Consumer Reports puts iPhone 11 Pro Max at top of smartphone rankings

Posted:
in General Discussion edited December 2019
Consumer Reports has rated the iPhone 11 Pro Max at the top of their smartphone list, citing improved battery life and camera quality as favored factors.




Consumer Reports has released a piece discussing the many improvements the new iPhone 11 Pro Max has received over last year's iPhone XS Max, which also did well in their testing.

In their battery life test, the iPhone 11 Pro Max lasted for 40.5 hours, an increase over the 29.5 hours of the iPhone XS Max. They also stated that the iPhone 11 Pro lasted 34 hours on a single charge, over the iPhone XS's 27.5 hours. The iPhone 11 lasted 28 hours, which was still an improvement over the iPhone XR.

Camera improvement was also a crucial factor in Consumer Report's glowing review. Their testers stated that the iPhone 11 Pro and iPhone 11 Pro Max received some of the highest scores in the ratings for still-image quality. All three phones in the iPhone 11 line received excellent ratings for rear-video quality.

The testers also found that the A13 bionic chip in all three phones in the iPhone 11 line was significantly faster than the 2018 Phone models, as well as the highest-end Android models. They point out that this is especially useful for editing 4K video and gaming.

Other factors included a durability test in which both the iPhone 11 and the iPhone 11 Pro Max did well, with the iPhone 11 Pro not surviving the repeated drop test.

Overall, Consumer Reports seemed quite impressed with the iPhone 11 line. Though they echoed the same concerns that many have about purchasing an iPhone that isn't 5G capable, they did call them "high-performing, sleek machines."

The iPhone 11 Pro Max is the first Apple phone to top the rankings in several years. The iPhone XS series lost out to the Samsung Note 9. Notably, the iPhone also came in second to the Galaxy Note 7, which was plagued by battery fires shortly after examination.

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 19
    Well, it's Consumer Reports, so ultimately this means nothing to me.

    I stopped paying attention to CR years ago due to what I considered shoddy reviewing and their weird recommendations (like giving a recommendation on a product that THEY didn't rate well but had a low price - bizarre!).
    edited October 2019 mike1entropystmaycaladanianWgkruegergilly33lolliverwatto_cobra
  • Reply 2 of 19
    FolioFolio Posts: 698member
    Perhaps more impressive is Bloomberg's Mark Gurman review today calling Pro best in class, almost tripping over himself with compliments.
    chasmwatto_cobra
  • Reply 3 of 19
    coolfactorcoolfactor Posts: 2,239member
    Congats, Apple. Your mission is a success. I wonder how many bump and notch haters are buying this model anyway?

    watto_cobra
  • Reply 4 of 19
    Apparently a fine product as is, but the camera promises to be even better with the next iOS update. Improving the camera for those who just point and shoot is to the point for typical cell phone camera use.
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 5 of 19
    DuhSesameDuhSesame Posts: 1,278member
    I got a feeling that most reviews like to put Galaxy before iPhones.  If there was an iPhone, it must be No.2 or 3, while the #1 usually be Galaxy.  I'll be surprised if someone puts the iPhone first.  Is it just me or that's how things goes?
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 6 of 19
    cpsrocpsro Posts: 3,192member
    Has CR ever put any weight on the 5+ years of first-class iOS support iPhones receive? The convenience and security of Face ID?
    Alinschiopuchasmlolliverwatto_cobrajony0
  • Reply 7 of 19
    badmonkbadmonk Posts: 1,285member
    cpsro said:
    Has CR ever put any weight on the 5+ years of first-class iOS support iPhones receive? The convenience and security of Face ID?
    Agree the annual updates and the amazing combination of FaceID and keychain are surprisingly never stressed (sometimes it seems by Apple as well).
    Alinschiopuchasmlolliverwatto_cobra
  • Reply 8 of 19
    MplsPMplsP Posts: 3,911member
    badmonk said:
    cpsro said:
    Has CR ever put any weight on the 5+ years of first-class iOS support iPhones receive? The convenience and security of Face ID?
    Agree the annual updates and the amazing combination of FaceID and keychain are surprisingly never stressed (sometimes it seems by Apple as well).
    But they gave Samsung’s implementation of facial recognition extra points for being more flexible, since you can use either your actual face of a photo!
    p-dogphilboogieberndoggilly33chasmwatto_cobrajony0
  • Reply 9 of 19
    gatorguygatorguy Posts: 24,176member
    MplsP said:
    badmonk said:
    cpsro said:
    Has CR ever put any weight on the 5+ years of first-class iOS support iPhones receive? The convenience and security of Face ID?
    Agree the annual updates and the amazing combination of FaceID and keychain are surprisingly never stressed (sometimes it seems by Apple as well).
    But they gave Samsung’s implementation of facial recognition extra points for being more flexible, since you can use either your actual face of a photo!
    ROTFL!
    jony0
  • Reply 10 of 19
    The new phone is so fast and fluid. The lenses spectacular and we still have a Deep Fusion to look  forward to. 
    philboogiegilly33chasmlolliverwatto_cobrajony0
  • Reply 11 of 19
    DuhSesameDuhSesame Posts: 1,278member
    gatorguy said:
    MplsP said:
    badmonk said:
    cpsro said:
    Has CR ever put any weight on the 5+ years of first-class iOS support iPhones receive? The convenience and security of Face ID?
    Agree the annual updates and the amazing combination of FaceID and keychain are surprisingly never stressed (sometimes it seems by Apple as well).
    But they gave Samsung’s implementation of facial recognition extra points for being more flexible, since you can use either your actual face of a photo!
    ROTFL!
    I'm sure most initial reviews are judging by how they "look".  Samsung does "look" more flashy than the iPhone.
    gilly33
  • Reply 12 of 19
    bluefire1bluefire1 Posts: 1,301member
    The extra battery life alone almost got me to trade in my Max for the Pro, but I’m probably going to wait for the 2020 iPhone.
    edited October 2019 watto_cobra
  • Reply 13 of 19
    lkrupplkrupp Posts: 10,557member
    We trash CR when they criticize the iPhone or rank it lower than a Samsung or Pixel model so why would we celebrate them now when they give an iPhone top marks. They are either competent at what they do or not. We can’t have it both ways.

