Apple readies iPhone 13
Apple’s iPhone 13 is coming and it could be more expensive. Given the iPhone is feature rich already, is there much to lure users to upgrade to a new model?
Apple’s coming iPhone 13 could be more expensive and may face component and production delays. There again it could roll out the door quickly, such is the unpredictability of life with Covid and manufacturing schedules.
With iPhone 13, there’s another question. Given the iPhone is feature rich already, is there much to lure users to upgrade to a new model, apart from those who need a new phone?
This year Apple is having to navigate around the global chip shortage to get its iPhones to market on time. Supply problems may arise from unexpected sources.
Last week The Wall Street Journal reported that iPhones contain more than a thousand tiny pieces of ceramic that offer storage capacity for electrical charge. The problem is that the two suppliers of these pieces known as MLCC’s – Murata Manufacturing and Taiyo Yuden in Japan, have respectively closed down and suspended operations due to virus outbreaks. These kinds of issues can undermine the manufacturing timetable.
The speculation that the iPhone 13 price will head north comes partly from reports that chip maker TSMC in Taiwan plans to raise chip prices by 10 to 20 per cent. This of course shouldn’t impact the cost of all components in the phone but is indicative of steeper prices as semiconductor foundries and component makers recoup money after months of lower production, and try to heavily ramp up production. TSMC is Apple’s sole chip maker.
Further, Nikkei Asia a month ago reported that the most important factory that makes Apple’s chips has been hit by gas contamination. The gas was replaced but it’s yet another issue Apple has to deal with. It will be to Apple’s credit if the iPhone still launches in September, but an imminent launch doesn’t mean there won’t be delays before its release to the public.
In Australia there’s also been a hike in delivery charges and disrupted delivery schedules, as experienced by Australian retailers already. That’s another wildcard factor.
iPhone 13 is again expected to be rolled out as four models: iPhone 13 mini, iPhone 13, iPhone 13 Pro and Pro Max. There’s a belief that Apple will persist with the mini handset despite the iPhone 12 mini being a flop marketwise.
The rumour mongers have relied on factors such as leaked iPhone cases to speculate on handset sizes. Handsets are believed to be similar in size to last year and there are predictable predictions such as faster processors (the A15 chip?), larger batteries and more storage.
The big ticket items are around 5G and cameras. Last year Apple offered regular 5G but shunned away from providing faster, shorter range 5G known as mmWave or millimetre wave. It offers fast communications in densely packed scenarios such as stadiums and train stations. Last year, Mmwave was available only in the US.
As it turned out, the move wasn’t a bad call with much of the world in lockdown.
In 2021, there may be mmWave support for more countries.
There is chatter about iPhone 13 supporting satellite text messaging. According to Bloomberg, users will be able to send satellite text messages to emergency services and to designated emergency contacts when they are off their domestic grid. The messages will be coloured grey to distinguish them from blue iMessages and green SMS messages.
However, that is the only satellite communications that the iPhone would offer. Telcos would be heading to Apple’s campus in Silicon Valley with baseball bats if the company allowed iPhone users to bypass domestic phone services and make satellite calls.
Finally there is the iPhone 13 cameras, and a major upgrade is expected.
Possibly the biggest deal is the expansion of the LiDAR depth sensor on the iPhone 13. The LiDAR sensor uses laser to measure the size, orientation and depth of nearby objects. It offers more accuracy when shooting images.
LiDAR so far has been rolled out to Pro and Pro Max models and with photography, it‘s use has been limited to improving the Bokeh portrait shots where you blur the background around a portrait subject.
There’s some expectation that the LiDAR sensor will be included with all four models and expanded to video. You will be able to apply blurred backgrounds when you shoot portrait mode video.
Some claim the iPhone 13 will have an “astrophotography mode” which will let you to point the camera at a celestial object such as the moon and planets and get a decent shot. Apps such as NightCap have tried to offer this in the past.
Other mooted improvements include a faster 120 Hertz refresh rate on the display – this will suit the needs of fast gaming – and a less noticeable notch (black area) on the top front of the phone housing the cameras.
Technology research firm Telsyte managing director Foad Fadaghi agrees camera improvements are at the top of the list. “You don‘t have to be a brain surgeon to assume the cameras are going to be better.”
He says better video functionality, better video quality and video recording will attract customers.
There are also claims about what iPhone 13 won’t bring. 9to5Mac says don’t expect a major redesign, in-screen touch ID, an iPhone without ports, and Apple transitioning from a Lightning port for connecting cables to the industry standard of USB-C, at least not yet.
It’s a pity if Apple doesn’t give users a way to log in with their fingerprints by pressing the screen. Users depending on Face ID have been using PINs to unlock their phones because they wear face masks. They are at a disadvantaged compared to their Android cousins.
Mr Fadaghi says Apple keeps encouraging speculation as a free form of advertising.
“Apple encourages this kind of behaviour by not releasing any information and by keeping quiet secret about it,” he says. “It‘s eliciting these kinds of speculations and what we can expect, and that in itself is creating awareness and free advertising for the company.
“It’s the usual playbook of what you expect before an iPhone launch.”
More to come
The iPhone launch is only the beginning of what is tipped to be a brisk four months of new device releases by Apple. It’s on a mission to replace Intel-based devices with new ones sporting Apple Silicon.
New 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pros are expected to be released this year with an updated M1X chip - a more powerful version of Apple’s M1 chip that debuted very successfully last year.
Apple is also believed to be readying a Mac mini with the M1X chip. This small desktop machine without monitor could be a big success for Apple, but expect it to cost much more than the 2020 Mac mini with the M1 processor.
Then there’s Apple Watch Series 7, AirPods 3, and maybe another iPad.