We already planned to review not only the flagship iPhone 11 Pro Max (miss?), but also this year’s iPhone Xr - the “regular” eleventh, with a 6.1-inch LCD display, a dual rather than triple camera, smaller dimensions and weaker battery. And, of course, at a more affordable price - if such terms are even applicable to Apple products. The iPhone Xr can only be called successful with a big stretch, but the iPhone 11 was made taking into account the main problem of last year’s “inexpensive iPhone” - too much of a gap between it and the older Apple smartphone - and looks much more promising.
But already in the process of preparing the material, iOS 13.2 beta was released with the much-advertised Deep Fuison image processing system, which was supposed to take the iPhone to a new level in terms of photography. This news created a new dimension for the material, in which we compared the iPhone 11 in terms of photo and video quality with the Huawei Mate 30 Pro. Well, we still talked about other features of this smartphone.
I’ll make a reservation right away that there are no sections dedicated to hardware and wireless connections - the iPhone 11, in terms of hardware, repeats the iPhone 11 Pro Max, which passed all the benchmarks and proved to be the most powerful smartphone to date. iPhone 11 also received Apple A13 Bionic and 4 GB of RAM. Only the options differ in terms of storage capacity: 64, 128 and 256 GB versus 64, 256 and 512 GB for the Pro version. It is worth mentioning that the new iPhones use non-volatile memory of the UFS 2.1 standard, while the latest Android flagships, one after another, receive much faster UFS 3.0 memory.
Apple iPhone 11 Pro Max
In terms of wireless connections, the iPhone 11 and iPhone 11 Pro are also almost identical: Bluetooth 5.0, Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ax, scheme with one SIM card slot with LTE support (all necessary bands are in place) , but the LTE modem in the “younger version” is weaker - the stated maximum download speed is 1024 Mbit/s versus 1600 Mbit/s for the Pro version.
Design. Is it any different from the iPhone XS?
Oh, Apple with its three-year update cycles. Each new iPhone cycle is too similar to the previous one. At first, no one could distinguish the iPhone XS from the X, but now the iPhone 11 Pro, which is generally similar to them, has been released.
But at least this one has real differences . They will appeal to all users who want the iPhone to scream with its very appearance: “I’m new, this is not some old thing!”
Let's go over the differences in the design of the iPhone XS and iPhone 11 Pro.
1. Rear glass panel . Glossy for iPhone XS and matte for iPhone 11 Pro. There is a big difference to the touch, I’ll tell you more about it below.
2. iPhone 11 Pro does not have the “iPhone” inscription on the back cover! It seems that Apple realized that no one would release a smartphone with a camera similar in structure and decided not to even emphasize the name of the device.
3. Cameras . On the iPhone XS it is double vertical and is located in the corner. The iPhone 11 Pro has a triple design and is on a square platform with rounded corners.
4. More cameras . The triple camera of the iPhone 11 Pro, although placed on an unusual square platform, sticks out less from the body. I’m sure that in a couple of years the camera will stop sticking out in principle. Maybe even in the iPhone 12 .
5. The buttons on the iPhone 11 Pro are lower . All at once, taking the SIM card slot for company. Only some Apple fanatic will say that this has improved convenience. In sober practice, there is no difference with the iPhone XS/X.
6. New body color . The iPhone 11 Pro came out in a new dark green color, in which the smartphone is posing in the photos in the review.
7. A secret change that few people noticed. The 11 Pro's buttons have a different click sound . The clicking became more pronounced and clear.
8. Dimensions and weight. iPhone 11 Pro is thicker and heavier compared to iPhone XS:
- iPhone XS: 143.6 x 70.9 x 7.7 mm, 177 g.
- iPhone 11 Pro: 144 x 71.4 x 8.1 mm, 188 g.
With “Maks” the same picture:
- iPhone XS Max: 157.5 x 77.4 x 7.7 mm, 208 g.
- iPhone 11 Pro Max: 158 x 77.8 x 8.1 mm, 226 g.
The difference in size is almost not felt. The thickness is already more noticeable. You can directly feel these 0.4 mm with your hand, but only if you have previously used the iPhone XS without a case. I asked my friends for their opinion on the thickness of the new iPhone. They say it's "slightly thick." Nothing particularly negative.
Weight is a completely different story. The iPhone 11 Pro gained 11 grams compared to the iPhone XS. And the 11 Pro Max actually felt like it was “in the village with grandma.” Plus as much as 18 grams.
