It's not subjective. OLEDs are reference quality and have true blacks. An LCD screen cannot display true blacks. I don't care if my OLED 'burns in' because I don't have the same phone for 5 years. I upgrade yearly because I like being up to date with technology for a device I use literally all day long every day of the year.
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iPhone 11 vs. iPhone 11 Pro Buyer's Guide
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It's not subjective. OLEDs are reference quality and have true blacks. An LCD screen cannot display true blacks. I don't care if my OLED 'burns in' because I don't have the same phone for 5 years. I upgrade yearly because I like being up to date with technology for a device I use literally all day long every day of the year.
I'm sorry, but the statement I was replying to was definitely not scientific. The subjective statement I was referring to was the line "OLED looks much better than lcd." which is absolutely subjective. I can hand an LCD and OLED screen to my kids or grandmother and they'll never ever notice or care about the differences and it would be a vegas gamble whether they picked the OLED or LCD, especially if the screen were on playing a colorful game.
"My cat looks better than your cat" has nothing to do with the quality of the fur.
Those reference blacks you refer to have little value in actual real life to most people. I've been going around to people interested in the new phone and asking them if they've ever really cared about playing HDR movies on their phones with "true blacks". They don't even know what I'm talking about -- they ask why on earth I'd play a movie on such a small screen. Or I ask them if they really plan on doing ultra-wide photography. Remember this thread is all about why people would buy a Pro iphone.
Don't subscribe to the Apple hype machine and you'll end up saving an awful lot of money.
I will not deny that these cameras and screens are technically better. But that wasn't the point. Most people are oohing and aahing over a 3rd camera and an OLED screen that doesn't add much in actual value to your actual real productive use of the phone. It's like a wonderful pair of suspenders that are the best damn suspenders in the world, yet you never wear pants.
I "upgraded" my wife's iPhone X to an 11 just like I "upgraded" my XS Max to an 11. I asked her today after a week with the phone if she noticed anything at all different about the screen. She's picky and semi-technical and "gets it" and is quick enough to point out flaws, but hadn't even noticed the backlit screen at all, or any lower resolution, or any problems whatsoever. And she's the one who always craves the latest and greatest. And I generally stand by the point that LCD vs OLED on these screens isn't really worth it.
The irony here to me is that OLED starts having greater value in dark mode when you have pure blacks on the screen. However, the actual measurable power savings is the only real benefit. I still have dark mode on my LCD, and I still have battery improvements. I don't think the battery savings of not lighting some OLED pixels really yields a great improvement, but I'd love to hear the data on this, but it would have to be something measured with instruments outside of human use.
But to your point, I'm not arguing that it's technically better. But it is subjective whether most people think it actually looks better to them, without the Apple Hype Engine pushing them to believe it must be so. Every time I hear an Apple event I am reminded of the Turbo Encabulator (google it) and realizing that there's a really huge difference between Apple saying you absolutely need an item with a lot of technical mumbo vs actual practical value of that item in our lives.
"And I generally stand by the point that LCD vs OLED on these screens isn't really worth it. "
I agree with this.
The 11 Pro has 1200 nit PEAK brightness. 800 nit SUSTAINED.
That means that it can hit 1200 nits, but the highest it can stay at for a long amount of time is 800 nits.
I don't get the hoohah about colors. Presumably the first thing most purchasers do after buying any iPhone is get some kind of protective outer case, after which he or she rarely sees the actual case again.
Apple's latest iPhones, the iPhone 11 and iPhone 11 Pro, are nearing their release dates on September 20. Apple is separating the new smartphones into its usual low-cost versus high-cost categories, with big differences between the two models coming down to the camera, display, and battery life.
Design
Although they look very similar, the iPhone 11 is made with an aluminum frame and both the front and back are made of glass. The iPhone 11 Pro has the same glass build as the iPhone 11, but with a premium matte finish on the back of the device. Instead of an aluminum frame, its frame is made of stainless steel.
For all three 2019 iPhones, Apple claims that its glass is the "toughest glass found in a smartphone," and promises durability if you happen to drop or otherwise accidentally harm your iPhone. For both smartphones, the square camera bump has a polished glass finish.
