I wasn’t that thrilled this year with what Apple announced at the iPhone event this year. For the first time since the iPhone 5, I debated whether I should upgrade my phone this year. Let me be very clear; there hasn’t been a great reason to upgrade your iPhone yearly unless you were on an upgrade plan. Still, the first few professional reviews of the iPhone 11 Pro Max came out, and I was intrigued. Since I’m Part of the Apple iPhone Upgrade Program, I decided that I should get the new iPhone 11 Pro Max in Midnight Green. After spending more than a week with it, here is my review of the iPhone 11 Pro Max.
The Phone
I was used to the size of the iPhone thanks to owning the iPhone XS Max for the past year. The XS had been a great phone, but it had taken me a while to get used to the size of the phone.
The thing is big.
Today, I don’t think I could even go back to a smaller phone. The cheaper iPhone 11 model was very tempting, the larger phone just fits my hands better.
The back glass of the iPhone 11 Pro has changed from glossy to matte, and I love it. The texture of the matte feels much better than the glossy back did. I hope that they keep this texture for a while because I think it looks and feels great.
This iPhone 11 Pro Max is also slightly thicker and heavier than the XS Max that preceded it. The extra thickness is hard to really tell, but the weight is noticeable.
Color
I went with the new Midnight Green color. In the week I’ve been using it, I have never thought the phone looked green. In pictures and in the right lighting, it looks green, but most of the time it just looks like a dull grey.
Personally, I think the white phone looked the best out of all the options this year. I have contemplated taking mine back and exchanging it, but it doesn’t make that much of a difference to the way that the phone works. The green/gray color isn’t bad. It’s just that I like the white iPhone 11 Pro Max the most this year. At this point, I would try to go into an Apple Store and judge the colors for yourself before you buy.
What’s Missing
At the Apple Event, when Apple announced the iPhone 11 and iPhone 11 Pro, no one mentioned 3D Touch. That’s because 3D Touch is gone. In its place is Haptic Touch which came to the iPhone XR last year. Haptic Touch combines a long press with a buzz from the haptic motor when successfully completed.
I thought I would miss 3D Touch, but despite a few times, I haven’t really missed it. I believe that Haptic Touch will go much further than 3D Touch ever did since it is now universal across all devices running iOS 13 and iPadOS. With it On every device, developers might actually embrace it.
Some things you might have done within an app using 3D Touch might be broken. I would expect developers to fix that in updates sooner rather than later.
Everything from prior iPhones has made it back to all the iPhone 11 models this year.
Battery – the game changer
The thing that blows me away the most in my new iPhone 11 Pro Max is the battery life. While the battery on the XS Max lasted most the day, I can get through an entire day and more now. Not only does it last, but I can do more on my phone and not have to worry.
So far, I have only had to turn the battery saver on once. I used my phone at work the entire day, including finding a new Apple Arcade game (mini motorway) and playing it most of the day. I also went to a concert that night. I think the concert is what really drained my battery as everyone was pulling data from the network and the speeds slowed way down. It felt like there was no signal even though it showed that I had 4 bars.
Apple made the phone slightly thicker and got rid of the 3D Touch technology in the phone. They filled that extra room with battery. That combined with a more efficient CPU makes the battery last all day.
Having this long-lasting battery is truly a transformative experience. I’d compare it to when the iPhone went large on the iPhone 6 . It will be hard to return to a world where the battery isn’t this good. In fact, I wish all Apple’s devices would improve in this fashion.
Camera
The camera on this new phone made me realize just how bad the photos on my iPhone XS Max were. While the pictures from the XS Max were good, these photos are on the next level. There appears to be more color and detail, and Apple still has some photography tricks up its sleeve to come In a later update.
The camera system on the iPhone 11 Pro and Pro Max added another camera, an ultra-wide-angle lens. I’ve tried the new lens out a few times, and it looks good. I’m not sure how often I’ll use it though. My wife though, thinks she’ll use it often.
Night Mode
The real game-changing camera addition in my mind is the new Night Mode. When the area you are trying to take a picture is dark, the camera app engages Night Mode. There’s nothing really to it other than a yellow timer in the top corner of the camera app. Once you take a picture, you hold your phone still for the length of the timer. The phone takes in all the light it can over time and makes a picture from all the shots it takes. The results in the dark are amazing. Some phones make it look almost like it is day time, Apple’s implementation makes it appear like it is dark, but the subjects pop.
All of the pictures above were taken in dark rooms or at a concert. The iPhone has been notoriously bad at concert photos. That won’t be the case anymore as the iPhone took great shots.
I really like my pictures are more professional quality than before. Using the camera I feel Like a better photographer, which I’m not sure I’ve said before. It’s all thanks to the camera in the iPhone 11 Pro.
