iPhone 13 vs. iPhone 13 Pro: Comparing Apples to Apples
Does it have to be the iPhone 13 Pro or is the "normal" iPhone 13 sufficient for your needs? In order to find out, NextPit compared the two Apple phones with each other. The gap between the two models has widened thanks to one particular feature on the new iPhone 13 Pro, although both of them are powered by iOS 15, the latest operating system version, which is smoother than ever before. However, is the iPhone 13 Pro worth the premium?
Similar to every year, Apple does not make the decision easy for iPhone users! This is because the new iPhone 13 comes in a standard version while the Pro model carries better features. A reason to opt for the Pro model, of which Apple itself advertised as follows, "OH. SO. PRO.", would be the telephoto lens and 120 Hz refresh rate. But are these differences really so relevant that it is worth a $200 premium? You can gloss over the details in the table!
| Opponent 1 | Opponent 2 | |
|---|---|---|
| Product | ||
| Image |  |
 |
| Display | 6.1-inch OLED display with 1,170 x 2,532 pixels (460 ppi) at 60 Hertz | 6.1-inch OLED display with 1,170 x 2,532 pixels (460 ppi) at 120 Hertz |
| SoC | Apple A15 Bionic (5nm) | Apple GPU with 4 cores | Apple A15 Bionic (5nm) | Apple GPU with 5 cores |
| Memory | 4GB RAM | 128GB, 256GB, or 512GB internal | 6GB RAM | 128GB, 256GB, 512GB, or 1TB internal |
| Micro SD | No | No |
| Main camera | 12 MP | f/1.6 | 26 mm | 1.7 µm | Dual Pixel autofocus, Sensor Shift OIS | 12 MP | f/1.5 | 26 mm | 1.9 µm | Dual Pixel autofocus, Sensor Shift OIS |
| Ultra-wide angle | 12 MP | f/2.4 | 120° | 13 mm focal length | 12 MP | f/2.4 | 120° | 13 millimeter focal length |
| Telephoto | - | 12 MP | f/2.8 | 77mm | 3x optical zoom | OIS |
| 3D | - | LiDAR |
| Video | Max: 4K at 60 fps | HDR | Dolby Vision HDR | Max. 4K at 60 fps | HDR 10 Bit | Dolby Vision HDR | ProRES | Cinematic Mode |
| Selfies | 12 MP at 23 mm | 12 MP at 23 mm |
| Audio | Stereo speakers | Stereo speakers |
| UWP | Yes | Yes |
| Battery | Up to 19 hours of video playback | Up to 22 hours of video playback |
| Quick Charging | Max. 20 watts | Max. 20 watts |
| Wireless Charging | Max. 15 watts | Max. 15 watts |
| Prices | From $799 | From $999 |
| Evaluation |
|
|
| Offers* |
To provide you an even closer look at the differences between the iPhone 13 and the iPhone 13 Pro, we'll dive into the key features in more depth below. Unfortunately, we do not have the devices at the editorial office yet. For this reason, we will expand this smartphone comparison with our hands-on impressions over the next few weeks. Let us concentrate on the technical specifications for now!
iPhone 13 vs. iPhone 13 Pro: Models and its pricing
Sure, Apple fanboys would already know the pricing and model details by heart, but let's also give newbies in the NextPit community a heads-up: if you want to buy an iPhone in 2021, you'll have to choose between two variants that comprise of the standard range and the Pro range. The iPhone 13 also comes in a mini variant that sports the same camera, processor, and smaller 5.4-inch screen.
The iPhone 13 Pro, on the other hand, also has a larger version with all of its technical advantages. The display of the iPhone 13 Pro Max measures an impressive 6.7-inches with its massive dimensions, tipping the scales at 240 grams. Unfortunately, the iPhone 13 does not arrive in a larger version while the iPhone 13 Pro mini remains nothing more than wishful thinking. Check out the prices below:
Prices at a glance
| Model | iPhone 13 | iPhone 13 Pro | iPhone 13 mini | iPhone 13 Pro Max |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 128GB | $799 | $999 | $699 | $1,099 |
| 256 GB | $899 | $1,099 | $799 | $1,199 |
| 512 GB | $1,099 | $1,299 | $999 | $1,399 |
| 1 terabyte | - | $1,499 | - | $1,599 |
Since the iPhone 13 mini and the iPhone 13 share features and there are similarities between the Pro Max and the Pro, you can, in principle, also get familiar with this comparison if you are interested in the respective models. If not, I'll point specifically point them out to you, I promise!
iPhone 13 vs. iPhone 13 Pro: Display with ProMotion technology at last
Let's begin with the display which I mentioned earlier. The iPhone 13 and the iPhone 13 Pro offer you the same display size, resolution, and display technology. Both displays have an extremely high resolution of 1,170 x 2,532 pixels, where the colors and contrasts are particularly good courtesy of Apple's "Super Retina XDR" technology.
Strictly speaking, the term refers to OLED displays where every single pixel emits its own light. Thus, both devices manage to achieve a maximum brightness of 1,200 nits, although this brightness is only ever reached selectively. However, the display on the standard model is a bit darker than that of the Pro model with a typical brightness of 800 nits.
