Here's why I'm getting the iPhone 13 Pro

Apple's September event, 'California Streaming,' has come and gone, and there was a ton of stuff that was announced, including the iPhone 13 lineup. While some people think the iPhone 13 is an incremental upgrade over the iPhone 12, and that may very well be the case, I'm still excited to upgrade my iPhone 12 Pro to an iPhone 13 Pro once pre-orders open up.

Once Apple was done announcing the iPhone 13, I already knew exactly which configuration I wanted: Sierra Blue iPhone 13 Pro 1TB. Here's why that will be the best iPhone for me. Oh, and the reason for not going with a Max? Because I simply cannot use it comfortably.

One teeb, baby!

Ok, honestly, when I first heard the rumors that the iPhone 13 Pro may come in a 1TB size, I was very excited but also very skeptical. After all, this is Apple we're talking about, who still had 64GB as starting storage for several iPhone models, and continues to only offer 5GB of free iCloud storage. But it actually happened, and I'm quite amazed that this one came true. Plus, Apple has finally cut out the measly 64GB starting storage from the lineup — about dang time!

So why am I going with 1TB of storage? Well, I've brought it up a few times before, but I'm expecting a baby girl in November. As a first time mother (terribly nervous!), I'm expecting to take a ton of photos of my baby girl as she grows. I'm sure that anyone out there who is a parent can understand. While my husband and I may pick up a standalone digital camera at some point for better quality photos, I want my iPhone to always be at the ready for those spontaneous moments, prepared to capture whatever cute thing she's doing. This just isn't something you can always do with the best digital camera — an iPhone (or other smartphone) is best for that kind of job, right?

With my new baby on the way, I expect to be taking pretty much a million photos a day. I am thankful that Apple decided to make a 1TB option for the iPhone 13 Pro, because I feel like my Camera Roll will be filling up quickly. Even if I don't fill it up, I'd rather just not have to worry about running out of space.

New iPhone, new color

While I'm not exactly pleased with the choice of colors for the iPhone 13 Pro lineup (I really want pink, but absolutely need the Pro features), I've decided to go with the Sierra Blue color.

I was a big fan of the Pacific Blue for the iPhone 12 Pro series, and while I don't think I've quite fallen in love with Sierra Blue just yet, I'm hoping that it turns out better in person. After all, sometimes you just need to see a color in real life than a computer screen to get a better idea of how it looks. Another reason I'm going with Sierra Blue is that, well, that's the new color right? How else am I supposed to let the world know that I have the new iPhone 13 Pro?

I'm just glad that Apple gave us a better color than the hideous bronze that I kept seeing renders of in the weeks leading up to the event. Dodged a bullet with that one!

Better cameras

Of course, with every new iPhone, that means better improvements for the camera. And as I mentioned, with a baby on the way, I'm definitely excited for the camera upgrades that Apple's put in the iPhone 13 Pro lineup.

The biggest improvement for me is the fact that the iPhone 13 Pro and iPhone 13 Pro Max are back to having the same high-quality camera. That's right — the two Pro devices are equals once again, with the only differences being the battery life and screen size. I no longer have to be annoyed that I'm not getting the absolute best iPhone camera because I didn't go with the huge size because it's unusable for my petite hands (I get cramps after extended use).

Since I missed out on the Sensor-shift optical image stabilization from the iPhone 12 Pro Max last year, I'm happy that I'll finally be able to experience it for myself with the iPhone 13 Pro this year (and everyone else can too with the iPhone 13 mini and iPhone 13). And the bigger sensors in the wide and ultra wide lenses allow them to work better in low-light environments.

The biggest surprise though is with macro photography capabilities up to two centimeters with the ultra wide lens. I thought this would be something that works with the telephoto, and not the ultra wide lens, so I'm interested in testing this out myself once I get my iPhone 13 Pro. But with macro photography built-in to the iPhone camera itself, well, I suppose we may not even need a lot of those lens accessories anymore, right?

And while I typically do not record a lot of video, I have a feeling that I will be once the baby arrives. The new Cinematic mode might be a little bit of overkill for what I need, but I'm also thinking about the cool things I could do with it. Perhaps putting together some kind of montage video for baby's first birthday? Either way, it's an exciting new feature.

Better battery, display, and processor

Ever since iOS 14.5, my iPhone 12 Pro battery has taken a major hit and never quite recovered. I used to be able to make it through an entire day (even most of the day at Disneyland) without needing to pull out a charger. But these days, my battery health is at 88% since launch, and I usually have to plug in by the evening. Though the iPhone 13 Pro will only have about another hour and a half of battery than its predecessor, I'll take anything at this point.

I have no previous experience with a 120Hz display, but I'm also eager to see how the new ProMotion display will stack up with previous iPhones. I'm sure it will be like the first time I used a Retina display — you just won't be able to go back. And with the A15 Bionic, I'm looking forward to everything just feeling faster and snappier.

What iPhone 13 are you getting?

These are the reasons why I'm going to be pre-ordering the iPhone 13 Pro tomorrow morning. Are you planning on getting a new iPhone? Which one?