The iPhone 11 is a solid phone that offers users an excellent camera, good specs and good battery life for a very good price. At a price tag that is quite low for an Apple phone, this device is definitely good value for money.
Check out iPhone 11 64GB – Red
List of Specifications
Dimension: 150.9 x 75.7 x 8.3 mm (5.94 x 2.98 x 0.33 in)
Weight: 194 g (6.84 oz)
Display: 6.1 in Liquid Retina IPS LCD capacitive touchscreen, 16M colors. 828 x 1792 pixels, 19.5:9 ratio (~326 ppi density)
Storage Options: 4GB RAM, 64GB Internal Storage / 128GB Internal Storage / 256 Internal Storage, no memory card slot
Software: iOS 13, upgradable to iOS 13.6.1
Rear Camera: Dual- 12 MP, f/1.8, 26mm (wide), 1/2.55”, 1.4um, dual pixel PDAF, OIS, 12 MP, f/2.4, 13mm (ultrawide), 1/3.6”, Quad-LED flash, HDR, (photo/panorama)
Front Camera: Dual: 12 MP, f/2.2, 23mm (wide), 1/3.6”, SL 3D (depth/biometrics sensor. HDR
Battery: Non-Removable Li-Ion 3110 mAh, Fast Charging 18W, USB Power Delivery 2.0, QI Wireless charging
Other Features: Face ID, accelerometer, gyro, proximity, compass, barometer, Siri natural language commands and dictation
Pros
- Good battery life
- Superb camera
- Fast performance
- Fantastic audio
- Fun colors
Cons
- LCD screen technology is not as good as OLED
- No fast charger in the box
- The camera does not have a zoom lens
Design and Layout
The iPhone 11 looks pretty similar to the 2018 iPhone XR. Unfortunately, one of the differences between these two phones is that the latter has an unsightly camera bump on the back.
According to Apple, the front and back of the phone have the ‘toughest glass ever in a smartphone’. It is totally smooth on the back as there is no etched pattern on it. To save cost, the sides of the phone are aluminium rather than stainless steel.
Another difference on the back is that Apple has moved its logo lower, and removed the word ‘iPhone’. Perhaps it is because the logo in itself is pretty self-explanatory.
As for the front, this phone has pretty big bezels. It’s still a modern design unless you really hate bezels. This phone is also a little bit thicker than the iPhone 11 Pro but feels just as premium.
Besides the standard black, white and red, this device comes in some other pretty fun colors – mint green, lilac and light yellow.
Display
The iPhone 11 comes with a 6.1-inch Liquid Retina LCD technology display with an 828 x 1792 pixels resolution. While the display is quite decent, it does not have the color richness of OLED screens.
Apple has done a good job in calibrating the screen to produce images that are clear and sharp. Nonetheless, the screen is still lacking when compared to the iPhone 11 Pro with colors that fall short in depth and contrast. This is largely due to the limitations of LCD technology that is used in this phone.
As for brightness, the screen is easily visible even on bright sunny days. Having it on full brightness can be pretty blinding when you are indoors.
While the LCD display is not the best, it’s still perfectly fine for watching videos and movies. Combined with Apple’s spatial audio tech, and excellent speakers, watching movies on this phone is a great experience.
Battery Life
The iPhone 11 battery is able to make it easily to the end of the day. Low usage will give you more than 24 hours of battery life. With frequent usage throughout the day, including checking email, downloading apps and streaming music with Bluetooth, the phone will still be able to last you for the whole day. You may, however, find yourself reaching for the charger at the end of the night, depending on how heavy the usage is.
This phone is capable of 18W fast charging although it only comes with a standard charger in the box. With a fast charger, this device is able to gain 35% in 25 minutes, and 100% in less than one and a half hours. The slow charger in the box will give the phone 10% of charge in 20 minutes.
There is also wireless charging, so you might want to invest in a wireless pad that will enable you to charge your phone easily at home or at work. Bottom line, the decent battery life is really pleasing, compared to the many iPhones that have short battery life.
Software and Performance
One of the best features of this phone is its A13 processor. When it comes to speed, almost nothing can beat the iPhone 11. The A13 processor speeds things up by 15 to 20% than the previous processor by Apple. Additionally, iOS 13 also speeds up a number of important parts of the software.
You can feel the power of the A13 neural processor when you are using the camera. The response time when you use the Portrait mode and the Night mode is fantastic. The A13 also has the strongest gaming chip that Apple can offer and thus keeping it ahead of the other phones on the market in this department.
Besides this, the A13 processor also helps with conserving power, which definitely plays a role in the phone’s battery life. The Face ID recognition is also notably faster and reliable with this processor.
Camera Performance
The best feature on this device is hands down the camera. This phone has two rear sensors that enable you to take wide-angle shots alongside the main pictures. Both sensors are 12MP, and similar to the 11 Pro and the 11 Pro Max, the iPhone 11 has the same square lens bump on the back that actually takes a little while to get used to.
The phone’s Night Mode works wonders in low light. This setting allows you to capture images that are bright and detailed even when there is very limited light. These amazing pictures are actually a result of the phone capturing a number of the same shots at different levels of exposures and sharpness.
All you have to do is to keep your device steady for two to five seconds when you are capturing the image.
Another feature that adds to the camera’s capabilities is Deep Fusion. Apple made a big deal out for this feature during the launch of this device and we can see why. The feature takes nine photos even before the shutter button is pressed. It then optimizes your actual shot by going through data from the aforementioned nine pictures.
With dual cameras, there is also an improvement on the Portrait Mode. The second camera gives the phone additional physical information and this definitely helps with focus. There is also a new effect for this mode – High Key Mono which gives your photos an artsy and professional feel. For best images, make sure you capture the foreground precisely.
Competition
Apple is not the only brand that is offering phones which are in this range. If you don’t mind android phones, you might want to check out the Google Pixel 3a and the Google Pixel 3a XL which are solid phones with high specs and a lower price tag. There is also the Samsung S10e which is a very capable phone that also has dual cameras which work superbly well.
Bottom Line
Starting from $699, the iPhone 11 is one of the most cost-effective phones from Apple. It is worth the purchase of an Apple product. The battery life of this phone is pretty good, but there are still many phones on the market that are better and can last longer. You might also want to check out this phone if you are looking for one with a strong camera.
On the other hand, you may want to look elsewhere if you need a large storage capacity. While the 256GB internal storage will be fine for most people, this is not the phone for you if you are going to need more than that. Also, if it is specs that really matter to you, then you might want to check out the iPhone 11 Pro range instead.
Check out the iPhone 11 on BestBuy.com today!
