A truthful review of the iPhone 11 after a year of use

The iPhone 11 is the direct successor to the iPhone XR and is Apple’s most affordable smartphone. It is inferior to the iPhone 11 Pro in a number of characteristics (we’ll talk about them later), but it costs $300 cheaper.

Specifications

Equipment

iPhone 11 ships with the classic kit: documentation, stickers, EarPods, cable and 5V and 1A charging adapter.

IPhone 11 silver in package

Design, materials and ergonomics

Externally, the iPhone 11 practically does not differ from the iPhone Xr, especially on the front side, where there is the same 6.1-inch display with a cutout and rather large bezels by modern standards. There are no innovations at all here, and this is a typical situation for Apple smartphones, when the design of their front panel practically does not change for several years.

The main changes took place on the back, but they also fall under the category of cosmetic. The iPhone 11 introduces a new camera unit that protrudes slightly from the body and contains two lenses, a microphone and a flash.

It is interesting that this protrusion is part of the rear panel, as it is cut from a single piece of glass. And unlike the Pro versions, in the iPhone 11 it is not matte, but glossy, except for the coating of the block with cameras. This option looks less attractive, since visually it seems that the cameras protrude even more from the body, although in the iPhone 11 Pro and iPhone 11 Pro Max it is quite the opposite, if you look directly at the back cover, the camera unit seems to be slightly recessed into it.

The iPhone 11’s bezel is made of aluminum and painted to match the body’s tone, with a total of six model colors available: purple, yellow, green, black, white, and (Product) RED.

In addition, the Apple logo on the back is now centered instead of at the top. That’s all the innovations in the design of the iPhone 11. Even the dimensions of the case and the weight of the model remained the same as in the Xr and are 150.9 x 75.7 x 8.3 mm, 194 grams.

The design and construction of the case have not changed in the new smartphone, but at least Apple claims that the glass has become stronger and now it will be more difficult to break it. In addition, the degree of protection against dust water has increased, the iPhone 11 is certified to the IP68 standard, in theory it can be immersed in water up to 2 meters deep for up to 30 minutes, while the Xr had IP67 protection and could be immersed in depth up to 1 meter and for a short time.

In any case, the manufacturer does not cover any broken glass or water ingress into the case. So it is better to use a cover and not bathe your smartphone again.

Face recognition

Face recognition

As before, iPhone 11 uses FaceID to unlock the screen, which is powered by a TrueDepth sensor and camera stack that includes an infrared camera, an infrared emitter, a 12MP camera, and a dot projector. According to Apple, the iPhone 11 is faster and now has a wider viewing angle.

But if we talk about the practical side of use, then even compared to the iPhone X, you are unlikely to feel any difference in the work of Face ID in the new model. The iOS 13 update itself made unlocking faster, and the second the iPhone 11 takes to recognize a face faster doesn’t matter much during use. And the TrueDepth viewing angle has increased minimally, so you still won’t be able to unlock your smartphone if it’s lying on the table without leaning towards it.

But overall, Face ID in iPhone 11 works great, allowing you to quickly unlock your smartphone in almost any lighting conditions, and even with glasses.

Apple launches hard plastic clear cases for iPhone 11. This model has a larger case than the iPhone 11 Pro, although it makes the smartphone even thicker.

Screen

Here is an IPS screen called Liquid Retina. In theory, it is inferior to OLED displays in the iPhone X, iPhone XS and iPhone 11 Pro, but in reality it is almost not felt. Peak brightness of 625 nits is enough for use in bright sunlight, and the lack of Full HD resolution does not affect the work with a smartphone in any way.

The diagonal of the screen was 6.1 inches. That’s more than the iPhone 11 Pro but less than the 11 Pro Max.

IPhone 11 screen

Apple software tricks in place: iPhone 11 supports Night Shift, which brings the picture into warm tones for the user to go to sleep, and True Tone, which adjusts the colors to the environment.

Sound

The stereo speakers are installed here, giving out loud and clear sound. Feels like the smartphone is not inferior in this regard to the Pro version: with the iPhone 11 you can listen to music and watch movies.

Camera

The iPhone 11 has two 12-megapixel lenses: main wide-angle and ultra-wide-angle. Both can shoot video in 4K resolution at 60 frames per second.

The ultra wide-angle camera allows you to capture more space in the frame or find an unusual angle. The telephoto lens found in the iPhone 11 Pro is not here, so don’t believe it if you see optical zoom in the specs. It means “zoom out”, that is, shooting with an ultra wide-angle lens. A fivefold increase is achieved programmatically.

Photography via iPhone 11

Improvements have also been made to the main camera. For example, the Smart HDR mode was slightly improved, which helps to work out the dark parts of the frame and not overexpose the light ones. Such frames are obtained when shooting in automatic mode without switching the lens.

