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How Apple turned iPhone 13 into the M1 MacBook of smartphones

By Martin Filipov

Published: Sep 19, 2021, 10:31 AM

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How Apple turned iPhone 13 into the M1 MacBook of smartphones

So, PhoneArena is a website that focuses on smartphones, tablets, audio, and wearables. We don't cover or review "computers", at least ones that fit the conventional idea of a "computer". But what's actually a computer? If your answer to this question is "a PC or a Mac (including laptops)", you'd be right. But not entirely.

What about a handheld computer that's more portable than a laptop, but sometimes just as powerful (if not more powerful)? That's right - the iPad, or any other tablet, is also a computer. Wearables, game consoles, and even TVs also perform computing tasks. Of course, they are focused on more concrete stuff and scenarios.

But by far! By far, the most versatile, accessible, and popular computers of our time are smartphones. Your iPhone or Android phone is a computer that fits in your pocket.

Nevertheless, just like a big PC/Mac, smartphones can:

Edit and export photos/videos
Help you make music
Browse the internet
Save and manage files

On top of that, a smartphone does things that no other computing device does:

It makes calls
It sends text messages
It's your compact camera
It's a video recorder
It's your only voice recorder
It's your notepad
It's your calculator
It's your TV
It's the only computer you can take underwater

iPhone 13 is for smartphones what Apple's M1 MacBook is for the laptop world

Familiar tactics.

I can keep going on and on… Most importantly, a smartphone fits in your palm and your pocket. You know what doesn't fit in your pocket? Apple's MacBook Pro with the M1 chip. But let's talk about it. If you aren't familiar, Apple took a massive gamble and a massive leap by transitioning its laptop lineup to feature ARM chips.

Apple's M1 is the same kind of processor found in your iPhone - an SoC (system on a chip), which means all the necessary components like CPU, GPU, and sometimes specialized TPUs (similar to Google's Tensor), are all built on one chip. This means they are seamlessly integrated and communicate way more efficiently than legacy computers, which use separate components.

In a nutshell, this worked some serious "magic" for Apple's Mac lineup in two significant areas of the user experience:

Performance/speed
Battery life/efficiency

Today, we focus more on the latter, because whether you realize it or not, Apple brought this "ARM" thing to an almost full circle:

1. As we established, Tim Cook and company borrowed the iPhone and iPad's already very powerful chip model and created an even more powerful version of it to use on the Mac, and later iPad Pro with M1.

2. Amongst other things, this resulted in insane battery gains - from 10h of use in certain scenarios, with an Intel-based MacBook Pro, to 20h of use with an M1 Macbook Pro - this kind of a leap is monumental. You don't get this kind of gains... usually.

3. Then Apple thought: "What if we could do the same for the iPhone..."

Now, this is where the story goes off track. Of course, the A14 Bionic and A15 Bionic chips are already the same kind of chips as the ones in the Mac. So, this wasn't going to be the ingredient for this recipe. Instead, Apple needed something different.

Enter, Samsung! That's right, the new displays on the iPhone 13 Pro and iPhone 13 Pro Max are (again) made by Samsung (surprise, surprise), and they support a variable refresh rate from 10-120Hz. In Apple language, that's "ProMotion".

Now, this isn't necessarily special. What is special is that the iPhone 13 Pro and iPhone 13 Pro Max come with:

A new display engine
New video encoders
New video decoders

Special hardware for a special feature.

Apple's original iPad Pro (2017), which came with the first 120Hz display for an Apple product, doesn't seem to rely on a special display engine. It refreshed from 24-48-120Hz, according to the tasks you performed.

Of course, the iPhone 13 Pro does have a special display engine. This wasn't said on stage during Apple's California Streaming event, but it's clear that the new display engine is there for a reason, and this reason is to enable a fluid variable refresh rate, which dynamically switches between 10-120Hz, or as shown by Apple:

"10-11-12-13-14-15...-20-30-40-50-60-70-80-90-100-110-120Hz"

That's way more dynamic than other dynamic/adaptive refresh rate screens by other companies, which from our personal experience, often fail to deliver on the promise of smooth dynamic adjustment. The 120Hz ProMotion display and other optimizations are said to allow the iPhone 13 Pro and iPhone 13 Pro Max to reach remarkable battery gains in certain scenarios.

