Design – The DNA of the iPhone XR lives on and that’s a good thing
Apple seems more settled than usual with the designs of its trio of iPhones. The iPhone 11 Pro line has been virtually unchanged since the iPhone X arrived and just about killed the bezel, while the iPhone 11 keeps the same look and feel as the iPhone XR.
It still weighs the same, at 194g, keeps the 8.3mm thickness, and were it not for the redesigned camera module on the back and slightly more muted array of colours, it would look identical to the phone it’s replacing.
That means you’ve got a device that feels a lot sturdier than the iPhone 11 Pro and 11 Pro Max with a rigid aluminium frame and a glass back. Apple claims that the glass used here is the ‘toughest glass on a smartphone’ thanks to a dual ion-exchange strengthening process, and this covers both the front and back.
The IP water resistance rating has also been upped to IP68, matching the iPhone XS. What that really means for you, if you accidentally drop your shiny new phone on a stone floor, remains to be seen. I have already seen plenty of examples of cracked iPhone 11s. Surprisingly, Apple’s case line for the iPhone 11 is weak, with the leather and silicone options reserved for the pricier Pro – in its place you’ve got a fairly cheap-feeling plastic case.
Where the design differences are most obvious is the new, larger camera housing. The iPhone 11 adds a second camera into the mix, making both sensors physically larger in the process. These are cameras that really stand out and become part of the phone’s design, rather than blending in.
Even though they look quite bulbous in pictures, the cameras don’t jut out too much from the back of the phone and I actually like the way they look. There’s even a nice contrasting matte square housing the camera sensors and flash that adds a bit of flair. You will notice the phone doesn’t sit flush to a surface if you put it on a table, making it a bit annoying to type without holding the phone.
iPhone 11 mirrors the XR in terms of looks
The iPhone XR introduced bright colours to the iPhone line for the first time since the often derided iPhone 5c and they remain here. For the iPhone 11, Apple has muted some of the brighter colours, giving them more of a pastel finish. I’ve been using the purple hue and I am a big fan – having a more saturated purple would have looked gaudy. You’ve also got a green that reminds me of a seventies bathroom suite, a light yellow and more traditional colours like white and black. A deep Product(RED) version rounds off the selection.