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iPhone 11 Pro Review: Major Camera And Battery Improvement Over Previous Apple Phones

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Every year in September, Apple introduces its new iPhones, and every year, a high percentage of Android enthusiasts scoff at what they consider to be outdated tech.

This year is perhaps even easier to do so, as the iPhone 11 series of phones have kept the 2017 iPhone X design language for a third straight year, and the two most notable new hardware additions–a wide-angle camera and a larger, near-4000 mAh battery– are features that Android fans expect on even budget sub-$300 phones.

But just looking at hardware components in a vacuum is a narrow-minded way of evaluating a smartphone, a do-it-all personal computer that has become indispensable in our daily lives.

And so while Android handsets, given the far more competitive and cut-throat landscape, is always going to be offer more cutting-edge tech–we already have a 5G-ready foldable Android with six cameras, for example–the iPhone experience is more than the sum of its hardware parts.

(I actually tested the larger iPhone 11 Pro Max model, but other than screen and battery sizes, the 11 Pro Max is identical to the smaller 11 Pro, so for the sake of simplicity, I’ll refer to the phone as 11 Pro throughout the review except when talking about battery performance)

Hardware: old design, but strong and refined

For the first half decade of iPhone’s existence, Apple gave the iPhone a design overhaul every two years. That, apparently, is no more, as the iPhone 11 Pro line keeps a three-year-old design, the second consecutive three-year hardware cycle in iPhone history (iPhones 6, 6S, and 7 kept the same design, too).

I have to admit, as an Android enthusiast who sees exciting new form factors every few months, this three-year-old iPhone X design language is starting to feel stale. The iPhone 11 Pro has only one immediately noticeable hardware change over last year’s phone: that square-shaped camera module. Almost everything else, from the size of the notch to the display resolution, are almost exactly the same as before.

But there’s no denying the iPhone 11 Pro is well constructed. The 11 Pro keeps the stainless steel frame from the iPhone X, and it is noticeably more sturdy than aluminum railings on most Android phones. Apple says its glass back is also reinforced to be strongest on the market, a claim I can’t vouch as I haven’t dropped the phone, but I do feel that the glass feels more dense.

The Vivo Nex 3 and Samsung Galaxy Note 10, with their slimmer bezels, curved screens and lack of a giant notch, are better looking phones in my opinion, but the iPhone 11 Pro design, with rounded corners and no screen curvature, is easier to use, easier to handle and should be slightly more durable.

Cameras: triple lens done right

Apple is late to the wide-angle camera game–I’ve been preaching about the usefulness of the lens since 2016–but as usual, Apple has done it right. On many other wide-angle camera offerings, such as on Huawei’s P30 Pro or Oppo’s Reno, images captured by the wide-angle lens differ wildly from main sensor photos in color science and dynamic range. This is due to the wide-angle lens usually using an inferior sensor (Note: Huawei may have fixed this problem with the Mate 30 Pro, but I haven’t had the chance to test it yet).

On the iPhone 11 Pro, the wide-angle lens produces images that are mostly consistent with not just the main camera, but also telephoto zoom lens, in color science and dynamic range. This level of continuity between lenses require extra effort from phonemakers, and Apple having more total control over its hardware and software design likely helped matters.

Speaking of continuity, Apple has also fine-tuned its camera software to allow more seamless switching between the three lenses when shooting videos. If I rotate the on-screen zoom dial slow enough, I can get a relatively fluid zoom from the wide-angle lens (roughly 13mm equivalent) all the way to the telephoto’s lossless 2X zoom (56mm equivalent). On most other Android phones, the same action results in a split second pause when the camera switch lenses.

This is complete gadget geek nitpicking by the way, as the majority of smartphone users won’t notice or even care about a minor hiccup during video zooming. But it’s little things like this that show Apple’s attention to details.