The iPhone 11 is 5.94 inches tall, 2.98 inches wide, and 0.33 inches thick, with a weight of 6.84 ounces. The iPhone 11 Pro is ever slightly smaller at 5.67 inches tall, 2.81 inches wide, and 0.32 inches thick, with a weight of 6.63 ounces. Of course, the iPhone 11 Pro Max is the biggest of the bunch at 6.22 inches tall, 3.06 inches wide, and 0.32 inches deep, at a total weight of 7.97 ounces.
The iPhone 11 comes in Purple, Yellow, Green, Black, White, and Product Red. The iPhone 11 Pro comes in Midnight Green, Silver, Space Grey, and Gold. All models have the same front-face notch, bezels, antenna bands, volume and side buttons, mute switch, speaker grills, microphones, and Lightning port.
Display
The iPhone 11 sports a 6.1-inch "Liquid Retina HD" LCD display, while the iPhone 11 Pro family has a sharper "Super Retina XDR" OLED display. While the LCD on the iPhone 11 provides true-to-life colors, the OLED on the iPhone 11 Pro is brighter in sunlight, can display true blacks and more detail in bright areas, and is able to support HDR movies on iTunes.
Specifically, the iPhone 11 reaches 625 nits max brightness while the iPhone 11 Pro reaches 800 nits max brightness. Both models support True Tone and Haptic Touch, but neither has support for 3D Touch, which Apple has abandoned this generation. 3D Touch provided pressure-sensitive feedback for shortcuts throughout iOS, and Haptic Touch is the somewhat similar replacement for it, without the hardware-based feedback.
The LCD display is mainly how Apple can keep the cost of the iPhone 11 down in comparison to the iPhone 11 Pro and 11 Pro Max, but it'll be more than sufficient for most users who use their iPhone to casually browse social media apps and stay connected with friends and family through Messages.
Performance
Both the iPhone 11 and iPhone 11 Pro are powered by Apple's A13 Bionic chip, which the company claims to be the fastest CPU ever in a smartphone.
In detail, the A13 Bionic features four high-efficiency cores that are up to 20 percent faster and consume 40 percent less power than the A12 Bionic, and two high-performance cores that are up to 20 percent faster and 30 percent more efficient than the previous chip.
Battery Life
This leads to improved battery life on the 2019 iPhones thanks to the more efficient A13 Bionic chip. The iPhone 11 has up to one hour longer battery life than the iPhone XR (its direct predecessor). Based on Apple's internal testing, the iPhone 11 is rated for up to 17 hours of offline video playback, up to 10 hours of streaming video over Wi-Fi, and up to 65 hours of audio playback per charge.
The iPhone 11 Pro has up to four hours longer battery life than the iPhone XS, rated for up to 18 hours of offline video playback, up to 11 hours of streaming video over Wi-Fi, and up to 65 hours of audio playback per charge.
The iPhone 11 Pro Max has the longest battery life in an iPhone to date, lasting up to five hours longer than the iPhone XS Max. It's rated for up to 20 hours of offline video playback, up to 12 hours of streaming video over Wi-Fi, and up to 80 hours of audio playback per charge.
All three models support wireless charging on any Qi-compatible mat, as well as fast charging via 18W or higher USB-C charger and Lightning to USB-C cable. This will net you up to a 50 percent charge in 30 minutes. Notably, the iPhone 11 Pro and 11 Pro Max include an 18W charger and Lightning to USB-C cable in the box, but the iPhone 11 does not include these upgraded accessories and instead comes with the previous 5W charger and Lightning to USB-A cable.
Cameras
Besides the display, the camera is one of the biggest differences between the iPhone 11 and iPhone 11 Pro, but you'll still be getting a solid smartphone camera on either device.
To start, the iPhone 11 has a dual 12-megapixel camera system, with wide (?/1.8 aperture) and ultra wide (?/2.4 aperture) lenses. With ultra wide, you can "zoom out" to 0.5x without physically moving, and capture more of a scene in the process.
It also supports the new Night Mode for improved low-light images, Auto Adjustments, optical image stabilization, digital zoom up to 5x, 2x optical zoom out, brighter True Tone flash with Slow Sync, Portrait Mode with six effects, and Smart HDR.
Comparatively, the iPhone 11 Pro camera's main difference is found in its third telephoto camera (?/2.0 aperture). This means the 11 Pro family has three total lenses: ultra wide, wide, and telephoto. You'll also get dual optical image stabilization, 2x optical zoom in, 2x optical zoom out, and digital zoom up to 10x.
