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Apple reveals the new iPhone 13 Pro and 13 Pro Max

A more refined iPhone 12 Pro series

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iPhone 13 Pro

Apple finally unveils the new iPhone 13 Pro and iPhone 13 Pro Max series. And just like how the leaks suggested, most of the rumors turned out to be true — minus the Rose Gold color option.

Same design language

Of course, Apple has to keep its flat-edge design from last year’s iPhone 12 and 12 Pro series. The iPhone 13 Pro series still feature a surgical-grade stainless steel frame resistant to abrasion and corrosion. Aside from the usual Graphite, Gold, and Silver color options, both models feature a new Sierra Blue colorway.

The Ceramic Shield found on the iPhone’s front is still here together with a matte glass texture at the back. IP68 water and dust resistance also stays in the new iPhone Pro lineup.

Faster display and smaller notch

Apple has kept the same notch from 2017’s iPhone X for three years. Today, Apple changes that with the new iPhone 13 and iPhone 13 Pro series.

It now has a 20 percent smaller notch with an improved TrueDepth camera system. But the icing of the cake has got to be its Super Retina XDR with an adaptive 10Hz to 120Hz ProMotion display — a feature that should’ve been in last year’s iPhone 12 Pro series.

This makes the iPhone 13 Pro and 13 Pro Max the first iPhones with an ultra-fast display. For the record, the iPad Pro from 2018 was the first Apple device to feature such high refresh rate.

Display brightness also goes up to 1000 nits for better sunlight legibility. Don’t expect a screen size increase as both models still have a 6.1 and 6.7-inch displays respectively.

Redesigned internals

The design outside may look almost identical to last year, but its internals got an overhaul. The new iPhone 13 Pro series feature an A15 Bionic Chipset with 6-core CPU and 5-core GPU that’s based on a 5nm process. This means smaller yet more power-efficient on the fly. Both CPU and GPU performance are improved to 50 percent.

Also, its newer 16-core Neural Engine is capable of having up to 15 trillion operations per second which enables faster and better machine learning in features like Live Text as well as ISP improvements in noise reduction and noise mapping.

iPhone 13 Pro

But the biggest news in this section has got to be the improved all-day battery life. The iPhone 13 Pro last 1.5 hours longer than last year’s iPhone 12 Pro. Meanwhile, the iPhone 13 Pro Max has 2.5 hours longer battery life compared to the iPhone 12 Pro Max. This also makes it the most power-packed iPhone to date.

5G support is also here to stay but with more 5G bands that has better support and coverage in more locations around the globe. With a new feature called Smart Data mode, it intelligently saves battery life by automatically shifting to LTE when 5G isn’t needed.

Even better Pro cameras

Speaking of the new A15 chip camera improvements earlier, the Pro-grade cameras from last year got even better.

On paper, both the iPhone 13 Pro and iPhone 13 Pro series have a brighter f/1.5 Wide camera. The ultra-wide camera was also changed to an even better sensor with an f/1.8 aperture and a new AF (Autofocus) system.

Lastly, there’s also a newer 77mm telephoto camera with 3x optical zoom — equivalent of a 6x optical zoom range on the camera system. For the first time in any iPhone, the telephoto lens now supports Night mode.

iPhone 13 Pro

Image from Apple

Newer camera features include Macro Mode for shooting something closer than ever before. This feature is also applicable to Slo-mo and Time-lapse camera modes.

There are also Photographic Styles which are different from applying the usual presets. This allows users to bring their photo preferences directly to the camera app and still preserve Apple’s multiframe image processing altogether. Paired with Smart HDR 4, users can see improvements in the new iPhone’s dynamic range.

Last year’s Deep Fusion, Apple ProRAW, and Portrait Mode with Portrait Lighting also stay in this year’s iPhone.

Cinema-grade video

The new pair of Pro series phones has several video improvements including the new Cinematic Mode. This records videos of certain moving subjects or static objects with a depth effect and automatic changing in focus. This brings professional cinematography quality right in your hands.

Users can adjust level of bokeh in Photos or iMovie in iOS. This feature is also coming soon to Final Cut Pro and iMovie for macOS. Cinematic mode records in Dolby Vision HDR format.

What makes the new iPhone 13 Pro series distinct from the new iPhone 13 series is the support for Apple’s new ProRes video codec. This is the same format used in commercials, feature films, and even TV broadcasts that offer better color fidelity yet less compression.

To top all of these features, the iPhone is the only smartphone in the world that provides end-to-end workflow.

Pricing and Availability

The new iPhone 13 Pro and 13 Pro Max still have the same base price as last year’s iPhone 12 Pro and 12 Pro Max at US$ 999 and US$ 1099 respectively.

