[Hardware] iPhone 13 Pro and iPhone 13 Pro Max First Impressions

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Apple's unique ability to optimise hardware and software makes for a slick new pair of smartphones

 

 

If you always buy the best of the best, no matter the price, you won't be considering any iPhone model below the new iPhone 13 Pro and iPhone 13 Pro Max. Of course just like with any new generation, you get better power and general refinements, but the main selling points of the new iPhone 13 Pro models are their camera capabilities, which Apple characterises as the biggest leap ever. In fact, Apple seems to be targeting amateur as well as professional video creators which could open up a whole new market for ultra-premium smartphones.

 

Speaking of premium, let's talk about pricing. The iPhone 13 Pro starts at Rs. 1,19,900 with 128GB of storage, going up to Rs. 1,29,900 for 256GB, Rs. 1,49,900 for 512GB, and Rs. 1,69,900 for the new 1TB tier. The larger iPhone 13 Pro Max costs Rs. 10,000 more for the same four storage variants, which comes to Rs. 1,29,900 for 128GB, Rs. 1,39,900 for 256GB, Rs. 1,59,900 for 512GB and a whopping Rs. 1,79,900 for 1TB.

 

This is the first time that Apple has offered an iPhone with 1TB of space, and it's surprising that there are four storage options for the same phones at the same time. That's a huge spread, with the top-end versions of each model offering 8X as much space as the base versions. There is one slightly odd restriction with 128GB units – you can only record ProRes video at 1080p 30fps, while the three higher storage tiers let you record 4K 30fps. This might be due to lower write bandwidth or just because Apple doesn't want you to run out of space too quickly – benchmarks might reveal more once these phones are out in the wild.

 

You also have four colour choices – Graphite, Silver, Gold, and Sierra Blue, the new signature colour for this generation. Apple's launch event and promotional pictures make Sierra Blue look light and bright, which would have been surprising. In the real world, it looks more like a blue-grey and is actually very subtle and slick. Apple says it developed a new “nanometre-scale” ceramic deposition process to create the Sierra Blue finish.

 

The rear glass on both the iPhone 13 Pro and iPhone 13 Pro Max has a frosted look and a matte texture. Both phones are thankfully non-slippery, though the flat sides and pronounced edges make the larger iPhone 13 Pro Max a bit hard to grip. The bands going around sides of both phones are made of surgical-grade stainless steel – these are quite shiny and prone to picking up fingerprints.