Apple iPhone 11 Review
The iPhone 11 is the cheapest of the iPhones launched by Apple in 2019, it is nonetheless marketed at the price of a high-end smartphone. Is this model the preferred iPhone? Answer in our test.
I started using my first iPhone only 2 years ago with the iPhone X. I haven’t changed my smartphone since, except for tests. Testing the iPhone 11 was for me the opportunity to both test what Apple offers most accessible as a new smartphone, but also to note what the brand can offer new for people like me, who have already jumped a generation with their iPhone X.
DESIGN
The iPhone 11 takes more or less the same design as the iPhone XR launched a year earlier. We therefore find the screen which wants to be borderless , but cut by a notch, an aluminum edge and a glass back. Faced with fierce competition in the smartphone market, the iPhone 11 notch has also taken a big blow of old, even if iOS is fortunately thought for this element of design. Note that the glass back does not benefit from the frosted effect of the iPhone 11 Pro, we keep the classic “ shiny ” glass back here . Like the iPhone XR, the LCD screen is framed with thicker edges than high-end iPhones.
It is immediately felt in hand. Used to having the iPhone X, which is relatively compact compared to smartphones of 2019, the iPhone 11 seems bulky to me, both noticeably wider and slightly taller. We still do not reach the heights of giant smartphones released this year like the OnePlus 7 Pro: the iPhone 11 remains usable at any time before being stowed in a pocket. Just be aware that if size is an important consideration, you might be better off heading for an iPhone XS or iPhone 11 Pro.
As always with Apple, the finishes are exemplary and we really have a feeling of quality in hand, with attention to detail even in the symmetry of the speakers around the Lightning port.
SCREEN
Apple chooses one more year to integrate a simple LCD screen with a fairly light definition of 1782 x 828 pixels, for a diagonal of 6.1 inches, in its smartphone, however marketed at more than 800 euros. However, this is not very important since the LCD panel chosen by Apple is of very good quality. OLED screen of iPhone X and LCD of iPhone 11 side by side, I admit that I find it difficult to tell the difference, whether in terms of colors or definition. For the contrasts it’s obviously another story, and a point where the iPhone X wins hands down. In the next, note that the screen is True Tone compatible, Apple’s technology which adapts the colorimetry of the screen to the user’s light environment and integrates the Haptic Touch which replaces the 3D Touch.
Using Portrait Display’s CalMAN Ultimate software, we were able to run all but one of our display tests on the phone. Indeed, we have never been able to control the management by the iPhone 11 of the DCI-P3 color space. The reason is simple, iOS manages the display in DCI-P3 or in sRGB for each application independently, and the application used for our test is set in sRGB.
Unsurprisingly, the screen displays the sRGB color space (at 106%) without any problem, and does so with almost perfect precision since we noted a delta E of only 0.9 on average (we consider a delta E of 3 or less as being a difference invisible to the naked eye). The average color temperature is just as excellent: 6582 K (the temperature of white sunlight is 6500 K).
PERFORMANCES
The iPhone incorporates 11 “fastest chip smart-phone“, namely Apple Bionic 13. In detail, this chip engraved in 7 nm integrates 2 high performance cores and 4 cores for less important tasks. On a daily basis, the iPhone 11 is flawlessly fluid. This is completely normal, even my 2-year-old iPhone X is still perfectly fluid, with a less powerful processor. With an in-house design of its SoCs, Apple is securing a lead over its competitors who, for their part, depend on the advances of Qualcomm for the most part.
Whether with benchmarks , or in more concrete uses such as games, the iphone 11 button does not weaken. The smartphone very logically allows itself to compete with its cousins iPhone 11 Pro and 11 Pro Max. The iPhone 11 has less RAM, but should display fewer pixels on the screen.
SOFTWARE
The iPhone 11 unsurprisingly comes with iOS 13 by default, which can be updated right out of the box to iOS 13.1.2 (at the time of writing this test). Apple’s excellent follow-up in terms of updates is no longer to be demonstrated and we can already estimate that the iPhone 11 will be followed up to iOS 17.
In 2019, we no longer present Apple’s mobile system, which is now mature and receives relatively few changes from year to year. I have been using iOS on a daily basis for 2 years now, and I got used to the navigation offered by the system and the absence of an application drawer for example. We have a very fluid and responsive system, often very easy to use and complete. It offers me most of the functions I expect in 2019, and in particular contactless payment with Apple Pay and easy password filling with my own manager, unlocked with Face ID.
The firm promotes its system as a paragon of simplicity. Unfortunately, the user experience sometimes pays the price for this sought-after simplicity and you end up having something complicated, especially when you have known Android. We think in particular of the inability to set default applications: if you click on a link, Safari always opens even if you prefer to use Google Chrome or Microsoft Edge. It’s even worse for applications dedicated to a service: a YouTube link on Twitter will first open the internal browser of the social network, then offer you to launch Safari, which then redirects you to the YouTube mobile site, and you have to at this moment finally choose to open the application. Three steps and as much loading time for nothing.
