iPhone 11 Pro Review

by Phonedesk Admin

The iPhone 11 Pro, along with its larger iPhone 11 Pro Max sibling, sits atop Apple’s 2019 phone line. It’s the glitzier, flashier and far pricier version of the iPhone 11.

Verdict

While the iPhone 11 Pro looks nearly identical to its predecessor, the changes Apple has made do make it a much better phone. The three cameras on the back are truly excellent and might just be my favourite trio of sensors on any phone. The video recording, audio and super-bright XDR display are all tremendous too. This is also the first 5.8-inch iPhone that doesn’t feel hamstrung by a battery that needs constant attention to get it through a full day. All that being said, there are still areas I would have liked to see Apple push forward in, especially as it has now decided to call these phones ‘Pro’. 5G was never going to happen, but would have been nice anyway; some sort of TouchID-enabled fingerprint sensor inside the display and the rumoured reverse wireless charging that could have juiced up a pair of AirPods would all have been welcome features.

Pros

  • A lovely, supremely bright display
  • One of the best camera systems on any phone
  • Finally there's a quick charger in the box

Cons

  • Design hasn't changed much and the notch remains annoying
  • 64GB still the base storage option
  • The iPhone 11 is, for most people, a better pick

Key Specifications

  • Review Price: £1049
  • 5.8-inch Super Retina XDR display with HDR
  • A13 Bionic chipset
  • Reported 4GB RAM
  • Storage options ranging from 64GB to 512GB
  • 18w charger in the box
  • 3x 12-megapixel cameras

Who is the iPhone 11 Pro for?

The iPhone 11 Pro, along with its larger iPhone 11 Pro Max sibling, sits atop Apple’s 2019 phone line. It’s the glitzier, flashier and far pricier version of the iPhone 11.

For the extra outlay of cash you get an ‘XDR Retina display’, triple-camera array on the back and higher-end materials. Is this enough to warrant to now overused ‘Pro’ tag?

Camera – Is this the iPhone camera to topple the competition?

The iPhone 11 Pro packs three distinct 12-megapixel cameras, which for the first time in an Apple device, includes an ultra-wide angle lens (13mm equivalent, f/2.4). You also get a standard lens (26mm, f/1.8) and a 2x telephoto lens (52mm, with an improved maximum aperture of f/2.0).

iPhone 11 Pro back

Apple has seriously improved its photographic output with the iPhone 11 Pro (and with the iPhone 11 in many ways) and it now stands toe-to-toe with the best out there. I would even go as far as saying it’s my favourite smartphone camera thanks to the quality of all three cameras, the reliable – if not manually accessible – Night Mode and the sheer sharpness of daylight photos.

Even though the megapixel count hasn’t changed in years, the 11 Pro takes supremely detailed snaps with lovely colour reproduction across all three cameras. You zoom in and zoom out without noticing you’re changing lenses – something that normally trips up other triple-camera phones.

Night Mode is a feature we’ve been wanting on iPhone for a number of years now, and finally we have it. The iPhone 11 Pro’s take on this mode is a little different, as it comes on automatically when the light is low and can’t be manually flipped on and off. This can be slightly annoying, as in a few instances I would have preferred to be able to turn it on myself.

The mode works by shooting a number of short exposures then combining them together to produce a finished image which gives the impression of a long exposure. The iPhone 11 Pro will decide for itself how many seconds to shoot for, but you can use a slider to take control of it, while attaching the phone to a tripod will see the mode jump to the maximum number of seconds.

 


Ultra Wide (left) vs Wide (right)

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