iPhone 13 - Apple's way of saying: "Buy an iPhone 12, or wait for iPhone 14"

So, the standard iPhone 13 and iPhone 13 Mini models are getting a tiny battery bump, while just like with the iPhone 12 Pro Max, the iPhone 13 Pro Max is seeing the bigger gains. That’s especially bad for the iPhone 13 Mini since the iPhone 12 Mini is already barely able to make it through a full day of use.

Now, you’d think: “Sure, the 13 Pro Max is the bigger phone… of course, it’s going to have the biggest battery”. And to that, I’d say… Pixel 5A. Sure, the Pixel 5A won’t match the camera system on the iPhone 12 Pro Max or the premium stainless steel and glass build, but its screen is substantially smaller (6.34-inch vs 6.7-inch); and the device is much, much lighter (183g vs 228g).

Yet it has a 4,680AmAh battery! That’s 27% (!!!) bigger than the 3,687mAh battery on the iPhone 12 Pro Max and (still) bigger than the expected 4,352mAh battery on the iPhone 13 Pro Max...

iPhone 13: Apple A14 Bionic and iPhone 12 camera in disguise?

The camera department is another area in which the iPhone 13 and iPhone 13 Mini aren’t expected to dominate. As mentioned in the beginning, we are expecting a new ultra-wide camera, which will be a big improvement compared to the mediocre ultra-wide camera on the iPhone 12.

Other than that, the rest of the camera improvements are expected to come thanks to Apple’s A15 processor, which might finally allow the iPhone 13 series to shoot Portrait Mode videos. Still, there’s a 50/50 chance this might happen.

Speaking of the A15 processor, this one is also expected to be a mild upgrade, going from 5nm on the iPhone 12 to… 5nm on the iPhone 13. That’s right - it doesn’t seem like we are getting a 3-4nm Apple chip this year. Therefore any power efficiency and performance gains will probably be negligible, and mostly thanks to overclocking and iOS 15.

Want a high-refresh-rate display on your iPhone 13; faster charging; reverse-wireless charging; a periscope zoom camera (or a zoom camera at all); a two-day battery; or 128GB base storage? Well, this is not going to be the iPhone for you.

But guess what… that’s OK! For those who might be using an older iPhone 6,7,8,X,XS, or even iPhone 11, once the iPhone 13 launches, the iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 Pro are going to get cheaper. You’d be able to buy an iPhone 12 directly from Apple for just $699. Of course, the iPhone 12 Pro and 12 Pro Max won’t be sold by Apple anymore, but you’ll find plenty of places that will offer them at a discount, especially around Black Friday.

So, yes - what I’m saying is, you’d most likely be much better off buying an iPhone 12 and save $100, or just spend the same $799 for an iPhone 12 Pro or iPhone 12 Pro Max (if you are lucky to find such a deal).