The latest Apple iPhone 13 rumors have been disseminated by tipsters Max Weinbach and Jon Prosser (via EverythingApplePro). Weinbach says that the 2021 iPhone Pro models will feature a slightly more texturized soft matte back that will be grippier, and more comfortable to hold. The 2021 iPhone Pro models could also come with an LTPO always-on display that will be equipped with a 120Hz refresh rate screen, similar to the ProMotion display on the iPad Pro. These screens update 120 times per second providing users with buttery smooth scrolling and animation. The Apple Watch Series 6 already uses the same LTPO screen to provide users with an always-on-display.
Apple could bring astrophotography to the iPhone 13 series
According to Weinbach, “Always-On Display will have minimal customizability. Current design basically looks like a toned down lock screen. Clock and battery charge is always visible. Notifications seem to be displayed using a bar and icons. Upon receiving, the notification will pop up normally except that the screen will not entirely light up. Instead, it will display just like you’re used to right now, except dimmed down and only temporarily.”
While the outside of the Apple iPhone 13 series will look exactly the same as the iPhone 12 line, insider Apple will be using stronger magnets for the MagSafe accessories. Overall, Weinbach agrees with speculation that calls for a .26mm increase in thickness for the upcoming iPhone 13 line. The extra girth won’t be related to the stronger magnets inside the handsets.
Now, it appears that Weinbach sees Apple copying the Pixel’s astrophotography feature for the iPhone 13. If you recall, this allows Pixel users to take clear photos of the night sky including stars and the moon. Point your iPhone up at the sky and it will automatically go into astrophotography mode with longer exposure times and additional internal processing. Speaking of the camera, Apple is reportedly adding Portrait Mode video, something that it has apparently been working on for some time. After recording the video, you’ll be able to change the depth of field in post production. This requires some heavy-duty processing power which is where the 5nm A15 Bionic comes in. The Ultra-wide camera is getting beefed up with a six-element lens compared to the current five element lens. While the Ultra-wide camera lens won’t be up to the quality of the lenses on the other two cameras, the gap will be reduced. The aperture on the Ultra-wide camera across the entire iPhone 13 line will be getting an improvement from f/2.4 to f/1.8 according to a Barclays analyst. This will allow low-light photos in Ultra-wide to come out brighter. The Barclays analyst also sees the Telephoto lens on the iPhone 13 Pro and iPhone 13 Pro Max both carrying an f/2.2 aperture and a 65mm focal length.
Today’s report did bring us some sad news. Weinbach says that the blood glucose monitor that has been expected for the Apple Watch Series 7 this year will eventually surface on the Apple Watch-but not this year as many diabetics had hoped for. That is a shame because a non-invasive blood glucose monitor could save insulin-dependent diabetics plenty of pain and money. And the timepiece’s new mental health feature will now see the light of day no earlier than 2022.
Other things touched on by the EverythingApplePro video are some interesting things that we’ve touched on earlier including the possibility that Apple will call the 2021 line the iPhone 12s. This is being discussed internally by Apple. Also being considered is the return of Touch ID, possibly through an in-display implementation. Apple has built prototypes of the iPhone with this feature And the video says that according to Twitter tipster Jon Prosser, there is a 70% chance that the iPhone 13 Pro models will be portless.
The four new iPhone models should be unveiled this coming September.
