iPhone 13 Pro leak reveals camera redesign and new colors — matte black is back?

Render of the back of an iPhone 13 Pro in matte black
(Image credit: EverythingApplePro)

The iPhone 13 is still about six months away, but the rumor mill is relentless when it comes to Apple's flagship smartphones. 

Once again, EverythingApplePro has a host of new rumors to share courtesy of leaker Max Weinbach; this time around things are mostly focused on the iPhone 13 Pro and iPhone 13 Pro Max and range from camera hardware and software changes to new colors (via AppleInsider).

We loved the design of the iPhone 12 Pro and iPhone 12 Pro Max, but the color options left a little something to be desired. Luckily, Apple may have new options coming for the iPhone 13 Pro lineup. 

The first is matte black. This appears to be a trend that is hitting hard with Samsung being very proud of its Phantom Black on the Galaxy S21 and the OnePlus 9 Pro mirroring that with its Stellar Black (Even if it won't be available in the U.S., why OnePlus!?). The second is an orange or bronze color that Weinbach says is highly unlikely to actually make it to release. 

Regardless of the new colors, another change that may be coming to the iPhone 13 Pro is a new finish on the stainless steel edges of the devices to help reject fingerprints and smudging. If you've used or seen one of the iPhone 12 Pro models, particularly the gold version, this is a much-needed fix.

The other notable revelations are regarding the rear camera array on the iPhone 13 Pro models. While it will retain the separate raised lenses on the back, they should project out from the phone considerably less than on the iPhone 12 Pro. 

The other new leaks are based on software improvements to the cameras. The first is enhancements to Portrait mode, with edge detection improving from beta data integration between the lenses and LiDAR sensor. Finally, presumably working in conjunction with the new sensor-shift technology, will be improved image stabilization for video which will do a better job of tracking the subject and keeping them centered and steady. It's akin to what we see on GoPros and other action cameras.

While Weinbach has a pretty solid track record, no leaker is perfect and some of these rumors will no doubt prove untrue either due to bad sources or simply changes in Apple's plans prior to the actual launch. 

Sean Riley

Sean Riley has been covering tech professionally for over a decade now. Most of that time was as a freelancer covering varied topics including phones, wearables, tablets, smart home devices, laptops, AR, VR, mobile payments, fintech, and more.  Sean is the resident mobile expert at Laptop Mag, specializing in phones and wearables, you'll find plenty of news, reviews, how-to, and opinion pieces on these subjects from him here. But Laptop Mag has also proven a perfect fit for that broad range of interests with reviews and news on the latest laptops, VR games, and computer accessories along with coverage on everything from NFTs to cybersecurity and more.