My iPhone 13 had a hard bump against something, even with Apple Care + I was pleased my iPhone 13 was just fine.


My iPhone 13 had a hard bump against something, even with Apple Care + I was pleased my iPhone 13 was just fine.
As you’ll know if you follow me I’ve been testing out a few different iPhones over the last few months. Most recently and still my iPhone of choice is the iPhone 13.
I’ve got the midnight 128GB model and it’s been great. As much as I liked the iPhone 13 Mini the screen was just a bit too small for my eyes so I went back to my iPhone 11. I liked the camera and increased screen size but hated how large and heavy it felt in hand.
Well the iPhone 13 is the best of both worlds. It has a great camera, the 6.1” screen is a good size for me, it’s got a mega battery and best of all with it’s flat sides it’s light and comfortable.
The 128GB seems to be the sweet spot for me and even with downloaded music it’s fine. I will say though that I have iCloud Photo Library enabled so if you don’t and store photos locally you’ll need a bigger storage model.
If you’re a fan of the iPhone 11 but don’t want the bulk then the iPhone 13 (or iPhone 12) is the phone to get. What I did and what I’d recommend is to look at the used market and you’ll be pleased to see you could save £250 on a new phone, it’s also better for the environment.
Recent reports are indicating that the demand for the iPhone SE is down on expectations, not really a surprise to me.
We’re still in a pandemic, we have war in Europe and ever increasing cost of living expenses.
The 9to5 take though I think is wrong.
External factors or not, it does feel like Apple has pushed the iPhone 8-based form factor as far as it can, and it’s time for future entry-level models to drop the Home button and be based on a modern iPhone design.
I feel that people are realising that a new iPhone is a luxury not a need. In these times wants are less and needs are more, only spend on that which you actually need. Paying for household bills is the focus especially when we don’t know how bad things are going to get.
I think that there are plenty of people that prefer this design over using FaceId plus some also just don’t want a large phone.
I’ve been looking at these new rumours of a larger camera size jump by 5% in all directions from the iPhone 13 Pro. The iPhone 13 isn’t bad with its camera but the 13 Pro always felt massive when I had one. Matt over at Birchtree has a nice image showing the jump from 12 Pro to 13 Pro and I can’t imagine what the 14 Pro would feel like in the hand. When I owned the 13 Pro it already felt too big but wow 5% again. It’ll definitely be a phone that Apple (and your own comfort) will expect you to use a case with.
I’ve never been a fan of using a case on my iPhone. Since my 3G I’ve always gone back and forth between no case and case and always end up taking it off. Since then we got Apple Care+ and the added protection that brings if you needed it to replace your screen or device.
I’m not one that is bothered by scratches, I love patina on stuff. But I don’t want to walk around with a cracked screen.
For me the benefit of an iPhone 13 is taken away with a case. I love how thin and light it is, all with that large 6.1” screen.
I much prefer the tacky glass on the iPhone 13 vs the matte on the Pro. I prefer the look of the aluminium sides of the 13 but admittedly they aren’t as grippy as the stainless steel on the X or Pro models.
For me, when I see £60 for an Apple leather then £20 for a screen protector I think that’s 10 months of Apple Care + payments.
That’s the main reason for me, I’ll pay the monthly Apple Care cost should I drop and break it and enjoy the feel of the iPhone with no case.
I’ve been using an iPhone 13 this week and it’s got me thinking a lot about who is the target audience. In the past year I’ve used my regular daily iPhone 11, the iPhone X, the iPhone 13 mini, iPhone 13 Pro and now the regular iPhone 13. There isn’t a great deal of coverage on this regular 13 model, it all seems to be either the iPhone 13 mini or the iPhone 13 Pro.
Now I’ve been testing I’ve settled on the iPhone 13, upgrading from the iPhone 11 for one main reason.
The iPhone 13 gives me everything I love about my iPhone 11 in a more comfortable form factor.
In the iPhone 11 I loved the camera, battery and 6.1″ screen. In the iPhone 13 I get a better camera, better battery and that same sized screen BUT I can comfortably hold it and not give myself fatigue.
The iPhone 13 is narrower, shorter and lighter than the iPhone 11, it turns out that this is what made the difference to my use of the device. Moving to the iPhone 13 mini was great to hold but the screen too small (for my eyes at least) and the iPhone 13 Pro was too heavy with it’s stainless steel sides, which also dig into the corner of your hand.
So, it’s aimed at those that want 1+ day battery, a great all round camera, a large screen and something that is comfortable to use on a day to day basis.
It’s the modern iPhone that most people should buy.
I’ve been using an iPhone 13 now for a good few days and the most impressive thing about it is the battery life. Coming from the iPhone 11 I’ve been used to easily getting all day battery life but I think I can do three days on the iPhone 13.
In my most recent testing I’m at 20 hours since a charge and I’m still at 75% battery left. I’ve been using it as I normally would with some RSS reading, social media, podcast and music listening. I’ve been using it as I normally would and I’d estimate that it’s 25-35% better than an iPhone 11.
Until I got my hands on a used iPhone 13 I didn’t realise how interesting midnight was. Depending on the light it can be a dark blue or black.
I like the dark sides, which remind me of the slate iPhone 5.
What do you think?
As you’ll know I’ve been switching things around a lot in my setup and whilst I enjoyed going back to the size of the iPhone X I’m back on the iPhone 11. For me it came down to two things, battery and camera.
The battery and purchase price (especially used) are the main reasons I think that the iPhone 11 is the best iPhone to buy in 2022.
I still don’t love the weight but I’m trading it for that two day battery life.
On the camera side of things I do wish it had a 2x zoom rather than the ultra wide that I hardly ever use but the quality in photo over the iPhone X is very noticeable for me. Most of my images are indoors at home and when you look at images taken on both the iPhone X and 11 in this sort of lighting the 11 wins every time.
If you can handle the size and weight then the 11 is the best balance of price and functionality you’ll get in a modern iPhone.
Since having a couple of weeks on the iPhone X and being on an iPhone 11 before that I’m starting to notice where the iPhone 11 has it beat.
In day to day use you don’t notice a huge amount of difference but you do lose some useful features. The main being that on the iPhone X you can’t copy text from an image. On the iPhone 11 I used this all of the time and missing it weekly.
The iPhone X isn’t great in lower light conditions. The iPhone 11 has a way better camera than on the X if you are ok losing that zoom.
The iPhone has some of the best battery life of all iPhone models. The iPhone X gets through a day fine for me but I’m definitely a bit more conscious of keeping an iPhone on it when I’m out and about.
My older eyes are starting to feel the drop down to a 5.8” from a 6.1”. This may be the deciding factor if I switch back.