These are the heaviest iPhones in history . And their weightiness is obvious. If you switch to 11 Pro from XS, the weight gain seems normal. But when you first pick up the 11 Pro after some “seven” with its 138 grams, at first you feel uneasy. Of course, you can get used to it. There's nothing complicated about it.
I won’t say that heavy weight is a minus of the new iPhones. This is the trend. Every year, smartphones acquire more and more modules and boards, which makes it difficult to become lighter.
And this is assuming that Apple is trying to make iPhones as light as possible. Just look at the new iPhone 11 Pro motherboard.
And if it's short?! The triple camera and dark green color are what clearly sets the iPhone 11 Pro apart from other iPhones. Is this not enough? Absolutely not! The camera really draws attention to itself. I caught people's gazes dozens of times when I took out my smartphone to take a photo. Of course, they weren't looking at me. The unusual triple camera instantly attracts the eye, especially those in the know.
This is a perfectly balanced iPhone
How great the iPhone 11 feels after the iPhone XS Max. The new product is 14 grams lighter than last year’s flagship, and you can feel it.
This is pure subjectivity, but I never liked “shovels” like the Plus and Max models. I considered 5.8-inch smartphones to be ideal, and 6.1-inch smartphones as a compromise for those who don’t have enough 5.8, but a lot of 6.5.
Now I have changed my mind. Due to its weight, iPhone 11 fits securely and comfortably in your hand. This is definitely not a compromise, but an independent smartphone for everyone.
iPhone 11 thickness - 8.3 mm, iPhone XR thickness - 8.3 mm
There is no “airiness” from the iPhone 11 Pro, but at the same time you don’t think that you are carrying with you a brick in the form of an iPhone 11 Pro Max, as Nikita noted in his review.
And the thickness of the devices plays a role. Due to the denser body, balance is felt, nothing outweighs anything. Harmony in all aspects.
Frosted glass. Pleasant to the fingers and eyes
The main change in terms of design of the iPhone 11 Pro is the rear frosted glass . First of all, it looks different. The glass reflects less and does not attract fingerprints. It always looks neat, there is no need to endlessly wipe it.
But the biggest difference is in the tactile sensations from the glass. If you stroke the case with your finger, it glides directly over the matte surface of the case. Does not get stuck, as happens with glossy glass. The paradox is that the iPhone 11 Pro with a matte body fits more confidently in the hand and does not slip out.
I really liked the frosted glass . When you hold a smartphone in your hand, you feel its novelty. A year ago, when I first touched the iPhone XS after the iPhone X, there was nothing like this. The update in terms of design was as boring as possible.
The iPhone 11 Pro has the same design (remember the cycles). But due to the frosted glass there is a feeling of newness. For me, this is a very important indicator, especially for those who plan to switch to a smartphone from the iPhone 8/8 Plus and other newer models with glass cases.
And if it's short?! Frosted glass - top! It looks cool and doesn't collect fingerprints; it slips less in your hand.
⇡#Autonomous operation and charging
The iPhone 11 received an 11.91 Wh battery (3110 mAh, 3.8 V) - a fairly typical solution for Apple; the company has never been particularly generous with batteries for its smartphones. Combined with a 6.1-inch LCD screen and a fairly resource-hungry platform, the iPhone 11 ran out of charge in my normal usage scenarios (okay, with a lot of gaming involved - heavily immersed in the Apple Arcade catalog) in about a day - from the moment waking up until the time I went to bed (that is, 16-17 hours). A completely normal cycle that did not require me to necessarily look for an outlet in the middle of the day.
In our traditional test of HD video playback with notifications turned on and connected to a Wi-Fi network, the iPhone 11 achieved the expected result for a smartphone with an LCD screen - just over nine hours. But for the iPhone, I must say, this is very good progress - in previous models with LCD screens (and not only) we talked about 5-6 hours in this test.
Unfortunately, the iPhone 11 kit does not include a fast charging adapter - there is only the most ordinary, 5-watt one, with which the smartphone battery is fully charged in about two and a half hours. An 18-watt charger like the iPhone 11 Pro Max is also supported, but must be purchased separately. Apple's legendary greed at its finest.
New dark green color. Discreet, stylish, in the spirit of Apple
iPhone 11 Pro is available in four colors: classic space gray and silver, slightly tuned gold and a completely new dark green, also known as Midnight Green. As soon as I saw the colors, I immediately knew - I’ll take green!
