iPhone 13 Buyer's Guide - DON'T Make these 13 Mistakes!

Just like last year, Apple has released 4 new iPhone models, except this time, they've completely changed their strategy for the feature set differences between them, which definitely makes it even more difficult than last year to choose the right iPhone model. So in this video, I'm gonna go through 13 purchasing mistakes that you need to avoid in order to make the right choice, and then I'm actually gonna give you some real practical advice on which one to buy depending on what you really care about. So without further ado, let's jump right into the first mistake you need to avoid, and that's the fact that for the first time ever, the higher-end 13 Pro models actually pack faster processors than the regular models. Yep, the Pros now get a 5-core GPU instead of 4 cores on the regular ones, and guess what, the performance benchmarks have already leaked, revealing the performance difference. Apparently, the Pro models scored around 14,000 points in Geekbench 5's Metal Graphics test, which is actually a huge improvement over the iPhone 12's A14 chip. But the regular iPhone 13 models only scored around 10,500 points with their 4-core version of the A15. So if you're into gaming or anything very graphics-intensive, don't make the mistake of buying the regular iPhone 13, thinking that you're getting the best performance. And that actually leads me into Mistake number 2. If you're a gamer or someone who really cares about the display, you should really consider the Pro models because they come with a 120hz ProMotion display, which is gonna be by far the most important thing for making your games feel smooth in the future, and it's actually gonna make your phone feel much more snappy compared to any iPhone you've ever used in the past. However, that could actually cause an issue for some of you that care about battery life above everything else, and that's where Mistake number 3 comes in. Don't think that you have to get the iPhone 13 Pro model to get the best battery life, because as it turns out, the regular iPhone 13 actually has a full hour more of real-world battery life compared to the 13 Pro, specifically because the 120hz display drains more battery. So if battery life is the most important thing for you, then the iPhone 13 might actually be the right choice, or of course, you can just go with the Pro Max model since it has the best battery life out of the lineup. Getting into Mistake number 4, this is something that absolutely shocked me during Apple's event. I previously thought that Apple would use the LiDAR scanner on the back of the iPhone 13 Pro models to enable some of their best new camera features like the cinematic video recording mode or the new photographic styles filters, but no. Apple was somehow able to make it work on the regular iPhone 13 models as well using excellent software, so don't make the mistake of thinking you need the Pro models with LiDAR to use those features. Now for those of you who are looking at the 13 Pro models specifically, there's another important mistake that you need to avoid if you care about the new ProRes video recording feature that's coming later this fall. Apparently, because of the larger file sizes, ProRes recording will downgrade from 4K to 1080P quality if you buy the base 128GB storage model of the iPhone 13 Pro, which could very easily ruin the entire feature for you, so don't make that mistake if you care about 4K recording. Now getting into Mistake number 6, if you absolutely hate when some of your apps like then don't make the mistake of buying the regular iPhone 13 models, because they actually only have 4GB of RAM instead of 6 on the Pro models. And that extra 50% of RAM makes a world of a difference when it comes to keeping your apps open, so keep that in mind. Mistake number 7 actually has to do with 5G cellular speeds, because some of you might be making the mistake of thinking the Pro models have faster 5G, but no, all of the iPhone 13 models this year come with the updated support for more 5G bands compared to last year's iPhone 12 models. And if the rumors are true about the iPhone 13 using the new Snapdragon X60 modem, then there's a very good chance that the regular LTE speeds and reliability will improve as well. Now for Mistake number 8, if you're someone who absolutely hates large camera bumps that stick out far from the phone, then you need to avoid buying the Pro models, because the camera bumps are absolutely massive, just look at this difference in the footprint of the square bump itself. And now look at the profile view, the camera bump on the 13 Pro and Pro Max sticks out more than ever before, and it'll most likely cause your iPhone to wobble on a flat desk, so avoid that mistake if you hate large camera bumps. Now of course, there's a very good reason for the larger bumps, bringing us into Mistake number 9, which is thinking that the camera quality differences aren't that large. First of all, the iPhone 13 Pro comes with an extra telephoto lens that now has 3x optical zoom compared to no telephoto lens at all on the regular 13 models, so zoom shots and videos on the 13 Pro are gonna be much better. On top of that, the Pro gets a totally different ultra-wide camera than the regular models, with a much faster F1.8 lens with autofocus that takes in much more light compared to the F2.4 version without autofocus on the regular 13. So the quality differences will be pretty large, especially since only the Pro models will support macro photography, photos and videos with that ultra-wide lens. And finally, the regular wide camera on the Pro has a larger sensor than the regular 13, with pixels that are 1.9 microns in size compared to 1.7, and the lens is also faster with a F1.5 aperture