iPhone 13 - Leaks and Rumors

We are at that time of the year when the rumor mill has a spotlight on the upcoming iPhone. This time it’s the iPhone 13. Some of these rumors will turn out to be true, while others will remain expectations never to be fulfilled. But that doesn’t stop us from diving into them, and justifiably so. After all, a new iPhone is usually the anticipated piece of tech each year, and it feels proper to put what’s in the grapevine in terms of leaks and rumors to help us form an image of what to expect. So here is our roundup of what to expect in the iPhone 13 and if you should just buy cheap iPhone 12 which is currently out right now.

iPhone 13 Release Date

The global pandemic interrupted supply chains the world over, and Apple, with its industrial might, was also not spared the blushes. The iPhone 12 was launched on a non-traditional October release date, but in 2021 it is expected that Apple will revert to September. This means that if everything falls into the plan, the devices will be announced on the third week of September and hit the shelves in all major stores by the last Friday of the month. According to Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo and Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, back this claim.

iPhone 13 Design

By now, the leaks give us a good rough idea of what to expect on the iPhone 13. For one, we can expect that it will look pretty much like the second hand iPhone 12, albeit with the expected size of the notch reducing significantly. There will also be new color options, but given that the refurbished iPhone 12 design is still fresh on the market, we can expect Apple to keep it, at least for the iPhone 13. The sizes of the phones are also likely to be a carryover from the iPhone 12 range. That is a 5.4-inch iPhone 13 Mini, 6.1-inch iPhone 13, 6.1-inch iPhone 13 Pro, and a 6.7-inch iPhone 13 Pro Max. Ming-Chi Kuo also claims that the iPhone 13 Pro Max will be the first portless iPhone with Apple moving fully to MagSafe charging as introduced on the iPhone 12. This means that iPhone will not make the transition to USB-C as rumored before. Many mock-ups and case dummies support the reduced notch size and portless design on the iPhone 13. From leaked dummy units, it is also expected that the SIM card tray and the power button will also see a minor shift in position. This is based on Sonny Dickson’s allegedly leaked dummy units.

iPhone 13 Display

This is perhaps the most anticipated update for iPhone owners. While Android users have been reveling in 120Hz displays to the point of becoming mainstream, this is expected to be the first time an iPhone has a 120HZ LTPO display. In true Apple fashion, it is expected to bring the ProMotion display technology of the ProMotion Display XDR display and iPads.

It is going to be a while till we get to see mini-led displays. So the iPhone 13 is likely to have a normal OLED panel like many other iPhones. By their nature, LTPO panels are slimmer because they don’t require extra under-display components. This may translate to a slimmer iPhone 13 and an always-on display because it’s possible with LTPO panels. Another rumor flying around is that on top of FaceID, Apple will integrate an in-display fingerprint scanner as an alternative biometric security option. This one seems a bit far-fetched or perhaps on a later iPhone.

iPhone 13 Cameras

A phone’s internals is usually the hardest to predict, but it is reliably expected that iPhone 13’s camera will be a significant upgrade on the iPhone 12. For one, apple is expected to fine-tune its sensor-shift image stabilization, which could mean stable shots even on the shakiest platforms. Furthermore, it is likely that there will be a new 6-element ultrawide camera, given that iPhone 12’s is a 5-element shooter. The more the elements, the better the image quality. The lenses are rumoured to be a bit larger with a new lens, but Ming-Chi Kuo also predicts that the aperture size will increase to f/1.8 to allow the cameras to capture more details. This rumor is supported by Gurman’s claim that portrait mode will now be available on video. Portrait mode allows the user to blur the background of a shot and only focus on the object in question. Some rumors also suggest that LIDAR will trickle down to the standard iPhone 13 and refurbished iPhone 13 mini.

iPhone 13 Battery

Ming-Chi Kuo and leaker LOvetodream agree that the battery capacities on the upcoming iPhone will be bigger thanks to soft battery technology. We expect that the refurbished iPhone 13 Pro Max will have a capacity of 4352mAh and the other models in the range to follow suit. Max Weinbach also suggests reverse wireless charging, but all this remains to be seen.

All these make for a pretty juicy story. The only guarantee we have at the moment is that there is a new upcoming iPhone 13 which we can’t wait to lay our hands on will costly compared to iPhone 12 price. If you need a phone on a budget right now then a refurbished iPhone would be your best bet.