iPhone 13: From realistic expectations to the outlandish, here’s what we want to see in the next iPhone series
The iPhone 12 series is almost five months old, which means, of course, that the iPhone 13 series is just a little more than half a year away. Some information regarding the 2021 iPhone has already begun to trickle out from the usual group of leakers, but major details about the devices remain unknown.
Several of us here at XDA have used the iPhone 12 extensively, and we have a lot of opinions on how the iPhone 13 series should improve on the current generation. We’re going to split our wishlist into three categories: things that are likely going to happen because they’ve been leaked by reliable insiders; things that could realistically happen, but are pure guesswork at this stage; and finally, requests that will almost certainly never happen, but it’s worth fantasizing about anyway if we are to construct the “dream iPhone.”
What we want for the iPhone 13: Realistic and likely requests
120Hz display
Many people, including myself, were disappointed when the iPhone 12 phones were confirmed to be using just a 60Hz display. That will almost certainly change with the iPhone 13 later this year, as several reliable sources, including Taiwanese analyst Kuo Ming-chi and South Korean news outlet The Elec have reported that the 2021 iPhone models will sport 120Hz panels, which Apple dubs as “ProMotion Display.”
According to the South Korean report, the iPhone 13, at least the top-tier Pro or Pro Max models, will use low-powered “LTPO” display technology sourced from Samsung and LG. These panels are notable for their more power-efficient backplane, which should ease the battery concerns that apparently prevented Apple from using a high-refresh panel on the iPhone 12 phones.
Smaller notch
The iPhone notch has remained mostly the same for four generations of iPhones, and it’s time for a change in 2021. I don’t care if it’s purely cosmetic, but Apple needs to find a way to shrink the notch because recent Android flagships make the iPhone 12 look really bad when it comes to screen-to-body ratio. And I’m not just talking about Android phones without a proper facial scanning system — the Huawei P40 Pro and Mate 40 Pro offer a Face ID-like system in a much smaller pill-shaped cutout form factor.
The good news is, this is also likely happening, as multiple sources, including Taiwanese industry publication DigiTimes, Japanese Mac site Mac Otakara, and leaker “Ice Universe” all claim that Apple will shrink the notch in 2021.
Of course, in a perfect fantasy world, there wouldn’t be a notch at all … but I’ll save that for a later section.
Always On Display
A lot of Android flagships come with some implementation of an Always On Display, especially if they have an AMOLED display (which most do on the high end). This feature allows the phone to display certain key information even when the phone display is off, making excellent use of the nature of AMOLED displays and giving users an up-to-date view of their phone notifications to let them decide whether they should be picking up their phone or not.
With Apple having made the transition to AMOLED displays, it’s about time the company explored an Always On Display solution on the iPhone. It won’t even be a first for Apple — the Apple Watch Series 5 and Series 6 already come with an Always On Display implementation. Battery life does remain a concern, but that should not be as much of a concern of a bigger smartphone with a bigger battery as opposed to a smartwatch.
Always On Display functionality has been leaked for the iPhone 13 series, with leakers like Max Weinbach commenting that the implementation will come with minimal customizations, looking like a toned-down lockscreen. Leaks also mention that the incoming notification behavior might be different from what we see on Android — the notification will pop up normally as if the phone display was visible normally (albeit dimmed down and only momentarily), but only for the area of the notification pop up — the rest of the display will stay switched off.
What we want for the iPhone 13: Not yet confirmed, but could (and should) happen
Bring iPadOS’ multi-tasking to the Pro Max model iPhone
When you upgrade to a larger screen Android phone, you reap the benefit of that extra screen space — you can see more on the screen and do more as well. This is not the case with the iPhone 12 Pro Max — this phone is just a blown-up version of the other three iPhones. This means it doesn’t matter if you’re using the 5.4-inch iPhone 12 Mini or 6.7-inch iPhone 12 Pro Max, you still have the exact same homescreen grid, and the UI looks exactly the same. It’s like simply magnifying the contents visible, instead of packing in more content.
iPhone 12 Pro Max and iPhone 12 Mini
That Apple didn’t see the need to tweak its UI at all for screen sizes ranging from 5.4-inch to 6.7-inch is absurd. Considering the iPhone 13 Pro Max is almost the size of a mini-tablet, Apple should at least give users the option to run two apps at the same time. The software is already there — iPadOS is basically a forked version of iOS with split-screen functionality built-in. It shouldn’t take a lot of optimization for Apple to bring that over to the Pro Max models.
In fact, Apple should optimize its homescreen grid for different screen sizes. Four apps maximum in the horizontal grid is fine for the standard iPhone 12 or 12 Mini, but on the 12 Pro Max, it looks ridiculous.
