The speakers have gotten significantly better with iPhone 11. They're not just stereo now. If your media offers 5.1 surround, Apple will project spatial audio using their own, custom virtualizer. It even supports Dolby Atmos, which means when you're watching a movie, it doesn't sound like the audio is coming from just one side or the other. It sounds like its coming from a stage projecting right out of the iPhone. Kinda spooky, but all tones of cool at the same time.
I imagine that giant, state-of-the-art audio lab Apple built for everything from AirPods to HomePods is really just taking all their mic and speaker technology to the next level.
I wear AirPods when I'm with other people or out and about. I don't hold the speaker up to my ear like some kind of loud, noise-splattering animal. But, when I'm alone, I do use the speaker a lot, and spatial audio has changed it from something I just do, to something I actually really enjoy doing.
There are just so many people with so many existing cables and accessories that even Apple, famous for ditching floppies and jacks, before anyone is really comfortable with the idea, is wisely waiting just a little bit longer. Who knows, maybe even for something just a lot better?
Water resistance is blessedly better. The rating, which really only mean what the manufacturers attest they mean, have gone from the XR's IP67 to the 11's new IP68, and from 30 minutes at up to one meter to 30 minutes at up to two meters. That's the same as last year's iPhone XS if not quite as good as this years' iPhone 11 Pro.
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