iPhone 11 Pro and 11 Pro Max: The ultimate camera
Like the iPhone X and its notch, the iPhone 11 Pro and iPhone 11 Pro Max have a controversial design that seems to have divided everyone.
A lot of people don’t like the way the three lenses protrude in a squircle-shaped bump that also houses the LED flash and microphone. The holes are reportedly triggering people’s trypophobia (fear of clusters of holes and bumps).
I’m not dismissing trypophobia, but having used the iPhone 11 Pro and 11 Pro Max for a week ahead of its release, I can definitively say everyone needs to chill out.
Almost everyone I’ve shown the iPhone 11 Pro to say it’s not as offensive in person — the lens rings aren’t nearly as thick as closeup images make them appear — and the design is one of a kind (for now).
The fact that I literally couldn’t go anywhere in New York City without drawing attention from people who spotted the triple cameras suggests the iPhone 11 Pros already have what Android phones could only dream of: celebrity status.
Once you get over the camera bump, you'll see the iPhone 11 Pro and 11 Pro Max are more "pro" than meets the eye. I'll take the most versatile camera system, the longest battery life of any iPhone, and the most secure mobile operating system over a new design that's different for the sake of being different any day.
Unlike the iPhone 11, which costs $50 less than the iPhone XR did when it launched, the iPhone 11 Pro and 11 Pro Max aren't cheaper. They have the same premium prices introduced with the iPhone X.
The iPhone 11 Pro starts at $999 and the 11 Pro Max at $1,099 for 64GB of storage; $1,149 and $1,249 for 256GB of storage; and $1,349 and $1,449 for 512GB of storage.
I'm less bothered by these prices — monthly installment plans help split up the cost — and more by the fact the base storage is still 64GB. A $1,000+ "pro" iPhone shouldn't have the same amount of base storage as a $700 iPhone 11.
Samsung's Galaxy Note 10, which starts at $949, comes with four times the storage as an entry-level iPhone 11 Pro. This isn't cool, Apple. If you're getting an iPhone 11 Pro or 11 Pro Max, I recommend ignoring the 64GB and getting at least 256GB. You can thank me later when you're not frantically deleting apps and photos because you're running low on storage.
PRETTIER IN PERSON
Ignore the noise you hear online. The iPhone 11 Pro and 11 Pro Max are way better looking in person, after you’ve held one in your hands, and used its weirdly aligned triple cameras (there is a reason why they’re like that, which I’ll get into soon).
Just as everyone immediately pounced on Apple for the iPhone X's notch and then learned to accept it, I guarantee the same will happen with the iPhone 11 Pro and 11 Pro Max’s triple cameras.
I’m confident about this because people have been complaining about camera bumps — a “pragmatic optimization” according to outgoing Apple Chief Design Officer Jony Ive — since the iPhone 6’s tiny lens protrusion.
I, myself, have chronicled the evolution of the iPhone’s growing camera bumps over the years, and guess what? I always got over the knee-jerk criticism because I value photography. If you’re a parent, I'm positive you’ll care more about how the iPhone 11 Pro’s camera captures photos and videos of your kids than how the bump looks.
Other than the three lens rings, the rest of the iPhone 11 Pro and 11 Pro Max are mostly iterative of the iPhone X. That's what Apple does — make products that don't look outdated years out.
The thing you’ll notice most is the textured glass back. It’s so much nicer than the glossy glass introduced on the iPhone X and 8, and the matte finish makes the iPhone 11 Pros more grippy. Putting these iPhones in a case would be a complete disservice to the team that designed them.
Compared to shiny glass, the matte glass almost never picks up fingerprints unless your fingers are really greased up or slathered over the Apple logo, which if you’re paying close attention, has moved to the middle of the backside. The “iPhone” text has also been removed on the iPhone 11 Pros and iPhone 11 because, come on, everyone knows what an iPhone is.
There were rumors that the Apple logo was supposed to double as a marker for wirelessly charging AirPods or an Apple Watch, but Apple never announced any “reverse” or “bilateral” wireless charging feature. There are skeptics who believe Apple intended to ship the feature, but disabled reverse wireless charging due to heat issues, and may activate it in a future software update.
A person familiar with the matter told me it’s not something the company included and the inevitable teardowns of the phones won’t reveal any special coil for it. This highly positioned person at Apple also reminded me not to take all rumors as truth. So take that for what you will.
Another small, but perceivable change: the iPhone 11 Pros are a hair thicker in all directions and heavier. Somewhere, Jony Ive is in tears. The iPhone 11 Pros are definitely weightier — the iPhone 11 Pro is 0.39 ounces heavier than the iPhone XS and the iPhone 11 Pro Max is 0.63 ounces heavier than the iPhone XS Max — but in a good way, especially without a case on.
While I truly miss the days of the seemingly feather-light iPhone 6, the iPhone 11 Pros feel solid and dense the same way a premium mechanical watch like my Omega Speedmaster Professional does. Tons of phones now sport the same metal-and-glass sandwich design, but not all of them feel, for lack of a better word, engineered. There’s no hollow “thwack” sound when you tap the back of an iPhone 11 Pro like there is on metal-and-glass phones.
The ring/silent aka mute switch, volume buttons, and side/power buttons have all curiously moved a few millimeters down. Nothing major, but they're just a little more reachable, which is a good thing.
On the bottom, there’s a Lightning port, stereo speaker (the other speaker is the earpiece), and microphones. A USB-C port instead of Lightning like on the iPad Pro would’ve really made the iPhone 11 Pro even more pro-like, but that kind of change should probably be saved for a top-to-bottom design refresh.