In Singapore, the iPhone 13 Pro starts at SG$ 1649 (SG$ 69 a month for 24 months) and SG$ 1799 (SG$ 75 a month/24 months) for the iPhone 13 Pro Max variant. The base storage still starts at 128GB but goes all the way to 1TB — also a first on any iPhone.

In the Philippines, the iPhone 13 Pro retails for PhP 63,99o while the iPhone 13 Pro Max starts at PhP 70,990.

Both models will be available in the Apple Store app and Apple Store locations with pre-orders starting on Friday, September 17 in the United States, United Kingdom, India, China, Japan, Singapore, Canada, Australia, and 30 more countries in the list. Availability in other countries have yet to follow.

Enterprise

Nintendo sues the United States

The Japanese company wants a refund for illegal tariffs.

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What happens when an unstoppable force meets an immovable object? After a year of wrestling through tariffs from the current American administration, Nintendo has decided to sue the United States.

Last year, the Trump administration was trigger-happy with implement tariffs on countries everywhere. Though the controversy mostly circulated around geopolitics, major corporations also found themselves on the receiving end of Trump’s ire. All over the world, the tariffs sparked product delays and price hikes.

Nintendo is no exception. As a result of the fiasco, the company had to delay the launch of the Switch 2, in anticipation of disruptions caused by the tariffs. First reported by Aftermath, the Japanese gaming giant is now going after the American government over refunds associated with the tariffs.

Now, the tariffs aren’t a big issue anymore. Notably, the Supreme Court scratched off the White House’s implementations that the former found illegal. While a big sigh of relief for future business, corporations like Nintendo have already paid duties and deposits in the past. As a result, Nintendo is now looking for recompense for what they paid before.

Nintendo isn’t the first company to seek restitution over the illegal tariffs. Others, including FedEx and Revlon, are also asking for refunds. However, the Japanese giant is certainly one of the biggest names to cross the government’s path. After all, the company is notoriously litigious over anything it considers as an affront to its business, including small streamers using Pokémon on their broadcasts.

With all its global resources, Nintendo likely won’t just give up without a fight.

SEE ALSO: The Nintendo Switch is now Nintendo’s best-selling console ever

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Project Helix is Xbox’s next console, and it plays PC games

It might be as powerful as a modern PC.

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Among all the platforms in today’s generation of consoles, the Xbox has to be biggest loser. Compared to the PlayStation 5 and the Switch 2, the Xbox Series X|S isn’t as memorable. To rectify its position in the rankings, Xbox is heavily teasing its next console codenamed Project Helix.

As was hinted before, Xbox is trying something different with its next-generation console. Rather than just a simple iteration over the current-generation console, the upcoming one will reportedly double as a PC. Today, the company itself has confirmed that this is the case for Project Helix.

Through a post on X, Xbox CEO Asha Sharma said that the console will “lead in performance and play your Xbox and PC games.”

There are two things to unpack here. Firstly, Project Helix will aim to bridge the perilous divide between console players and PC players. Unlike the past, there will be a way to play both platforms on both devices… except for games exclusive to the PlayStation and the Switch, that is.

Secondly, a “lead in performance” seems to indicate that this isn’t just a mini-PC. Most recently, Valve announced the Steam Machine. Though it offers a convenient way to play Steam games in one device, it doesn’t have the best specs. Project Helix, if Sharma’s words are to be believed, might be as powerful as a modern PC.

Xbox won’t wait long before revealing more details about the console. Sharma, who only recently started her post as CEO, will be at next week’s Game Developers Conference to explain Project Helix more.

SEE ALSO: AMD teases next-gen Xbox coming in 2027

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Nothing adds color to its wearables with the Headphone (a)

The Pink and Yellow colors look great!

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Last year, the Nothing Headphone (1) added a sense of fashion to the drab headphone market. Today, Nothing is adding a splash of color to its stylish lineup of headphones through the newly launched Headphone (a).

As with the (a) series of phones, the Headphone (a) melds fashion with affordability and performance. For quality, the wearable will have intelligent noise cancellation and sharper voice pick-ups with a 3-microphone Environmental Noise Cancellation system. It will also deliver rich immersive sound through Static Spatial Audio.

It’s only 310g light for easy use throughout the day.

For convenience, the Headphone (a) will have tactile gestures, such as a Button, Roller, and Paddle, to easily control the device without need of a phone. Users can integrate features like Channel Hop and Camera Shutter mode straight into the controls.

The headphones are designed for up to five days of battery life. Plus, a five-minute charge time can already provide five hours of playback. Finally, for durability, it is rated for IP52 resistance.

The Headphone (a) is available for preorders now. Starting March 13, it will be available in White, Black, and Pink. It will sell for EUR 159. Meanwhile, a limited-edition Yellow pair will be available starting April 6.

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