Thinking about picking up an iPhone 13? One of the toughest calls you'll need to make is picking between the standard iPhone 13 or spending a little more on the iPhone 13 Pro.
Last year, the differences between the iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 Pro were pretty slim. This time around, going Pro has a few extra benefits. It's just a question of whether those added features are worth it for you. With that in mind we're going to look at how iPhone 13 and iPhone 13 Pro compare:
iPhone 13 vs. iPhone 13 Pro: Specs
| iPhone 13 | iPhone 13 Pro | |
|---|---|---|
| Display | 6.1-inch OLED | 6.1-inch OLED |
| Resolution | Liquid Retina with 60Hz | Super Retina with 120Hz ProMotion |
| Rear Cameras | 2x 12MP | 3x 12MP + LiDAR |
| Front Camera | 12MP | 12MP |
| Processor | A15 with four cores | A15 with five cores |
| Storage | 128GB - 512GB | 128GB - 1TB |
| Water resistance | IP68 - Up to 6m depth |
IP68 - Up to 6m depth |
| Connectivity | 5G | 5G |
| Price | From $1,349 | From $1,699 |
iPhone 13 vs. iPhone 13 Pro: Price
The iPhone 13 Pro is naturally more expensive than the iPhone 13. Here's how pricing compares across storage tiers:
| Storage | iPhone 13 | iPhone 13 Pro |
|---|---|---|
| 128GB | $1,349 | $1,699 |
| 256GB | $1,519 | $1,869 |
| 512GB | $1,869 | $2,219 |
| 1TB | - | $2,569 |
These prices are also represented in phone plans. When you buy an iPhone on a plan, the outright price is divided by 12, 24, or 36 months (depending on what period you'd like to pay your new device off over) and added to the price plan.
As such, the more expensive the outright price, the more expensive your iPhone plan will be. There's no hack that will get an iPhone 13 Pro for the same price as an iPhone 13.
iPhone 13 vs. iPhone 13 Pro: Camera
While you'll get great photos from either device, the iPhone 13 and iPhone 13 Pro have entirely different camera configurations. On the iPhone 13, you'll get a 12MP primary lens with a f/1.6 aperture and 12MP ultra-wide lens with a f/f2.4 apeture.
On the iPhone 13 Pro, you'll find a 12MP primary lens with a f/1.5 aperture, 12MP ultra-wide lens with a f/1.8 apeture, and 12MP 3x optical zoom lens with a f/2.8 apeture. There's also a LiDAR sensor to help with lowlight portraiture.
Aperture refers to how open a lens is. The lower number, the more open the lens in, and the more light passes through it. As such, in addition to having an extra lens, the iPhone 13 Pro should take sharper, clearer photos in low light conditions than the iPhone 13 - especially on the ultra-wide lens.
iPhone 13 vs. iPhone 13 Pro: Connectivity
Both the iPhone 13 and iPhone 13 Pro feature 5G connectivity. There shouldn't be any difference between the pair.
iPhone 13 vs. iPhone 13 Pro: Design
The iPhone 13 and iPhone 13 Pro look almost identical, both featuring 6.1-inch displays and a squared-off design. What varies is materials and colours. The iPhone 13 has an aluminium enclosure and a glossy glass back, while the iPhone 13 Pro is built from stainless steel and has a matte finish glass back.
The iPhone 13 is the more colourful of the pair, coming in midnight, starlight, pink, red, and blue. The iPhone 13 Pro has a more muted colour palate, and is available in graphite, silver, gold, and sierra blue.
iPhone 13 vs. iPhone 13 Pro: Display
Both the iPhone 13 and iPhone 13 Pro feature a 6.1-inch OLED display; in short, both screens are stunning. Where they vary is refresh rate. A typical smartphone screen - like the one found in the iPhone 13 - has a 60Hz refresh rate, while the iPhone 13 Pro can dial this up to 120Hz when necessary for smoother motion. This should be most noticeable when scrolling through content.
iPhone 13 vs. iPhone 13 Pro: Performance
While Apple has typically used identical processors across an entire generation of smartphone, that isn't the case with the iPhone 13 family. Both have A15 processors, but there's a slight difference between the pair. The A15 in the iPhone 13 has four graphics cores, while the A15 in the iPhone 13 Pro has five. This shouldn't make a difference to day-to-day tasks, but we'd expect it to make the iPhone 13 Pro a little zippier with more demanding tasks like gaming and working with high resolution video files.
iPhone 13 vs. iPhone 13 Pro: Battery
It's hard to judge battery life without getting testing a phone, but Apple says both the iPhone 13 and iPhone 13 Pro will last longer than their direct predecessors. We got about about a full day per charge of usage with both the iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 Pro, so we'd assume this should still hold true with the iPhone 13 and iPhone 13 Pro, but we're anticipating a more comfortable buffer at the end of the day.
Alex Choros
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