The biggest event for tech giants this year will still be held virtually, with a potentially large number of products to display.
Apple’s invite contains the phrase, “California streaming.” It shows the Apple logo’s outline in neon, set against a mountain silhouette.
The company’s September event is it’s most important. It will announce its product lineup in time for the holiday shopping season. Apple released three major product announcements in the second half of last year. The announcements were split into Apple Watches, iPods, iPhones, iPhones, and Mac computers. Apple’s profits and sales rose to record levels thanks to the releases, which also set revenue records for Apple’s iPhones, iPods, Mac computers, and iPads.
It is unknown what Apple will announce, and whether Apple will repeat the strategy of hosting multiple events over the second half last year. The iPhone 13 will almost certainly make an appearance. Rumored Apple Watch 7 could also make an appearance.
However, each product launch had its own moment last year. The iPhone 12, in particular, touched off a wave of upgrade purchases, driven in part by its new 5G wireless connection and its revamped physical appearance. In his review before its release last year, CNET’s Patrick Holland called the iPhone 12 one of our highest-rated phones of all time. The iPhone 12’s “5G support and striking design, four different models, and improved cameras all make it an absolute unit,” he wrote.
Apple’s computers were the other highlight of last year. Apple began a major technology transition last autumn by changing out the microprocessing minds for its MacBook Air laptops and MacBook Pro laptops. Apple decided to stop using chips made by Intel and instead rely on technology that was developed by the team who create the iPhone’s microprocessors. Apple’s new M1 chips, as they’re called, were praised by reviewers like CNET’s Dan Ackerman, who cited the device’s speed and battery life. Apple stated that the M1 chips were also well-liked by its customers, which led to record Mac sales.
Apple is expected this fall to announce the next generation homemade chip, which is rumored to be called the M1X. That new technology is expected to help Apple wean even more of its computers off the Intel chips they still rely on. Apple indicated that it intends to continue selling Intel-powered Mac computers along with its newer technology, for at least one more year.
Apple may also be talking about its new AR tricks. Similar to previous invites this one features an AR gimmick, which creates mixed reality portals.
iPhone 13 rumors. All the buzz surrounding the next iPhone, ahead of Apple’s Sept.14 event
Apple’s new iPhone launched on September 14. Here are the details we have heard about the iPhone 13’s pricing, specs, and other features.
Apple’s iPhone 13 has been unveiled with an exclusive online launch scheduled for Sept. 14. The new iPhone will be available with new features, an upgraded camera, new color options (maybe even pink bubblegum), and a refreshed design with a notch-less screen. While we are likely to see the new iPhone in the next week, rumors surrounding the iPhone 13 continue ahead of its release date.
The Federal Communications Commission filed a revision to the MagSafe charger in a file containing iPhone 13 gossip. This was discovered by MacRumors, 9to5Mac, and MacRumors. Apple refers to four new iPhone models as well the four “legacy”, iPhone 12 model models: the iPhone 12 Mini, iPhone 12 Pro, and iPhone 12 Pro Max.
As Apple analyst MingChi Kuo predicted, the iPhone 13 line will include four phones. These are the iPhone 13 Mini and iPhone 13 Pro models. This lineup matches the four iPhone 12 models from last year. The iPhone 13’s cost might also be the same.
As Apple’s new iPhone is revealed, the anticipation for iPhone 13 grows. According to a survey by SellCell, reported on by MacRumors, 44% of current iPhone users plan to upgrade to one of the iPhone 13 models when it becomes available.
These rumors and all other information are included below. Also, don’t forget our iPhone 13 wishlist. Apple’s next flagship will be revealed in a few days, so we recommend you continue reading. We’ll keep you updated with any new information.
Battery: iPhone 13 doesn’t have a bigger battery.
A rumor from Chinese social media platform Weibo in early June suggested that the iPhone 13 lineup will feature larger batteries than the iPhone 12 lineup. The specs, shared on Twitter by leaker @L0vetodream, claim a 2,406-mAh battery for the iPhone 13 Mini, going up to 3,095 mAh for the iPhone 13 and iPhone 13 Pro, and 4,325 mAh for the iPhone 13 Pro Max.