The main advantage of the telephoto lens are that it allows for zooming in on distant subjects without losing much clarity in the image. Apple said that this can be seen when taking images of wildlife from afar, or when you're at a sporting event.
Across the iPhone 11 family of devices, you'll be able to use Apple's "slofies" (aka slow-motion selfies on the front-facing camera); gain access to all six Portrait Lighting effects; and take Portrait Mode photos of humans, objects, and pets.
They also all include Apple's third-generation Neural Engine, enabling next-generation Smart HDR for more natural-looking photos. Later this fall, it will enable a new Deep Fusion system that uses advanced machine learning for pixel-by-pixel processing of photos, including texture, details, and noise.
Connectivity
Both the iPhone 11 and iPhone 11 Pro include 802.11ax Wi-Fi and Gigabit-class LTE, meaning that in terms of cellular performance all models of the 2019 iPhone should see similar statistics.
They both include Bluetooth 5.0 support and have NFC readers to support Apple Pay. On the new side of things, Apple has included its in-house designed U1 chip to enable ultra-wideband support for improved spatial awareness.
In a practical sense, this means that iPhone 11 and iPhone 11 Pro can precisely locate other U1-equipped Apple devices. With iOS 13.1, for example, you'll be able to point your iPhone 11 to another iPhone to AirDrop a photo or file.
Storage and Pricing
You can purchase the iPhone 11 in 64GB, 128GB, and 256GB storage capacities, priced at $699, $749, and $849 respectively in the United States.
The iPhone 11 Pro is available in 64GB, 256GB, and 512GB, priced at $999, $1,149, and $1,349 respectively in the United States.
Lastly, the iPhone 11 Pro Max is available in 64GB, 256GB, and 512GB, priced at $1,099, $1,249, and $1,449 respectively in the United States.
Just the Tech Specs
Below you'll find tech specs for iPhone 11 and iPhone 11 Pro, with each difference bolded.
iPhone 116.1-inch LCD display
Battery lasts up to 1 hour longer than iPhone XR
1792×828 resolution and 326 PPI
True Tone display
Dual 12-megapixel rear cameras (wide and ultra-wide lenses)
Single 12-megapixel front camera
Portrait Mode with Depth Control: humans, pets, and objects
Six Portrait Lighting effects
Next-gen Smart HDR
A13 Bionic chip with third-gen Neural Engine
Face ID
Haptic Touch
Lightning connector
Fast charging capable: up to 50% charge in 30 minutes
Qi-based wireless charging
IP68-rated water resistance to a depth of 2 meters for up to 30 minutes
64/128/256GB
Dual SIM (Nano-SIM and eSIM)
Gigabit-class LTE
VoLTE
802.11ax Wi-Fi 6 with MIMO
Bluetooth 5.0
Night Mode photos
Front-facing slo-mo video recording at 120 FPS
QuickTake video recording shortcut
Dolby Atmos sound
U1 chip for spatial awareness
iPhone 11 Pro5.8-inch OLED display
Battery lasts up to 4 hours longer than iPhone XS
2436x1125 resolution and 458 PPI
True Tone display
Triple 12-megapixel rear cameras (wide, ultra-wide, and telephoto)
Single 12-megapixel front camera
Portrait Mode with Depth Control: humans, pets, and objects
Six Portrait Lighting effects
Next-gen Smart HDR
A13 Bionic chip with third-gen Neural Engine
Face ID
Haptic Touch
Lightning connector
Fast charging capable: up to 50% charge in 30 minutes
Qi-based wireless charging
IP68-rated water resistance to a depth of 4 meters for up to 30 minutes
64/256/512GB
Dual SIM (Nano-SIM and eSIM)
Gigabit-class LTE
VoLTE
802.11ax Wi-Fi 6 with MIMO
Bluetooth 5.0
Night Mode photos
Front-facing slo-mo video recording at 120 FPS
QuickTake video recording shortcut
Dolby Atmos sound
U1 chip for spatial awareness iPhone 11 Pro Max specs identical to 11 Pro, except...
6.5-inch OLED display
Battery lasts up to 5 hours longer than iPhone XS Max (longest battery in an iPhone)
2688x1242 resolution and 458 PPI
Conclusion
Apple continues to offer a nice array of iPhones across the price spectrum for customers, who will have to decide whether the "pro" upgrades are worth the price. At $999 for entry-level pricing, the iPhone 11 Pro has the same great camera of the pricier 11 Pro Max models, along with the OLED display and improved battery life compared to the previous generation.
