performance. The A15 Bionic processor also features a new 16-core neural motor to drive machine learning and artificial intelligence tasks.
One difference between the iPhone 13 and the iPhone 13 Pro is that the former features a 4-core GPU, while the latter features a 5-core CPU. It remains to be seen what kind of difference this produces in actual performance, but it’s a notable change for Apple to segment the iPhone 13 line this way for the first time.
Apple has made no changes to the RAM configuration this year, as the iPhone 13 includes 4GB of RAM and the iPhone 13 Pro packs 6GB of RAM.
Both the iPhone 13 and iPhone 13 Pro feature noticeable improvements in battery life this year compared to their predecessors. According to Apple claims, the iPhone 13 Pro is capable of removing the iPhone 13 in some areas.
IPhone 13 battery estimates:
- Audio playback: 75 hours
- Video playback (live): up to 15 hours
- Video playback: up to 19 hours
IPhone 13 Pro battery estimates:
- Audio playback: 75 hours
- Video playback (live): up to 20 hours
- Video playback: up to 22 hours
Both devices support fast charging, to achieve 50% charge in 30 minutes with a 20W power adapter. 7.5 W Qi wireless charging and 15 W wireless charging are also supported when using a MagSafe wireless charger.
Connectivity
Did you know the good news about 5G? Like its predecessors, the iPhone 13 and iPhone 13 Pro offer 5G compatibility. Apple says this makes it “super fast downloads and high quality transmissions.” This includes support for mmWave 5G connectivity in the United States, as well as for 5G sub-6GHz in the United States and other countries.
Camera
However, where you start to notice differences between the iPhone 13 and the iPhone 13 Pro is the camera technology. The iPhone 13 includes a 12MP dual camera system with Wide and Ultra Wide cameras on the back. On the front, you’ll find a 12 MP f / 2.2 aperture selfie camera.
Here are the full camera features for the iPhone 13:
- 12MP dual camera system: wide and ultra-wide cameras
- Width: opening ƒ / 1.6
- Ultra Wide: ƒ / 2.4 aperture and 120 ° field of view
- Optically reduce 2x
- Digital zoom up to 5x
- Portrait mode with advanced bokeh and depth control
- Vertical lighting with six effects (Natural, Studio, Contour, Stage, Stage Mono, High-Key Mono)
- Optical stabilization of the sensor change image (wide)
- Objective of seven elements (width); five-element lens (Ultra Wide)
- True Tone Flash with slow sync
- Panoramic (up to 63 MP)
- Sapphire crystal lens cover
- 100% focus pixels (wide)
- Night mode
- Deep Fusion
- Smart HDR 4
- Photographic styles
- Wide color capture for photos and live photos
- Lens Correction (Ultra Wide)
- Advanced red-eye correction
- Automatic image stabilization
- Burst mode
- Geotagging of photos
- Captured image formats: HEIF and JPEG
Meanwhile, the iPhone 13 Pro includes a triple-lens camera system on the back and a LiDAR scanner. Triple lens camera settings include telephoto, wide and ultra wide cameras. On the front, you’ll find the same 12MP camera with an f / 2.2 aperture.
Here are the full camera features for the iPhone 13 Pro:
- Pro 12MP camera system: telephoto, wide and ultra wide cameras
- Telephoto lens: aperture ƒ / 2.8
- Width: opening ƒ / 1.5
- Ultra Wide: ƒ / 1.8 aperture and 120 ° field of view
- 3x optical zoom, 2x optical zoom; 6x optical zoom range
- Digital zoom up to 15x
- Portraits in night mode enabled by LiDAR Scanner
- Portrait mode with advanced bokeh and depth control
- Vertical lighting with six effects (Natural, Studio, Contour, Stage, Stage Mono, High-Key Mono)
- Dual optical image stabilization (telephoto and wide)
- Optical stabilization of the sensor change image (wide)
- Six-element lenses (telephoto and ultra wide); seven-element lens (wide)
- True Tone Flash with slow sync
- Panoramic (up to 63 MP)
- Sapphire crystal lens cover
- 100% focus pixels (wide)
- Night mode
- Deep Fusion
- Smart HDR 4
- Photographic styles
- Macro photography
- Apple ProRAW
- Wide color capture for photos and live photos
- Lens Correction (Ultra Wide)
- Advanced red-eye correction
- Geotagging of photos
- Automatic image stabilization
- Burst mode
- Captured image formats: HEIF and JPEG
Video recording
In terms of video recording, both the iPhone 13 and iPhone 13 Pro support up to 4K video recordings at 24 fps, 25 fps, 30 fps or 60 fps, as well as HDR video recording with Dolby Vision up to 4K at 60 fps. Both devices also have Cinematic mode for recording shallow depth of field videos at 1080p at 30 fps.
