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Another iPhone 13 report tips bigger batteries, same prices, more efficient A15 Bionic

By Joshua Swingle

Published: Aug 12, 2021, 10:07 AM

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Another iPhone 13 report tips bigger batteries, same prices, more efficient A15 Bionic

With about one month to go until Apple formally introduces the iPhone 13 series, a new report courtesy of TrendForce predicts wider mmWave availability, bigger batteries, and several other details.

Apple plans bigger batteries and wider mmWave availability

One of the iPhone 13 and iPhone 13 Pro areas of focus will be the chipset, according to TrendForce’s latest investigations. It expects the new A15 Bionic to be built on the 5nm+ manufacturing process, enabling better performance and efficiency.

At the same time, it’s believed Apple will switch the circuit board design inside its iPhones from the previous rigid-flex PCB models to a newer system-in-package (SiP) with flexible PCB, a move that should save space and translate into bigger batteries.

While exact capacities have not been provided, rumor has it that Apple will fit the iPhone 13 and iPhone 13 Pro with 3,095mAh batteries, an increase of 10% compared to the iPhone 12 batteries. The iPhone 13 mini and iPhone 13 Pro Max, on the other hand, could feature 2,406mAh (up 8%) and 4,352mAh (up 18%) cells, respectively.

That extra battery capacity will certainly come in handy for customers accessing 5G networks. Speaking of which, TrendForce corroborates previous claims from Ming-Chi Kuo about Apple’s plans to expand the availability of mmWave beyond the US.

An exact number of countries has not been included, though it seems likely that Western Europe including the UK and Germany, as well as other developed regions, will gain access to the feature.

Last but certainly not least (on the feature front), it's believed the iPhone 13 line will include some significant camera advancements. A recent report pointed to big upgrades in the video department with features like ProRes video and Portrait Mode video.

Expected iPhone 13 and 13 Pro prices

TrendForce is also taking the bold move of predicting pricing, with the expectation being that Apple will retain what the research firm calls its current “aggressive pricing strategy” to boost sales.

If that is true, we can expect the iPhone 13 series to be priced as follows:

iPhone 13 mini — $699
iPhone 13 — $799
iPhone 13 Pro — $999
iPhone 13 Pro Max — $1,099

Apple's iPhone supercycle could continue for another year thanks to the iPhone 13

The research conducted by TrendForce would suggest that Apple's current supercycle will continue into a second consecutive year. China plays an important role in that trajectory due to the iPhone's ability to dominate the high-end smartphone market in the region.

Following the US trade sanctions against Huawei, which cut off chipset supply, there's a huge gap left in the Chinese flagship segment. Local players like Oppo and Xiaomi have done their best to attract customers, but it takes time to build up a premium reputation, hence Apple's success since the iPhone 12 launch last year.

On a global scale, TrendForce expects total iPhone shipments to experience a 30% year-on-year increase in the current quarter thanks to the iPhone 13 launch in late September. That'll be followed by a smaller 5% year-on-year increase in the holiday period.

With that in mind, total iPhone shipments for the second half of 2021 are likely to surpass those for the equivalent period in 2020. Apple's market share for 2021 as a whole could stand at 16.7%, if the research firm's calculations are correct.