These battery sizes are all an upgrade to the iPhone 12’s respective capacities. Apple doesn’t reveal official battery specs. The battery life is different from the battery capacity. So it is possible that the iPhone 13’s larger battery might not lead to a longer life. All that depends on your phone’s software optimizations and other upgrades. Apple’s premium phones are better than Apple’s. The batteries in Samsung’s Galaxy S21 lineup, for example, range from 4,000 to 5,000 mAh.
The iPhone 13 could be equipped with new charging features, including faster wireless charging, reverse charging, and other potential improvements to its battery life, according to an exclusive video from EverythingApplePro via Max Weinbach. Reverse charging allows for the charging of other Qi devices via your phone’s back. Weinbach predicts that the upcoming iPhone 13 may have reverse charging. This feature is possible due to a larger wireless charging coil as well as a stronger set of magnets inside the phone’s back. Many iPhone competitors such as the Samsung Galaxy S21 (Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra), the OnePlus 8 Pro, and the Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra have reverse wireless charging. Apple has yet not to make the feature available on its iPhones.
iPhone 13 due for release: iPhone 13 is expected to launch on Sept. 14.
Apple’s new iPhone will almost certainly make its first appearance on Sept. 14 during the tech giant’s next online-only event.
We already suspected Apple’s next event to be completely virtual since it was previously rumored in a July Power On newsletter from Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman. He said that the event will be online-only because of the tech giant’s decision to delay its return to in-person work due to rising COVID-19 cases.
Apple originally said that all employees would be required to come into the office three days a week starting in September. Gurman states that if Apple stayed on September’s timeframe, an in-person iPhone 13 event would have been “plausible.”
Apple’s new iPhone 12 will be revealed online for the 2nd year in succession. Apple also had to postpone the iPhone 12 launch in 2020 because of the pandemic. This was the first September Apple event since 2008 without an iPhone. It was due to delays in production that caused the coronavirus pandemic.
Apple will resume production in the year before the pandemic. An April report suggested the manufacturing of the iPhones’ new chips was running ahead of schedule and Kuo previously forecasted it was business as usual for Apple’s supply chain.
Here’s the scoop:
- Apple holds its events on Tuesdays (or Wednesdays), and the next Apple event is scheduled for a Tuesday.
- Apple releases the iPhone’s release dates approximately one week and fifty days after their announcements.
- iPhones generally get released on Fridays around the third week of September.
The iPhone 13 launches on Tuesday, Sept. 14th, so the release date can be expected to fall sometime in the third or fourth week of September. Apple will reveal its new phone range next week.
Name: Apple keeps ‘iPhone 13’as its next flagship
Apple will call its next lineup “iPhone 13,” according to a report from Taiwanese publication Economic Daily News. It was rumored that Apple decided to stick with its standard naming process after speculation that it would change the iPhone’s titles and ignore the superstition associated. Considering high-rise buildings tend to omit the 13th floor from their elevator buttons for superstitious reasons, previous rumors suggested Apple could succumb to its own triskaidekaphobia and skip the number 13.
Apple’s next iPhone generation was likely to be called iPhone 12S. It was just like 2014’s iPhone 6 went way to 2015 iPhone 6S and 2017 iPhone X before 2018 iPhone XS. Without a major redesign (more below), the 2021 iPhone looked equally likely to be positioned for improvement over the iPhone 12.
Or maybe Apple could have taken a page out of Samsung’s book and named its next phone after the year of its conception: iPhone 2021 has a nice ring to it. What about the iPhone XXI. Or, dare to dream, Apple could have gone in a completely different direction and name it something fun, like the Motorola Citrus or LG Chocolate of yore.
Price: iPhone 13 could be more expensive than iPhone 12
Apple’s iPhone 12 lineup included four phones at four prices, with even more variation among carriers and storage configurations. The iPhone 12 base model, which was the carrier model, cost $799. This increase is due in large part to 5G support.
