(Photo: Molly Flores/PCMag)
If an iPhone isn't connected, it's just an iPod touch. From an initial rocky start ("great i, lousy phone," I sniffed in 2007, and a stumble over people "holding the iPhone 4 wrong"), Apple's iPhones have become reliable connectivity machines, and the iPhone 13 is no exception.
Apple's new iPhone 13 series has Qualcomm's X60 modem, the same unit that's in the Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra and other leading smartphones this year. Like the iPhone 12, it supports all of the US' 4G and 5G networks and then some: It will also support the new "C-band" airwaves coming online in 2022.
The phone has one physical SIM slot and the ability to connect a second subscription by getting an eSIM QR code from a carrier. I'm still a little disappointed that you can't just pick a carrier from a menu, like you can on the iPad. You can also load two eSIM subscriptions.
From my testing on T-Mobile and Verizon, it looks like the X60's advantage, if any, is in power efficiency and some future-oriented features that won't affect you today. All in all, that means the radio isn't a reason to choose an iPhone 13 to replace an iPhone 12. But the radio, plus the much better battery life, is the reason to choose the 13 over older models when buying your first iPhone, or replacing an older iPhone.
All the US iPhone models have the same modem and radio layout. So what goes for one will go for all. There are five different international models sold in different countries; to see the differences, check out the charts in my previous story.
5G for the Future
In our Fastest Mobile Networks testing this year, we found that T-Mobile's "ultra capacity" mid-band 5G network makes a huge difference to performance, while there's less of a 5G advantage right now on AT&T and Verizon. Of course, the iPhone 12 series also has 5G.
The iPhone 13 adds 5G carrier aggregation, which T-Mobile has started to use to improve 5G range, speed, and latency. But it's only just started to use it, and I haven't ever been able to find it actually running. It also adds 5G band n48, or CBRS, which Verizon aims to use to enhance its upcoming C-band network (the iPhone 12 supports C-band but not 5G CBRS).
Compared to iPhone 12 models, I did not get better signal strength or range on the iPhone 13. 5G speeds were comparable on Verizon and T-Mobile, with one exception. At one Verizon "ultra wideband" millimeter-wave site near my house, I got consistently double the speed on the 13 Pro as opposed to the 12 Pro, with the 13 Pro running up to 3.2Gbps. This phenomenon didn't happen at a second site I tried, where the two phones had equivalent performance.
Wi-Fi 6 performance tested at various distances was also the same as on the iPhone 12 series.
I used Apple's field test mode (dial *3001#12345#*) to check the phones' capabilities, and the iPhone 12 and 13 appeared to be the same in various circumstances.
On T-Mobile's mid-band 5G "UC" network, both used 80MHz of 5G band 41 with 4x4 MIMO and 256QAM to achieve speeds of up to 535Mbps. In my neighborhood, T-Mobile's speeds at this point are limited by the gigabit backhaul into its towers, not by the ability of the phones. On T-Mobile's low-band 5G network, I got speeds around 160Mbps down on both generations of phone.
On Verizon, both the 12 Pro and the 13 Pro said they were using up to 400MHz of millimeter-wave airwaves. Interestingly, the 13 Pro at one point said it was aggregating its millimeter-wave n261 band with low-band n5. That's a new feature in the Qualcomm X60 but it didn't have any apparent effect on performance or range.
Should You Upgrade?
The big question is, from what? As iPhone modems have gotten better, they've brought important new frequency bands and capabilities.
Concerned about AT&T's 2022 3G shutoff? AT&T says the iPhone 6 will be the oldest model to survive. If you have an iPhone 8 or earlier, you are missing AT&T's band 14 and T-Mobile's band 71, both of which are important for rural and in-building coverage.
If you've suffered from network congestion in inner cities, the iPhone 11 was the first model to include bands 46 and 48, which help alleviate that issue. The iPhone 11 was also the first iPhone to be able to use the full array of 4G channel combinations US carriers have. That especially affects performance on AT&T.
The iPhone 11 Pro, and the 12 series, added 4x4 MIMO, which in many cases can double 4G speeds.
And the 12, of course, added 5G. That's especially important on T-Mobile, which is now using 5G both for urban speed and for new rural coverage. But it'll become more important on AT&T and Verizon next year when they turn on C-band.
The iPhone 13 does not appear to bring much new to the table in terms of immediate network improvements. But combining its future-friendly 5G with much better battery life makes it a smarter buy than the iPhone 12 series.
PCMag iPhone 13 Special: Apple Event Analysis
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