Still, those advantages might not be worth the $300 upcharge from the entry-level iPhone 11, which still offers a solid camera, Face ID, a True Tone LCD display, and more color options. Because of this, the $699 64GB iPhone 11 will likely remain a more popular option among most 2019 iPhone buyers.
Article Link: iPhone 11 vs. iPhone 11 Pro: Which to Buy?
I just upgraded to an 11 from a 6S+ last week. After trading in the 6S+ for the 11 with my carrier, I got the 256GB model for about $650. It's all the phone I'll need for a while from Apple, though I'll always miss having a phone jack. For that, my LG V40 works quite well for sound on the go through my wired headphones. The iPhone 11 works just fine for everything but sound (for wired headphone guy - me) - nice enough cameras, decent battery life, nice LCD screen, and generally prefer iOS to Android. As others have mentioned, LCD vs OLED doesn't make much of a difference for me in such a small device - certainly not for the added expense entailed. I'd be more concerned with that on an iPad or larger display where I'm more likely to watch streamed video content.
For me it is very clear either get the iPhone 11 128GB at $750 or 256GB for $800 or just pony up for the iPhone 11 Pro Max 256GB $1250 512GB $1450, since the iPhone 11 Pro is in this weird middle ground.
First and foremost, having all the current gen iPhone 11 at 64GB base is downright criminal and making Pro users jump from 64GB to 256GB is just stupid. It can be argued Pro users need more than 64GB but 256GB for most starts to get excessive, meaning 128GB is the sweet spot. If you get the 128GB iPhone 11 you save $400 over the 256GB iPhone 11 Pro and if you want a direct comparison if you get the 256GB iPhone 11 you save $300 over the 256GB Pro version.
With the iPhone 11 being 90% of the iPhone 11 Pro with the huge kicker being that the regular iPhone 11 gets better battery life over the Pro by a decent margin, I argue that getting the 128GB-256GB iPhone 11 and taking the $300-$400 savings over the iPhone 11 Pro and buying: AppleCare, Power Beats Pro, AirPods, Wireless chargers, cases, screen protectors, or just saving that $300-$400 and putting towards next years more revolutionary iPhone. Granted if you want the best of the best I can see the value in the iPhone 11 Pro Max with the biggest screen, biggest battery, and all of the other Pro features.
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I agree with this with the one kicker being battery and camera. The batteries on the 11 Pro specifically is noticeably better than the Xs and the camera on all iPhone 11 is significantly better and now on par with Pixel phones which IMO set the bar for best night mode and overall camera.
Now does a better camera, better processor, and battery mean you should upgrade? probably not, 2020 will hopefully see a more revolutionary design change.
First and foremost, having all the current gen iPhone 11 at 64GB base is downright criminal and making Pro users jump from 64GB to 256GB is just stupid. It can be argued Pro users need more than 64GB but 256GB for most starts to get excessive, meaning 128GB is the sweet spot. If you get the 128GB iPhone 11 you save $400 over the 256GB iPhone 11 Pro and if you want a direct comparison if you get the 256GB iPhone 11 you save $300 over the 256GB Pro version.
With the iPhone 11 being 90% of the iPhone 11 Pro with the huge kicker being that the regular iPhone 11 gets better battery life over the Pro by a decent margin, I argue that getting the 128GB-256GB iPhone 11 and taking the $300-$400 savings over the iPhone 11 Pro and buying: AppleCare, Power Beats Pro, AirPods, Wireless chargers, cases, screen protectors, or just saving that $300-$400 and putting towards next years more revolutionary iPhone. Granted if you want the best of the best I can see the value in the iPhone 11 Pro Max with the biggest screen, biggest battery, and all of the other Pro features.
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I agree with this with the one kicker being battery and camera. The batteries on the 11 Pro specifically is noticeably better than the Xs and the camera on all iPhone 11 is significantly better and now on par with Pixel phones which IMO set the bar for best night mode and overall camera.
Now does a better camera, better processor, and battery mean you should upgrade? probably not, 2020 will hopefully see a more revolutionary design change.
