My Experience Switching From an XS to a 13 Pro
I have been living with my iPhone XS since it came out in 2018. At the time it was the top of the line and the first time I had a phone that was all screen. It was amazing and took the best photos I had ever seen from a phone. It made everything I had prior feel like it was from the stone age.
I held on to this phone up until last week. My plan was always to upgrade when the 14 came out this fall. There are multiple reasons I decided to do this now.
- My battery would be drained by 6 pm every day.
- Certain apps started crashing on the regular even after updating.
- Most Importantly — I was going on a once in a lifetime vacation soon and wanted the best possible pictures (from a phone)
I want to recap my experiences so far 1 week into having the 13 Pro and compare it to my old device the XS.
Battery
I have been using this new phone more than I ever used the XS and as I sit here today at 8 pm I have 43% battery remaining. I have had my phone on most of the day listening to Spotify and watching YouTube videos ( 1 hr of YouTube today 🤦♂) I know with normal usage on my XS I would have been sitting next to the charger at this point.
App Performance
Turns out the apps that had been crashing on the XS still crash on the 13 Pro. So here is looking at you Spotify. When I have Spotify open and then close the phone with the power button and then turn it back on with the power button and try to take any action in Spotify right away it crashes. Please fix this Spotify.
Pictures
Here is where I was a bit skeptical. I knew the 13 Pro would take better pictures but I thought it would be hard to tell all the differences.
I was very wrong.
Here are some examples of the same image from my XS and from the 13 Pro
In the dog picture, I could see the textures much clearer, each hair below the ear, just as it is in real life.
In the couch picture, the brightness from the sun and the colors of the couch are again more realistic. Even zoom in on the dog toy to see more details.
My expectation is that when I am on this vacation I can capture what I am seeing and be able to more accurately reflect on those memories through the photos.
Now am I overplaying this image quality? Probably. Was the image I took before bad? No. Am I going to find a way to to the iPhone 14 this fall? You bet.
I think if you have a phone older than an 11 that still works fine you have no reason to upgrade. You can wait a few more months and see what the 14 offers before updating. I think the wait for the 14 will be worth it but if the hole punch and megapixel upgrades don't suit your fancy the 13 is a worthy phone that will be on sale once the 14 launches.