As for overall image quality? Excellent. The main camera is very capable, with the phone’s new A13 Bionic chip doing a superb job of constantly analyzing scenes to determine the proper balance. In general, I think the iPhone camera is the most dummy-proof camera, in that you can just point and shoot and expect a good, usable photo. Other phone cameras, like the system in the Huawei’s P30 Pro or Samsung’s Note 10, have higher ceilings for users who know how to shoot and tweak settings, but they also have lower floors, as Samsung’s sensors have slow shutter speed that often show moving humans as a blur, and Huawei’s cameras, for all its zoom and low light wizardy, sometime flubs the basics like image stabilization and keeping natural skin tones. The iPhone 11 Pro, like the iPhone X or XS, consistently leaves me with quality shots. Apple’s Live Photos feature, which is a short video clip that takes place before and after the photo, further helps, as I can choose a specific frame from the video to replace as the main still image if need.

One weakness of the iPhone cameras in years past was low-light performance, due to other phone brands simply having more powerful hardware (larger sensors) and more digital trickery (night mode). Apple has mostly caught up here, too, with an improved main sensor and introducing its own night mode.

Just like the night mode that Huawei first introduced in March of 2018, Apple’s night mode quickly captures a series of images in succession–some underexposed some overexposed–and then the A13 Bionic chip pulls information from all the images and stitches them together for one better lit, better balanced photo.

As the samples below show, the 11 Pro’s night mode does a good job of adding enough light to a dark scene, while keeping the overall mood of the scene. The first set of night mode samples below was taken in a dark alley after hours.

In the above sample, the Note 10’s night mode-produced shot looks just as good as the iPhone’s, but zoom closer and I could see that Samsung’s sensors overexposed the lights inside the building, Apple’s shot is the superior image.

In complete pitch black conditions, like in the sample below, the iPhone 11 Pro’s night mode can work wonders and is a huge jump from last year’s XS, though Huawei’s P30 Pro still produced an even sharper image.

Two areas of the camera experience iPhones have always excelled in are bokeh portrait images and video recording, and the iPhone 11 Pro keeps the lead in the former and pushes the lead even more with the latter.

The 11 Pro captures natural portraits with excellent edge detection, free of all the beautification over-processing that plagues Chinese and South Korean phones (that’s virtually all other phones, by the way). Meanwhile, the 11 Pro’s video recording has made a big leap over last year’s already excellent XS, with improved stabilization and cameras that consistently find the right balance.

In the video sample below–shot at night on purpose because low light videos are significantly more difficult to do well–the iPhone 11 Pro’s clip is noticeably smoother and better balanced than the same clips shot with the Samsung Galaxy Note 10 and Vivo Nex 3. The latter two phones completely blow out the bright lights coming from the gym across the street, and there is a clear lack of OIS with the Nex 3’s camera.

Software: Apple quirks and stubbornness brings ingenuity but also frustrations

One of the major reasons to choose Apple over Android is timely software updates. Apple’s iPhone 11 Pro ships with iOS 13–the just-released Apple software–and an update is coming in two days. Meanwhile, if you buy a newest Samsung, LG or Oppo phone today, they’ll still be running Android 9 when Android 10 is already out.

iOS 13, which I covered in depth here, is a mostly iterative update that refines Apple’s mobile OS. New features that I find very useful includes swipe typing (you type by running your finger through the keyboard instead of tapping) and “dark mode” (the system UI adopts mostly black or gray colors), but these are features a good Android skin, such as OnePlus’ OxygenOS or Xiaomi’s EMUI, have offered for years.

I’m still frustrated by Apple’s stubborn software rules, such as forcing us to place apps in a top-down, left-to-right grid (Android phones offer free homescreen grids: I can place apps anywhere on the homescreen); video recording settings such as a resolution and frame rate are still buried within the main settings page instead of in the camera app; and Apple’s heavy-handed notifications (my iPhones urges me to sign up for Apple Pay or buy more iCloud storage ever few days with a red notification icon bubble)

Ultimately, I still prefer Android’s endless customization, but I must concede that whenever I use an iPhone I do find the seamless nature of the Apple ecosystem very convenient. AirDrop, which allows fast and easy transferring of files between Apple devices, is highly useful, and there isn’t an Android equivalent yet, though Oppo, Xiaomi and Vivo are trying to build one.