Apple may increase prices for its iPhone 13 model. According to an August report from DigiTimes, the tech giant is considering increasing the costs for the iPhone 13 to compensate for the upped price of chip production from its supplier TSMC. According to reports, Apple’s supplier may increase the price of “advanced or mature process technology” by 20% by January 20,22. According to the report, it is not clear exactly how much the iPhone’s price could rise.
There was speculation that Apple might maintain the iPhone 13’s pricing structure, or drop the price for its next phone line. Several of its competitors responded to the economic downturn and launched more affordable models in 2020. These include the Samsung Galaxy S20 FE (Samsung) and Google’s Pixel 5 (Google). Both have the same price as the iPhone 12 Mini, however, they are $100 less than the iPhone 12. The new Samsung Galaxy S21 had a $200 lower starting price than its predecessor.
Sales of the iPhone 12 could indicate the direction Apple might take in pricing the iPhone 13. Apple’s predicted 2020 “supercycle”, which was announced in October, appears to have been realized. The iPhone 12 Pro and iPhone 12 Pro were the most popular 5G phone models worldwide. And Apple recently announced that the iPhone 12 led to the largest revenue and profit in the company’s history.
iPhone 13’s design and colors will look familiar
Twitter already has a few renders showing rumored iPhone 13 designs. MacRumors posted a render showing the iPhone 13 Pro’s thinner camera bump than the iPhone 13. According to MacRumors, the iPhone 13’s camera bump is getting slightly thicker, perhaps to accommodate forthcoming camera upgrades like lidar.
A new render in late June from Sonny Dickson on Twitter showed a slight variation on the iPhone 13 and 12 Mini’s camera module, with its two lenses situated diagonally from one another, rather than one atop the other.
A Peng Phones account leaked a picture of a bubblegum pink iPhone 13 in May. But, it turned out to be wishful thinking by an Instagram 3D modeler. Then in June, YouTube account EverythingApplePro previewed a matte-black iPhone 13 render, said to be a replacement for the existing graphite or space gray color options on the iPhone 12 Pro and iPhone 11 Pro models, respectively.
Ranzuk from Naver, a Korean blog platform, claims that Apple might also be adding “Sunset Gold” color to the iPhone 13’s lineup. The color will be slightly darker than Apple’s rose gold and have a bronze feel. Renders of the iPhone 13’s new color were posted to Twitter by @RendersbyIan.
We saw a 3D-printed mockup on Japanese blog Macotakara, and concept renderings of EverythingApplePro earlier. But we don’t expect any big changes to the iPhone’s design in 2021, considering 2020 saw a pretty significant “globular” redesign already with the return of the iPhone 5’s flat sides. Apple is also not expected to make any changes to the phone’s sizing from the previous generation.
Rumored iPhone 13 sizes
- iPhone 13 Mini: 5.8-inches
- iPhone 13: iPhone 6.1 inch
- iPhone 13 Pro: A 6.1-inch Display
- iPhone 13 Pro Max: 6.7-inch
Two design elements that have already been gaining some buzz are a smaller notch, as seen in leaked mockups, or even a completely notch-less display. The death of Lightning port is another possibility, both of which have been speculated upon, hoped for, and feared for generations.
A shallower notch was also shared in an Apple Insider video which showed dummy units of the iPhone 13 a smaller earpiece notch that shifted to the top of the phone’s bezel. Apple Insider’s dummy devices were also in line with previous rumors concerning the iPhone 13 lineup’s similarities in size to the iPhone12.
iPhone 13 may remove the bulky notch — or slim it down
Apple introduced the notched screen to the world in 2017 with its iPhone X. Even though rivals solved the selfie dilemma with hole-punch, under-display cameras, and other methods, Apple hasn’t erred… take it down a notch. Those who crossed their fingers for a notch-less or at least smaller-notched iPhone 12 are reassigning their hopes to the iPhone 13 now that their 2020 all-screen dreams have failed to come to fruition.
