iPhone 11 Pro Review Roundup: Significant Camera Advancements and Excellent Battery Life

[Howyalikdemapls]

Apple hasn't released a new Industrial Design in an "s" year iPhone, so you should plan on seeing it next year. The 3g and 3gs only had two years, but the 4/4s/5/5s, the 6/6s/7/8 and now X/Xs/11 Pro/???? each had 4 iterations on the same basic chassis. Expect a new ID in the 2021 release.

4/4S and 5/5S were not on the same chassis. 5/5S/SE were.

The SE came out the same year as the 6, and the 8 came out the same year as the X. Even though they had extra iterations, we can still expect a redesigned flagship model next year even if they offer a lower tier model on the same basic X/XS/11 chassis.

 

[mi7chy]

Is it just me or does the night pic on the right look better?

Only if you like more noise, less detail and orange night sky.

 

[k.alexander]

I rarely use my phone for night shots, but this obviously looks better than the last time I grabbed a few pics of the Philly Skyline, few hours after the Eagles Super Bowl parade (ok, I realize that was Feb 2018 and I was using an iPhone 8+) Those night shots in a fairly lit area were awful, video was worse. This appears to be an improvement.

iPhone X pictures from the night after Eagle's Superbowl WIN!!!

 

[Howyalikdemapls]

The SE came out the same year as the 6, and the 8 came out the same year as the X. Even though they had extra iterations, we can still expect a redesign next year even if they offer a lower tier model on the same basic X/XS/11 chassis.

 

[whoknows2597]

No, it is the iPhone 11 Pro on the right here.

Here are the original files:
https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/19206922/3666_Detail_2_Pixel_3.jpg
https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/19206921/3666_Detail_2_iPhone_11_Pro.jpg

The iPhone photo has a more orange sky while the Pixel is more bluish.

Although the blues in the Pixel photo caught my eye at first, I find that the orange sky looks far more natural like an actual night mode. The pixel photo appears like it was taking in the afternoon rather than at night.
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Any word on the Face ID improvements? I have been reallllly hoping it’s noticeably better and can work laying flat on a table. The fact it’s not mentioned at all in any of the reviews I have seen makes me think if there is any improvement it wasn’t noticeable.

Apple said during the keynote that Face ID works at wider angles and scans further away. Wider and further can work together to scan on a flat table.

 

[Michael Scrip]

All the talk about $1,000 phones this, and trade-in value that...

Are we forgetting that we'll be paying $100/month for THE REST OF OUR LIVES for cell phone service??

Sure... the phone costs $1,000... but you need to add an additional $2,400 if you actually want to use the phone for two years... or $3,600 for three years.

Frankly... the cost of the device is the least of my concerns...

 

[falainber]

Would like to know this as well, surprised all these 'news' outlets can't even share device specifications. It's getting to a point now where these sites are just copy pasting each other and reading off a talking points list.

And if they can't even share device specs, can we trust them at all? It does not look like they are in a position to offer real opinions in their reviews, period.
[doublepost=1568735127][/doublepost]

Apple said during the keynote that Face ID works at wider angles and scans further away. Wider and further can work together to scan on a flat table.

That being one of the main (and few) improvements, one would expect that the reviewers should have tested it...

 

[spedanden]

Although the blues in the Pixel photo caught my eye at first, I find that the orange sky looks far more natural like an actual night mode. The pixel photo appears like it was taking in the afternoon rather than at night.

I prefer the orange glow too.

The most drastic difference is the sharpness though. Look at the full size images and compare the "X" supports running the length of the bridge and the towers of the bridge. MASSIVE difference. Its small details like that, that make for a good photo. The way color is handled is a matter of preference

 

[mattopotamus]

The reviews seem to confirm what many of us thought. The 11 is 95% the same as the Pro.

 

[Michael Scrip]

I prefer the orange glow too. The most drastic difference is the sharpness though. Look at the full size images and compare the "X" supports running the length of the bridge and the towers of the bridge. MASSIVE difference. Its small details like that, that make for a good photo. The way color is handled is a matter of preference

Exactly.

And 99.999% of the time you'll never see two photos taken from two different phones side-by-side... so you'll never see how another phone would have rendered the results.

Hell... even turning the phone on a slightly different angle could make the white-balance shift.

30 seconds later either phone could have taken a different-colored picture.

 

[macfacts]

"iPhones always gets updates"

So do the older iPhones get this low light camera? Because the google camera with night sight can be side loaded on older Samsung phones like the note 9.

 

[spazzcat]

All the talk about $1,000 phones this, and trade-in value that...

Are we forgetting that we'll be paying $100/month for THE REST OF OUR LIVES for cell phone service??

Sure... the phone costs $1,000... but you need to add an additional $2,400 if you actually want to use the phone for two years... or $3,600 for three years.

Frankly... the cost of the device is the least of my concerns...

People choose to upgrade their phones, I keep my X for two years and got $400 back on it, so that is an extra $300 a year.

 

[Jeremy3292]

It's like buying a car, you have trade-in value on the phone. Or better way to look at it is I got to use my X for two years and now I $400 back from the phone to use on a new phone. Two phones and I didn't spend $2k, I spent $1,600.

Or you can do what I do which is pay Verizon $500 every year (1/2 of the cost), return the phone, get the new iPhone, and then start the cycle over again. Always have the new iPhone and it only costs me $500 per phone.