The devil is in the details with the iPhone 13, and the refresh rate is as different as they could be. That's because Apple is bringing its ProMotion display tech to a smartphone for the very first time with the iPhone 13 Pro.
iOS 15 truly shines with a refresh rate of up to 120 Hertz on the screens of the Pro models. Thanks to LTPO technology, the refresh rate is adaptive and varies between 3 Hertz and 120 Hertz depending on what is displayed. This is another good thing to know: The notch has gotten a little bit narrower on both models!
iPhone 13 vs. iPhone 13 Pro: Pro model has more graphical power and memory
There is one thing that you need to know about the new iPhone models: Apple's new A15 Bionic chip would power each handset. However, the iPhone 13 Pro offers a more powerful graphics chipset. Apple's GPU works with five cores instead of four in the Pro. We will tell you how this affects the benchmark results as soon as we have both models in our editorial office.
In the meantime, it is exciting to know that you can configure the iPhone 13 Pro with more memory than any Apple smartphone before this. In terms of numbers, that's 1 TB of storage space, or a whopping 1,000 GB. The iPhone 13, on the other hand, maxes out at 512 GB of internal storage. Last but not least, the iPhone 13 Pro offers even more RAM for caching apps: 6 GB compared to the iPhone 13's 4 GB RAM.
iPhone 13 vs. iPhone 13 Pro: The Pro model gets an upgraded camera
There's significantly more to learn about the camera module at the back. While the shrunk-down notch houses a 12-megapixel selfie camera with f/2.2 and a focal length of 23 millimeters, you'll find an additional telephoto camera on the back of the iPhone 13 Pro. While this is already a tradition on the Pro models, Apple has made it even better in 2021.
Because the telephoto camera in the iPhone 13 Pro now offers triple magnification and thus delivers a focal length of 77 millimeters. The telephoto lens also has optically image stabilization and a 12-megapixel resolution. In addition to the telephoto camera, you will find a main camera with 12-megapixels at the back of both handsets, of which there are also differences between them.
For example, the main camera in the iPhone 13 works with a larger sensor, which translates to each individual pixel being larger at the same resolution count. On top of that, the aperture is larger, allowing more light through at f/1.5. In less technical terms, the iPhone 13 Pro will most likely offer better night shots. In darkness, the handset should also find the autofocus to work faster and more reliably thanks to the addition of a LiDAR sensor. The display of AR content is also more accurate as a result.
However, we should take another look at the camera features of the new iPhone models. This is because the iPhone 13 shines here with some additions that might make the extra price worth it.
More camera functions in the Pro model
Technically, the camera of the iPhone 13 Pro is still superior to that of the standard model in terms of color depth. Thus, Apple covers a color space with a depth of 10 bits in the iPhone 13 Pro. HDR shots thus contain 1.07 billion colors. So with the three colors that the color sensor is split into, that makes 1,024 x 1,024 x 1,024 colors. But enough of the nerd talk.
Both iPhone 13 and iPhone 13 Pro models will let you take advantage of Apple's impressive Cinematic mode, which you may have admired at the keynote. The feature adds a digital blur effect, also known as bokeh, to the video recordings of the front and rear cameras. With the tap of a finger, iPhone magic will happen as the focus shifts from the foreground to the background and back again.
But video professionals can only use the iPhone 13 Pro to record in ProRes format. The codec saves recorded videos in a compressed, but comparatively lossless format. With a little know-how, videos look better as a result, and video editing should run a little smoother on Apple devices.
iPhone 13 vs. iPhone 13 Pro: Battery & charging times
As always, Apple continues to keep mum on the battery capacities of the new iPhones. The iPhone 13 Pro is said to get 22 hours of video runtime, compared to just 19 hours for the standard model. This means the Pro model effectively offers 1.5 hours more battery life compared to its predecessor, while the standard model manages to do 2.5 hours better.
When it comes to fast charging and wireless charging, there are no differences between the two handsets. With that being said, this paragraph shouldn't be too long and we'll jump right to the conclusion!
Conclusion: iPhone 13 Pro offers new killer features and added value
If we were to compare this smartphone comparison with a similar comparison from last year, we would have a clear winner! In my opinion, the iPhone 13 Pro with its 120 Hertz display offers significantly added value over the iPhone 13 compared to the iPhone 12 Pro did over the iPhone 12. Even though I'd like to confirm my suspicions in the coming weeks, I'll say this cautiously: the iPhone 13 Pro is more worthwhile getting compared to the iPhone 13 than ever before.
That's because in addition to the ProMotion display, there are also some of camera features that you'll only find in the latest Pro iPhone. Apple pulls further ahead of Android in terms of video features with support for the ProRes format and the new Cinematic mode. The upgrade in battery life, if confirmed in our review, would also be nice to have.
If you're interested in the differences between the iPhone 13 and the iPhone 12, you'll soon find another smartphone comparison on NextPit. In addition, there is information about contracts, purchase options, and other information about Apple's new smartphones on the corresponding device pages.
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