iPhone 13 Pro: conclusion
I have only been using the iPhone 13 Pro for a matter of days and I feel like I have a device that is marginally better than my iPhone 11 Pro.
That may sound odd because this is a phone that costs more than £1000, but these marginal improvements come together to create a better version of a product that I use all day, every day.
I have better battery life, a better screen, a better camera, a faster processor and overall a slightly more pleasing experience. Again, that may not sound like much, but it actually is for a product I use so much. You could look at this upgrade from the outside and believe it to be a waste of money and I do understand that. I felt the same myself when I first saw it, but there is more to owning an iPhone than just having fancy new features to show off or a radical new design.
The fact is, and this is often talked about by Apple, when you use a product that allows you to do things all you really need is for that product to allow you to do them in the most efficient and invisible way possible. You shouldn’t need themes, customisable icons or silly features that actually add nothing of tangible use to your phone.
The iPhone is a tool that you use for a variety of tasks every day. Personally, I like the fact that Apple concentrates on usability above gimmicks and I always have. I am 51 years old, I don’t need geeky inspiration or tricks to make it feel more valuable. I just need a phone to do what I need it to do and this is why I have owned almost every version of the iPhone.
The fact I have little to write about is not surprising and in some ways it should not be disappointing. I have upgraded from an iPhone 11 Pro so there is a generation missing here and still I am struggling to see any obvious improvements. They are there, however, and there is a sense that this is, in the most crucial areas, a much better phone than the 11 Pro.
I am somewhat insulated from the financial impact of this purchase due to my freelance work and the fact that it can mean the whole family ends up with better phones as we swap them around. And perhaps this is the real bonus of iPhone ownership. You get to use your iPhone for 4 years or more with no issues at all, you get to hand them down to another person in the family so that they can use them, but most importantly you get an experience that is for 99% of the time close to flawless.