There was certainly a lot announced at Apple's California Streaming event, including the iPhone 13. Honestly, though, I'm always excited for a new iPhone because I upgrade every year (thank you, iPhone Upgrade Program), but I was still excited to see what Apple had up its sleeves at the event. And to be quite frank, I am not disappointed, at least not when it comes to the iPhone 13 (the Apple Watch Series 7 is a different story, though).
Here's why I'm overall fairly excited for the iPhone 13, which is sure to be the best iPhone yet.
The iPhone 13 Pro and iPhone 13 Pro Max are equals
When the iPhone 11 Pro and iPhone 11 Pro Max came out, both devices were equals in terms of camera. The only real differences were battery life and screen size, of course.
I always go with the "Pro" device because I like to have the best features in my smartphone, especially the camera, that I'll be using daily for at least the next year. When the iPhone 12 Pro and iPhone 12 Pro Max debuted, I was highly disappointed that I wouldn't be getting the "best" camera on my iPhone 12 Pro, just because I opted for the smaller Pro because the larger one is unusable for me as I get cramps from using it (I have tiny hands).
While Apple didn't explicitly say this, one of the things I'm most happy about with the iPhone 13 Pro and iPhone 13 Pro Max is that they're back to being equals in the camera department. This means the same sensors across all three camera lenses, Sensor-shift optical image stabilization (OIS), 3x optical zoom in and 2x optical zoom out with 6x optical zoom range, Smart HDR 4, Photographic Styles, Cinematic mode, and all the extras. Once again, the only real differences between the iPhone 13 Pro and iPhone 13 Pro Max are the screen size and battery life.
Seriously, making one Pro version better than the other, despite actual reasons why someone may not want the gigantic phone, was the worst. Let's not do that again, Apple.
ProMotion display
I have no experience with any Android devices that have 120Hz refresh rate displays, but it's exciting that the iPhone 13 Pro is finally getting it with ProMotion. It's definitely a feature that is aimed more for the super tech-literate crowd, and the average joe may not fully understand it or even notice, but I'm happy that we finally have it (and the rumors can be put to rest).
It's like when the Retina display first came out. I thought the original iPhone screen was fine, and then when you went to a Retina screen, the difference was obvious, and you couldn't go back. Sometimes I don't think I have the best eyesight for these kinds of things, but I'm eager to see the dynamic ProMotion display in action.
Smaller notch
I've never liked the notch since the iPhone X. It always seemed bigger than it needs to be, thus taking away valuable information in the status bar, such as battery percentage. Finally, with the iPhone 13, the notch is shrinking horizontally (though it seems to be a little bit taller), and I can't rejoice enough. Yes! It may not be the hole-punch design you'll find on Android devices (and I honestly don't mind the look, to be fair), but we're getting there. Baby steps, right?
New colors
We're finally getting a pink iPhone. Unfortunately, though, it's only for the iPhone 13 mini and iPhone 13 and not the Pro models. Still, I'm happy that it exists at all, even if I'm not getting it, even though I absolutely adore pink.
While I plan to pick up the Sierra Blue iPhone 13 Pro myself, I'm still a bit let down by the colorways in the Pro lineup. I was so excited for the pink, but Apple couldn't do a rose gold or pink option for the Pro? I mean, last year, they gave a deep blue for the iPhone 12 and followed up with the gorgeous Pacific Blue for the iPhone 12 Pro, which is what I got, so I'm definitely sad there's no pink-ish equivalent for the 13 Pro. I also decided to get the Sierra Blue because it's the new color (how else will people know I have the latest iPhone?), and while I'm not 100% sold on it just yet, it's much better than that hideous bronze that was rumored for months. Plus, I'm hoping it ends up better once I can see it in person.
1TB storage, huzzah!
I honestly wasn't expecting this one to come true because you know how Apple is with storage sometimes. I was surprised when I saw a 1TB option for the Pro models, and it's definitely the one I'm gunning for — after all, I see a lot of baby photos coming in the years ahead for me!
I'm also glad that Apple has finally eliminated the 64GB starting storage across the lineup. I always got around the middle-tier storage in all my years of buying iPhones because I never wanted to have to worry about it. And with 64GB, with the camera capabilities in today's iPhones, it just won't cut it anymore.
Goodbye 64GB storage, and good riddance. Now maybe we can do something about the 5GB of free iCloud storage that Apple continues to offer? I mean, that's literally nothing.
The prices are about the same
With all of the reports about supply shortages, there was a possibility that Apple could have raised the prices on the iPhone 13 lineup. I can breathe a sigh of relief as that is not the case at all. In fact, Apple kept the starting prices pretty much the same as the iPhone 12, though, of course, the 1TB Pros will cost a pretty penny.
How do you feel about the iPhone 13?
It may seem like a pretty minor upgrade overall from the iPhone 12, but I am still very excited to get my hands on the iPhone 13 Pro. What did you think about the iPhone 13? Let us know in the comments.
