It’s easy to get accustomed to the innovations that Apple introduces every fall. A new model of the Apple iPhone, a new major release of iOS, is now a typical fall routine.

Each year I take photos of similar objects and scenes for comparisons to past iPhones. It’s not a perfect comparison. Items in museums move, light is never constant outdoors, and buildings are renovated. After a weekend with the new iPhone 13 Pro, I have a few camera observations below. This page isn’t concerned with detailed technical specifications, shot by shot comparisons, or discussing whatever current events of Apple.

The tl;dr for the iPhone 13 Pro is, the camera is good. The most surprising feature is the new 3x zoom. It makes a big difference in what’s available in composing a shot. The three photos below were taken in reverse order, I started with the 3x zoom on the right, and kept zooming out.

The iPhone 13 Pro appears to be more confident in handling lighting challenges. When shooting a photo indoors in RAW format, if light from a window is blown out, so be it. If there’s multiple light sources, it handles it fine.·

Cinematic movie mode is an interesting experiment. I suggest not getting to distracted by it, as default 1080 / 4K video capture is amazing.

The photos below were taken over the weekend of September 25, at 2 Silos in Manassas, the National Gallery of Art, the Smithsonian Hirshhorn Sculpture Garden, and the other places on the National Mall. They are not the most artistic or most creative, but to demonstrate the capabilities of the iPhone in difficult lighting conditions.

Is it worthwhile to upgrade? Maybe. It’s fun to use technology that gets noticeably better, year after year.

However, the latest iOS 15 is compatible for the iPhone 6s series, a phone released six years ago. If you’re happy with what you have, keep it up-to-date (for security reasons) and keep using it.