Each to their own but paying a $300-$400 premium for an aesthetics change is stupid, get a $15 skin and/or case. As per the screen, yeah the XDR Pro screen is simply more vivid but anyone trying to argue that 300+ PPI pixel screen isn't sharp enough probably isn't human and for the 2nd year the XR/11 gets better battery life compared to the Xs/11 Pro. To me battery life is just a bigger factor
I agree. There's no way that I would go about my daily business sporting these expensive phones without protective covering. All of my smart phones the last 5 years have had Otter Box armor. If the high end phones weren't so thin and delicate, I'd perhaps care more about color, aluminum vs. stainless steel or plastic, etc. The last smart phone I used without armor was my very first - a Samsung Epic 4G which I bought back in 2010. It was fairly small (4.88 X 2.56 X .55 inches), had a pull out QWERTY keyboard, a headphone jack, and a user replaceable battery - constructed mostly of plastic. I still have the thing and it works great (don't really use it anymore as a phone, but use it as a camcorder to monitor my front door occasionally). Here are a couple of photos of the old phone next to my new iPhone 11. The 11 with the Otter Box armor is about the same thickness as the old Epic 4G with included pullout keyboard. Took the photos, btw, with an LG V40. TMI, I know, and too much spare time this afternoon!
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Not even using half of the 64GB on mine. What you consider "standard" is not the same as what the average person needs, and none of us want to pay for your standard.
Apple’s iPhone 11 doesn’t have 5G because 5G isn’t ready for the iPhone
Waiting until 2020 for the iPhone 5G makes all the sense in the world.
www.theverge.com
Apple’s iPhone 11 doesn’t have 5G because 5G isn’t ready for the iPhone
Waiting until 2020 for the iPhone 5G makes all the sense in the world.
Good article, but China is well ahead of the US in the rollout and Apple will be too late and will have lost the market to Huawei.
Nope, I have 64, loads of games, photos, vids etc, never an issue with storage....
Yes, I could buy an adapter and new bluetooth devices rather than use my high end wired headphones, but that isn't a step forward for me. Bluetooth provides lower quality sound and higher latency than wired devices for money spent. Apple did this primarily to motivate iPhone users to buy more bluetooth devices, which was a successful marketing decision. The iPhone 11 is one of the best smartphones currently available - if it had a headphone jack and associated high quality DAC and amplifier, it would be THE best smartphone out there. Both bluetooth AND wired device users would be satisfied.
I have iPhone 6 and I am thinking to buy the XS max, not the Pro Max.
Waiting for the big upgrade with 5G next year.
What do you guys thing is the best upgrade for iPhone 6? In monetary terms and value.
Waiting for the big upgrade with 5G next year.
What do you guys thing is the best upgrade for iPhone 6? In monetary terms and value.
How long are you by going to keep whatever phone replaces your iPhone 6? If you’re planning on only keeping it a year until the 2020 phones come out then buy a XR for $599.
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That’s actually not true on battery life. Both of the 11 Pro models get better battery life than the 11, which got one hour better than the XR. 11 Pro got 4 hours better than the XS and the 11 Pro Max 5 hours better than the XS Max.
Same. Using 33 gig of my 64. Over 1000 photos saved locally. I don’t understand why anyone needs more tbh.
Agree with GuruZac, if you need to replace your 6 but are only going to use it for a year and then upgrade again in 2020 I would go with an XR at most. It will still be a huge upgrade from your 6.
Thank you for the replies.
I was thinking to go for the XS (max) which is more or less the same price with XR. It's getting really boring having the 6 and I started losing functionalities - it's too slow. I will definitely go for the new model in 2020.
I was thinking to go for the XS (max) which is more or less the same price with XR. It's getting really boring having the 6 and I started losing functionalities - it's too slow. I will definitely go for the new model in 2020.
That’s just Apple’s numbers. Yes 11 Pro series battery life is a big upgrade over the XS series, but in real world testing in many scenarios the 11 is still beating the 11 Pro in battery life (but 11 Pro Max is coming out on top).
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That’s great then... at retail the XS Max was about $350 more than the XR (that was the approximate cost difference I was assuming), but since the XS Max has been discontinued I could see some carriers giving screaming deals on old stock. If you can get an XS Max for around the same price as an XR it’s definitely worth it.
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If you can get a XS Max for the same price as a XR then get the XS Max if we’re talking new. Otherwise, try to hit up local buy/sell sites for people selling XR or XS for cheap. I saw new in box XR for $450. That’s a lot of phone for $450.
I found a new XS at the same price as XR so that's definitely a good buy. New XS max is $150 more expensive.