• Apple’s new A15 Bionic chip makes iPhone 13 more efficient and powerful than A14 in iPhone 12
• Entry-level iPhone 13 has 128 GB storage vs entry-level iPhone 12 with 64GB storage.
• Improved camera and ‘cinematic mode’ on iPhone 13
• Improved battery life with iPhone 13

iPhone 13 vs iPhone 12 in detail 

On reveal day, Apple was particularly proud of the iPhone 13’s new A15 Bionic chip. It’s a new generation of chip that the company claims will make this the most efficient and powerful flagship iPhone ever. During the reveal of the phone, Kaiann Drance made the bold claim that “there’s nothing in the world like this chip”.

The interior of the iPhone 13 was re-designed to make space for new tech and a larger battery, paving the way for some interesting new features. These are discussed in more detail in the camera and battery life sections.  Interestingly, the base level iPhone 13 comes with more storage than its predecessors – 128GB.

It’s got fewer bells and whistles, but we found the iPhone 12 to be an impressive performer. In our reviewer’s full test, the A14 Bionic chip partnered well with the phone’s 4GB of RAM and delivered pleasing performance across the board. It also packed in more 5G bands than competitors and beat them on benchmarking tests with ease. iOS 14 is smooth and intuitive and makes the phone a breeze to use. 

Of course, things have moved on slightly since the release of the iPhone 12, and the new handset has a clear advantage in terms of specs and performance. We’ll deliver more detail on this in our full review of the iPhone 13. 

The standard iPhone 13 ships with a base of 128GB of storage, double that of the base iPhone 12.

During its event, Apple noted that battery life is “really important to our users”. Seemingly this was an acknowledgement – or as close as we’ll ever come to one – that battery life has never been iPhone’s strongest feature. The new phone, Apple claims, will run for 2.5 hours longer than the iPhone 12. The iPhone 13 Mini will run for 1.5 hours longer than the iPhone 12 Mini.

The iPhone 12 packs a 2,815mAh battery, which is smaller than that of its predecessor, the iPhone 11, which came with a 3,110mAh cell. The 12’s A14 Bionic chip made it more efficient, but – during testing – we still found the iPhone 11 to have a greater battery life, making this metric a weak point for the iPhone 12. 

Various outlets and tipsters predicted a larger battery for the new handset, and ultimately the iPhone 13 does promise greater battery life. However, we’re going to temper our enthusiasm for this upgrade until we conduct a hands-on test. 

The iPhone 13 features two 12MP cameras on the reverse, including the all-new wide-angle lens, which captures 47% more light, make shooting in low light much easier, according to Apple.

Apple has also acknowledged the persistent customer irk of the ‘notch’ by reducing this significantly on the new handset. It’s still there, though, and that is bound to irritate some Apple fans.

The iPhone 12 also packed a dual-camera line-up, consisting of one main 12mp f/1.6 wide-angle camera and a 12MP ultra-wide lens more suited for group shots and landscapes. What really saw the iPhone 12 improve on its predecessor, though, was the power of its A14 Bionic chip.

Cameras are always a focal point in any big phone release, so it’s no surprise that Apple has improved on the offering of its previous flagship.

The most interesting addition to the iPhone 13’s camera lineup may be ‘Cinematic Mode’, which uses AI to automatically change focus within shots – for example, if a new character walked into a shot, the camera would automatically focus on them. This was shown off to great effect in the reveal event, but we’re not going to pile too much praise on Apple until we’ve tried it for ourselves.

The introduction of an OLED display to the iPhone 12 was a definite step forward for iPhones. The 6.1-inch display looks good, though some users were less than pleased with the reappearance of the camera notch.

Now, Apple has gone one better. The new super retina XDR display on the iPhone 13 is 28% brighter and has a 1200 Nits max HDR brightness, making outdoor use in bright sunlight even easier.

The key leap forward that Apple made in releasing the iPhone 12 was the adoption of 5G. Having fallen slightly behind some Android competitors at the time, it was a crucial upgrade. Of course, 5G is present again in the new handset, with more bands, and Apple claims connectivity will be better than any previous iPhone.

Apple crafts phones in their own distinctive style, and – as expected – they haven’t abandoned that with the iPhone 13. It’s instantly recognisable as an Apple product, and each iteration of Apple’s iconic phone line-up borrows from those that went before. 

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