The iPhone 11 Pro and the iPhone 11 Pro Max are the first time when the “Pro” moniker has been adopted by the iPhones. But the biggest highlight from this year’s iPhone announcements has to be the iPhone 11 logically taking over the reigns from the iPhone XR. The much criticised iPhone XR (for its LCD display, single camera and “heavy” design—usually by those with a social media disposition) proved to be incredibly popular, and the data has proved that time and again. Therefore, the iPhone 11 does have a massive responsibility on its shoulders.
To start off, it is good to see Apple getting the true meaning of the data that says the iPhone XR is very popular. Price. Yes, a comparatively more affordable price tag, and people are ready to buy an iPhone. So, what does Apple do this year? Takes the price down a notch. And a bit more. The iPhone 11 hits India later this month with a price tag of Rs 64,900 which is around Rs 10,000 less than the entry price point of the iPhone XR. Good start then.
And that just isn’t it. There is a dual camera system at the back, with a 12-megapixel ultra-wide camera being the addition. So now, no complaints about this having “just” one camera. The way this has been designed is that the camera bump isn’t actually a camera bump anymore, but actually more of a perplexing implementation of the single piece matte glass that covers the entire back of the iPhone 11 as well as the camera module. It all just looks very good.
And that is before we even get to the colours. Purple, green, yellow, white, black and PRODUCT(RED) are the options you can choose from right now. That is a significant change to the options list compared with the XR—Blue and coral are two colours that are no longer there.
There is a significant bump up in the amount of artificial intelligence (AI) being deployed to make the photos that you click natural and well detailed, but then again, none of that would really be possible without the data from these sensors. That said, the camera app opens incredibly fast and the quick focus and tap to click is something that most phones will struggle to keep up with. I couldn’t test the Night Mode on these new iPhones just yet, considering how well lit the Apple demo zone was, but that is surely something on the top of my list once the review device rolls into town.
The iPhone 11 runs the latest Apple A13 Bionic chip, which is the fastest processor in smartphones right now. That is the same as the iPhone 11 Pro and the iPhone 11 Pro Max. In fact, this chip is 20 percent faster in terms of graphics and performance than the predecessor. With the new machine learning accelerators, this processor can do as many as 1 trillion operations per second. The A12 Bionic in the iPhone XR was no slouch by any stretch of the imagination, and this should simply take the performance to the next level.
The iPhone XR faced a lot of flak for “having only an LCD” display. But clearly the millions who have made the iPhone XR the best selling phone in the world didn’t care. The iPhone 11 brings to the table a 6.1-inch LCD display as well. This remains as excellent as ever, to be honest. It gets the job done in some style. The big change is that the protective glass above the display is stronger than before.
Apple has talked about the Deep Fusion. It is coming later this fall as part of an iOS update at the time, and is a new image processing system enabled by the Neural Engine of A13 Bionic. Deep Fusion uses advanced machine learning to do pixel-by-pixel processing of photos, optimizing for texture, details and noise in every part of the photo.
The iPhone XR made it very clear to Apple that the need of the hour is to make the entry spec iPhone this year feel well and truly a part of the family. Rather than as an addition. An afterthought perhaps. For instance, at that time, the iPhone 8 was the entry point to the line-up at the time, and the name suggested that. The same correction, so to say, has been done with the iPhone 11. It is now well and truly the torchbearer for the iPhone experience for many users. Naming does go a long way. And the pricing for this year does too.
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