We're inching closer to the time when Apple is going to announce new iPhones. Expectations, as usual, are set for early September. So it's no surprise to start seeing the hardware start cropping up ahead of time. Of course, nothing official. But, for now, it will certainly do.
The iPhone 13 camera bump size may increase substantially over the current iPhone 12 Pro Max to accommodate bigger lenses and stabilizers, as evidenced by newly-leaked photos.
The “iPhone 13” name will stay, apparently. Rather than skip straight to “iPhone 14,” Apple reportedly has the courage to use the number 13 for the upcoming 2021 iPhone launch.
The iPhone 12 lineup isn't necessarily a slouch when it comes to battery capacity, or life. Still, there's some room for improvement. The iPhone 13 series may do just that.
According to reliable leaker L0vetodream, who posted a photo with some information on Twitter recently, Apple is going to give a significant uptick in battery capacity to its next iPhone lineup. At its peak, the biggest increase will see up to 18% improvement to capacity for the larger iPhone. Meanwhile, even the smallest smartphone is reportedly getting bigger.
It's felt pretty quiet out of the rumor mill regarding the upcoming iPhone refresh, and today's latest news regarding the camera system in the upcoming lineup doesn't really change that.
That's because this latest rumor is just the same rumor we've heard in the past. It's regarding the standout sensor-shift camera stabilization feature that Apple introduced with the iPhone 12 Pro Max late last year. It's easily one of the best camera-focused features in the iPhone 12 lineup, but it's reserved for the largest --and most expensive-- model. But that may be changing this year.
Later this year, Apple's going to launch the iPhone 13 lineup. Unless something really crazy happens. But, as long as we stay on course and new iPhones do get unveiled, those new handsets might boast a slightly different design.
Before Apple gets around to unveiling the iPhone 13 lineup later this year, the rumor mill is not going to give up on some elements of potential new features. Until it might. Either way, right now, it certainly sounds like Apple's making a noteworthy improvement in the display department to at least two iPhone models this year.
Despite rocking 120HZ displays, the iPhone 13 Pro and Pro Max should consume 15-20 percent less power than the iPhone 12 Pro, according to a new report.
STORY HIGHLIGHTS:
The Pro models will use low-power LTPO technology. LTPO uses a power-efficient backplane. Samsung and LG to supply LTPO panels to Apple. 2021 is the year the iPhone goes ProMotionTaiwanese trade publication DigiTimes corroborates earlier reports calling for a 120Hz iPhone.
Samsung Display and LG Display, now offering LTPS OLED displays for iPhones, are proceeding with capacity conversion to LTPO ones at their Apple-dedicated 6G OLED lines, with the conversion likely to be completed in the first half of 2021, the sources said, adding that production capacity will drop due to the added oxide step when LTPS is converted to LTPO.
The report states that the Pro models will consume 15-20 percent less battery power even with their 120Hz displays in use. Although not strictly mentioned in the DigiTimes report, that's almost certainly a result of switching to LTPO display technology and Apple's upcoming A15 chip which should consume less power than the current A14 processor.
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All iPhone models to date refresh their screens sixty times per second. Doubling the refresh rate would bring smoother motion when navigating the iOS user interface, scrolling, playing games, watching high-frame-rate video and so forth.
Analysts and supply chain sources have been saying for months now that the next iPhone would adopt Apple's ProMotion display technology to double their screen refresh rate. The technology first debuted on Apple's 2018 iPad Pro tablet lineup.
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Drawing twice the images requires a faster GPU and memory, boosting power consumption. Apple is said to address that problem by switching to low-temperature polycrystalline oxide (LTPO) display technology that relies on a much more power-efficient backplane.
LTPO technology could also enable Apple to bring an always-on display to the next iPhone. Apple already uses LTPO technology in the Apple Watch Series 5 and Series 6.
We're a week into April, but with June looming on the horizon, and Apple already confirming this year's Worldwide Developers Conference, the rumor mill is going to start ramping up on what we can expect to see in a couple months.
Word on the street is that one of the design changes for the upcoming iPhone 13 is a smaller notch. It's one of the most oft-requested design changes since the launch of the iPhone X, and Apple may finally be getting around to it.
Now that the iPhone 12 lineup is out there in the wild, and none of them feature a 120Hz refresh rate, it's time to focus on what's coming next. And sure enough, the rumor mill is already at it for the iPhone 13.
Some iPhone 13 models to be released in 2021 may take advantage of LG-made OLED panels with low-power LPTO backplane technology, resulting in a more power-efficient device.
