iPhone 13 Pro — 5 upgrades we want but probably won’t get

If the rumors are to be believed then we’re getting ever closer to the reveal of Apple’s iPhone 13 range, which is looking likely to comprise four phones: the standard iPhone 13, iPhone 13 mini, iPhone 13 Pro and iPhone 13 Pro Max. 

We’ve already discussed what we want to see from the range in general, but now it’s time to shine the spotlight on the iPhone 13 Pro models. Both the iPhone 12 Pro and iPhone 12 Pro Max impressed up last year, with the latter on the top of our best phones list. So the 2021 Pro phone from Cupertino needs to be rather impressive too.  

From the rumors so far, we’re expecting a boost in camera hardware and capabilities, a 120Hz LTPO display, a better chip and improved battery. All good stuff, but we feel that the iPhone 13 Pro might not move the needle as much as we’d like. With that in mind, here are five upgrades we want to see from the iPhone 13 Pro but probably won’t; instead, we’ll likely have to wait for the iPhone 14.  

No display notch  

From the rumors so far, it looks like the iPhone 13 range will get a smaller notch. But we’d like Apple to go one step further with the iPhone 13 Pro and get rid of the notch altogether, especially with the Max handset, allowing us to enjoy an expansive and uninterrupted Retina display with a 120Hz refresh rate.

Apple could achieve this by using an under-display camera and sensor suite, a bit like Samsung has done with the Galaxy Z Fold 3. But it’s not looking likely to happen. We suspect that could be down to under-display camera tech not being at the stage where Apple feels it can deliver acceptable selfie snaps or videos. 

Plus Apple would need to find a way to put Face ID sensors below a display, yet still ensure the tech delivers the scanning fidelity needed for Face ID’s robust security. As such, this is one upgrade we won’t expect to see until 2022 at the earliest.  

Return of Touch ID 

Speaking of under-display tech, we’d love Apple to do something Android phones have done for a while and embed a fingerprint scanner beneath the iPhone 13 Pro’s display. In a world where mask wearing is prevalent to avoid a deadly virus, Face ID can fall apart, meaning a secondary biometric security system would be ideal. 

There have been rumors that Apple will bring back Touch ID to its flagship iPhones in the form of an under-display scanner. But then other claims have poured water over that smouldering rumor. Currently, the Tom’s Guide team is split; Mark Spoonauer doesn’t think under-display Touch ID will arrive until the iPhone 14, but I think it might be a surprise announcement for the iPhone 13 Pro; time will tell, but let us know your predictions. 

Quad cameras 

The camera system has been the most ‘pro’ part of the Pro iPhones for its past two generations. Both the iPhone 11 Pro and 12 Pro sported a trio of real cameras. But while these are worthy of our best phone cameras list, we can’t help but feel Apple could now do a little more with the iPhone 13 Pro. 

The current trio of main, ultra-wide angle and telephoto cameras are top notch (pun intended), especially with Apple’s semantic rendering computational photography. But we’ve now got Android phones with a quartet of cameras, notably the Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra with its extra telephoto camera and the Oppo Find X3 Pro with its impressive — if niche — microscope cam. So we feel a fourth camera in the iPhone 13 Pro would give it an extra dose of photography capabilities. 

Ideally, we’d like to see Apple take the Samsung route and opt for a secondary telephoto camera with something like a 10x optical zoom. Combine that with Apple’s computational photography and we could see such a future iPhone take the zooming crown from Samsung. 

However, the rumors thus far have instead touted upgraded camera hardware, such as a 6-element ultra-wide angle lens for better image quality, sensor-shift stabilization for both Pro handsets, and new portrait mode video and astrophotography modes; there’s no hint of a fourth camera, so that’s likely wishful thinking on our part.

USB-C connectivity or portless design 

According to a Reuters source, the European Commission wants to introduce a universal charging standard for all smartphones to cut down on e-waste, which would likely mean USB-C charging for future phones that’ll be sold in Europe. Android phones are already there, but Apple has doggedly stuck with its proprietary Lighting port. It’s very unlikely to happen, but ideally we’d like to see Apple move over to USB-C connectivity with the iPhone 13 and 13 Pro, much like it has with the iPad Pro. 

But aside from convenience, moving to USB-C could open future iPhones up to more peripherals. And for the iPhone 13 Pro that could be a boon. For example, you could use such connectivity to connect an iPhone 13 Pro to an external 4K display for better photo viewing or to transfer photos from a DLSR to the iPhone 13 Pro when out and about for easier editing on capable iOS apps. 

And while it’s wishful thinking again, such connectivity could even allow an iPhone 13 Pro to be put in a dock and connected to an external display, keyboard and mouse and used as a form of pseudo desktop experience — think iPadOS when used with the Magic Keyboard, not macOS — a bit like Samsung does with DeX on its flagship phones. That would really help make the iPhone 13 Pro a proper ‘pro’ phone.

But again, there’s no hint of that happening in the rumors for the iPhone 13. And it doesn’t look like the port-less design that was previously hinted at, with Apple moving fully to MagSafe wireless charging and connectivity, is going to happen this year. Such upgrades are more likely to come with the iPhone 14, though we’d still be surprised if Apple does indeed kill ports with its expected 2022 iPhone. 

Fast charging  

We hope we’re wrong about this, but while the iPhone 13 range is looking set to get larger batteries, upgraded fast charging looks to be off the table. 

You can currently get up to 20W charging with the iPhone 12 range, though it’s an optional extra, given Apple doesn’t ship a charger in the box. And that’s not set to change with the iPhone 13, Pro or otherwise. Given Android phones like the OnePlus 9 Pro have 65W wireless charging, and the Samsung Galaxy S21 has 25W fast charging, a lack of boosted wattage for the iPhone 13 Pro’s charger could be a bit disappointing. 

And without faster charging, bigger battery packs are likely to take longer to charge — which could be frustrating for people who want to juice up their phones in a hurry. If nothing else, we’d expect fast charging to be a pro feature for Apple to consider, but that’s not looking likely this close to the alleged iPhone 13 launch. 

And that’s the kicker: while the above upgrades are things we’d like to see, they don’t look like they’re coming to this year’s iPhone Pros or the rest of the iPhone 13 range. With September fast approaching, we’d be fairly confident that from the leaks and rumors so far, we have a solid idea of what to expect from the iPhone 13 range. It’s set to be more an evolution of its predecessor than a major redesign; that’ll probably need to wait for the iPhone 14.