Shortly after Apple debuted the new iPhone 13 last week, the company gave review units to select members of the press so that they could prepare independent reviews, but instructed them not to say anything until yesterday. The embargo on those reviews is now lifted, so now we can learn from first-hand experience with the iPhone 13. If you are thinking about getting an iPhone 13, which goes on sale in stores this Friday, these reviews may help you to make a decision. And most of the reviews have been very positive, concluding that Apple added important improvements (battery life, cameras) to the already fantastic iPhone 12. Here are the reviews that jumped out at me:
- Dieter Bohn of The Verge wrote excellent reviews of all of the new iPhones and also created great video reviews. In his review of the iPhone 13 and iPhone 13 mini, he said that the battery improvements are welcome and that the cameras are excellent. In his review of the iPhone 13 Pro and iPhone 13 Pro Max, he said that “there isn’t another phone on the market that can match the iPhone 13 Pro” cameras. He also said that Apple “did an excellent job with” adding ProMotion to the screens on the Pro models.
- Joanna Stern of the Wall Street Journal was impressed by the macro photos taken with the iPhone 13 Pro, but she said that the Cinematic mode for videos isn’t yet ready for prime time because it makes mistakes when blurring parts of the video. This reminds me of Portrait Mode, which was interesting when it first launched but then became much more impressive as Apple improved the feature over time. As for the improved battery life, she said that “all four of the models lasted at least an hour longer than their predecessors.”
- Matthew Panzarino of TechCrunch took an iPhone Pro to Disneyland to test the camera and battery life. He said that “most of Apple’s improvements actually had a visible impact on the quality of life of my trip, though in some cases not massive. Screen brightness, the longer telephoto and battery life were all bright spots.” He also said that tests showed that the new A15 processor is “[i]mpressive as hell, especially for more battery life not less.”
- Stuart Miles of Pocket-lint in the UK said that the “increased battery life is an obvious benefit, the smoother screen experience [on the iPhone 13 Pro] is great (and the more entry iPhone 13 lacks this ProMotion feature), and that updated notch is less noticeable too. It’s just all-round better.”
- Patrick Holland of CNet was impressed by ProMotion on the iPhone 13 Pro. “In use, the screen looks stellar. Animations look smooth, graphics crisp and even mundane things like scrolling feeds look better.”
Apple didn’t send me a review unit, but according to UPS, the case for my new iPhone 13 Pro will arrive today. So if anyone needs a review of a case without the item that goes inside of the case, let me know, because I could do that, but I won’t.