The ProMotion LCD displays on the iPad Pro are brilliant (I can say that from personal experience), but LCDs are prone to show some (if any) ghosting while scrolling. This was especially noticeable with iPads in the pre-120Hz era. However, with the iPhone 13's ProMotion OLED screen, all of these concerns should be gone for good.

iPhone 13 series vs iPhone 12 series: Apple promises unseen battery gains

iPhone 13 Pro Max	iPhone 13 Pro	iPhone 13
Video playback: Up to 28 hours	Up to 28 hours Video playback: Up to 22 hours	Video playback: Up to 19 hours
Video playback (streamed): Up to 25 hours	Video playback (streamed): Up to 20 hours	Video playback (streamed): Up to 15 hours
Audio playback: Up to 95 hours	Audio playback: Up to 75 hours	Audio playback: Up to 75 hours
iPhone 12 Pro Max	iPhone 12 Pro	iPhone 12
Video playback: Up to 20 hours	Up to 20 hours Video playback: Up to 17 hours	Video playback: Up to 17 hours
Video playback (streamed): Up to 12 hours	Video playback (streamed): Up to 11 hours	Video playback (streamed): Up to 11 hours
Audio playback: Up to 80 hours	Audio playback: Up to 65 hours	Audio playback: Up to 65 hours

iPhone 13 and iPhone 13 Pro don't have the exact same processor: Not a problem

MacBook Pro-ish situation.

And, of course, the other reference to the M1 MacBooks comes from the fact that for the first time ever, Apple's decided to create two different versions of the iPhone's processor! That's right! Unlike previous iPhones, the iPhone 13 series uses a version of the A15 Bionic with 4 GPU cores, while the iPhone 13 Pro has one extra GPU core for a total of 5 GPU cores.

That's exactly how Apple separated the latest M1 MacBook Air and M1 MacBook Pro - the first supports 7 GPU cores, while the latter comes with 8 GPU cores. This clearly indicates that Apple is finally ready to make the iPhone "Pro". Essentially, the iPhone 13 is now an "iPhone Air".

This year, iPhone 13 Pro's 120Hz ProMotion display, faster graphics performance, as well as notably more powerful camera system will elevate the Pro iPhone to "Pro" heights. And we like that!

Now, before you cancel your iPhone 13 order, bear in mind that if the "MacBook Air vs MacBook Pro" case is anything to go by, the one GPU core on the iPhone 13 Pro will make little to no difference in real-world use, especially for day-to-day tasks.

Sill, early iPhone 13 Pro benchmarks seem to hint at a significant GPU advantage for the 13 Pro over the iPhone 13, but again - benchmarks are benchmarks (especially when it comes to iPhones).

Frankly, the power the iPhone 13 series has is already overkill for 90% of the people, so the "technically more powerful" iPhone 13 Pro is there… if you want it. But this should be the last thing that makes you go for the iPhone 13 over the iPhone 13.

If you'll get an iPhone 13 Pro, buy it for the 120Hz ProMotion screen, which will actually make a difference when it comes to smoothness or the more capable camera system.

In the end

Will Apple's claims translate into real-world results?

It's surprising! I believe I speak for most of the tech community when I say that we weren't expecting the iPhone 13 Pro to come with up to 50-60% better graphics performance, and over 50% better battery life in certain scenarios like video streaming.

As of now, we don't know a whole lot about how they make a difference, but clearly - Apple's new video engine, and video encoders/decoders are there for a reason, and this reason must be efficiency.

Still, we wouldn't recommend a phone based on manufacturer promises, and you shouldn't buy a phone based on promises either. We'll have to see it to believe it! So, please, wait for our upcoming review of all iPhone 13 models! If the battery claims translate into real use, iPhone 13 series might be an actual game-changer...

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Martin, a tech journalist at PhoneArena, brings a unique blend of humor and insight to his work. His fascination with smartphones began with a Galaxy Young and evolved through a series of trades and upgrades, making him a self-proclaimed smartphone nerd. Martin's content often combines current analysis of market trends with historical references and future predictions. Whether it's a deep dive into technical issues or a first-person commentary on industry events, Martin's articles are designed to inform and engage. His critical perspective is driven by genuine curiosity and a desire to keep readers informed, not by any corporate sponsorship.