iPhone 13 Pricing to Be on Par With iPhone 12 Series, LiDAR Sensor to Be Exclusive to Pro Models: TrendForce

iPhone 13 (or iPhone 12s) pricing will be on par with the iPhone 12 series and the new iPhone models will account for about 39 percent of Apple's total annual production volume for 2021, says market research firm TrendForce. The latest predictions from TrendForce also suggest that the iPhone 13 series would come with the same storage options that are available with the iPhone 12 models. The iPhone 13 Pro models in the series are also speculated to have LiDAR sensors.

TrendForce said in a press note that the total iPhone production in 2021 would grow 12.3 percent year-on-year to 223 million units. An increase in COVID-19 vaccinations and the easing of lockdowns in the US and Europe are considered among the key reasons for the growth.

Of the total production, the iPhone 13 (or the iPhone 12s) models are speculated to account for about 39 percent. This suggests that Apple may produce over 86 million iPhone 13 units this year.

In addition to the production forecast, TrendForce has predicted some of the key specifications of the iPhone 13 series. The new models are said to be “regarded as an extension to the iPhone 12 series” with “certain upgrades” in place. These upgrades will include the A15 processors based on TSMC's 5nm+ process, shrunken notch due to the decreased size of sensor housings, and 120Hz refresh rate on the two Pro models in the series, according to the market research firm.

All the models in the iPhone 13 family are also expected to have sensor-shift stabilisation — an upgrade over optical image stabilisation (OIS). TrendForce also mentioned that only the Pro models in the series will come with LiDAR sensors. This contradicts a couple of recent reports that suggested LiDAR sensors on all models of the iPhone 13 series. Further, the iPhone 13 Pro models are expected to have ultra-wide cameras with a six-piece lens and autofocus support.

Despite the changes, the iPhone 13 series is predicted to be in line with the iPhone 12 models in terms of their pricing.

“Even though prices of some key components have risen due to tightening supply, Apple is taking into account the growth in the revenue of peripheral services in relation to the growth of iPhone sales,” TrendForce said. “This means that the starting price of the upcoming iPhone series will likely be relatively on par with the starting price of the iPhone 12 series.”

The firm also stated that due to maintaining the same pricing, the iPhone 13 series is expected to have the same memory options as the iPhone 12 models. This suggests that there would be no 1TB models as predicted earlier.

Similar to the iPhone 12 family, the iPhone 13 series this year is expected to have four distinct models, one of which will be a new mini version iPhone that could be called iPhone 13 mini or iPhone 12s mini. TrendForce, however, believes that Apple would concentrate its focus on promoting and driving sales of the three non-mini models in the series over giving any major attention to the mini version. This could be due to poor sales performance of the iPhone 12 mini that has been reported in the past and which has resulted in its production cycle's early end-of-life.

That said, the iPhone 13 series is likely to boost the share of 5G models in the overall iPhone production from 39 percent in 2020 to 75 percent in 2021. Apple started its journey in the 5G world with the iPhone 12 models that came last year with 5G support.