Back in September, I managed to talk myself out of buying the iPhone 13 Pro. I decided I'd hold on to my trusty iPhone XS for one more year. After nights of offloading apps and deleting photos (I had less than 1GB of storage left), I bit the bullet and purchased an iPhone 13 Pro.
I'm a Verizon subscriber and have no plans of jumping ship for another carrier. That meant the vast majority of iPhone 13 deals were off limits to me. But there's one deal that convinced me to upgrade.
Apple's trade-in policy can get you from $30 to $650 off your iPhone 13 Pro purchase. Naturally, the larger trade-ins are reserved for newer phones. However, I was surprised that Apple was offering me the full $200 trade-in credit for my iPhone XS, which although in good condition, could no longer be charged via cable. Over time, the trade-in value of my iPhone XS would only downgrade, so I decided now was the time to go Pro.
I post dozens of iPhone deals every month, but at the end of the day I went with Apple for a few reasons. First, I wanted an unlocked model and all iPhones sold at the Apple Store are unlocked. That means I can avoid Verizon fees and pop in a SIM card should I travel anywhere.
Additionally, I didn't want to switch to an unlimited 5G data plan. There are plenty of great Verizon phone deals for existing customers, but many — if not all — of them require that you to switch to an unlimited data plan, which would've hiked my monthly phone plan by about $50/month ($600 per year).
As for my iPhone 13 Pro experience, in our iPhone 13 Pro review we praise the phone for its 120Hz display, performance, and cameras. Truthfully, I haven't noticed any speed performance/increase from my iPhone XS' A12 Bionic chipset. (To be fair, I have yet to push my new iPhone beyond Netflix, Apple Music, and the occasional Mario Kart game).
What I did immediately notice is its amazing display. Netflix's crime-noir drama My Name, for instance, looked amazing on the iPhone 13 Pro's display. Despite featuring a lot of dark, shadowy scenes, the action-packed thriller looked clear and very detailed on my iPhone with colors that popped from the screen.
The iPhone 13 Pro's camera system is also a massive upgrade from the iPhone XS, especially in low-light conditions. Overall, the iPhone 13 Pro has been one of my favorite tech purchases of the past 12 months.
If you're shopping for an iPhone 13 Pro, I've rounded up the best deals you can get right now at other carriers:
More iPhone 13 Pro deals
