iPhone 13 series was launched at Apple’s ‘California Streaming’ event earlier this week. Predictably, the new series brings the same four-model lineup that Apple introduced last year. It includes the iPhone 13 as the regular model — alongside the iPhone 13 mini as the smallest option as well as the iPhone 13 Pro and iPhone 13 Pro Max as the two premium versions. And also predictably, they aren’t much changed. Alongside the iPhone 13 series, the Apple event brought the Apple Watch Series 7, as well as the new iPad and new iPad mini.
On this week’s Gadgets 360 podcast Orbital, host Akhil Arora speaks with Reviews Editor Jamshed Avari and IDC India Research Director Navkendar Singh to discuss the iPhone 13 series and the other major announcements of the Apple event.
The iPhone 13 price in India is identical to the launch pricing of the iPhone 12 — starting at Rs. 79,900 for the iPhone 13 and Rs. 69,900 for the iPhone 13 mini. So far, so expected. With the arrival of the new iPhone models, Apple has reduced the pricing of the iPhone 12, iPhone 12 mini, and the iPhone 11 in the country. The steep Rs. 14,000 cut for iPhone 12 could turn heads, especially going into the festive sales season.
Apple has also for the first time included India in the first wave of markets where the new iPhone models are launching. All four iPhone 13 variants are already up for pre-order, and they will arrive in buyers’ hands starting Friday, September 24, alongside the US and other major iPhone territories.
The iPhone 13 series will no doubt attract Apple fans in India who are looking forward to the latest and greatest iPhone each year. However, a large number of customers who are looking to upgrade to a new iPhone might be better suited with their predecessors — say the iPhone 12 or iPhone 11. The iPhone 12 has also particularly become a strong competitor against the iPhone 13 mini with a starting price of Rs. 65,900 for the 64GB base version.
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In addition to the new iPhone models, Apple unveiled a major upgrade for the iPad mini. The new 2021 model comes without a physical home button and looks similar to the recent iPad Air and iPad Pro. It is also powered by the A15 Bionic chip that is available on the iPhone 13 series.
However, the new iPad mini is expected to be mainly aimed at specific use cases, and for people who are looking for a tablet to use vertically. That’s because, thanks to the new features, the all-new iPad mini price in India starts at Rs. 46,900, or a whopping Rs. 16,000 higher than the pricing of the new iPad. The latter should suit most families — moreover, it offers a larger display of 10.2-inch over the 8.3-inch one, although the latter might arguably be better, as the Liquid Retina display has a greater pixel density that looks a little sharper.
The new iPad, on the other hand, comes with the A13 Bionic chip that first arrived with 2019’s iPhone 11, and while the iPad mini is compatible with the second-generation Apple Pencil, the ninth generation iPad is compatible with with the first-generation Apple Pencil.
Apple also gave us the Apple Watch Series 7 at its virtual event — though it stopped short of giving us many details. That’s because it’s not going on sale just yet, and will come later this year. The Apple Watch Series 7 price starts at Rs. $399 (roughly Rs. 29,300). However, we are yet to see the India pricing of the new Apple Watch. The previous iteration, the Apple Watch Series 6, also started at $399 in the US and came to India with a starting price of Rs. 40,900 last year.
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You can listen to the full Orbital podcast discussion by hitting the play button on the Spotify player embedded above.
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