The new iPhone 13 or iPhone 12S is coming in 2021, and here’s what we expect the iPhone 13 to bring to Apple’s line of smartphones.
The iPhone 13 – or maybe the iPhone 12S – is likely the new iPhone you’ll be considering buying later in 2021, and thanks to a variety of leaks and rumors we’re gaining an idea of what to expect. It may feel like the iPhone 12 family has just landed, but we’ve heard a variety of leaks of what to expect from the next flagship phone that we expect to be flanked by the iPhone 13 Pro, iPhone 13 Pro Max and iPhone 13 mini. What’s the overall word right now? We’ve heard from all different types of sources not to expect any humongous upgrades, as rumors point to the company focusing on refining the design, improving the internals, and perhaps even bringing in more powerful cameras that take sharper photos and better night shots. Below you’ll find everything we know so far about the next iPhone, including our best guess at an iPhone 13 release date, and a selection of things we want to see Apple introduce in its 2021 handset. When can you expect to be able to buy a next-gen iPhone? We expect the iPhone 13 release date to be set for September 2021, but that may be subject to change given the Covid-19 pandemic. For the last 10 years, Apple has consistently introduced its flagship phones at an event near the start of September and released the phones 10 days later. All that changed in 2020, due to the pandemic, and the phones were delayed beyond their usual window. The iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 Pro were pushed back to October, and the other two devices – the iPhone 12 mini and iPhone 12 Pro Max – were released in November, reportedly due to a lack of parts for the manufacturing process. Apparently this delay resulted in increased sales for the phones. If we were betting on a date, we’d expect Apple to move its iPhone 13 release date back to September 2021, and indeed at least one well-respected Apple analyst agrees with us. Little is known about the price of the iPhone 13, but we’d expect it to be a similar level to the iPhone 12 family. Those handsets cost more than the 2019 phones – the iPhone 11 series – but that’s because of the addition of 5G and a few other technical elements. We’ll be sure to include more 2021 iPhone price leaks and rumors as we hear them, but below you can see the prices for the iPhone 12 series that we’re relatively confident will be similar next year. There’s every chance the next iPhone won’t be called the iPhone 13. That’s especially true as the number 13 is seen as an unlucky number in parts of the world, including the US, so it may be Apple wants to skip this numeral when it comes time for a new iPhone. With rumors suggesting we’ll see a relatively similar design to the iPhone 12, it may be that the company is readying an iPhone 12s family for 2021. This is common practice for Apple where it introduces an ‘S’ series the year after a big upgrade, and it may be we see that next year. That may mean everything we talk about here is actually called the iPhone 12s and iPhone 12s Pro when these handsets hit shop shelves later in 2021. You may think with the iPhone 13 release date so far in the distance that we wouldn’t know much about the next-gen phone, but a variety of sources have shown us some things to expect on the next iPhone. First off, we’re expecting four members of the iPhone 13 family. Those are likely to be – but this isn’t guaranteed – the iPhone 13 mini, iPhone 13, iPhone 13 Pro and iPhone 13 Pro Max. The company focused on three models until 2020, when it introduced the mini model as the fourth handset in the iPhone 12 family. Most rumors suggest that’ll continue in 2021. If any model gets dropped it would probably be the mini, as the iPhone 12 mini reportedly hasn’t sold well, but rumors suggest Apple will still make an iPhone 13 mini (though perhaps in place of an iPhone SE 3). We’re expecting similar designs to the iPhone 12 family, and the screen technology is likely to be similar as well because the company made big upgrades to that element of the iPhone 12. One thing rumored for the iPhone 12 that didn’t come to fruition was the addition of a high refresh rate display. Rumors suggest that may be introduced on the iPhone 13, and that’ll make the display look smoother when playing games or scrolling through your social media feed. That technology may also work in a similar way to what we’ve seen on the company’s iPad Pro lineup where it is able to vary the refresh rate depending on what activity you’re doing on your phone. Another rumor backed up 120Hz refresh rate rumors but suggested such a display might only be on two of the four anticipated iPhone 13 models. Maybe this means the iPhone 13 Pro and iPhone 13 Pro Max will have 120Hz screens while the iPhone 13 and iPhone 13 mini, or whatever they end up getting called, won’t. The source of that claim (Korean site The Elec) has since reiterated it, adding that industry sources say the top two models will get a 120Hz screen. That site has also now added more details, claiming that Samsung will be the sole supplier of these 120Hz panels. Ming-Chi Kuo (an analyst with a great track record) has also said to expect a 120Hz screen on the Pro models.
