First Look at Apple’s Camera-Centric iPhone 11 Lineup
Apple’s new iPhone 11, iPhone 11 Pro, and iPhone 11 Pro Max add more cameras, brighter screens, and faster processors. We spent some time with the phones; heres a walk through some of the latest features.
By Sascha Segan
The new iPhones are here, and they’re bright! When I got my hands on the iPhone 11 Pro and iPhone 11 Pro Max for the first time, I was really impressed by the brightness of the new phones’ OLED screens, a step up from the previous iPhone XS and XS Max. The screens are brighter, but the new phones have slightly longer battery life—that’s a great deal for everyone.
I also tried out the new camera systems: three cameras on the Pro models and two on the less expensive iPhone 11. The most impressive trick actually comes from third-party apps such as Filmic. I’ve seen phones with wide-angle, regular, and zoom cameras before—it’s practically standard in the Android world right now—but Apple has a more vibrant ecosystem of third-party camera apps, and Filmic is doing super-cool things with combining views from the multiple cameras.
I only spent a few brief moments with the new phones this week, but we’ll have full reviews when we get more time with the units. For now, here’s a quick look at the three new models in all their gorgeous colors.
Three New iPhones
The new iPhones come in three varieties. The iPhone 11 starts at $649, the iPhone 11 Pro at $999, and the iPhone 11 Pro Max (shown here) at $1,099.
The iPhone 11 Pro Max
Let’s start with the biggest one. The iPhone 11 Pro Max (left) has a 6.5-inch Super Retina XDR display. It’s noticeably brighter than the iPhone XS Max I’m holding it next to. It gets even brighter when showing HDR video content. Both the iPhone 11 Pro and the Pro Max displays have 458 pixels per inch; the bigger one just has more pixels, so more real estate to work with.
iPhone 11 Pro Colors
The phones now come in gray, silver, gold, or dark-green. The new matte finish attracts fewer fingerprints than the iPhone XS Max. It’s also less slippery, and at least superficially, seems less fragile.
iPhone Camera Bump
The new iPhones’ camera bump is made of part of the same piece of glass as the back, but it’s slightly raised and has a slightly sharp edge around it.
Three Different Camera Angles
The triple-camera system is a big new feature. Other phones have had these for a while, but it’s a first on iPhones.
Fish-Eye Wide Angle
You can flip between wide-angle, regular, and 2x zoom, all of which are 12-megapixel sensors. As you can see, the 120-degree wide-angle has a bit of a fish-eye effect.
All Four Cameras at Once
With third-party camera apps, you can get pretty crazy here. Filmic can record using all four cameras at once.
They Call Them “Slofies”
There’s also a new 12-megapixel front-facing camera that records selfies in slow-motion.
Smaller, but Not Less Powerful
Here’s the iPhone 11 Pro, on the right. It’s smaller, obviously. It’s 2.81 inches wide as compared with 3.06 inches wide, and it has a smaller screen and a slightly smaller battery. Most of its other capabilities are the same, though.
This One’s the “Cheap” iPhone
This is the iPhone 11. It replaces the iPhone XR and comes in six colors. The purple is really eye-catching.
Like the XR, With More Cameras
The iPhone 11 has a 6.1-inch LCD with 326 pixels per inch, just like the iPhone XR. It isn’t quite as bright as the iPhone 11 Pro display, and it’s significantly more reflective.
Wide Angle, but No Zoom
On the back are two cameras, not three. These are 12-megapixel regular and wide-angle lenses. In the camera app, you have just one button to flip between regular and wide-angle. You can still digital zoom in, but it doesn’t look as nice as on the Pro phones.
The front-facing camera on the iPhone 11 is also 12 megapixels, and it has a depth sensor to speed up Face ID.
Side Views
You can see that this phone is a little thicker than the 11 Pro, too.
New Processor
All of the phones have the same A13 processor and will probably have the same app performance. This is one of the new games Apple demoed. The stereo sound is really immersive, although it can be a little harsh.
The Jack Isn’t Coming Back
Apple didn’t change any of the more divisive design elements on the iPhones. As you can see, they still have their big notches at the top. There’s no headphone jack. And the charging port is still lightning, not USB-C.
Various Cases
New camera styles mean the new iPhone line needs new cases. These are the official Apple cases — including a clear one to show off the phone’s color — but we’ve heard from a lot of third-party case makers, too.
How About 4G?
I know you’re probably looking to me to talk a lot about radios, modems, and 4G. I tried to scope out the new phones’ 4G capabilities in my story This Is Why The iPhone Doesn’t Have 5G. But we’ll have a lot more coverage on this and other topics as we get the phones and test them over the next few weeks, so check back soon.
Originally published at https://www.pcmag.com on September 12, 2019.