instead of F1.6. So if camera quality is the most important thing for you, then don't make the mistake of buying the regular iPhone 13 models. Moving on to mistake number 10, don't think that you have to buy the 13 Pro Max model specifically to get much better camera quality or other unique features like we had on last year's 12 Pro Max and previous models. This year, both phones are literally identical, except for the size and battery life differences, that's it! Now for mistake number 11, if you need to buy a new charging brick due to Apple not including it in the box for the second year in a row, do not buy Apple's 20W power brick for $19. Instead, you should be buying Anker's 20W fast charger on Amazon because it's currently only $11 and it's actually smaller than Apple's version and more compact because the prongs fold down for portability. So I'll leave a link to that much better charger down below. Moving on to mistake number 12, you need to realize that Apple has made the iPhone 13 a much better value compared to last year. For the same price as before, you now get double the storage, 128GB which matches the Pro models. The 13 now also gets the same upgraded display with 800 nits of brightness as the 12 Pro models did last year. The 13 now also supports Dolby Vision HDR recording at up to 4K at 60FPS instead of only 30, and the 13 now also gets the incredibly good sensor shift optical image stabilization on the wide lens, as well as the new smaller notch that looks much better than before. It now also supports dual eSIM, and of course, it gets a massive 2.5 hours more battery life than the 12, so don't think that you gotta go with the Pro models to get a nice upgrade. And finally, for mistake number 13, if you're upgrading from an older iPhone that doesn't support MagSafe, you need to keep a couple of things in mind. If you're gonna be buying a thick case, make sure that it has the MagSafe magnets built in, or else the magnetic connection won't be strong enough to work through that case. On top of that, you need to realize that only Apple's 15W MagSafe charger supports the fastest wireless charging speeds. All of the other third-party models are limited to 7.5W, so I'm gonna leave some links to the cases that we recommend, as well as Apple's MagSafe charger down in the video description below. So now, with all of those purchasing mistakes out of the way, we can move onto the buyer's guide portion of this video, starting with the iPhone 13 Mini for $699. This phone is basically meant for two different types of people. The first type is someone who loves the size and feel of smaller iPhones like the old iPhone 4, 5 or iPhone SE. The second type is someone who literally just wants the latest iPhone for the cheapest price possible, which is obviously the Mini since it's $100 less expensive than the regular 13. Now the great thing about the Mini is that you're not compromising on any other features that the larger model gets, including the same A15 chip and 5G cellular speeds. However, I do want to warn you about the battery life because a lot of people complained about it on last year's 12 Mini, and even though the 13 Mini is improved, it's still not that great, so keep that in mind. Now moving onto the regular iPhone 13 for $799, this model is for those who want the larger display and obviously, the much better battery life. And to be completely honest, the regular 13 gives you the best bang or battery life for the buck out of the entire lineup since it actually gets better battery life than the 13 Pro, and it still packs a lot of the nice new camera features like sensor shift stabilization and cinematic video mode. So this model is the one for the regular average consumer that wants the latest iPhone and is okay with paying the extra $100 for a better phone. Now getting into the iPhone 13 Pro, this one is for the kind of person who holds their smartphone as one of the top priorities in terms of where they spend their cash. It's $200 more expensive than the 13, but it comes with a huge number of improvements like the stainless steel chassis, the much better camera hardware, the brighter display and more. And since there are literally no differences between the Pro and the Pro Max, you don't have to feel pressured into getting the Max like what happened last year, which sucked for people who have relatively small hands. And if you're someone who cares about performance at all, whether you like to game or not, I definitely think that you should pay the extra $200 because it comes with a much faster 5-core GPU, the extra 2GB of RAM, and above all, it gets the 120hz ProMotion display, which I've personally been waiting for for years! This is gonna make the entire phone feel much more snappy and smooth no matter what you're doing, and it's gonna take your gaming performance to the next level for games that support 90 or 120FPS. So if you've got the extra cash to spare, I honestly recommend going for the Pro, and with that said, let's finish off with the Pro Max for just $100 more. This model is basically just for those who want the larger and more immersive display size for watching videos, playing games or anything else. But on top of that, it has by far the best battery life out of any iPhone ever, by a pretty huge margin, 2 and a half hours on top of the old 12 Pro Max, which was already the best in terms of battery life. So there you guys go, that was the complete iPhone 13 Buyer's Guide, which hopefully helped you make a decision, and if it did, go ahead and click the circle above to subscribe for when we actually get these phones in our hands. And if you're still a bit confused on which one to buy, comment down below and we'll help you out! Thanks for watching, and we'll see you in the next video!