Front Camera
The front camera also got an upgrade this year. I’m not one to take too many selfies, but it was nice at the concert to be able to rotate the phone to landscape and have the wider angle lens fit everyone in. I’m sure it will be more helpful to the younger generation that loves to record themselves.
I didn’t notice any difference or the ability to change the camera angle will on a FaceTime call though. Maybe in a future update.
I have used the front facing camera to take a Slo-mo selfie, or as Apple calls it a Slofie. It’s neat, but again not something that I’ll use a lot.
Video
Just like the point-and-shoot camera, the video on the iPhone 11 Pro Max shines. The cameras can capture 4K videos at up to the 60 frames per second. The video will look super crisp, and the colors will pop. If you drop the resolution down to 30 frames per second, The camera can will the resolution down a bit in dark areas to improve the look of the video. It will still shoot the same amount of frames as normal, but it will combine them to improve the lighting of dark video.
Soon, video app makers will allow the iPhone to capture more than one video stream at a time. Filmmakers will love this feature I would think, since they don’t need as much equipment or takes to get the videos they need.
I hope to really test out the multi capture feature soon (I have a couple of scripts that I’ve been working on). I’ll update once I have more information to provide here.
Screen
Not much has been made about the Super Retina XDR display in other reviews. Many talk bout it being a better screen than the iPhone 11, but not much else.
I think this happens because it has gotten difficult to tell the difference between the generations, but I’ve noticed a difference. This model really projects the colors better than any iPhone before it. While I don’t think it’s the same kind of jump from standard to retina displays, I have still noticed.
And yes, it is better than the standard 11 by far.
Apple reports that it gets even brighter when watching HDR content or out in the sun, but I haven’t really noticed it being different in that department.
I think the colors really shine though. I really notice the difference.
Processor
The iPhone hasn’t been a slouch in the processor department for some time. This year, Apple has pushed the chips further than any company again.
This iPhone feels snappy. I haven’t run into any slowdowns yet. I also haven’t rendered any videos however, which taxes the system. I’m sure it will be okay because the previous version encoded video quickly enough.
Games run fine, and apps open quickly. I’m sure as iOS 13 gets more updates and smooths out some of the rough edges and optimizes for the new hardware, we’ll see even more gains.
Wireless
So far, everything seems to be connecting and running quicker than ever before. My signal strength on LTE has more bars than usual and seems to run quickly.
My one issue so far as been Bluetooth. When I first set up my phone and connected it to my car stereo, Siri would come over the system and sound as if she were filled with static. It eventually ironed itself out and I haven’t noticed it since.
But at work, when I connect to a Bluetooth speaker, streaming music seems to be an issue. The music will pause and speed up constantly. If someone gets between the phone and the speaker, the audio it will drop out. I never had this issue before on any model phone and if it continues, I’m planning on talking to Apple about it. I haven’t had any problems streaming music to my AirPods, though. I wonder if it has something to do with the phone or with iOS 13.
The Future
The iPhone comes equipped with a new U1 chip. This chip has near-field communication chips and the first real mass-market use of the device. This chip helps provide the phone with some spacial information. Right now, the use of this chip is limited to AirDrop.
When you try to AirDrop from an iPhone 11 to another iPhone 11, if you point your phones at each other, those phones will get priority. So, when I try to AirDrop something to my wife, I simply point my phone at hers and she jumps to the top, even with dozens of other phones around.
There were rumors of an Apple-branded tracker that you could put in your wallet or bag, and the chip would help you find it down to the millimeter. I still expect something similar to come out, but I can’t help but imagine what else could be coming with this technology. I’m sure some AR implications are in the works.
I’m excited to see this newer technology really get the push.
Price
The iPhone 11 Pro Max comes with the same price tag as before. However, Apple is making a push to get you to turn in your old phones and get a significant discount.
Something I noticed but never saw mentioned anywhere: My Apple iPhone Upgrade cost is actually $5 less per month than with my iPhone XS Max. I’m not sure why the change since it seems like the price is still the same. Still, I’m not going to argue, and it was a reason for me to update.
My Opinion on the iPhone 11 Pro Max
I’m sure that part of this is the honeymoon period, but the iPhone 11 Pro Max is my favorite iPhone in a long time. It takes everything that has come before it and pushed a couple of the most important areas of smartphones forward: Battery and Camera.
The battery alone is enough for me to be happy that I’ve updated. The camera is a bonus as well as the $5 I’m saving a month.
But should everyone update to this years Max? Probably not. If you’re currently happy with your device, don’t upgrade. If you are in need of a new phone or need more battery life or want better pictures, upgrade. But I might also look at the base model iPhone 11. It’s a great phone with many of the same specs.
Use this guide to help decide if you’re planning on updating to the iPhone 11 series.
But for me, I’m entirely happy with my upgrade.
Looking for a more modern model? Check out my thoughts on the