First Impressions of the iPhone 13 and iPhone 13 mini and Honest Review

First Impressions of the iPhone 13 and iPhone 13 mini and Honest Review

iPhone 13

iPhone 13 Mini

Apple updated all four of its mainstream iPhone models this year without making significant changes to their design, sizes, or how they compare to one another. The iPhone 13 Pro and Pro Max boast excellent camera and build quality, but their hefty costs will put them out of reach for many. Many shoppers searching for anything new will focus on the iPhone 13 and iPhone 13 mini, which are both more mainstream options. Most consumers should be satisfied with these, but they'll have to outperform their predecessors, which are still available, as well as a slew of significantly less expensive Android phones with comparable features and specifications.

In India, Apple has priced these phones similarly to their predecessors at launch, which is welcome news. What's more, you receive twice as much storage at each tier. The iPhone 13 mini now has a starting price of Rs. 69,900 and comes with 128GB of storage. The price increases to Rs. 79,900 for 256GB and Rs. Rs. 99,900 for the new 512GB model. The iPhone 13 128GB costs Rs. 79,900. with the 256GB model costing Rs. 89,900 and the 512GB model costing Rs. 109,900.

In terms of form and specifications, the iPhone 13 and iPhone 13 mini are practically similar. They have different screen sizes and battery capacity, and the iPhone 12 mini, as last year, has slightly slower wireless charging, owing to thermal limits in its small shell. Aside from that, they offer the same features, so the decision boils down to personal desire and price.

The iPhone 13 mini remains a familiar road forward for those switching from an earlier smartphone or simply preferring something as light and unobtrusive as possible. Many people dislike the fact that today's phones are all extremely large. Unfortunately, it doesn't appear that this will be enough to keep this form factor alive beyond this generation — persistent rumours imply that this may be the final iPhone of its kind.

With this generation, there are a few new colours as well. Midnight and Starlight, which are less sharp and more neutral, have replaced Black and White. Blue and (Product) Red are still available, although they aren't the same colours as before. Pink is a brand-new colour that's unexpectedly light – almost white, with just a hint of warm blush. If Apple does what it did with a surprising additional colour option for the iPhone 12 series earlier this year, we should see more diversity mid-cycle.

You'll notice the new diagonal camera setup on the rear right away. This is an unusual design choice for Apple, which is known for going overboard in its attempts to make things as smooth and minimalistic as possible. The rings around the cameras are also shinier this year than they were last year. A narrower notch is another significant difference. Apple claims that it is 20% smaller, but it is also 20% deeper than before, so it may not actually be much better.

The 120Hz ProMotion refresh rate has been reserved for Apple's Pro iPhone models. When comparing the iPhone 13 and iPhone 13 mini to the iPhone 13 Pro and iPhone 13 Pro Max, the iPhone 13 and iPhone 13 mini don't feel as smooth. This isn't a huge concern, but it would be nice to have, especially since many Android phones are under Rs. 20,000 these days come with at least 90Hz screens. Apart from that, the displays on both models appear to be very clear and the colours are vibrant. They can play HDR content and alter the colour temperature automatically using True Tone.

All of the new iPhones are dust and water-resistant to IP68 standards, and their displays are made of Apple's Ceramic Shield technology, which should make them scratch and impact resistant. Matte aluminium bands go around the whole perimeter of the iPhone 13 and iPhone 13 mini. Both phones are significantly heavier than their predecessors, although they are still easy to operate with one hand.

The A15 Bionic SoC is used across the iPhone 13 series, but the two non-Pro variants have somewhat less powerful integrated GPUs, with only four cores instead of five. Six CPU cores (two high-power, two efficient) and 16 Neural Engine cores are still available. Apple doesn't indicate how much RAM or battery capacity there is, but it does say that battery life is up to two and a half hours longer than the previous model.

The main new camera functions are the same as on the Pro models: Cinematic Mode, which automatically adjusts focus between subjects in a frame, and Photographic Styles, which allows you to customise the tone and character of your images before they are generated. It's also worth noting that sensor-shift stabilisation, which was previously only available on the iPhone 12 Pro Max, isn't included in all four models. You do not, however, have access to the Pros' 3X zoom cameras or the ability to take macro stills and films. The wide and ultra-wide cameras aren't the same as the ones on the Pro versions, and they have somewhat lower specs.

It'll be fascinating to see if the iPhone 13 and iPhone 13 mini offer enough to differentiate themselves from the iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 mini, which are still available at lower pricing and benefit from the new iOS 15 updates. That's what we'll try to figure out in our comprehensive review, which will be released soon.

Also, Read- First Impressions of the iPhone 13 Pro and iPhone 13 Pro Max and Honest Review