Periscope zoom lens
When Apple announced the iPhone 12 series, I was particularly excited about the iPhone 12 Pro Max because Apple promised a superior zooming system. That turned out to be mostly hype, as the iPhone 12 Pro Max’s zoom shots are just marginally better than the iPhone 12 Pro, and get slaughtered in any side-by-side comparisons against top Android zoom lenses. For example, see the 12x zoom samples by the iPhone 12 Pro Max against the Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra.
The standard telephoto lens technology no longer cuts it in 2021: Apple should make the switch to a Periscope zoom lens with the iPhone 13, so it can at least keep up against what Samsung, Xiaomi, and Huawei are offering.
While Kuo reports Apple is indeed working on a Periscope zoom lens for the iPhone, sadly, the analyst believes it won’t arrive until the 2022 models.
Apple Pencil support
The Apple Pencil is one of the best commercial level stylus on the market, and it’s made the iPad Pro (and Air) highly desirable for artists. We’d like to see Apple bring support for the Apple Pencil to the iPhone 13 series too, even if it’s just for the Pro Max model again. After all, what’s the point of having such a large screen if you don’t let users do more with it? It’s worth noting Samsung gave its largest flagship stylus support this year, so Apple should follow suit.
What we want for the iPhone 13: Probably never going to happen
Get rid of Face ID entirely in favor of an in-display scanner
I understand Apple invested a ton of resources into developing Face ID, and being able to unlock an iPhone by just looking at it was genuinely an awe-inspiring experience back in the pre-pandemic, pre-mask wearing days. But with most responsible people wearing masks daily, Face ID has become a nuisance. No, Apple’s recent software fixes, which made the passcode screen show up faster and allow Apple Watch wearers to bypass authentication entirely, aren’t enough for me.
I want Face ID gone, because a superior solution is already here: in-display fingerprint scanners. Whether it’s optical scanners used in most Chinese phones or the ultrasonic solution used by Samsung’s flagships, in-display scanners are fast and reliable enough.
Of course, the added benefit of getting rid of Face ID is that Apple can also get rid of the notch entirely in favor of a hole-punch design, which in my opinion would make the iPhone screen look more modern.
Curved screen for better ergonomics
I can already sense some XDA readers ready to jump into the comments about my suggestion for a curved iPhone screen. I am aware there is a very vocal anti-curved screen crowd on the internet, but hear me out. I’m not asking for the iPhone 13 to have a waterfall display like the Huawei Mate 40 Pro. I’m not even asking for a conventional curved panel like that on the OnePlus 8 Pro.
I’m talking about a more subtle curvature, maybe like the LG G8‘s (a very underrated phone), or even this year’s Galaxy S21 Ultra. A curved screen makes a phone more comfortable to hold. This is particularly an issue with the iPhone 12 series, whose flat sides result in sharp, abrupt corners. Apple can keep the boxy look, but a subtle curvature wouldn’t hurt.
Super Fast Charging
The iPhone 12 series charges at a mind-boggling speed of…..20W. Fast charging technology has moved far, far beyond this speed, especially on top-tier flagships. Android smartphones can touch even 120W in charging speeds, while technologies have been demoed for 125W as well. With 120W fast charging, a 4000 mAh battery can be charged 0-50% in just 5 minutes, and a full charge will take 15 minutes or so. Just imagine the convenience crazy charging speeds like these will bring about to the iPhone ecosystem.
But alas, this will be a pipe dream. The writing is on the wall that Apple will increasingly move towards wireless charging in anticipation of a port-less iPhone future. Wireless charging can be fast, but wired charging will always have an edge simply because of the laws of physics. Apple, however, is unlikely to opt for faster wireless charging either, and we can just about cross our fingers for their wireless charging speed to match their current wired charging speed. It’s unlikely that Apple focuses on faster charging in any way, and Android will likely remain unchallenged on this end.
USB-C
Speaking of charging, it would be wonderful if Apple make the switch to USB-C instead of its proprietary Lightning port, since, you know, even Apple’s laptops and tablets mostly use USB-C. But alas, the introduction of MagSafe charging for the iPhone 12 series is yet another sign that Apple doesn’t appear willing to give up the Lightning port. Apple will likely stick with Lightning until the iPhone can go entirely port-less in another year or two.
In the meantime, I remain frustrated that I need two different cables to charge my iPad and iPhones when they run essentially the same software and have similar hardware too.
The iPhone 13 will be important, no matter what
That about wraps it up for our wish list for the iPhone 13. Truth be told, as much as I complain about the iPhone, the iPhone 12 series is still a very, very good phone series, and Apple has invented a lot of features (both software and hardware) that nobody thought they needed until they tried it (gesture swipe navigation, live photos, AirDrop, to name a few). There’s a high chance the iPhone 13 will also introduce features that none of us thought to ask for, but in a year we will wish Android phones have them too.
What are your expectations out of the iPhone 13 series? Let us know in the comments below!
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