Introduction
This thread has been something I've been wanting to do for a while. In my original thread about which phone to choose, I changed my mind multiple times. I had made my final decision (or so I thought) and decided it would be the Samsung S20 FE. However, my mind still wasn’t so confident when I had made that choice. I didn’t buy the S20 FE. Instead, I bought the iPhone 13.
I would like to clarify that I don’t know much about phones, so if I get any facts wrong, please remember this. I'm also not great with large threads so I've kinda made a mini review.
Model Choice
I initially wanted to get the 128GB model, but this changed, and I went for the 256GB model instead. I’m a photographer with a DSLR and having those photos on a second device like my phone is useful but can be space-consuming.
I’ve chosen the blue model as it looked like one of the best colours. I’ve got a case on it and have had one on since the first day of using the phone.
Here's what it looks like:
Moving Data
As I already had an iPhone 6S, which had an iOS later than 11, I could easily move data from my 6S to my 13 over AirDrop. It just requires authentication on the devices via iCloud. I can’t remember the exact values, but around 64GB of data didn’t take long to transfer. The rest of the setup did take a bit of time, though.
Audio
One of the main pros about this phone is that it has an extra microphone, located underneath the higher camera. The benefit of this extra microphone is that it works well when one wants to do cinematography with the all-new cinematic mode on the 13 – more on that later. Also, on the iPhone 6S, my old phone, I had 2 speakers – one for calls coming through, and one underneath for other audio. This has changed on the 13, as both of the speakers output ‘other’ audio such as media. To me, this feature is brilliant as when I watch videos, the audio comes out like surround sound.
Accessibility
A feature that has been in the last few iPhones is the double-tap and triple-tap feature, for the back of the phone. This is a feature I don’t use, but I find it very useful. You can configure these ‘taps’ to be certain features like turning your flashlight on and opening your camera – but that’s not the limit. The accessibility also continues into Siri, with its ability to transcript exactly what you say. Words like ‘Ashaz’ are not something I’d expect it to understand, but it did. It even goes as far as pronouncing my contact’s names right too. I’ve also found that I’ve been using Siri on a daily basis now, which is something I never used to do.
Face ID
I like Face ID – it’s very quick and flexible for features like paying, but not as quick when unlocking. The phone ensures you’re looking at the camera before unlocking it, which boosts the security. I still am a firm believer though that Apple should have brought back Touch ID into this phone, whether in the form of the power button or some kind of onscreen technology. I don’t mind my phone not having it, but it would be a nice feature.
Cinematic Mode
A feature that is specific to the 13 series is Cinematic Mode. I’ve not used this mode much but I’ve tested it with a few people and it works pretty well. The phone can detect when subjects of a ‘scene’ change, such as person A looking towards person B. I hope that Apple continues this feature on into their future phones, as this feature enables my phone to take cinema-like videography.
One Month Later
I’ve had this phone for over a month now and I can safely say that this was probably the best choice of an upgrade. As a user who doesn’t expect much from a phone, I’m happy with the purchase and I think the phone exceeds my expectations, given my experience with the iPhone 6S. I hope with future IOS updates that this phone also continues to improve.
If you have any questions for me, post them below! Thanks for reading!
