iPhone 13 Pro review: New camera powerhouse; no-compromise flagship

Apple's valuation recently hit a staggering $3 trillion market cap, and the company didn't get to where it is by being ordinary. It's been 15 years since Steve Jobs unveiled the iPhone, changing the prospect of phones forever. Year after year, Apple has thrived to deliver excellence and has remained committed to the premium nature of its phones. Between now and 2007, iPhone's evolution is quite evident, but if you stack up all the iPhones side by side, you'll notice the biggest upgrades were not quite frequent. Nevertheless, Apple finds a way to impress its fans and the iPhone 13 Pro is a stunner.

We have been using the iPhone 13 Pro as the daily driver and we now fully understand what makes or breaks the new Apple flagship. If you're still confused about whether or not iPhone 13 Pro is the way to go, this review will answer all your questions.

Biggest takeaways in one minute

Apple iPhone 13 Pro is the best camera phone you can buy, living up to its Pro moniker in every sense. The ProRes video, Photographic Styles and portraits are just stunning. But the iPhone 13 Pro's prowess doesn't end there. There's a brilliant display with a higher refresh rate now, an excellent battery life (yes, in the non-Max model, I say), a much compact in-hand feel, and unparalleled performance (gamers, you there?).

For someone who hasn't used a Pro model in past, the iPhone 13 Pro might feel heavy, but it grows on you. The notch is still there, which isn't very 2021 or even 2022-like. But September is not too far off, or is it? We just have to wait and watch. We just hope by then, Apple leads in the battery compartment, the charging speed to be specific. All in all, iPhone 13 Pro is for hardcore users, who think they will push the limits on the camera front and battery stress.

Now, let's dive in for a deeper analysis of the points we've just made and why we made them.

Design

iPhone 13 Pro takes a lot of inspiration from its predecessor, gets that classy glass sandwich design. The stainless steel chassis handles scratches like a pro, and it also manages to keep those smudges at bay.

The glass back has shimmering silver that gives away a milky hue, which is in the case of our Silver review unit. But there are Sierra Blue, Gold and Graphite colours to choose from, which ever suits your taste. The Silver variant, however, has an elegant look, and you cannot go wrong with it.

On the back panel, the camera module stands out. The camera sensors are evidently larger, which makes it wobble on a flat surface, but you can just slap a case on it and fix it.

On the other side, the display is bezel-less with the disruption of a notch, albeit a smaller one. While it is nice to see Apple try and shrink the size of the notch, it didn't really achieve much by gaining the 20 percent extra screen real-estate. Maybe the iPhone 14 Pro might change that.

Overall, the iPhone 13 Pro is easy to handle, but more than that it is still an eye-candy. The iPhone 13 Pro is not in the foldable league, but as far as the flat phones go, it is the best you got.

Display

Now, this is where things get exciting. The iPhone 13 Pro's display is fantastic, with all the goodness of 120Hz LTPO adaptive refresh rate OLED panel. The already-smooth display just got smoother, the animations are fine-tuned, even inside the menus and supported apps. The display's full capabilities are not completely utilised until the games are capable of running 120fps.

Now, for your day-to-day use, the iPhone 13 Pro's display is stunning. The colours are rich, come to life and the peak brightness will get you through a sunny day and finally consuming multimedia in HDR is fulfilling.

Camera

The biggest upgrade in this year's iPhones has to be the camera setup. The iPhone 13 Pro manages to once again outperform its competition on various spectrums. With faster focus, better low-light performance, crisp details and vivid subjects, the iPhone 13 Pro can give you the photos you desire from a "pro" grade camera flagship.

Apple retains video-recording proficiency and it can do so with so much ease now. The ProRAW lets you capture RAW files on a phone, making it that much easier for cinematographers to get the post-editing done. If you're looking for a phone that shoots videos like a pro, look no further.

But Apple's prowess doesn't end there. In the photos, the iPhone 13 Pro has managed to excel and the difference is night and day compared to the iPhone 12 Pro. The primary lens is evidently larger and the faster f/1.5 aperture allows more light than ever to give you great photos even in challenging lighting conditions. The telephoto lens, too, has a new sensor and a 3x optical zoom, which is even supported by Night Mode to get some kickass shots. Overall, the low-light performance on the iPhone 13 Pro is impressive.

Shooting in daylight is as good as ever. The details are retained, colours are accurate, great skin tones in most light conditions and backlit scenes, and the results are reliable whether you're shooting indoors or outdoors.

The ultra-wide-angle lens captures pretty great shots, but for the first time, it also doubles up as a macro lens for you to get those truly close-up shots. Macro also works at 1x, you just have to get as close as 1-inch to the subject. Apple hasn't done it in the past, but it doesn't feel like this is Apple's first stint. The macro mode works as intended, captures good details and retains true colours. The new camera mode came in handy at times when we needed to add a new perspective to the subjects.

