iPhone 13 Pro Exit Interview

The pre-orders for iPhone 16s are about to open. Seems like a good time for an “exit interview” for the phone that is (and has been for three years) my “daily driver”. iPhone 13 Pro, 128 GB.

Going with the smaller (non-Max) size might have been a good idea at the time. The 13 generation Max was big, bulky, heavy, and unwieldy. Add a case on that, and it’s simply too big and uncomfortable for daily use (for me). Even the regular 13 Pro, wrapped in Peak Design case with a card-wallet attachment, seems heavy at times. But manageable.

Battery life turned out to be a big problem. Range anxiety is real (especially while traveling). And I have to use multiple methods to manage it.

The battery pack is now a constant part of my everyday carry. I have a Shortcut automation that turns low battery mode on at 30% (instead of standard 20%). I had the battery changed a year ago (already down to 91% health!) Background app refresh is turned off for most apps. Low power mode is enabled 100% of the time while traveling. All in all, not great.

And 128 GB is not enough storage anymore. Especially with all those huge Leica RAWs that I import — again, especially painful while traveling and trying to dump all photos from the day onto my phone to cull and edit them the same evening. Got the “not enough storage” message too many times.

Screen is nice. Speed and responsiveness — no complaints. Same old iOS experience. Cameras — the overprocessing is a pain. I haven’t been happy with an iPhone photo for a while. It’s even worse on iOS 18 beta for some reason! I gave up and iPhone cameras now serve three purposes for me:

1. For utility photos (like scanning documents, taking a photo of some information I want to remember).
2. When I’m lazy or forgetful and don’t feel like bringing my camera with me. (This matters less and less now.)
3. Sending quick pictures of our cat to my wife.

Other than that, I’m fully embracing Leica D-Lux 8 (yes, I sold my Ricoh GR IIIx for this) as my everyday camera. I doubt iPhone 16 will change anything in that area.

Am I excited about the 3-generation leap and an upgrade to 16 Pro Max? Not really... USB-C, bigger screen, better battery, new buttons — it’s all nice to have and definitely a quality-of-life improvement. But it’s like trying to be excited about having new plumbing installed. I guess smartphones are now in the “utility” category for me now.