The glass iPhones have been the slipperiest phones I've owned since the Nexus 4, which could go from dead center of a level dining room table to plummeting off the edge in a half-hour flat. The glass iPhones aren't that bad, but close. Especially and polished surfaces.
Apple and Corning have whipped up yet another stronger, more scratch and shatter-resistant formulation for the iPhone 11. But, it's these new, textured finishes that I'm really counting on to make just that extra little bit of difference. And, so far, so far less slick.
UPDATE: As is usual, I've managed to scuff up the front of the iPhone Pro pretty quickly, and also as usual, the back camera housing of another iPhone appears to be to blame. Sapphire beats glass. You can't see it unless the screen is off and you hold it at an angle, so it doesn't effect usage. But, if you're a perfectionist or want to mainatin resale value, get a screen protector.
The colors are still conservative. More so than the pastels of the standard iPhone 11 and much more so than the multicolor Ombre and Aurora gradients and iridescence Huawei and Samsung have been shipping for a while now.
Pro has always meant bead-blasted silver and maybe, just maybe space gray to Apple. The iPhone 11 Pro amps that up with a new shade of gold, which has been an official phone-approved option for a while now, and an entirely new midnight green.
It's super subtle, though. And while I'm fine with it, I really would have loved a splash of something stronger. Product Red. Metallic purple. Maybe even a little ombre?
UPDATE: Tyler Stalman noted that the new Midnight Green looks like Leica's famed Jungle Green. I wouldn't be at all surprised if that was the inspiration.
And, if we're going pro and introducing some segmentation into the iPhone line, maybe really go for it and offer an iPhone Edition in ceramic. Apple's materials team is just killing it on the watch and it'd be amazing to see what they could do with a small part of the phone line as well.
As to the camera bump, I can't believe I'm saying this, but I'm actually starting to not mind it. Maybe even like it in a strange way? Much more than the regular iPhone 11 bump, at least.
There's just something about the slightly wider super ellipse and the three lenses that make it look less like the surprise face emoji of my nightmares and more like an actual old fashioned multi-camera system. Maybe a little military. Maybe a little alien even. But, still, something that does real work in the real world. And, yeah, makes it look just a little more Pro.
Water resistance has improved on the Pro models as well. The XS was already IP68 and rated for up to 30 minutes at up to 2 meters. The Pros will go all the way down to 4 meters, though.
