Apple today announced the iPhone 11 Pro and the iPhone 11 Pro Max. These handsets are the successor to the iPhone XS and iPhone XS Max from last year and come with a number of major improvements. They are carrying the ‘Pro’ moniker this time around because of their triple-camera system.
iPhone 11 Pro Specs
The iPhone 11 Pro and iPhone 11 Pro Max features the same design language as the iPhone XS series but with a number of improvements which ensures it does not look anything like its predecessor. There is a new textured matte glass and polished stainless steel band which gives the phones a more premium look and feel. Apple will be offering the iPhone 11 Pro series in Midnight Green, Space Gray, Silver, and Gold colors.
While the iPhone 11 Pro series carries the same IP68 certification, their water-resistance capabilities have actually improved. They can now withstand being submerged in up to 4 meters of water for 30 minutes.
In terms of display size, the iPhone Pro comes with a 5.8-inch OLED display while the iPhone Pro Max comes with a 6.5-inch OLED panel. The new OLED panels are capable of reaching 1,200 nits of brightness and are still up to 15 percent more efficient. Apple is calling the new OLED panels as Super Retina XDR due to the number of improvements they pack.
Apple has ditched 3D Touch on the new iPhones and replaced it with Haptic Touch.
The new iPhone 11 Pro series is powered by Apple’s A13 Bionic chip which offers up to 20% more performance. The GPU has also seen a 40% reduction in power consumption. The energy improvements mean the iPhone 11 Pro lasts up to four hours more than the iPhone XS while the iPhone 11 Pro Max lasts up to five hours more than the iPhone XS Max.
Apple is finally also getting around to bundling an 18W USB-C adapter with the iPhone 11 Pro series.
Face ID has also improved on the iPhone 11 Pro series and it now covers at a wider angle of view.
The networking performance on the iPhone 11 Pro series has also improved by leaps and bounds. They now support up to 1.6Gbps LTE downlink speeds and Wi-Fi 6.
iPhone 11 Pro Camera
While the new iPhones come with a number of changes, it is the triple-camera system at the rear which is the highlight here. The primary camera retains the 12MP resolution but packs a new and bigger sensor and has 100% Focus Pixels. The 12MP telephoto lens also has a wider f/2.0 aperture and improved focusing performance. It has a 52mm focal length and features a 6-element lens.
The third new sensor is an ultra-wide angle one. Its a 12MP sensor with a 120-degree field of view and an f/2.4 aperture. This same sensor is also found on the iPhone 11.
Apple will also be taking advantage of the powerful ISP on the A13 Bionic chip to offer Deep Fusion. Using Machine Learning, the triple-camera system will take multiple photos with varying exposures before and after you press the shutter button to take a highly detailed photo. This feature will make its way to the iPhone 11 Pro series via a software update later this fall.
All three cameras on the iPhone 11 Pro series are capable of shooting 4K videos at 60fps. It also features improved stabilization, cinematic dynamic range for 4k videos shot at 60fps, and the ability to switch between the three cameras while recording videos. There’s also a new Audio Zoom feature in which the camera app will focus on the sound from the person or object on which one zooms in.
As seen on the iPhone 11, the iPhone 11 Pro series will also come with a Night mode in the Camera app that will automatically enable itself in low-light scenarios. The camera app has also been updated to take better advantage of the triple-camera system on the iPhone 11 Pro. One can also start recording videos on the iPhone 11 by simply holding the shutter button in the camera app.
The True Tone flash module has also been updated to make it 36% brighter.
The TrueDepth camera at the front has also been updated with a wider field of view and a higher resolution 12MP sensor. This will help one capture more people in a single frame while in landscape mode. The front camera can now also record 4K videos at 60fps with extended dynamic range. As if that was not enough, Apple has also added slow-motion video recording capability a.k.a “slofie” to the front camera.
The iPhone 11 Pro series goes up for pre-order on September 13 and it will hit the retail stores on September 20. Pricing starts from $999 for the iPhone 11 Pro and $1,099 for the iPhone 11 Pro Max.
