By: Nick Gambino
As expected, Apple unveiled the iPhone 13 at their special event today at Apple Park in Cupertino, CA. The event was in line with all of Apple’s virtual events during the pandemic. Instead of a theater packed with press and a stage of revolving Apple execs, everything was pre-taped.
The top of any classic Apple event usually sees Tim Cook breezing through some interesting news but avoiding the real meat that we’re all waiting to dine on – whetting our appetites with an amuse-bouche if you will. He kicked off the event with an ode to California and Apple TV+ news, both delivering on the promise of the tagline for the event – California Streaming.
The iPhone 13 was revealed along with a plethora of other hardware. We’re getting four phones in the lineup, just like last year – the iPhone 13 (6.1 inches), iPhone 13 Mini (5.4 inches), iPhone 13 Pro (6.1 inches), and the iPhone 13 Pro Max (6.7 inches). They each sport a smaller notch, which is something users had been asking for since it was introduced in the X.
Despite the reduction in the real estate of the notch, the camera sees a big improvement, including super-sized sensors to let in more light. They’ve added a Cinematic mode to all the phones that allow you to shoot video like the big movies with a rack focus feature.
The 13 Pro and Pro Max sport the most changes over their 12 predecessors. They both include MotionPro displays with variable refresh rates that allow for a more immersive experience for your mobile viewing. They also have a 77 mm telephoto lens which is an upgrade.
Then, of course, there’s the upgraded processor fit into the belly of the iPhone 13 series. If you’ve been counting, we are now up to the A15 Bionic processor chip which is, you guessed it, the most powerful chip in an Apple mobile device thus far.
Each of the Pro phones now comes with a 1 TB option for the first time ever. The starting prices for the new phones are as follows: 13 Mini – $699, 13 – $799, 13 Pro – $999, and 13 Pro Max – $1,099.
Apple also unveiled a variety of other products including the Apple Watch 7 ($399), iPad 9 ($329), and iPad Mini 6 ($499). We didn’t get our eyes on the AirPods 3 as we expected, but there is another Apple event scheduled for later this fall, so we might see the wireless earbuds pop up then.