I also love that, if one of my Apple devices has already connected to WiFI, then my next Apple device can connect without needing to type in the password again. Also, Safari auto-filling tedious information such as my address or account password by scanning my face still impresses me on the 200th time.

Then there’s the excellent Apple Watch–which only works with iPhones–and all these other little Apple things like being able to use an iPhone as a remote control for Apple TV, and I totally understand why there are huge chunks of the world who love using iPhones.

Thicker body, bigger battery, more endurance

Another major gripe I had with using iPhones in the past was that, in an effort to chase thinness, almost all iPhones in the past had sub-par battery life. I’m a heavy user, so no iPhones from 2007 to 2017 could last me an entire day. I would always need to find a wall socket or pull out my portable battery pack when using an iPhone.

Apple fixed that with last year’s iPhone XS Max, which drastically improved battery life to the point that the phone could almost go an entire day for me. I’m happy to report that the 11 Pro Max takes another leap forward. During my week of review, I have finished 12-hour days with nearly 25% battery life left which is excellent.

Apple’s marketing team explains the improved battery life by attributing it to a more efficient processor, and while that’s no doubt partly true, the reality is battery life has also improved simply because Apple has crammed a larger battery inside the devices.

The 11 Pro Max is thicker than previous iPhones, and the bulk is due to the larger battery. Apple won’t disclose battery size, but some tech geeks have already taken apart the new iPhones and found that the 11 Pro Max has a near-4000 mAh cell inside, which is a huge jump from previous years.

I think I speak for everyone: we will take a slightly thicker phone if it means we don’t have to worry about battery life. I haven’t tested the standard 11 Pro, but I’m hearing that phone’s battery should last all day, too.

Other bits

I haven’t talked about the iPhone 11 Pro’s screen yet, but it’s excellent. The OLED panels are sourced from Samsung, but Apple fine-tunes the display itself and in typical Apple fashion, it’s all about balance. The 11 Pro screens aren’t as punchy as, say, Samsung’s own Note 10 screens, but professional photographers and graphic designers usually prefer the more true-to-life color temperature of iPhone’s OLED screens.

Apple also made the screens brighter this year, and it’s HDR 10-compliant. In all, there’s not a thing to complain about with the new iPhone screens. However, I do think the iPhone notch, which I was okay with in 2017, now feels hideously large, because I’ve been spoiled by completely uninterrupted displays of Oppo, OnePlus and Vivo phones.

I understand the notch is necessary for now for Face ID, but I think that I’d sacrifice Face ID for a notch-less iPhone if I can. Reliable rumors say Apple is working on an in-display fingerprint reader, so perhaps next year’s iPhones will have a smaller notch.

Excellent, refined, if not groundbreaking

In a year of foldable phones, 120Hz displays and 5G-ready phones, it’s hard to look at the iPhone 11 Pro and say it’s a groundbreaking release. However, what Apple has done is address the previous weaknesses of iPhones (subpar battery life and lack of camera focal length versatility), and the end result is a refined product that has no glaring flaw.

It’s also hard to say the new iPhones are a good value when Xiaomi and Oppo are pumping out really high-quality handsets at under $400. But those who are invested in Apple’s ecosystem likely can spare the cash, and in many developed countries the iPhones can be purchased with heavy carrier subsidies, so I think the usual $1,100-plus asking price is not a dealbreaker.

Loyal iPhone users will absolutely feel a major upgrade if they switch to the 11 Pro Max, and yes, I know Android fans who were not impressed by the iPhone before will still scoff at the iPhone 11 Pro, but again, I think that’s shortsighted.

The reality is an ecosystem that operates by its own philosophy, and being able to choose–or in my case, regularly switch–between them is a privilege tech enthusiasts take for granted.

As cliched and eyeroll-inducing as it is when Apple execs and fans say the iPhone “just works,” there is truth to this. The iPhone 11 Pro’s cameras is the camera I’d recommend to anyone regardless of skill level; and Apple’s app ecosystem is the most complete for casual users.

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