Apple created an amazing color, one might say premium. It is not striking, but looks stylish and modern. Not too bright, but not dull and faded either. The designers found a middle ground. If the green color were a little brighter, it would already be a bit childish. But there is nothing like that; after all, this is a Pro iPhone.
By the way, buying an iPhone 11 Pro in green turned out to be a real problem. I never expected a shortage of such expensive iPhones, so I was in no hurry to be one of the first to buy. And in vain.
A couple of days later I went to buy a dark green iPhone 11 Pro with 64 GB of memory, but it ran out. In one store, a second, a third. I visited about ten stores in the center of Moscow. And when patience was running out, the store had one, last, iPhone 11 Pro with the required memory and color.
And if it's short?! Conversations about design are always subjective. But I really liked the dark green color of the new iPhone. It looks fresh and Apple-like.
Processor and performance
The phone comes with Apple's new A13 Bionic processor and 4GB of RAM. During testing, the device showed good results. Specifically, it scored 3,186 in Geekbench's single-core testing mode, which is an improvement over last year's iPhones. When running the game Pascal's Wager at maximum graphics settings, no freezes or stutters were noticed - the game looks great, with a huge number of shadows, flickering objects on the screen, and the phone did not heat up during the game.
All games, including racing ones, with fast rendering of landscapes, look just as cool. Obviously, the flagship's power reserve is huge and simply not needed for most users. Other tasks are also completed instantly: saving photos or videos in 4K resolution, shooting in low light with Night Mode, etc. Of course, iPhone 11 is more powerful than many analogues on the market for the same money.
Equipment. Finally, normal charging!
Friends, it has happened. In 2020, when it became possible to buy a trip to Goa or a good car , Apple included a normal charger in the iPhone box.
The 5W adapter is a thing of the past. It was replaced by a modern (almost) charger with a power of 18 W! I was honestly happy when I unpacked my smartphone and saw this adapter. A smile appeared on his face. After all, here it is, a change of generations!
Moreover, the adapter itself is far from new. Apple has been selling it in its online store for several years, for quite decent money, I must say.
So, if you buy an iPhone 11 Pro with your last cash, you won’t have to spend until payday to purchase a normal charging adapter. You will be able to charge your smartphone quickly out of the box.
Oh yeah, the USB-C to Lightning cable needed for this charging is included. Let me clarify just in case, because we are talking about Apple. This one could have sent for the cable to a nearby store.
And if it's short?! "Fast" charging "out of the box". Better late than never.
Display. Brighter and more contrasty - and this is noticeable without a microscope
Apple loves to release a new iPhone with a description like “the screen is juicier, brighter and cooler!” After the purchase, you look at the smartphone screen and don’t understand where the coolest thing is?
In the case of the iPhone 11 Pro, it's a different story. Let's start with the numbers.
The device is equipped with a Super Retina XDR display with a resolution of 2436x1125 pixels (458 ppi). The screen contrast is 2,000,000:1 , which is twice that of the iPhone XS.
The display brightness in normal operation is 800 cd/m² . If you watch content in HDR format, it increases to a record 1200 cd/m². The iPhone XS has a more modest screen brightness in any mode - 625 cd/m².
Brightness and contrast are greater, but is this noticeable when using a smartphone in everyday life? Even before buying an iPhone, the thought crept in that there might not be a difference. But it turned out that there was room for improvement.
I saw a huge difference between the screens of the iPhone 11 Pro and iPhone XS in comparison, taking both smartphones in my hands. First I tested it at home, under artificial light. On the main screen with the splash screen and icons, everything seemed the same.
But as soon as we launched Safari and opened our site there, the difference literally caught our eye. The iPhone 11 Pro screen is 20% brighter! Against this background, the iPhone XS display seemed dull. But just a year ago one could only admire him.
The video from YouTube finished me off. Due to increased brightness and contrast, colors in videos began to look more saturated.
When I went outside, the effect of increased brightness was confirmed. It's more comfortable to view content on the iPhone 11 Pro screen, even if the direct rays of the sun fall on it. I won’t say that the iPhone XS display suddenly “turned into a pumpkin.” No, he's cool. But the updated iPhone 11 Pro display is cooler .
And if it's short?! The iPhone 11 Pro's display is actually the best among iPhones. Double the contrast and increased brightness make all the difference. It’s comfortable to watch any type of content outside on a sunny day; YouTube videos become juicier.