Rumors of a smaller notch resurfaced in early March in an investors’ note from Kuo. Macotakara calculated that the iPhone 13’s front notch would shrink to 26.8mm in width (compared to 34.83mm of the iPhone 12), and grow to 5.35mm taller than the iPhone 12’s 5mm notch.
Ted Lasso season 6 episode 6 may have given us a glimpse at a notch-less iPhone. In two scenes, we see a notch-less iPhone that appears running iOS. We shouldn’t let our hopes get too high. The buzz generated by short shots of the iPhone is more likely due to a CGI error in post-production than a glimpse of the iPhone 13.
Will Apple also shut down the Lightning port?
When Apple ousted the headphone jack, the doomsday clock started ticking for the iPhone’s charging port as well, according to industry analysts. Many people are still hopeful for a USB C port. However, MagSafe accessories for the iPhone were introduced in 2020. Jon Prosser a frequent leaker shared his prediction. He said on his YouTube channel: “The end goal for the iPhone is very clearly portless.”
But don’t get too excited (nervous? ): Kuo predicts that only one 2021 iPhone will be completely portless, likely the iPhone 13 Pro Max.
Cameras: iPhone 13 gets new tech and photo tricks
In 2020, iPhone camera upgrades were well received, especially with the Pro Max model. ProMax introduced the iOS audience to lidar (also present on the Pro Max), and program. The iPhone 12 even wrested CNET photo enthusiast Stephen Shankland’s loyalty away from Google Pixel, the erstwhile computational photography king.
ProRes, Portrait Mode video might be coming to iPhone 13
The iPhone 13 could feature at least three major new camera and video features. According to a recent report by Gurman, Apple’s latest iPhone could offer the video version of Portrait Mode, a higher quality option to record video called ProRes, and a new filter system to enhance the look and color of pictures.
Portrait Mode was originally released with the iPhone 7 Plus in 2016 just for taking photos. Gurman suggests that you might soon be able to use the bokeh effect to create videos of your main subject. Gurman speculates ProRes video could be similar to ProRaw photos, which is exclusive to the iPhone 12 Pro models. Gurman claims that ProRes is only available for the iPhone 13 Pro Max, iPhone 13 Pro Max, and iPhone 13 Pro Max.
iPhone 13: Better zoom capabilities
Zoom technology was however a weak point in the 2020 line-up’s camera offerings. The iPhone 12 Pro Max was limited to a 2.5x optical zoom. By comparison, Samsung’s Galaxy S20 Ultra or S21 Ultra both offer 100x zooms.
According to ETNews (as reported by TechRadar), the iPhone 13 could potentially include a periscope camera, a technology that would allow for a larger zoom range without requiring an even larger camera bump. Kuo made similar claims about a future scope lens, although his report suggested that it may be necessary to wait until 2022. It is also possible that the 2.5x zoom found in the iPhone 12 Pro Max may trickle down to the next iPhone Pro.
Night-mode photos are now better
Rumors in early February hinted at welcome improvements for low-light photography. Analysts anticipate an ultrawide-angle lens featuring a larger aperture (f1.8) instead of f2.4. An aperture that is larger allows more light to reach the sensor. This will result in better photos, especially at night or in low-light environments.
Lidar is only available on Pro models
Although camera upgrades are expected across all four iPhone 13 models, the standard versions of Apple’s upcoming handset may lack a lidar scanner. Leaker Dylan on Twitter speculates that only the iPhone 13 Pro and Pro Max will feature the scanner. Dylan’s theory followed previous Apple iPhone gossip from a DigiTimes report that said all four models in the iPhone 13 lineup would come with the scanner.
Dylan’s rumor could become reality. This will be the second generation of Pro models to have a lidar scanning scanner. The scanner, used to help with autofocus and portrait pictures in low lighting, made its debut in the 2020 iPad Pro. It can also be found on the iPhone 12 Pro Max as well as the iPhone 12 Pro Max.
