What is borrowed from Android smartphones

What did you borrow from the competition? The question arises the day after the announcement of the iPhone 13 and iPhone 13 Pro.

iPhone 13 Pro

Every year, it’s the same abstinence. Apple announces its new smartphones, this year it’s all about rangesiPhone 13 And 13 ProAnd we compare the features that were already on Android smartphones.

If you miss Apple Keynote, you can find all the new features in our summary.

Functions and capabilities already on Android

120Hz mode with adaptive refresh rate

As expected, the iPhone 13 Pro for the first time adopts ProMotion technology, which allows to obtain a refresh rate of up to 120 Hz. Apple goes even further, because it also offers an adaptive rate, so the iPhone can increase the images displayed on the screen for smoother scrolling, when necessary. When you’re only watching still images, refresh rates drop to just 10Hz. This function has the advantage of optimizing the power consumption of the device.

The display of the OnePlus 9 Pro is technically very close to that of the iPhone 13 Pro

On Android smartphones, 120Hz screens have been around for a long time, and there’s also this adaptive feature on many brands, including Samsung, Oppo or even OnePlus. Samsung Display is the one that produces the respective OLED panel that it has supplied to its customers. If we take Galaxy S21 +For example, we end up with an OLED screen and its 120Hz adaptive mode. Same note on OnePlus 9 Pro.

1 TB of internal storage

A novelty in the iPhone 13 Pro was the appearance of a version with a capacity of 1 TB, and the maximum version was up to the iPhone 12 Pro with an internal flash memory of 512 GB. Note that if you choose the iPhone 13 Pro Max with a capacity of 1 TB … the bill is hefty: 1839 euros.

On Android, there were already smartphones with 1 TB of flash memory. The Galaxy S10 I was The first to offer the first 1 TB memory Integrated global flash storage (eUFS) for the world. However, this should qualify: this option has disappeared on the Note 20 and Galaxy S21, and that flash memory capacity is certainly expensive and demand is definitely low.

macro mode

The iPhone 13 Pro also offers a macro mode. This allows photography of small subjects, and this activity is called macro photography. Apple has posted some examples online to see what you can get under the best possible conditions.

On Android smartphones, the macro mode has been around for a long time. There are no longer smartphones that offer this mode, at the entry level, but also at the higher level. Recently, for example, is Renault 6 Pro Which offers a dedicated camera for this use. At Apple, the macro mode appears to be related to the ultra-wide-angle camera, and is often the most practical optic of this mode. There is no dedicated camera for macro mode.

reduced degree

Contrary to some rumors, there is still an inscription on the iPhone 13. This year, however, its display has been reduced. We are still finding the necessary technologies for Face ID with a combination of sensors.

The notch is much narrower compared to the iPhone 12

On Android, the cracks are gone, giving way to gaps. On newer devices, such as Xiaomi Mix 4The front camera is placed under the screen. This makes it possible to have a screen without any holes or notches, but the photographic characteristics of the front camera may be altered and the trick may also be visible in some outdoor lighting conditions.

The front camera is not visible on Xiaomi Mix 4

vertical video mode

As some rumors have suggested, the iPhone 13 and 13 Pro offer a portrait mode for video, named Motion Mode By Apple, this allows you to change the focus of the video by creating a blur based on the chosen subject. It is a situation that requires a lot of energy and takes advantage of computerized photography.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Tl1RL8MRCA

This situation appears, at first glance, deceptive. Apple is releasing a feature that might well be done. The function can activate itself even if it is necessary.

On Android, video portrait mode has been around for several years, and we were able to test it at Samsung or at Oppo. The first demonstrations were not usable, the cut of the face shapes was too rough with a lot of mistakes. This feature has developed rapidly, and Apple is not the first, but the American company is definitely the one to launch the most advanced video portrait mode.

Functions and capabilities that are absent in Android

It would be unfair not to talk about features that are unique to Apple. In fact, for example, the iPhone 13 Pro can shoot In ProRes modeProfessional video codec.

Apple also has an edge chip, ahead of other Qualcomm, Samsung and MediaTek chips… This is the chip A15 Bionic, presumably an evolution of the A14 Bionic from last year. It includes a 7-core CPU, a 5-core GPU, a 16-core Neural Engine chip… It’s truly a unique recipe for an iPhone that’s at least a year ahead of the competition. Moreover, this chip now allows programming Two eSIMs at the same time. It’s a small novelty that remains interesting in certain use cases.

The iPhone 13 Pro and Pro Max also have a sensor lidarIn addition to the triple camera module on the back. At the moment, the uses remain limited to augmented reality, which is already possible on Android smartphones, as well as some dedicated functions (the function allows you to measure distances).