 

[al256]

I was looking at this - of course my personal interest is the Night Mode.
(Night mode examples start at 6:02 )

*Not too bad, lot of the pics to me look over-processed perhaps. Almost a dramatic HDR mode. I've seen a few other examples that had a lot of noise/grain on them. Depends on the subject. I'm GUESSING if you propped this new phone on a tripod mount, used a 3rd party app that offeres slow shutter...this can improve the photos

But Night mode doesn't work in Ultra Wide mode?
Video, no night mode there in Ultra Wide...but it STILL appears to look better than previous phones.

I rarely use my phone for night shots, but this obviously looks better than the last time I grabbed a few pics of the Philly Skyline, few hours after the Eagles Super Bowl parade (ok, I realize that was Feb 2018 and I was using an iPhone 8+) Those night shots in a fairly lit area were awful, video was worse. This appears to be an improvement.

Ultra wide is ultra slow comparatively... I was shocked to see the slow f stop on that lens but I consider it more of a real-estate picture taking lens anyway. A tripod + my watch as the remote shutter and third-party app could be usable though for that lens in low light.

 

[psac]

iPhone X pictures from the night after Eagle's Superbowl WIN!!!

View attachment 859292 View attachment 859293 View attachment 859294

Good pictures, but I don't see anyone eating any horse poop. Isn't that what Philly is famous for in these celebrations?

 

[Sir Ruben]

The SE came out the same year as the 6, and the 8 came out the same year as the X. Even though they had extra iterations, we can still expect a redesign next year even if they offer a lower tier model on the same basic X/XS/11 chassis.

Agreed. The current design may well become the cheaper lower cost iPhone and the new redesign will no doubt become the 'pro'.
[doublepost=1568736598][/doublepost]

All the talk about $1,000 phones this, and trade-in value that...

Are we forgetting that we'll be paying $100/month for THE REST OF OUR LIVES for cell phone service??

Sure... the phone costs $1,000... but you need to add an additional $2,400 if you actually want to use the phone for two years... or $3,600 for three years.

Frankly... the cost of the device is the least of my concerns...

I am lucky in that respect. I work for a large company and one of the perks is a sim with loads of talk time and data for £2.50 per month. Because of that I just buy my handsets individually with no attached contract.

 

[k.alexander]

Good pictures, but I don't see anyone eating any horse poop. Isn't that what Philly is famous for in these celebrations?

Ha, ha, well...yes!
Some quick screen grabs from my Lr library. First pic is the entrance to the Four Seasons Hotel that collapsed because people were jumping on top of it. Second picture speaks for itself.

 

[nikusak]

"iPhones always gets updates"

So do the older iPhones get this low light camera? Because the google camera with night sight can be side loaded on older Samsung phones like the note 9.

No, they will not get the low light camera and of course you know it very well.

iPhones get 5-6 years of iOS updates and everybody does the update which was the point.

Also, normal people don’t sideload anything to their phones. It’s rather academic that some nerd can hunt down the Google Camera APK from the internet and install it. Nice, of course, but meaningless.

 

[BvizioN]

but I take important photos with a DSLR, so no, its not really a compelling upgrade for everyone.

I use Sony a7 MK 2 but unfortunately does not fit in my pocket and can’t take it everywhere. And the video capabilities which do interest me quite a lot makes it compelling upgrade for me (from the X)
And this time going with Max version for the first time. Should be better display to use it on my DJI Mavic 2 Pro remote.

 

[nikusak]

Surprisingly little moaning and bitching so far. What is wrong with you, MR forumists?

 

[SomeSoftwareGuy]

Positive reviews from "The Verge" LoL

 

[mike...]

All the talk about $1,000 phones this, and trade-in value that...

Are we forgetting that we'll be paying $100/month for THE REST OF OUR LIVES for cell phone service??

Sure... the phone costs $1,000... but you need to add an additional $2,400 if you actually want to use the phone for two years... or $3,600 for three years.

Frankly... the cost of the device is the least of my concerns...

$100? I pay £20/month for unlimited calls, texts, and data. Seems much more reasonable.

 

[agsystems]

I don't understand why everyone is banging on about 5G so much - there is barely any coverage anywhere in the world yet. Certainly for mobile phones I get 60mps on 4G in London... that's 3 time faster than a lot of peoples home broadband.
5g for home broadband is where it's at.

I guess people are saying for future proofing - the thinking is some people would be keeping their phone for 4-5 years - that would be A18 and god knows how many cameras

 

[_Alcatraz_]

With the iPhone 11 being the third iteration of the X design, next year should hopefully be a complete redesign which makes it more than just an S.

...unless Apple go with the same design for a 4th year :|

I honestly don’t get your comment. Apple used to drop an “s” model after every major release, aside a couple particular cases (2G and 7). And those “s” updates were basically only internals upgrades with few little changes here and there; so no radical re-design. Now, I see TONS of people saying that are willing to see how different will be the design of the iPhone 12 next year.
Guys, the 2020 will be the year of the iPhone 11s, and like the other “s” models, it will not feature a new design in the chassis. Period.
I think next year’s iPhone will have something like Face ID 2.0, USB-C, maybe 5G, ordinary updates like new silicon ecc., stop.

 

[unknownart]

No, it is the iPhone 11 Pro on the right here.

Here are the original files:
https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/19206922/3666_Detail_2_Pixel_3.jpg
https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/19206921/3666_Detail_2_iPhone_11_Pro.jpg

The iPhone photo has a more orange sky while the Pixel is more bluish.

Well then, I am relieved, 'cause I was (at first) sorry that I liked the photo on the right... thinking it was a Galaxy, and thought it was more "alive" and sharper. As a pro-Apple iPhone supporter, your revelation makes me happy again!