While the iPhone 13 Pro is available since September 24, our team wanted to know which are its most serious competitors, from existing to upcoming models.
Among the four new iPhone 13 launched by Apple, the iPhone 13 Pro allows access to the new photo and video features promised by the apple brand. Launched from 1159 dollars in 128 GB, it will have to compete with very serious competitors in this price range.
In addition to the already known Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra, the new Xiaomi 11T Pro or Google Pixel 6 Pro could put it in the shade.
It is the most desirable of the four new iPhone 13 launched on September 24 by Apple. With its trio of 12-megapixel sensors and its A15 Bionic chip, the iPhone 13 Pro allows access to new photo and video functions, macro, presets applicable before a shot, or a Cinematic mode to adjust the focus on a particular subject in the middle of a shoot, all with a greatly enhanced autonomy.
Beyond these innovations, we thought it would be a good idea to compare them to existing and upcoming smartphones. Among them, we selected the Galaxy S21 Ultra from Samsung (already on the market), the 11T from Xiaomi and the Pixel 6 Pro from Google, three terminals that, with equal parameters, can claim to weigh against the iPhone 13 Pro when it comes to buying a new high-end 5G smartphone.
The most aggressive design: Xiaomi’s 11T Pro
Unveiled on September 15 (but with no official release date), the upcoming Xiaomi 11T Pro has some serious arguments to put up against the iPhone 13 Pro. Sold for 649 euros in 128 GB (510 euros less than the iPhone 13 Pro with the same capacity), it has a larger Oled screen than the iPhone 13 Pro: 6.67″, even if both screens are 120 Hz adaptive and include stereo speakers.
Xiaomi puts the package in the photo. Faced with the three 12-megapixel sensors of the iPhone 13 Pro, the 11T Pro offers the main sensor of 108 megapixels! even if the second ultra-wide-angle is content with 8 megapixels and the macro sensor of 5 megapixels. Advanced features are planned, such as a zoom with built-in special effects that looks suspiciously like Apple’s Cinematic mode.
The main argument of the Xiaomi 11T Pro is its 5,000 mAh battery, but especially its 120 W charging system. Thanks to it, the Xiaomi 11T Pro claims to be fully charged in 17 minutes, while Apple claims a 50% charge in 30 minutes.
The oldest competitor: Galaxy S21 Ultra, from Samsung
When it comes to photography, the S21 Ultra’s spec sheet surpasses that of the iPhone 13 Pro: four rear sensors (of 108, 12, 10 and 10 megapixels), compared to the iPhone’s three, offer a great deal of freedom to take pictures, with extremely detailed and accurate results. The S21 Ultra also stands out with its 40-megapixel front sensor, compared to the 12-megapixel sensor of the iPhone 13 Pro.
Eight months after its launch, Samsung’s Galaxy S21 Ultra is certainly dated, but not without its qualities. And age is a good thing since its manufacturer is currently offering an immediate discount of 180 euros on its website (from 1079 euros, instead of 1259 euros). That’s 80 euros less than the iPhone 13 Pro (1159 euros in 128 GB).
With a diagonal of 6.8″, the S21 Ultra also sees bigger. And more detailed with, with contrasts of a rare intensity thanks to its Super AMOLED screen whose resolution is 3200 x 1440 pixels against 2532 x 1170 pixels for the iPhone 13 Pro, certainly of less diagonal (6.1”). However, the scanning frequency is identical on both screens: 120 Hz adaptive, which is ideal for the fluidity of video games.
For the autonomy, on the other hand, that of the iPhone 13 Pro announced to 22 hours of the video seems largely superior to that of the S21 Ultra which does not exceed 18 hours in intensive use.
The most promising: Google’s Pixel 6 Pro
Expected by the end of the year, the upcoming Pixel 6 Pro from Google should be a credible alternative to the iPhone 13 Pro. The information we’ve come across suggests that it will be a smartphone that’s good at taking pictures, but also at autonomy.
The Pixel 6 Pro and its 6.7″ 120Hz adaptive OLED screen will have three rear sensors of 50, 12 (ultra wide-angle) and 48 megapixels with 4x optical zoom. Knowing that the Mountain View company excels in image processing, it is likely that this Pixel 6 Pro will stand out in this universe.
The in-house processor, called “Tensor”, should boost the possibilities of internal calculations in artificial intelligence. We can expect a lot from it in terms of simultaneous translation, transcription of conversations into text, etc.
Regarding autonomy, the Pixel 6 Pro has planned to embark a 5,000 mAh battery, with a 33 W charging system. This is faster than the 18 W of the Pixel 5, but it is still far from the 120 W of the 11T Pro of Xiaomi! And unlike the Chinese smartphone, the new charger for the Pixel 6 Pro will probably not come in the box…
Announced by Google as “a high-end product” (it will run on Android 12), it is likely that the price of the Pixel 6T Pro will not be negligible, probably positioned around 1000 euros. The aesthetics of the smartphone, with its thick sensor bar on the back, could also be divisive.
