The iPhone 13 event was a case study in product refinement of the Tim Cook era

Over the past decade, Tim Cook’s biggest achievement as CEO of Apple has been about the same. More iPhones, more iPhone accessories, more apps and so many more money. While the Mac and iPad have fallen into disuse at times, the company keeps coming back with new reasons to buy its biggest hits every year.

As my colleague Jon Porter points out, the iPhone 13 is actually the iPhone 12S, an iterative, incremental update to last year’s phones instead of something that looks brand new.

But oh, what an update. What company wouldn’t dream of being able to say they’ve improved processing power AND battery life AND cameras AND displays AND storage capacity AND connectivity AND design in just one year, all without change the price a bit?

In 2021, the same $ 829 you would have paid last year is buying you now twice storage, an additional 2.5 hours of battery life, more 5G bands and 175 nits of extra brightness compared to the iPhone 12, plus the 47% larger sensor and sensor-shift stabilization system which was previously exclusively available in the $ 1,099- and up iPhone 12 Pro Max. A new cinematic video mode isn’t exclusive to Pros either (although smooth 120Hz displays, a new macro photography mode, and ProRes video will be.) And although the company doesn’t offer actual numbers for the back up, Apple even claims the iPhone 13 Mini will give you the fastest processor available in any smartphone on the market.

Also, you can’t say that the design hasn’t changed at all. While the notch still exists, it’s smaller! (I also really like the blue of the iPhone 13 Pro.) The only compromise I can find this year – before our reviews, that is – is that the iPhone 13 lineup is oh-so-slightly. thicker and heavier. You can find our comparison tables here.

This year’s iteration is so convincing that I’m vaguely tempted to upgrade my perfectly good iPhone 12 Mini to get that better camera with sensor displacement and an extra hour of battery life. (I probably won’t, as the announcement means my existing phone’s resale value has probably already dropped, but I’m concerned Apple will cut the Mini again next year due to seemingly poor sales.) If I had an iPhone 11 or earlier, that would be a no-brainer – I would definitely pre-order on a Friday.

And while it may seem criminal that the new $ 329 10.2-inch iPad still uses a Lightning connector and a first-generation Apple Pencil, Apple still offers a decent upgrade on it without asking for more money – doubling it down. the base storage from 32GB to 64GB, moving from the A10 Fusion chip to the A13 Bionic, and hopefully finally putting a decent front camera (12MP, compared to just 1.2MP!) on its input tablet from range.

The story is a little different with the 6th gen iPad Mini, as it starts $ 100 more than before at $ 499. But the incentives to upgrade are still strong: this is a crystal-clear update over its predecessor with a larger and higher resolution 8.3-inch display despite its slightly smaller bezel and lighter, with a magnetic connector to anchor a 2nd generation Apple pencil. It has the A15 Bionic chip from the new iPhone 13, but with the additional graphics core you will otherwise only get a fine on the iPhone 13 Pro. The camera is larger and faster at 12MP and f / 1.8 (compared to 8MP and f / 2.4), with 4K video for the first time, and the 6 and 5G Wi-Fi support that the 2019 model lacked. Do not look for a headphone jack.

Apple is handling all of this during a pandemic and a global chip shortage, and so far there has been only one indication that Tim Cook’s giant manufacturing machine cannot keep up: the new Apple Watch Series. 7 was reportedly delayed due to production issues, and while it would have overcome them, we don’t have a release date for the new watch except “later this fall” and Apple is wary of the details.

A leaked spec sheet for the watch suggests it was supposed to ship in September with the new phones, but the fine print says even its specifications are “subject to change without notice,” and Apple has not responded to a request. comment on the document.

The watch is the reason I say this year’s event is a almost Perfect case study: It’s not as clear why someone would buy the Series 7 over a Series 6 at a lower price, despite the larger and seemingly more durable screen. With the same battery life and no reason to believe there’s more processing power or features, plus a late start, this could be the only insufficient iteration this year.