Apple is known for its cohesive ecosystem of devices, applications, and services. The firm does not fail to remind you of this on several occasions, with on the one hand the default installation of many of its applications (from the calculator to the iTunes Store via Apple Books or Pages), by forcing the activation of Siri to complete the configuration of the smartphone (fortunately the assistant can be deactivated later), and by including an advertisement for AppleCare + in the phone settings menu.
FACE ID
Apple was one of the first to offer 3D face recognition unlocking on smartphones. It is a system with great promise, as it avoids user interaction, everything is done simply by scanning your face, while being very secure. This is also what forces Apple to integrate a fairly large notch on its smartphone for the moment.
PHOTO QUALITY
As the iPhone 11 Pro has three cameras on the back. Apple can add a second back camera to its accessible smartphone. Contrary to what one might expect, the iPhone 11 does not inherit the telephoto lens of the iPhone X and XS. But rather the ultra wide-angle camera of the iPhone 11 Pro. More specifically, this means that the 2x optical zoom remains the exclusive feature of the “Pro” models.
So we have two cameras with 12 megapixel sensors:
- a wide-angle aperture f / 1.8;
- an ultra wide-angle f / 2.4 aperture (120 ° field of view).
The addition of ultra wide-angle results in the Camera app as an enlarged frame visible through the capture interface. By default, we simply capture in “ wide-angle ”, but a “pinch” allows you to switch to the ultra-wide-angle camera.
Another smart function, the iPhone 11 can shoot with both devices simultaneously to allow the user to choose later if he wants to widen the field of his photo. Be careful, however, this function requires activating ” high efficiency ” capture , that is to say in .heic rather than in .jpg format, which is much easier to share.
Let’s end these presentations with the camera part of the iPhone 11. It is capable of filming in 4K at 60 frames per second. Or in slow motion in Full HD 1080p at 240 frames per second.
AUDIO
The iPhone 11 incorporates a true stereo speaker. Sound comes both from the listening speaker above the screen, and from the two grilles under the smartphone. You just have to plug one of the outlets with your finger to realize that the sound is very well balanced.
If we avoid pushing the volume to the maximum, the sound quality is quite good with a balanced rendering. That is neither too low nor too high. Of course, a smartphone is still not ready to replace a real speaker or headphones. The sound emitted lacks too many details, which we will perceive with a better listening device. We will therefore use the speaker mode rather as a troubleshooting solution than to really enjoy his music. No problem listening to podcasts, however, the voices are clear.
To connect a headset, you will have to go through Bluetooth, or use a Lightning adapter. Since the iPhone no longer includes the famous 3.5 mm jack. Connection via Bluetooth is easy, and the headset’s battery level can be observed from a widget. In a pane on the left of the desktop.
DRUMS
The iPhone 11 packs a 3,110mAh battery, up from the iPhone XR’s 2,942mAh battery. Combined with a processor consuming less than the previous generation, the iPhone 11 gets by with very good battery life.
I could easily last a whole day by mixing YouTube, Twitter and a few photos. Few Android smartphones can handle my personal use case. For comparison, my iPhone X usually lasts half a day.
I even found myself not thinking about recharging my iPhone 11 for more than a day. And fortunately, because charging the iPhone 11 is hell.
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COMMUNICATION AND NETWORKS
Apple has long been at war with Qualcomm, and while the problem is now fixed. The iPhone 11 continues to use an Intel modem. The latter can manage 4G LTE MIMO 2 × 2 and all 4G frequency bands used in France are of course supported.
Impossible to know if this comes from the choice of an Intel modem. Or from the design of the smartphone. But the iPhone 11 captures the mobile network less well than its Android competitors. This was already the case with the iPhone X, and it still is here. For example in the underground, in the subway, where I can capture 4G perfectly with most of the smartphones that I test. I simply cannot open a web page with the iPhone. Obviously, in the middle of the street and therefore in good conditions. It is easy to achieve correct speeds, above 100 Mbit / s.
Final test score
9/10
The smartphone incorporates the most powerful mobile SoC of the moment. A more than comfortable autonomy, a perfectly calibrated screen, and a decent camera. It’s simple I think that no one who buys this smartphone will be disappointed. And that it is above all a long-term purchase thanks to Apple’s excellent software monitoring. And the advance of the smartphone. in terms of performance. We already know that an iPhone 11 can last for many years before needing to be replaced.
The iPhone 11 isn’t perfect, however, especially at the price it sells for. Competition on the Android side is fierce, and you can find the Google Pixel with a better camera at the same price. We can not fail to point the finger at Apple’s laziness regarding the design of its smartphone. Now dated with this huge notch. The iPhone 11 starts at $ 809, and providing a 5W charger is petty at best. A little insulting to the customer at worst. Finally, iOS still sometimes gets in the way of the user, for the benefit of Apple and its services.
Still, these negative points are ultimately details in the daily life of an iPhone user. Quite weak in the face of the main criteria for choosing his smartphone (finishes, screen, autonomy, power). It is important to be aware of the weaknesses of the smartphone, and therefore to mention them in this test. That being said, the iPhone 11 is a great smartphone, which won’t disappoint.