Now the camera does not need to search for a face to shoot portraits. This means that you can take photos of any object with bokeh something that the iPhone XR lacked.

The 12 megapixel front camera, as in the older models, was taught to shoot videos in 4K and at 60 FPS. There are no complaints about the quality of selfies examples below.

Also, the front camera is now able to shoot slow motion videos. Apple calls them Slowfie. Below is a slow-motion video from our host Irina.

All iPhones now have support for night shooting. Now the camera understands when there is not enough light in the frame and increases the shutter speed. Everything happens automatically, inappropriate triggering of functions does not occur. The user does not need to interfere with the algorithms and can make night landscapes as usual.

Excellent photo quality iPhone 11

Apple has significantly redesigned the camera interface. Some of the functions disappeared under the arrow at the top of the application, and a zoom slider appeared at the bottom, which automatically switches lenses if necessary. In the settings, you can activate simultaneous shooting with both lenses. Then part of the image captured by the ultra wide-angle lens can be added to the frame in the “Edit” mode.

The script for the main button has also changed. A long press automatically turns on video shooting, and in order to take a series of frames, you need to move the button a little to the left without lifting your finger from the screen.

Performance

iPhone 11 received the new A13 Bionic chip, made on a seven-nanometer process and included six cores with a frequency of up to 2.65 GHz. RAM 4 GB. In AnTuTu, the iPhone 11 scored even more points than the iPhone 11 Pro 460,777 versus 454,843 and was second only to the iPad Pro 3.

Little experience with the iPhone 11 confirms that it is a very powerful smartphone. You can easily play games from the Apple Arcade catalog, process portraits and render videos in iMovie, and the system does not even hint that it is not coping with something.

If you want to get rid of wires, make it easier to charge your iPhone, you should purchase the appropriate wireless charger. Now they are gaining great popularity, and with the release of the latest iPhone models, they have become almost irreplaceable thing.

Although most chargers are similar to each other in general, they can often differ in power, so you should pay attention to the output current, because the charging speed itself depends on this. Most models are equipped with multiple inductive coils and can act as a stand.

If you are the happy owner of an Apple iPhone or Apple AirPods 2, feel free to choose and order a suitable wireless charger for him. The best wireless charger for your iPhone allows you to use your phone for a longer time, keeps the battery from overheating and extends the life of the phone itself.

Portable charger for iphone 11

Only on our site are high-quality and original chargers for iPhone 11. If you decide to become the owner of a reliable and proven phone, then you just need a portable charger for your phone!

Autonomy

According to Apple iPhone 11 Full phone specifications GSM Arena, the iPhone has a 3,046 mAh battery, which is enough for 17 hours of video playback and 65 hours of music playback. This suggests that the autonomy of the iPhone 11 slightly bypasses the iPhone XR the “longest-playing” Apple smartphone.
A full battery test confirmed that the iPhone 11, which is charged by our best wireless charger, lasts a full day in active mode, which further confirms the fact that the special wireless charger extends the life of the iPhone itself and takes care of its battery, extending the life of the device.

How the iPhone 11 differs from the iPhone 11 Pro

Almost everyone. Here’s what can affect the choice of a smartphone:

iPhone 11 vs iPhone 11 Pro Comparison

• The 11 Pro has fewer and stricter ones. For unusual colors – to the iPhone 11.
• Glass on the back. iPhone 11 retained the gloss of its predecessors and received a matte camera block. The iPhone 11 Pro, on the other hand, has a matte panel with a glossy block
• The iPhone 11 Pro has it a little newer and more technologically advanced, as well as with Full HD. But it’s not even this that affects the experience more, but the diagonal – 6.1 inches of the iPhone 11 versus 5.8 for the 11 Pro and 6.5 for the 11 Pro Max.
• Telephoto lens. The iPhone 11 did not receive it, which means that the zoom is only digital.
• With 512GB on board, only the iPhone 11 Pro is sold.

Let’s summarize

iPhone 11 is Apple’s flagship smartphone, which is designed for a mass audience and corresponds to this status in terms of characteristics. It has a design similar to older models, the same functionality and, except for the telephoto module, the same main and ultra-wide-angle cameras. Compared to last year’s iPhone Xr, there are not many changes in the new product, but the most important thing is the ability of the main camera to take high-quality night shots, which are not inferior to either older models or top-end devices from other manufacturers, and the iPhone 11 costs less. All in all, it turns out to be a good update for fans of Apple smartphones that will replace older models.

Pros: materials and build quality, Face ID face recognition system, high performance, camera image quality, night mode, loud external speakers, good autonomy, support for fast and wireless charging, which must be purchased separately. But in this case, by purchasing a special charger for the iPhone, you will extend its life and will use your phone longer.