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Matt__James

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Mar 11, 2014
550
456
For reasons I didn't anticipate (see this thread) this week I returned my iP11Pro and now have a regular 11.After about 4 days of using it, bluntly I'm shocked by how good it is for the relative price. So for anyone who might come across this and be debating between the 11 and a Pro, here's my 2 cents:

- The bigger bezels. To me, this is literally a non-issue. Side by side with the Pro, you can see the slight difference, but if you see an 11 in isolation, I personally doubt 90% of people would be able to say whether it's an 11 or a Pro because the difference is so minimal. Since I swapped, not once have I consciously thought about the bezels. It looks no different. If you're on the fence, don't use this as a

- The screen. Side by side, there is a difference, and on this one please don't listen to people that tell you it's nothing. That said, I also don't think it's anywhere near as badly noticeable as some of the naysayers will have people believe. I have to have the phone close to my face to be really able to see the difference. In normal day to day use (texting while I'm at my desk, scrolling twitter/reading news in the evening etc) once again I don't think most people will notice a difference. I also realise people will argue about OLED v LCD, but again I think the average consumer hardly spots it.

- Aluminium vs stainless steel. I prefer the feel of ali, always have. I'm careful with my tech so durability isn't an issue to me, so 11 is a clear winner here. I get that if you're prone to being careless with your phone that the stainless is a win.

- The telephoto camera. This is obviously lacking in the 11. I did use it before, and will probably miss it, but given my feelings on the above this one feature doesn't justify getting the Pro.

I've always been someone that just automatically goes for the top of the range because I love my tech. Every year I just plump for the top iPhone and justify the price afterwards. But this experience with the 11 has made me re-think that.

To me, for 90% of the population, they'd be paying an extra ~£300 just for the telephoto camera, which I don' think is justified at all. If it was £50-£100 that would be fair enough.

I would very strongly encourage anyone that's on the fence to go for the 11. If you're on the fence in the first place, it suggests to me that your someone who doesn't have the mentality of 'must have the top tech whatever the cost', in which case the 11 is absolutely the right phone for you because it's almost the same as the Pro!
 

austyn23

macrumors 6502a
Nov 22, 2017
620
709
Thanks for shearing.

You miss something important, at least for me, and is SIZE. The Pro (5,8) is 7 mm shorter and 4 mm narrower; also a little less thick. On paper is really a small difference, but on use is really big, at least for me.

Weight is even so close I didn´t notice difference (6 gr), I mean, both are heavy!

The 11 is on the "brick" side for my taste, with a case is worst of course.

The 5,8 is on the limit, and the old 8 was the perfect one.

Storage is also something to consider, the 11 128 is at good price, the Pro at 256 is expensive IMO.

I agree that having both side by side is some of a problem; of course the Pro is better, thinner bezels, more definition on screen, etc. When you use the 11 alone, is great. Also I found myself using the phone in an anormal way just to force the differences (looking too close to find the pixel or comparing 4K HDR videos side by side). In a day to day I don´t do that, I´m normal haha.

In my case the OLED gives me some headache so was the deal breaker This year was better than the others (I can´t stand the X or XS, even for 10 seconds). But was not good enough; maybe I was also al little obsesed with this and force me to have headaches (again doing things no common like setting the bright at minimium on a dark room).

PS: you can put your thoughts here also:
 
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jimmy_uk

macrumors 68020
Oct 19, 2015
2,341
3,144
UK
Thanks for sharing your experience. The 11 is going to be the top seller no doubt.
 

ovo6

Cancelled
Sep 10, 2015
828
435
After holding my friends 11 pro I’m getting it now , I love how it feels on my hand and that it weights more
 

BeatCrazy

macrumors 601
Jul 20, 2011
4,881
4,024
I have both reg 11 and the 11 Pro. I agree with the OP on all points. The 11 display is really nice, and I'm very picky about displays. Assuming you don't need/want the Wide lens, the reg 11 is a killer deal at $699.
 

Fireproof!

macrumors 6502a
Dec 1, 2008
966
276
Frisco, TX
Good stuff. Should be helpful for those that are on the fence.

as mentioned above, I really like the smaller size of the Pro and the camera was a big deal to me. But otherwise, the 11 is a killer phone for a great price (considering what phones cost these days...)
 
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