One notable difference, however, is that the iPhone 13 Pro includes support for Apple’s ProRes video recording standard up to 4K at 30 fps (1080p at 30 fps for 128GB of storage). This is an important feature for professional videographers who want to get the highest quality and lowest compression possible.
Colors, storage and prices
The iPhone 13 is available in five different colors: midnight, starlight, blue, red, and pink. The iPhone 13 Pro is available in four different colors: silver, graphite, gold and saw blue.
In terms of prices, the iPhone 13 is distributed for:
- $ 799 for 128GB of storage
- $ 899 for 256GB of storage
- $ 999 for 512GB of storage
The prices of the iPhone 13 Pro are as follows:
- $ 999 for 128GB of storage
- $ 1099 for 256GB of storage
- $ 1299 for 512GB of storage
- $ 1499 for 1 TB of storage
Accessories included
Citing environmental issues, Apple no longer includes headphones or charging bricks in the iPhone 13 case this year. Here are some accessories you can consider to help fill that gap and complement your new iPhone.
Features of the iPhone 13 vs. the iPhone 13 Pro
| iPhone 13 | iPhone 13 Pro | |
| Visualization | 6.1-inch Super Retina XDR OLED | 6.1-inch Super Retina XDR OLED |
| ProMotion screen | ❌ | ✅ |
| Finish | Aluminum | Stainless Steel |
| Processor | A15 Bionic | A15 Bionic |
| RAM | 4GB | 6 GB |
| CPU cores | 6 cores | 6 cores |
| GPU cores | 4 cores | 5 cores |
| Durability | IP68 | IP68 |
| Battery life | Video of up to 19 hours | Video of up to 22 hours |
| Camera | 12MP dual lens | Triple 12 MP lens |
| Optical zoom range | 2x | 6x |
| Video | Dolby Vision HDR up to 4K at 60 fps | Dolby Vision HDR up to 4K at 60 fps |
| LiDAR | ❌ | ✅ |
| ProRes | ❌ | ✅ |
| ProRAW | ❌ | ✅ |
| Film mode | ✅ | ✅ |
| 5G | ✅ | ✅ |
| Weight | 174 grams | 204 grams 7.19 ounces |
| Storage | 128 GB, 256 GB, 512 GB | 128 GB, 256 GB, 512 GB, 1 TB |
| Prices | From $ 799 | From $ 999 |
Wrap
As you can see, the iPhone 13 and iPhone 13 Pro share many similarities in terms of size, form factor, and performance. That said, there are some notable differences this year in both the camera and screen category.
Unlike last year, when the iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 Pro featured the same display technology, the iPhone 13 Pro exclusively includes the new ProMotion display technology. The iPhone 13 Pro also includes a more impressive camera setup with ProRes video recording, a triple lens design and more.
But ultimately, for most people, the iPhone 13 is enough: it can handle just about any task you do and has a stunning design available in 5 different colors. The camera, while not as stunning as the iPhone 13 Pro, can still take stunning images and videos.
Those who should opt for the iPhone 13 Pro include people who make professional-grade videos and can take advantage of the ProRes video recording features. Those people should also opt for higher storage capacities.
What do you think of the iPhone 13 versus the iPhone 13 Pro? Is Apple enough to justify the $ 200 premium on the iPhone 13 Pro? Do you plan to upgrade this year? Let us know in the comments.
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