    Personally I know only one individual who uses CR to make buying decisions. I imagine most people buy what they think is best for them and don't care what some reviewer says.
    philboogiechasmmuthuk_vanalingamlolliverwatto_cobrajony0
  • Reply 14 of 19
    MplsPMplsP Posts: 3,911member
    lkrupp said:
    We trash CR when they criticize the iPhone or rank it lower than a Samsung or Pixel model so why would we celebrate them now when they give an iPhone top marks. They are either competent at what they do or not. We can’t have it both ways.

    Exactly. It's just like the case when one analyst says sales are great and another says they're awful - people cheer the first one and trash the second. 

    The only thing I use Consumer Reports for is for car ratings. Not that they're totally unbiased there, either, but they're less biased than most sources, and the reliability/repair ratings are based on survey information, so they're about as good as you can get.
    berndoggatorguychasmwatto_cobra
  • Reply 15 of 19
    gilly33gilly33 Posts: 433member
    Folio said:
    Perhaps more impressive is Bloomberg's Mark Gurman review today calling Pro best in class, almost tripping over himself with compliments.
    That is impressive. 
    edited October 2019 chasmwatto_cobra
  • Reply 16 of 19
    gilly33gilly33 Posts: 433member
    bluefire1 said:
    The extra battery life alone almost got me to trade in my Max for the Pro, but I’m probably going to wait for the 2020 iPhone.
    Me too. I was so itching to trade in. But if this one has people gushing 2020 iPhone is going to be pretty sweet. Will hang on to my Max. 
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 17 of 19
    chasmchasm Posts: 3,274member
    I’m probably confusing it with something else, but CR has a bad habit of being quite negative in their utterly useless (regardless of product) “first look” pieces, which they then (routinely) walk most of it back in the full review, and ISTR that they recently trashed one of Apple’s new products (can’t recall which one) but are now turning around and calling Apple’s stuff great again.

    While I’m glad they’ve acknowledged that the iPhones 11 have no peer in the smartphone industry at this time, their view on tech stuff generally is pretty worthless except to fellow clueless technophobes, which I think these reviews are written towards. I will take the harshest professional Apple-centric website’s review over CR each and every time, and ditto for PC and Android pro sites over CR for those platform’s reviews.
    muthuk_vanalingamlolliverwatto_cobrajony0
  • Reply 18 of 19

    Like Bill Gates Shouted in a Famous Clip during an Employee Meeting at Microsoft: “You Never Understood the First Thing About This!” I Repeat that now since Consumer Reports has never Understood the First thing about Computer Tech., among other categories. It isn't just the Camera or Battery Life that makes iPhones Great, Current or Past Models... It's the User Experience brought to Life in iOS & Mac OS Apps that makes these mobile devices, laptops & desktops from Apple, Insanely Great. Steve Jobs had an often-used Moniker for people who are ignorant or incompetent, “BOZOS.“ Yes Consumer Reports, You Are ALL BOZOS!

    lolliverwatto_cobra
  • Reply 19 of 19
    lkrupp said:
    We trash CR when they criticize the iPhone or rank it lower than a Samsung or Pixel model so why would we celebrate them now when they give an iPhone top marks. They are either competent at what they do or not. We can’t have it both ways.

    Personally I know only one individual who uses CR to make buying decisions. I imagine most people buy what they think is best for them and don't care what some reviewer says.
    I user Consumer Reports as one source of information when making buying decisions.  I find their reviews used in conjunction with user reviews (on CR's site, as well as others) give a fairly well rounded picture, especially if it's an item for which they have repair and maintenance survey results.  They're also generally pretty clear on what their testing methodology is for the products they test (if one cares to actually look for it), so one can use that as yet another data point.

    From my own observations, I'm pretty sure most people's dissatisfaction with CR is based on a couple of things.  One is a favorite product gets a less than stellar review.  The other when a person buys a well reviewed product, and they get a bad one.  That's usually a lack of understanding of production processes and statistics.  

    Yes, CR sometimes gets it wrong.  Not very often are they very wrong, however.  At least for the things that I buy.  YMMV.
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