9 great reads from CNET this week: iPhone 13, SpaceX, moonshine and more

When Apple unveils a new iPhone, the world takes notice — even if it’s only a slightly buffer version of the iPhone that preceded it. This week, we met the iPhone 13, whose big claim to fame sounds like much of the generational upshifting before it: bigger battery, more storage, some new camera tricks, that sort of thing.

We should also point out that Apple showed off a few other product updates — the Apple Watch 7, a refreshed 10.2-inch iPad and a big upgrade for the iPad Mini — and teased upcoming shows for Apple TV Plus. Good stuff, but as always, it’s the iPhone that really turns heads.

The stories here about the iPhone 13 are among the many in-depth features and thought-provoking commentaries that appeared on CNET this week. So here you go. These are the stories you don’t want to miss:     

It’s easy to dismiss Apple’s success as driven by its marketing prowess. But there’s much more going on.

Commentary: The new iPad Mini and other USB-C-equipped Apple products could help the iPhone ecosystem off Apple’s proprietary port.   

Commentary: Once a highlighted feature, 5G got reduced to a quick segment before Apple moved on to other core features and upgrades.   

For one Tennessee business, moonshine’s heritage is its selling point.

The Crew Dragon carrying four “everyday people” punches through the Florida night sky in a historic first.  

PS5s are still hard to buy, but Deathloop is the perfect reward for those who do land one of the consoles.   

Colossal lands $15 million to restore the woolly mammoth to the Arctic — and thinks it can birth calves in four to six years.  

Virgin Hyperloop promises a future with transport pods zooming through tubes at hundreds of miles per hour. To get there, it’s built a prototype in a Nevada desert. 

Everyone should check out Haikyu!! It rules. 

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iPhone 13 and 13 Mini explained

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