This fresh batch of iPhones start at $699, $999 and $1,099 apiece.
The iPhone 11 (from $699), iPhone 11 Pro ($999) and iPhone 11 Pro Max ($1,099) are here, flexing new camera muscles, a fresh palette of colors and the A13 Bionic chip that promises speedier performance across the board. From the front, this crop of iPhones look like last year’s iPhone XS, iPhone XS Max and iPhone XR — notch and all. From the back, a square camera array shouts out the difference between 2018 and 2019. Apple’s redesigned camera mount is the hallmark for iPhone 11 devices, but it also houses two camera sensors for the iPhone 11 and three for the 11 Pro.
Those three cameras on the back of the iPhone 11 Pro and Pro Max are Apple’s biggest risks in a series that plays it safe this year.
For many people, the iPhone represents the gold standard for smartphone design and cutting-edge features like Face ID unlocking, which Apple says is now faster than before. But despite new features like a faster A13 Bionic processor and support for Wi-Fi 6, the iPhone 11 trio fails to push the envelope, relying instead on the big camera change and smaller refinements to keep up momentum.
There’s no 5G carrier support (we expect that to come in 2020), and none of the reverse wireless charging that was rumored to charge the Apple AirPods, Apple Watch and other phones of the back of the iPhone 11 — like you get with the Galaxy S10 and Note 10 phones.
Apple also held back on rumored features like making the new iPhone 11s compatible with Apple Pencil, and a USB-C port that was whispered to replace the Lightning connection.
Without a strong suite of new features to tantalize buyers, Apple has its work cut out for it as it heads into the hyper-competitive holiday season and 2020. Phone sales are down. Competitors like Samsung, Google and Huawei are pulling ahead on camera tools and features. And then there’s the question of 5G — iPhone users will have to wait a full year unless Apple surprises us all with a special event before Sept. 2020.
The iPhone 11, 11 Pro and 11 Pro Max go on preorder starting Friday, Sept. 13 at 5 a.m. PT. They arrive in-store on Sept. 20. Apple will continue to sell the iPhone XR for $599 and the iPhone 8 for $449.
For now, take a look at everything important that the new iPhones have to offer. You can catch up on everything else Apple announced here, from iOS 13’s launch date to the brand new Apple Watch Series 5. Here’s how the iPhone 11 phones compare to the iPhone XS and XR.
Three rear cameras on the back of the iPhone 11 Pro and iPhone 11 Pro Max
The iPhone 11 Pro and 11 Pro Max are all about the camera. Competing brands are no stranger to the three-camera system (or even four!), but this marks Apple’s first time pairing a wide-angle lens with both telephoto and ultra-wide-angle sensors.
We’re working up a camera deep dive for you soon, but what you really need to know is that Apple wants to make it as easy for you to switch from the main 12-megapixel camera lens to the 13-megapixel ultra-wide-angle lens to the 12-megapixel telephoto sensor, which you do from the main camera screen.
Having used this type of system on other phones, like the Huawei P30 Pro and Galaxy Note 10 for example, it really can make photos more atmospheric or striking — especially landscape shots — when taken with the ultra-wide lens. Apple says it will fit in four times the amount of scenery compared to the main camera.
On the flip side, a telephoto shot can make the difference between grabbing your picture or not when you’re too far to really see the face or detail you’re trying to capture because you’re simply too far away. A concert, a cornice on a historical building, a celebrity behind a velvet rope. That sort of thing. Apple says it’ll deliver a total of 4x optical zoom through its camera system, though the telephoto lens is specced out for 2x optical zoom.
Dedicated night mode is another feature that’s become a base feature in premium phones. It’s intended to make details brighter and reduce noise in low-lit conditions.
But the most interesting feature, which we won’t see at the iPhone 11’s launch (it’ll come to all three phones) is Deep Fusion, which takes the best features from nine different images that the iPhone automatically takes. It uses machine learning to combine these disparate shots in a second, then serve up a compilation with sharper details than you’d get if you took it yourself. That’s the theory, anyway.
The last feature we can’t wait to try out is slow-motion video for the front-facing camera, but maybe that’s just so we can say we took a “slofie“. We’re not sure if we’re going to love to hate it or hate to love it, but yeah, one of those.
New iPhone 11 Pro and Pro Max key specs
- Two screen sizes: 5.8- and 6.5-inch OLED displays (458 ppi pixel density apiece)
- “Super Retina XDR” display supports HDR 10 with Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos
- Phone body: Textured matte finish
- 64GB, 256GB, 512GB storage capacities
- Three rear cameras with 4x optical zoom: Wide, ultra-wide, telephoto lenses (OIS for wide and telephoto)
- Upcoming camera feature called Deep Fusion compiles nine images to reduce noise and amp up details
- 4 hours more battery life (Pro) and 5 hours longer battery life (Pro Max) than last year’s models
- Faster Face ID unlocking
- Wi-Fi 6 support, but no 5G
- 4K video for both front and rear cameras, with slow-motion video for the selfie camera (aka “slofies“)
- New portrait lighting effect: Monochrome
- iOS 13 on-board
- Fast charging adapter
- Colors: Midnight green, space gray, silver, gold
- iPhone 11 Pro starts at $999 or $25 per month (£1,049, AU$1,749)
- iPhone 11 Pro Max starts at $1,099 or $29 per month (£1,149, AU$1,899)
-
What’s new in the iPhone 11
- Six colors: Black, yellow, purple, green and Product Red, white
- A13 Bionic chip
- 64GB, 128GB, 512GB storage capacities
- Hour more battery life than iPhone XR
- Faster Face ID unlocking
- Wi-Fi 6 support, but no 5G
- Dual camera system with a 12-megapixel lenses: wide and ultra-wide (switch by tapping on the screen)
- Camera night mode
- 2x optical zoom
- New portrait lighting in monochrome
- 12-megapixel front-facing camera (up from 7 megapixels)
- 4K video for both front and rear cameras, with slow-motion video for the selfie camera
- iOS 13
- Starts at $699 or $17 per month (£729, AU$1,199)
Recommendation: Manage iPhone/iPad/iPod without using iTunes
- Support to transfer, edit, backup, manage, view iOS & Android mobile data: Music, videos, photos, apps, ebooks, contacts, messages and more.
- Download videos from 100+ video sharing sites up to 4K HD video quality and transfer to iPad/iPhone/iPod/Android.
- Handy toolkit: Audio converter, video converter, ringtone maker, etc.
- Free
You can follow Syncios onTwitter,Facebookfor more tips and tricks.