While critics liken iPhone 13 to an iterative “12S” update, the branding shows Apple has adjusted to the current smartphone market, where big overhauls are rare
Smartphones have been so successful that it's possible … Casey Newton / Platformer : Apple's uncanny iPhone event Sami Fathi / MacRumors : iPhone 13 Still Doesn't Display Battery Percentage in the Status Bar, Despite Smaller Notch Sareena Dayaram / CNET : iPhone 13 proves Apple's not as superstitious as some people thought Mike Dano / Light Reading : 13 an unlucky number for 5G Tweets: Halide / @halidecamera : Evolution. #iPhone13 https://twitter.com/... Benjamin Mayo / @bzamayo : Why no always-on on iPhone 13 Pro ... this may be why: In the presentation, Joz says the iPhone screen can go as low as 10Hz. However, the Apple Watch screen refreshes at 1Hz in always-on mode. https://twitter.com/... Sebastiaan de With / @sdw : Seems odd that the new iPhone 13 / 13 Pro doesn't have an option to show battery percentage now that the notch is smaller. In my quick design explorations, it seems there's enough room for a variety of solutions. Would be a nice thing to add in an iOS 15 update! https://twitter.com/... Sascha Segan / @saschasegan : Good catch: @mikeddano points out the new iPhone 13 models do not have the frequency bands for Dish's putative upcoming 5G network. https://www.lightreading.com/ ... Deep Dhiman / @the_chobbar : Just iPhone things 😂 #AppleEvent https://twitter.com/... Ben Geskin / @bengeskin : iPhone 13 Pro Max is sooo wide and sooo heavy 😕 It's 78.1 mm in width and weighs 240 grams. OnePlus 9 Pro with the same 6.7" size display is 73.6 mm and 197 grams. @universeice : In addition, please tell Samsung's software development department that please replace a system animation matching 120Hz in One UI 4. It's too bad to compete with iOS 15 https://twitter.com/... Jon Prosser / @jon_prosser : Media / press will receive iPhone 13 and iPad mini on Friday. Embargo for both (next week): iPhone 13 - Tuesday, Sept 21 9:00am EST iPad mini - Wednesday, Sept 22 9:00am EST Be on the look out for videos on those days 👀 @letter_to_jack : Apple have been milking people since they released the iphone 11. $1,000 per year for three straight years for exactly the same phone. This is slavery. @universeice : Samsung used 120Hz earlier, but so far Samsung only has a 2K + 120Hz phone S21 ultra with high ppi, which is also very conservative. In this sense, there are two high 460 ppi 120Hz phones for iPhone 13 pro and Max, which are more than Samsung. https://twitter.com/... Mark Gurman / @markgurman : iPhone 13 cases from Apple have started arriving https://twitter.com/... @thebeeinghuman : #iPhone13 The only difference in iPhone 13 is the word “NEW”😂😂😂 PEOPLE WHO BUY IPHONEs ARE MORONS!!! https://twitter.com/... Sam Kohl / @iupdate : Wait I just realized the iPhone 13 doesn't have an always-on display WHY??? Ben Geskin / @bengeskin : @iupdate I guess it's because this new ProMotion OLED goes down to 10Hz and not to 1Hz like Apple Watch... But I still think that this is just lazy Apple Benjamin Mayo / @bzamayo : Regardless of whether the hardware can technically support it, I personally don't expect always-on to appear as part of iOS 16. It feels like a typical feature that Apple would reserve for a future hardware generation. Harsh Jain / @harshjain85 : The new iPhone 13 is AMAZING!!! The best feature they've launched is time travel because of Covid. As soon as you buy it you'll feel like you've gone back 2 years to pre-Covid when you were holding the iPhone 11 David Barnard / @drbarnard : Daaaaang! I wasn't paying close attention during the event yesterday. The iPhone 13 Pro camera assembly is massive. Looking forward to reading about how much better this performs in real world shooting. https://twitter.com/... Matt Mahvi / @mattmahvi : @Techmeme @JonPorty But isn't this WHY we love Apple? Because they're iterative, slow, and deliberate. Their tech ecosystem works amazing. @universeice : Don't ridicule iPhone 13, Samsung price of $ 1,000 Flip3 has the smallest camera main sensor (1 / 2.55) and the slowest charge (15W), even the iPhone 13 mini is stronger than it. → A person who likes to tell the truth. Pamilerin Adegoke / @unclepamilerin : Thinking about it, you can't tell the difference between the iPhone 12 and 13. So we continue using 12 till they change the design. May switch from series 6 to 7 Ahmed Mortada / @ahmedmortada : iPhone 13 = iPhone 12 😏 👎 Duraid Abdul / @duraidabdul : @sdw It looks like this in dark mode https://twitter.com/... Andreas Schilling / @aschilling : Can we please get this for the iPhone 12 too? Percentage inside the battery icon should be possible here. https://twitter.com/... Bo Chipev / @bochipev : @daveyheuser @sdw Hard no. Imagine telling a driver he doesn't need to see how much gas he has “because the car is good”. Arthur Seabra / @copprart : @sdw There's a reason why @apple doesn't show battery percentages on main anymore, and it's not design constrain, it's a psychological one. To a significant # of people, the more you see your battery drain, the less they use their phone. Which doesn't align with most company's goals. Davey Heuser / @daveyheuser : @sdw If the battery is good, you don't need the battery percentage to be visible at all times (imo) Jeff P. / @jeffwpa : @sdw The percentage just causes anxiety. Start a game at 86%, get off the game at 79%, anxiety kicks in stress stress stress. Best to embrace the uncertainty Duraid Abdul / @duraidabdul : @sdw Apple actually has an internal property on the status bar's battery view called showsPercentage, and toggling it true does this. They just choose to make it unavailable as a setting! https://twitter.com/... Stefan Constantine / @whatthebit : I feel like the internet would've been a lot kinder to these phones if they were called the 12S and not the 13. https://twitter.com/...
Context & Ripple Effects
Apple paired the iPhone 13 name with targeted Pro-model upgrades, including ProMotion, A15 and a revised camera system and macro photography and ProRes video. That makes the naming decision consequential: Apple is presenting a package of refinements as a full annual generation rather than reserving a new number for a wholesale redesign.
The subsequent iPhone line reinforces that arc. Apple later made a more visible front-of-phone change with the iPhone 14 Pro’s Dynamic Island, separating routine annual improvement from occasional design shifts.
First-order effects
- Apple can market iPhone 13 as the current flagship generation while directing upgrade-focused buyers toward Pro-specific display, camera and video features.
- iPhone 12 owners face an upgrade proposition built around accumulated component improvements rather than a radically different handset form.
Second-order effects
- Android handset makers competing for switchers must differentiate against Apple’s annual cadence through similarly concrete feature bundles, especially displays and camera capabilities.
- Apple’s Pro tier gains importance as the place where visible upgrades concentrate, increasing the distinction between standard iPhones and higher-end models.
Third-order effects
- If annual smartphone releases continue to be defined by selective component gains, flagship competition shifts from redesign cycles toward sustained segmentation of premium features across model tiers.
- Apple’s later Dynamic Island redesign suggests a two-track product strategy: yearly upgrades maintain the line while larger interface or industrial-design changes arrive less regularly.
The trend: Smartphone makers are normalizing annual flagship generations built on cumulative hardware advances, with major redesigns becoming periodic differentiation events.