In the past, I’ve written about why I like the size of the iPhone Xs, and how this was one of the reasons I used that phone as my primary device for over a year. When I opened the phone’s box, I immediately noticed the large bezels on the front. As compared to the iPhone Xs, the bezels are slightly large, and they are massive if you compare it to most modern Android phones such as the OnePlus 7 Pro, or the Xiaomi Redmi K20 Pro. But, unless you’re watching a lot of videos on the phone, they won’t bother you much for your daily usage.
Having said this, I do hope Apple reduces the size of the big black lines next year. If I squint my eyes, I do notice individual pixels, as this is not a full HD screen. I tried watching a few videos on Netflix with the iPhone Xs on the side, and yes, I could notice the difference if I observed closely. But hey, this phone is $300 cheaper, so you have to make do with the LCD screen instead of OLEDs on the Pro models.
They are amazingly loud without sounding tinny. When I played the same video on the iPhone Xs and the iPhone 11 turn-by-turn, I almost hated the sound on the former. While I’m not a person who plays media on speakers too much, it’s a good upgrade for gaming or casual video watching in your room. In the past few years, Apple‘s camera fell significantly behind its Android counterparts, but now, the company’s back in the game.
The main camera has an improved 12-megapixel sensor and it shows. I had almost stopped snapping from the iPhone Xs. But going by the early impressions of the iPhone 11’s camera I won’t be doing that. Also, I want to thank Apple for adding a wide-angle camera as the secondary sensor.
The ultra-wide shots are quite dramatic, and Apple engineers have avoided distortion in these photos well. That’s not to say there’s no distortion, but it doesn’t look too unnatural. Portrait photography is fun again, as shots combined from both cameras add a bigger perspective than portraits taken with main and telephoto sensors in the iPhone Xs. There are more details and better edge detection in these photos.
The incredibly sought-after Night mode does its job well. While it tries to brighten objects, it also attempts to manage highlights and not blow them out. It’s not perfect, but it’s better than most Android phones out there.
Apple claims the battery on the iPhone 11 lasts for an hour more than the iPhone XR.While I couldn’t objectively test that claim, I can say that you can easily go through a day’s usage with a single charge. I used the public beta of iOS 13 on the iPhone Xs, and it wasn’t a pleasant experience. When I got my iPhone 11, I immediately updated to iOS 13.1 and I haven’t encountered any major anomalies. Apple‘s done a good job with this.
