I’m glad Apple has abandoned Roman numerals; This ends the people who called it “iPhone X” and we will not have those who would call it “iPhone X and”. It’s iPhone 11, dry. Although personally, I was hoping that Apple would get rid of the numbers completely, leaving us an iPhone, dry, accompanied by the iPhone Pro and iPhone Max.
This is where, really, we see nothing of innovation, but rather, to Apple to repeat the role of trying to reach the competition, presenting us with technology that had debuted on other phones years ago. But still, I’m glad they are finally available on the iPhone. This year brings us progressive improvements, which are summarized in:
- Best battery
- Best cameras
- Best Performance
And a design that recycles what was presented by the iPhone X two years ago, and accompanies it with a new camera design that, personally, I do not like.
Leaving the design issue aside, however, I think Apple has done a great job with the iPhone 11.
It is a phone that meets the needs of the vast majority of people. The scandal of the screen resolution of the XR has passed and after the clickbait and scandalous headlines, the world has realized that the screen of the XR (and that of the 11, which has the same density) is indeed very good and better that many phones with higher resolutions,
so it is no longer a relevant point of criticism. It also has the same A13 as the most expensive phones and 4 GBs of RAM, the same amount of the XS / XS Max of 2018, but apparently 2 GBs less than the 11 Pro / Pro Max.
This is almost irrelevant, because iOS 13 works perfect with 4 GBs of RAM (in fact, it works perfect even with 2 GBs of RAM, which is the amount of my first-generation iPad Pro).
The most interesting thing is that Apple has chosen to put its new ultra-wide-angle camera on this phone.
I had the suspicion that Apple would give us this iPhone with two cameras, the regular one and the telephoto. However, Apple has put the two most useful cameras on its cheapest iPhone.
Honestly, I almost never photographed with the telephoto lens because of the loss of quality / brightness, but I do use the ultra-wide angle quite a bit on phones that offer it because they give us a unique perspective.
And having the two best lenses for photography and video on the cheapest iPhone, make it an attractive alternative even for current owners of an iPhone XS / XS Max. I would be happy to change my iPhone XS for an 11, just for this wide-angle lens.
And finally, the price and battery. The iPhone XR of 2018 offered the best battery life of all iPhones, and this year Apple has managed to extend it for another hour. And with everything offered, we also have a more attractive price: the new iPhone costs $ 699, instead of $ 749, for the 64 GB model.
For this price, this is the iPhone that I would recommend to everyone. Apple has made its most economical phone the most interesting.
The iPhone 11 Pro and iPhone 11 Pro Max are the most expensive versions of Apple and, unlike the MacBook line, where if there is a dramatic jump in performance between regular and Pro models, here both the base and the most advanced models offer the same processor.
What we get Well, a more premium equipment, with better materials, an OLED screen of better resolution and quality, and an additional camera, telephoto.
Where we do see a significant change – apart from the ultra-wide-angle lens – is the issue of battery life. Apple has removed the 3D Touch from these phones, so it has more space to place larger batteries.
For this reason, the iPhone 11 Pro (which replaces the XS), offers up to 4 more hours of use, and the iPhone 11 Pro Max (which replaces the XS Max), offers up to 5 more hours of use.
It is a huge leap of autonomy, which will surely place Apple iPhones above the competition, thanks to its combination of large batteries, with excellent handling of them by software .
This phone also has a new wide-angle lens, but it also accompanies it with a telephoto. In optics, we have enough similarity with the Apple telephoto of the XS, only with a brighter aperture to be able to use it in dark conditions.
And speaking of it, Apple has finally presented a “Night Mode” or night mode on their phones, years after the competition did, which is totally welcome.
Unfortunately, it is a function that is activated automatically and only when needed (when the iPhone detects low light), we cannot use it or activate it whenever we want, for artistic reasons. In addition, the iPhone offers, like the Huawei P30 Pro, the option to record with two cameras simultaneously. But unlike the P30 Pro, we need an additional app to make use of this function.
Have You Read About iPhone Night Mode Camera?
What iPhone to buy? iPhone 11 vs iPhone 11 Pro?
I would honestly recommend the iPhone 11 over the iPhone 11 Pro / Pro Max to almost everyone, practically.
The iPhone 11 offers the most important of the 11 Pro, for $ 300 less, 30% cheaper. For $ 300 less (the cost of an Apple Watch Series 3 and over $ 100) we get a phone with the best features of the Pro, except for the theme of the third telephoto camera (which I doubt they miss a lot; does not offer a significant zoom as It has the P30 Pro) and screen.
This, combined with the excellent battery life, make the iPhone 11 an attractive upgrade even for iPhone XS / iPhone X users.
However, my recommendation, especially if they have an iPhone X or XS, or XR, is to wait. There are few things that Apple has improved with this iPhone, and 2020 promises to bring us a significant redesign. This is nothing more than a progressive, evolutionary update for Apple, an attempt to “catch up”, to reach the competition.
It is another year where the iPhone is not the source of innovation, but Apple “inspired” by the innovations presented by companies in Asia, such as South Korea or China. Yes, it is great to see that Apple finally implements many of these things, but if they expected a truly revolutionary product from Apple, we will have to wait another year.
That said, if what interests them is photography above all things, the iPhone 11 is an upgrade worthwhile. I personally am evaluating selling my iPhone XS to move to iPhone 11 (not Pro, nor Pro Max, only iPhone 11).