Standard iPhone Specifications
Physically, the iPhone 13 series is somewhat similar to the iPhone X, XS series, and XR or iPhones 11 and 12. It is, however, very different from earlier models, like the iPhone 8, iPhone 6S series and others. The key difference between the look of the iPhone X through iPhone 13 series and earlier models is that the recent models have nearly edge-to-edge screens and a notch on the top of the screen. The notch contains the Face ID facial recognition system. Otherwise, the phones include a glass face on the front and back, wraps the antenna around the outside of the phone (which caused antenna problems on old models), and are slightly thinner. Recent iPhones come in three different screen sizes — 5.8, 6.1, and 6.5 inches — all of which are touchscreens that employs multi-touch technology. Multi-touch allows users to control items on the screen with more than one finger simultaneously (thus the name). It’s multi-touch that enables some of the iPhone’s most famous features, such as tapping the screen twice to zoom in or “pinching” and dragging your fingers to zoom out. All modern iPhones use a suite of sensors to produce some of their best usability features, though none of these models offer expandable or upgradeable memory.
Typical Built-In iPhone Features
Because the iPhone is like a mini-computer, it offers the same wide range of features and functions that a computer does. The major areas of functionality for the iPhone are:
Phone: The iPhone’s phone features are solid. It includes innovative features like Visual Voicemail and standard features like text messaging, voice dialing, and free conference calls. Web browser: The iPhone offers the best, most complete mobile browsing experience. Though it never supported the Flash browser plug-in, it doesn’t require dumbed-down “mobile” versions of websites, instead offering a full web browser experience thing on a phone. Email: Like all good smartphones, the iPhone has robust email features for use with email services like Gmail and can sync to corporate email servers running Exchange. Calendar and Contacts: The iPhone is a personal information manager, too. It has pre-loaded apps for ket features like calendar, address book, stocks, weather, and other features. Music Player: One of the iPhone’s core features all along has been its terrific music player features. Music options on the iPhone got even more compelling with the release of the Apple Music streaming service. Video playback: With its big, beautiful screen, the iPhone is a great choice for mobile video playback. You can choose from the YouTube app, adding your own video, or buying or renting content from the iTunes Store. Apps: Thanks to the App Store, iPhones can run all kinds of third-party programs, from games to Facebook and Twitter to restaurant finders and productivity apps. The App Store makes the iPhone the most useful smartphone around. Cameras: All recent iPhone models have two cameras — though the iPhone 11 Pro sports a three-camera system on its back camera. All of the cameras can be used to take still images, record HD or 4K video, or even get pro-quality effects with Portrait Lighting. The user-facing camera is for FaceTime video chats and taking selfies. Face ID: The iPhone X and newer models include the Face ID facial scanner. This very-hard-to-defeat security system is used to unlock the iPhone, authorize iTunes and App Store purchases, and to finalize Apple Pay transactions. Apple Pay: The iPhone supports secure, wireless transactions based on holding your iPhone close to payment terminals in stores. Add a credit or debit card to your Apple Pay account, and authorize with Face ID, for this smooth process. Siri Every iPhone model in recent years has included Apple’s voice-activated, virtual assistant, Siri. Use Siri to get answers to questions, to automate actions on your iPhone, and much more. Wireless Charging The iPhone X and newer models don’t need to be plugged into a cable to charge. Just place them on a compatible charging mat and the battery will top up.
The iPhone Home Screen
You can re-arrange the icons on the home screen or create folders. This is especially helpful once you start adding programs from the App Store, as you can group similar applications or the ones you use the most often, together. Being able to re-arrange icons also leads to some unexpected events, like all the icons on your screen shaking.
Standard iPhone Buttons and Controls
Though the iPhone’s coolest control features are based around the multi-touch screen, it also has a number of buttons on its face that are used for control.
Side button: At the side of the iPhone (or at the top right corner on older models), you’ll find the Side button. Pressing this button locks the screen and/or puts the phone to sleep. It’s also the button used to restart the phone. Volume buttons: On the left side of the phone, buttons that move up and down control the volume of music, video, and the phone’s ringer. Ringer button: Just above the volume control is a smaller rectangular button. This is the ringer button, which allows you to put the phone into silent mode so the ringer won’t sound when calls come in. Lightning Port: This port, at the bottom of the phone, is where you plug in the cable to sync the phone with a computer, as well as accessories.
The iTunes Advantage
You can sync the iPhone, and manage content on it, using iTunes.
Activation: When you first get an iPhone, you activate it through iTunes and select your monthly phone plan using the software. Sync: Once the phone is activated, iTunes is used to sync music, videos, calendars and other information to the phone. Restore and Reset: Lastly, iTunes is also used to reset data on the iPhone and restore contents from backup if problems cause you to need to erase the contents of the phone.
The Wireless Option: Using iPhone with iCloud
Prefer a wireless experience? Use your iPhone with iCloud instead.
Back up: Back up data to iCloud instead of iTunes for safer and simpler data access. Redownload Purchases: Get new copies of apps, music, ebooks, and more by re-downloading them using iCloud. Find Lost iPhone: Use Find My iPhone to locate lost or stolen iPhones and protect your data.