But the ultra-wide lens doesn't lose its charm while trying to impress with macro. The iPhone 13 Pro still has the best wide-angle shots, and more so now that it can manage pretty fantastic results in low lighting. Even the portraits are as good as ever. The accurate edge detection and depth of field effect brings out the subjects, which are sharper, crisper and vivid.

More than the actual sensors, Apple did spice things up with some extras. The Cinematic Mode on the iPhone 13 Pro is a fun feature to use and it just goes on to show what the future looks like for mobile photography. The Cinematic mode racks focus from one subject to another with an impressive dramatic effect. Surely, the new camera feature needs improvements in certain scenarios, but we really like where this is going and it's only going to get better from here. The Cinematic mode doesn't replace your regular videos but lets you experiment with something new, something you haven't on a phone.

The new iPhone camera also offers Photographic Styles, which is something you'll truly admire. You can choose your look and go about shooting your subjects. From Standard to Rich Contrast or warm to cool, you choose your pick based on what you're shooting and get the results you want without having to go back to the photo for post-processing.

Shot on iPhone 13 Pro: Camera samples

Performance and iOS

The iPhone 13 Pro is powered by the A15 Bionic, which is way better than what the competition has to offer. In our day-to-day use, the processor didn't even break a sweat. Even with heavy tasks like gaming or editing videos or shooting them, the A15 Bionic held its ground. You can be running multiple apps and going back and forth, none of it will slow down the phone. But on some rare occasions, we did notice the iPhone freeze on us during an incoming call. But after the last software update to iOS 15.2, we did not face any such issues.

Speaking of iOS, the software still commands a prominent presence. Apple has made several changes to enhance the user experience with its iOS 15 while retaining the bigger picture as is. There are a plethora of features just waiting to be tested. The Live Text feature is a life-saver and we found it to be of great use in our day-to-day tasks. Safari went through a major change by putting the tabs at the bottom, which after getting used to, we found it to be quite intuitive. Every time you get on a video call using WhatsApp or FaceTime, you get to choose portrait mode to give that bokeh effect. But what we found really interesting is how well Apple cleaned up the notifications with Notification Summary. It's like Jarvis reading out my important dailies.

The iPhone 13 Pro naturally got all the other basics right. The call quality, 4G browsing, Wi-Fi 6 speeds work flawlessly. The dual stereo speaker is loud and has detail and depth. FaceID is still the best biometric solution out there and works like a charm every single time. Even with a face mask, if you have your Apple Watch paired, the iPhone unlocks in an instant.

Apple's true magic is how tightly knit its devices are when on the same Apple ID. In our case, the iPhone 13 Pro, AirPods, MacBook were on the same Apple ID and how well they all linked to each other is one of the main reasons to join the iOS bandwagon.

We could be listening to music, answer a call from the watch and it goes straight to AirPods. Or, you copy something on your iPhone and go to your Mac and paste it and voila! It is little things like these that truly add up to the grand scheme of things.

But the high walled garden that is iOS is still not as open as Android. But that just depends on how much of that freedom is truly relevant to you. In our case, it barely mattered.

Battery

Apple iPhones have come a long way in the battery department. The iPhone 13 Pro can easily last a whole day between charges, but if the battery is where your priorities lie then the iPhone 13 Pro Max is where you should be looking. With an average screen time of 7.3 hours, the iPhone 13 Pro easily got us through the day. Considering what the phone's packing, we'd say it is a fair offering and we weren't disappointed at all.

The iPhone 13 Pro doesn't come with a USB-C charger, instead, it just comes with a new cable. If you want to take advantage of fast charging, you might want to pick up a new 27W adaptor. In terms of battery charging speeds, there are phones that charge way faster. It is one area where Apple truly needs to step up its game. Requiring nearly two hours to fully charge the iPhone 13 Pro shouldn't be the case if there are phones capable of fully charging in under 15-20 minutes. Until Apple comes around, the faster adaptor is a sound investment.

Verdict

Apple iPhone 13 Pro checks all the right boxes for a premium flagship smartphone, but is this the phone you need to buy? It's worth pointing out that the iPhone 13 Pro is pricey, starts at Rs 1,19,900 and it keeps going up with the storage. But if the price is no concern, the iPhone 13 Pro is a solid option.

The iPhone 13 Pro promises a great camera, excellent performance, vivid screen with 120Hz refresh rate, stunningly premium design, a compact body, and reliable battery life. But if the battery is higher up on your list, the iPhone 13 Pro Max is right up your alley. But that would be at the cost of a larger size phone to handle day in and day out.

Now, if you're not really an avid user who wouldn't be pushing the limits on the performance or the camera for that matter, consider the less pricey option of iPhone 13, which is still a solid purchase. The Pro model is recommended for those who demand more; a lot more than an average user who just likes to go about the day and wind down with a few TV shows or music.