The iPhone 13 is expected to be revealed during its typical launch window in September 2021, and there are many reasons to be excited about the early rumors and leaks. Yes, the iPhone 12 is the best phone you can buy right now, but once you hear about what’s coming, you may as well decide to wait.
For example, although the iPhone 12 has a new look with its cut edges and flat sides, the notch is still the same size. And Apple must finally adopt 120 Hz screens for the new iPhone 13, reaching the best Android phones. We can also see the return of a feature that will make it much easier to unlock your phone using a mask.
Of course, we have several months until the iPhone 13 is revealed. But these are the seven biggest updates and changes we’ve heard about so far.
A smaller iPhone 13 (finally)
The notch of the iPhone has been a sore on the eyes since the launch of the iPhone X, but the area that houses the TrueDepth camera and allows facial identification packages in a lot of technology. According to a leak of Ice universe on Twitter, the iPhone 13 will continue with the notch design, but it will be shorter.
A separate Digitimes report suggests that Apple will be able to decrease the size of the notch by decreasing the size of the sensor that powers Face ID. In addition, the so-called VSCEL chip on the front camera will be optimized, which should reduce the volume. So while the notch does not disappear from the iPhone 13, it must be less noticeable.
The iPhone 13 will be the first iPhone to feature screens with 120 Hz refresh rates, which should make scrolling smoother and better video playback and gameplay with compatible content. This is according to Apple analyst Jon Prosser and exhibition analyst Ross Young.
Thanks to LTPO technology, monitors must be able to scale from 120 Hz to 1 Hz, depending on the content on the screen, which should help save battery. However, according to Elec, only two models should have 120 Hz LTPO screens, which probably means the iPhone 13 Pro and iPhone 13 Pro Max.
Top iPhone 13 camera updates
While it looks like a more powerful periscope zoom may not be reaching the iPhone 14 in 2022, a number of other iPhone 13 camera updates have leaked and look promising. For starters, the iPhone 13 will feature an enhanced ultra-wide-angle lens with six elements and an f / 1.8 aperture. This would be an improvement over the iPhone 12 5-element f / 2.4 lens, and the result should be better results in low light.
In addition, analyst Ross Young predicts that the iPhone 13 Pro and iPhone 13 Pro Max will gain larger sensors, which again will let more light in. And the advanced sensor shift stabilization found on the iPhone 12 Pro Max, according to analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, will arrive on the iPhone 13 Pro and iPhone 13 Pro Max.
Major Wi-Fi update: Wi-Fi 6E
If you’ve never heard of Wi-Fi 6E, you will. This new standard is designed to provide even faster wireless speeds. A report by an analyst at Barclays says that the iPhone 13 line will support Wi-Fi 6E, which can connect to the 6 GHz band. This should result in less interference with other devices in your home.
In addition to faster speeds, Wi-Fi 6E also allows for lower latency, which should also lead to better performance. In addition, Wi-Fi 6E devices can use 160 MHz for high bandwidth activities, such as augmented reality. Broadcom, which is making 6E mobile Wi-Fi chips, called the 6 GHz band “the most detrimental benefit for Wi-Fi users in the past 20 years”.
The return of Touch ID for iPhone 13
The iPhone 13 may be the first truly new iPhone design to support Touch ID in years. Analyst Mini-Chi Kuo says Apple is working on an iPhone with facial ID and an on-screen fingerprint scanner to launch in 2021. However, this feature can be reserved for the iPhone 13 Pro and iPhone 13 Pro Max .
The analyst also says that Apple is developing an iPhone with Touch ID built into the power button for 2021. That wouldn’t be for a flagship device, so we’re not sure if this refers to the normal iPhone 13 or iPhone 13 mini or a new iPhone SE 3 or iPhone SE Plus.
The new iPad Air features a Touch ID sensor on its power button and worked well in our tests. Reviving Touch ID for the iPhone 13 makes a lot of sense, as Face ID doesn’t work well with masks, and we may still be forced to wear them in public until 2021.
Longer battery life (and better 5G)
If you’ve seen the results of our iPhone 12 battery test, you know that Apple’s flagships didn’t do so well. In fact, we saw a very large delta between 4G and 5G when browsing the web. The good news is that Apple’s own documentation revealed that Apple should be upgrading from Qualcomm’s 7 nanometer X55 5G modem to its newest and most efficient 5 nanometer X60 modem.
The X60 can be integrated directly into a phone’s chipset, which should help reduce the footprint while reducing battery consumption. In addition, the X60 can combine mmWave and sub-6 GHz networks simultaneously for even faster speeds.
LiDAR for all four iPhone 13 models
Presented on the iPhone 12 Pro and iPhone 12 Pro Max, the LiDAR sensor offers better autofocus performance, while allowing tricks like low-light portraits. LiDAR also allows for better performance of augmented reality because it can help to create 3D maps of rooms much faster.
According to Digitimes, all four models of the iPhone 13 should receive LiDAR (or flight time) this time. Therefore, the feature will no longer be reserved for most premium iPhones. The report says that the new ToF sensors will allow “instant immersive AR experiences. We’ve seen some really cool iPhone AR apps so far, but nothing that we considered indispensable.