Size, battery the only differences

David Court and Patch Bowen

The iPhone 13 and iPhone 13 mini are the same phones with different screen and battery sizes. That’s it.

In fact, the iPhone 13 is nearly identical to the iPhone 12, too. The differences are the much-improved camera(s), battery life and processor.

Whether that’s enough to make you want to upgrade will depend on the starting point. If you’re an iPhone 12 user, then the answer is ‘‘probably not’’. If you’re on an 11, the 13 starts to look a lot more convincing. Anything before that is almost unrecognisable – that’s how good this phone is.

Price

Both the iPhone 13 and the iPhone 13 mini come in different configurations. These are: iPhone 13 mini – 128GB ($1249); 256GB ($1449); 512GB ($1849). iPhone 13 – 128GB ($1429); 256GB ($1629); 512GB ($2029).

Design

Nearly everything about the 13th version of Apple’s iPhone looks the same as the previous device. This isn’t a negative – the iPhone 13 and the mini look fantastic.

They have the same flat sides, the Ceramic Shield display, the glass back and the MagSafe compatibility. The only differences are the smaller notch on the display and the larger camera bump and even those aren’t dramatic differences. The camera lenses are now laid out diagonally as opposed to vertically – this is to make room for the larger sensor in the Wide lens.

Display

The iPhone 13 has a 6.1 inch 2532 x 1170 Super Retina XDR OLED display. The 13 mini has the same display, albeit it’s smaller at 5.4 inches, and a lower resolution at 2340 x 1080.

Other than the size, we found both displays were very good but a halfstep down from the iPhone 13 Pro devices. Both displays are sharp, bright and work fine in direct sunlight.

Neither the iPhone 13 nor the mini received the 120Hz upgrade found in the Pro and Pro Max. They have a maximum refresh rate of 60Hz, which is a bit disappointing.

Performance

The iPhone 13 and 13 mini use Apple’s new A15 Bionic processor. The A15 has six CPU cores, four being energyefficient cores and two being highperformance and four GPU cores.

We found similar results when comparing the real-life performance of the iPhone 13 with the iPhone 12 and its A14 chip. Apple assures us that it is faster, though – explaining that the A15 uses 15 billion transistors while the A14 only has 11.8 billion transistors.

If you don’t have an iPhone 12, you’ll notice the speeds of the iPhone 13 immediately. Playing graphically demanding games, video editing and everything else was seamless. It flies.

Cameras

The iPhone 13 and 13 mini use the same dual-camera array found on the iPhone 12 and 12 mini, albeit with some significant improvements.

The 12MP, f/1.6 wide lens is bigger than the one found on the iPhone 12. This means it can capture more light and more light means better results.

The iPhone 13 takes fantastic photos in well-lit scenes but the Wide lens shines most with low-light photography. This is the same lens that was used in the iPhone 12 Pro Max and it’s brilliant. If it wasn’t for the camera array on the iPhone 13 Pro and Pro Max, we would be saying the iPhone 13 and 13 mini’s cameras are the best on the market.

The second lens is the 12MP f/2.4, 120-degree Ultra Wide lens. It works exactly as it should and takes great photos.

Camera features

The improved camera array brings with it two new camera features.

Photographic Profiles change the look of the picture you’re taking. You’re able to create a profile that will set the tone and contrast of all photos you take to the same settings. You won’t have to go into each photo to make it look the same in editing.

The more impressive new feature is Cinematic Mode. This is similar to portrait mode for photos except it works on videos. It will automatically blur the background while keeping a subject in focus. If your subject turns

his/her head away from the camera, the video will automatically adjust the focus to replicate ‘‘rack focus’’.

This creates more cinematic shots. Apple has marketed Cinematic Mode as the ability to film as moviemakers do, but unfortunately it isn’t a polished product. It relies on AI to figure out what a subject is, and we noticed it struggling with blurred areas.

Battery

The iPhone 13 mini has a battery that’s 9 per cent larger than the one found in the iPhone 12 mini and the iPhone 13’s battery is 15.1 per cent larger. For the mini this correlates to about

1.5 hours of extra life; the iPhone 13 lasts a massive 2.5 hours longer.

It’s very impressive. The iPhone 13 lasted from the time I got up till the time I went to bed with normal usage. Stress-testing with constant 4K videos, gaming and video editing, it lasted a very respectable 8 hours.

Unfortunately neither the iPhone 13 nor the 13 mini supports fast charging. Oh, and remember – iPhones don’t ship with a charger in the box any more. Which still sucks.

Verdict

Anyone looking to upgrade in the next 12 months will find it hard to ignore all the things the iPhone 13 and 13 mini get right: camera, battery life and performance. It’s pretty simple.