However, lidar would be useful for all — the camera feature which stands for “light detector and ranging” uses lasers to measure distance. The camera trick can take your iPhone photos to the next level, and it also has some pretty cool AR applications.
Features: All other iPhone 13 rumors and information we have heard
Based on Apple’s past track record and last year’s features, we can expect a lot for the 2021 iPhone range. 5G, for instance, is almost certain. It won’t likely include a charger or headphones with the package, nor a USB port for charging. And unless 2021 throws us for an even bigger loop than 2020, we expect Apple to ship the iPhone 13 with the new iOS 15 installed. (By the way, iOS 14.7 is here.)
120Hz refresh rate iPhone 13 Pro and iPhone 13 Pro Max
We thought we’d get a refreshed refresh rate in the iPhone 12, but the 120Hz rumors didn’t pan out — likely because of the already increased demands on battery from the phone’s 5G connectivity. Apple’s iPhone 11 had the same 60Hz display that it used last year.
2021 may be the year of the 120Hz screen. A higher refresh rate would mean smoother scrolling and more responsive displays. Apple is expected to move in the same direction as its competitors, with a 120Hz display on many of its higher-end products (e.g. Galaxy S21 and OnePlus 8T).
Evidence for doubling the refresh rate in 2021 comes from Korean news site The Elec, which reports that two of the iPhone 13 models will use LTPO technology in their screens. This screen tech would make the phone more power efficient in general, meaning smaller batteries and/or longer battery life are also probable (not to mention whispers about an always-on display). Learn more about LTPO, or low-temperature polycrystalline oxide, OLED screens. Weinbach repeated the same rumor mid-February via YouTube and again in an Apr DigiTimes report.
An always-on display
The iPhone 13 may feature a version of the always-on display, Weinbach calling a “toned-down locking screen” like the Apple Watch. If rumors hold true, your next iPhone could display the battery charge and time as well as any incoming notifications. You don’t have to unlock the entire screen.
Gurman’s Power On newsletter for Bloomberg confirmed that rumors regarding this feature had been around since July. He speculates that the iPhone’s larger batteries could power its display with a 120Hz refresh rate and always-on mode.
Will the iPhone 13 bring Back Touch ID?
Bloomberg reported in 2019 that the beloved Touch ID button might return as an under-display sensor in the following year’s flagship, which would have been the iPhone 12. However, the Bloomberg report stated that technology could “slip to 2021 iPhone refresh”.
Leaker @L0vetodream also teased an under-display Touch ID last fall, which was subsequently corroborated (and translated) by Prosser.
The buzz around the return of Touch ID, however, shifted with Gurman’s latest Power On Newsletter. He believes that an underscreen Touch ID sensor “won’t make it” for the iPhone 13. Gurman speculates that Apple will use Face ID instead of Touch ID to embed Face ID under the screen. Sensors will be hidden beneath the screen rather than in a hole.
Apple’s 2020 iPad Air has a Touch ID feature. The device was revealed last September during what would normally be an iPhone unveiling event. The new iMac also has a Touch ID function on its redesigned Magic Keyboard. This addition is exciting because it solves the “Face ID doesn’t work while wearing a mask” problem without ceding screen real estate. Although the issue could be solved with an under-display option, it remains to see if this tech will be available for iPhone 13. (Meanwhile, those who own an Apple Watch already have yet another option for masked iPhone-unlocking as of iOS 14.5.)
Satellite communication connectivity
Apple’s iPhone 13 is rumored to feature satellite communications connectivity, which would let you make calls and send texts in areas without cellular coverage. Kuo stated that the new iPhone can use its Qualcomm X60 baseband chips to connect to low-Earth-orbit satellites. The satellite communications connectivity, however, could be only for emergency purposes such as texting emergency services, calling emergency contacts or reporting a crisis.
We will be keeping this post updated with all leaks and rumors as we approach the September iPhone release.
In the meantime, here is what you need know about iPhone 12:
