iPhone 11 -- hands on and first impressions

AppleInsiderAppleInsider
Posted:
in iPhone edited September 2019
Apple has made the iPhone 11 official and AppleInsider goes hands on with the new features, colors, and new dual camera system. Here are our first impressions.

Apple's iPhone 11 at the September 10 Apple Event
Apple's iPhone 11 at the September 10 Apple Event


A year ago we got the iPhone XR alongside Apple's flagship handset, the iPhone XS. The iPhone 11 is Apple's newest affordable iPhone that starts at just $699 -- $50 less than last year's iPhone XR.




Similar look and feel

The overall look hasn't changed much from last year's iPhone XR. However the iPhone 11 now features a more shatter-resistant chassis.

Two new colors are available for the iPhone 11 -- Purple, and Green -- which replaces the iPhone XR Coral and Blue shades. These two new colors look stunning in photos, but look even better in person.

Dual 12MP cameras

Most noticeably, there's also two camera lenses instead of just one wide angle camera. The outgoing iPhone XR was only equipped with one camera.

These cameras are 12 megapixels shooters, and instead of adding a telephoto lens, Apple opted to use an ultra wide angle lens, alongside the standard wide lens. These cameras let you shoot sharper photos and they'll also allow you to shoot new ways thanks to that ultra wide angle lens.

There's also a new portrait option for the iPhone 11 which allows you to not only take wide angle portraits, but you can now shoot in Portrait Mode with pets or objects. There's also a new Night mode which happens automatically when there's not enough light in the scene, we haven't tested it ourselves, but we're really looking forward to trying this out.

The front facing camera also features slow-motion selfies up to 120fps, which Apple is calling a "slofie." Beyond that, the front facing camera can also record in 4K up to 60fps.

Apple's new 64-bit A13 Bionic CPU

The iPhone 11 is also equipped with Apple's 64-bit A13 Bionic processor, made using a 7-nanometer fabrication process and said to be the fastest CPU in a smartphone, in part due to its faster Neural Engine and Machine Learning Accelerators that enable more than a trillion operations per second to be performed. Apple says that the A13 has the fastest GPU in a smartphone, building on top of the speed offered by the A12's version.

An iPhone XR-like Liquid Retina display

The display is similar to last year's iPhone XR with its Liquid Retina HD display. It still features up to 625 nits of max brightness which isn't as bright as the iPhone 11 Pro's 800 nits of brightness, and also features P3 Wide Color Gamut, and Haptic Touch.

We can't wait to get our hands-on the iPhone 11 here in our studio to conduct more testing, and how the new cameras stack up to the iPhone XR, and how much better the A13 Bionic is versus last year's A12.

iPhone 11 pre-orders starts Friday September 13th at 5AM Pacific Standard Time, and will be available in stores on September 20.

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 20
    Jordanf1Jordanf1 Posts: 21member
    All I can say is 2500 Aud for the 11 pro max is outrageous cost 
    Maky
  • Reply 2 of 20
    kevin keekevin kee Posts: 1,289member
    Jordanf1 said:
    All I can say is 2500 Aud for the 11 pro max is outrageous cost 
    All I can say is I am glad Apple gives you options. And the price for that option is pretty much standard for high end.
    StrangeDaysguscatpscooter63chiawatto_cobra
  • Reply 3 of 20
    bageljoeybageljoey Posts: 2,004member
    kevin kee said:
    Jordanf1 said:
    All I can say is 2500 Aud for the 11 pro max is outrageous cost 
    All I can say is I am glad Apple gives you options. And the price for that option is pretty much standard for high end.

    Seriously. The article was about the very reasonably priced iPhone 11. If you are not interested/willing/able to splurge for the for the top of the line, flagship there is a very capable alternative IN THE ARTICLE YOU ARE COMMENTING ON...
    sigh

    StrangeDayslolliverjony0guscattwokatmewchiaCloudTalkinFileMakerFellerwatto_cobra
  • Reply 4 of 20
    StrangeDaysStrangeDays Posts: 12,877member
    Ah, the harebrainery. Still complaining about top-tier options as if they were required. 
    edited September 2019 lolliverjony0guscatpscooter63watto_cobra
  • Reply 5 of 20
    guscatguscat Posts: 59member
    Jordanf1 said:
    All I can say is 2500 Aud for the 11 pro max is outrageous cost 
    And no one in the world is making you buy the 11 pro Max. It is nice to have the option to buy an 11 pro max if you want one. Meanwhile. Apple has dropped the price of the 11 which is the story you're supposedly commenting on. (And speaking as someone who owned both the X and the XR, I am sure the 11 is a terrific phone for anyone who doesn't want the Max.)
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 6 of 20
    MakyMaky Posts: 3unconfirmed, member
    Guys the 11 is the current-gens XR yes?
    i.e. with non-oled screen but they just ditched the R monicker?

    Thanks.

    watto_cobra
  • Reply 7 of 20
    DuhSesameDuhSesame Posts: 1,278member
    bageljoey said:
    kevin kee said:
    Jordanf1 said:
    All I can say is 2500 Aud for the 11 pro max is outrageous cost 
    All I can say is I am glad Apple gives you options. And the price for that option is pretty much standard for high end.

    Seriously. The article was about the very reasonably priced iPhone 11. If you are not interested/willing/able to splurge for the for the top of the line, flagship there is a very capable alternative IN THE ARTICLE YOU ARE COMMENTING ON...
    sigh


    StrangeDays said:
    Ah, the harebrainery. Still complaining about top-tier options as if they were required. 
    Let them complain, not everyone wants to pay $999 for a phone.  Just don't expect higher-end phones will be sold as cheap as the mainstream, that just makes no sense.
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 8 of 20
    JapheyJaphey Posts: 1,767member
    Maky said:
    Guys the 11 is the current-gens XR yes?
    i.e. with non-oled screen but they just ditched the R monicker?

    Thanks.

    Correct. 
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 9 of 20
    JapheyJaphey Posts: 1,767member
    Can we all agree that “Slowfie” is absolutely stupid? Please tell me I’m not the only one. 
    chemengin1CloudTalkinCarnagewatto_cobra
  • Reply 10 of 20
    bestkeptsecretbestkeptsecret Posts: 4,265member
    Japhey said:
    Can we all agree that “Slowfie” is absolutely stupid? Please tell me I’m not the only one. 

    Well, a video selfie itself is next-level stupidity, but Apple may actually create a trend with the "slowfie" stuff. Stickers and Animojis became huge, so this may as well.
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 11 of 20
    fieryphfieryph Posts: 5member
    Jordanf1 said:
    All I can say is 2500 Aud for the 11 pro max is outrageous cost 
    I did the maths, it's pretty much the weak AUD vs USD.... bad timing for the keynote but there you go.
    StrangeDaysCarnagewatto_cobra
  • Reply 12 of 20
    beowulfschmidtbeowulfschmidt Posts: 2,130member
    Doesn't appear to really offer much over last year's model, aside from the processor, but the price point really does reflect that.  And it offers a significant enough upgrade from my 7 that I'm considering it.  Kind of a toss up at this point between upgrading my phone and upgrading my S3 Watch.
  • Reply 13 of 20
    Tech607Tech607 Posts: 14member
    Slowfie is a waste of time, but I am glad they did not add using that back of the phone as a wireless charger. I think that is a gimmicky option and not very useful. Stand your ground Apple.
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 14 of 20
    StrangeDaysStrangeDays Posts: 12,877member
    Doesn't appear to really offer much over last year's model, aside from the processor, but the price point really does reflect that.  And it offers a significant enough upgrade from my 7 that I'm considering it.  Kind of a toss up at this point between upgrading my phone and upgrading my S3 Watch.
    Processing, camera, battery life. That is the name of the game here. These products aren't designed for normal people to upgrade every single year. Phone nerds and enthusiasts do but that isn't normal consumer behavior. The idea with iterative development is that whenever you do get onboard, you have a much more compelling device than your years-old model. 

    See cars. There's no reason to upgrade your car every year, but when you do, you'll appreciate the new stuff it has.
    edited September 2019 watto_cobra
  • Reply 15 of 20
    boboliciousbobolicious Posts: 1,146member
    ...will the wide angle lens be very popular for many from extreme sports to photographers/videographers for landscape & buildings (realtors) and even social events, assuming the image quality is good...?  Is the ability to shoot multiple views (aka filmic pro) potentially transformative as well ?
    DuhSesame
  • Reply 16 of 20
    CloudTalkinCloudTalkin Posts: 916member
    beowulfschmidt said:
    Doesn't appear to really offer much over last year's model, aside from the processor, but the price point really does reflect that.  And it offers a significant enough upgrade from my 7 that I'm considering it.  Kind of a toss up at this point between upgrading my phone and upgrading my S3 Watch.
    Not for nothing, but if you're having to choose between upgrading your phone or your watch there may be a solution.  Depending on your budget, why not look at last year's options for both the phone and the watch?  The XR is discounted.  So is the Series 4.  Look at what you have with the 7 and the S3.  Ask yourself how many of the things that you want from latest phones are available on last year's versions.  If the number is significant enough, grab last year kit for a significant discount.  
    gatorguymuthuk_vanalingam
  • Reply 17 of 20
    FileMakerFellerFileMakerFeller Posts: 1,546member
    Jordanf1 said:
    All I can say is 2500 Aud for the 11 pro max is outrageous cost 
    That's the price for the 512GB model, which has a higher likelihood of still being sufficient storage more than five years from now. So, you're looking at AU$500 per year if you keep the device for five years, which is a smidge more than AU$40 per month, if you amortise the cost on a straight line basis.

    It's not cheap. But it's not as expensive as you seem to think.
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 18 of 20
    beowulfschmidtbeowulfschmidt Posts: 2,130member
    StrangeDays said:
    Doesn't appear to really offer much over last year's model, aside from the processor, but the price point really does reflect that.  And it offers a significant enough upgrade from my 7 that I'm considering it.  Kind of a toss up at this point between upgrading my phone and upgrading my S3 Watch.
    Processing, camera, battery life. That is the name of the game here. These products aren't designed for normal people to upgrade every single year. Phone nerds and enthusiasts do but that isn't normal consumer behavior. The idea with iterative development is that whenever you do get onboard, you have a much more compelling device than your years-old model. 

    See cars. There's no reason to upgrade your car every year, but when you do, you'll appreciate the new stuff it has.
    I guess with the profusion of people purporting to speak for everyone else, I should have clarified that for me, there's not much to offer over last year's model.  Processing on my 7 is fast enough.  I charge my phone when I sleep, so as long as it lasts that long, I'm cool.  The camera in my 7 is more than good enough, and for the shots for which it isn't good enough, I have a camera that is.

    So, as someone later pointed out, I might just go with last year's model. :)  Or maybe I'll stick with my 7 for another year, since it suffices for the moment.
  • Reply 19 of 20
    eyeakeleyeakel Posts: 11member
    I’m gonna trade my xs for the 11. My oled screen dims whenever it gets slightly warm and the led screens don’t. Plus the 11 doesn’t feel as slippery in your hands
  • Reply 20 of 20
    M68000M68000 Posts: 725member
    The moving banner for this article is calling this an "entry level" phone - Are you kidding?   I thought the 8 series and XR would now be the "entry level" of current production phones
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