iPhone 11 Pro Review

by phonast Admin December 20, 2019

A compact powerhouse with the best cameras around

With its relatively small 5.8-inch screen, the iPhone 11 Pro is a veritable throwback in today’s market of ever-growing phablets. But there are plenty of people who still want a more compact phone. Everything else about the iPhone 11 Pro is big, though, including the mammoth improvements to Apple's cameras. From the new Night mode and better Smart HDR to the extended dynamic range in video, the iPhone 11 Pro is now arguably the best camera phone around.

At $999, the iPhone 11 Pro's price is also quite large, and I would expect more storage than 64GB for a grand. Another bummer: The 6.5-inch iPhone 11 Pro Max and cheaper iPhone 11 feature better battery life. But if you want a beast of a smartphone in a design that's easy to use with one hand, the iPhone 11 Pro will be right up your alley.

Check out our iPhone 11 vs iPhone 11 Pro vs iPhone 11 Pro Max face-off to see all of the most important differences.

iPhone 11 review
iPhone 11 Pro Max review

iPhone 11 Pro review cheat sheet

The regular iPhone 11 offers great dual cameras, but the iPhone 11 Pro offers a third camera for optical zoom, giving you more range.
Apple's new Night mode produces amazing results in very low light and even surpasses the Pixel 4 in some cases.
The extended dynamic range in video and cinematic stabilization produce movie-like results.
Thanks to its A13 Bionic processor, the iPhone 11 Pro is the fastest phone you can buy.
At about 10.5 hours of battery life, the iPhone 11 Pro offers good endurance, but the iPhone 11 Pro Max lasts nearly 12 hours on a charge.
The fast charger in the box works pretty well, getting you to 55% in 30 minutes.
We wish Apple included more storage than just 64GB; you may want to go for a higher capacity.
The lack of 5G connectivity is a bummer but we wouldn't expect widespread coverage until late 2020.

iPhone 11 Pro price and availability

The iPhone 11 Pro is now on sale (Sept. 20). It starts at $999 ($41.62 per month) for a relatively skimpy 64GB of storage. With a trade-in, the iPhone 11 Pro can be had for as little as $599 at Apple if you have an iPhone XS in good condition.

By comparison, the Galaxy Note 10 packs four times as much storage at 256GB, though Apple does a better job with compression than Android phones. You can pay $1,149 for 256GB of storage on the iPhone 11 Pro or $1,349 for 512GB.

If you’re a UK user, the iPhone 11 Pro costs £1,049 for the 64GB storage version, then £1,119 for 128GB and £1,399 for 256GB. You can get this price down to £759 with Apple’s trade-in scheme, assuming you own a valuable enough phone you can give in exchange.

Be sure to check out our iPhones 11 and iPhone 11 Pro deals page to make sure you take advantage of any discounts. Also keep in mind that there should be some Black Friday deals for the iPhone, as well as big discounts for Cyber Monday deals.

iPhone 11 Pro design: Compact and menacing

One look at the back of the iPhone 11 Pro and you know this phone means business. The three large camera lenses dominate the top left corner, and they're a bit intimidating at first. And while the iPhone 11 has friendly colors like green, purple and yellow, the iPhone 11 Pro sticks to conservative hues like midnight green, space gray, gold and silver.

I really like the matte finish on the back; it not only resists fingerprints (I'm looking at you, Galaxy Note 10) but it's less slippery than other glass phones.

The iPhone 11 Pro has no trouble shrugging off water. I dumped it in a fountain and the phone didn't experience any issues. The device is IP68 rated and can withstand being submerged in up to 4 meters for up to 30 minutes. (That's a full 2 meters more than the iPhone 11 can withstand.)

There's a couple of things that I don't love about the iPhone 11 Pro's design. The first is that it's a bit heavier than the iPhone XS (6.63 ounces versus 6.24 ounces), and it's also slightly wider and thicker, which I suspect has to do with additions like the third camera and perhaps a larger battery.

The second nitpick is that the iPhone 11 Pro looks nearly identical to recent iPhones from the front. Yes, the notch has become iconic at this point, but I'd like to see something closer to a full-screen iPhone.

iPhone 11 Pro durability

Apple says the iPhone 11 Pro has the "toughest glass ever" in a smartphone. And we put that claim to the test by conducting an iPhone 11 Pro drop test from different heights onto a sidewalk. The results were not great.

At a height of about 3.5 feet, the iPhone 11 Pro's front cracked when we dropped the handset on its face. Interestingly, the back of the phone didn't suffer any damage when we dropped it from the same height, but the rear did crack from a shoulder-height drop. Regardless, we would invest in an iPhone 11 Pro case.

Some iPhone 11 Pro owners have complained that their screens have scratched easily. However, we have not encountered any issues with our review unit. If you are concerned about your phone picking up scuffs or scratches we'd suggest investing in a screen protector.

iPhone 11 Pro display and audio: Seriously bright

It's one thing to measure the brightness of the iPhone 11 Pro's 5.8-inch Super Retina XDR display in our labs. And it impressed the lab with an average reading of 752 nits. That far outshines the Galaxy Note 10 (674 nits) and last year's iPhone XS (611 nits).

But you especially notice the difference when you put the iPhone 11 Pro next to the Galaxy Note 10 outside. Even without a lot of sunlight, the iPhone 11 Pro's screen made the Note 10's panel look downright dim. I had to double-check that Samsung's phone was on max brightness.

Overall, the OLED panel on the iPhone 11 Pro is pretty stunning, thanks to its wide color support and ultrawide viewing angles. In the trailer for See coming to Apple TV+, the sweeping landscapes and minute details in people's faces really drew me into the action, though I’d personally prefer the larger 6.5-inch canvas on the iPhone 11 Pro Max.

The sound through the iPhone 11 Pro is just as compelling, thanks to support for spatial audio and Dolby Atmos. When watching the See trailer, it felt like the driving rain on Jason Momoa's head was happening around me instead of just in front of me.

iPhone 11 Pro: Is the lack of 5G a big deal?

The short answer to the above question is not really — at least at this moment. The fact that the iPhone 11 Pro lacks 5G is disappointing in the sense that you're probably going to hold onto this phone for the next few years. By then 5G should be everywhere, but right now the 5G networks are still being built out, and today's 5G phones don’t have the multiband modem required to connect to all of the frequencies carriers will be supporting.

So you’ll have to settle for 4G LTE on this phone, and the iPhone 11 Pro supports 4x4 MIMO, giving you two more antennas than the regular iPhone 11. The iPhone 11 Pro also comes with Wi-Fi 6 built in, which means you should enjoy more efficient throughput if you buy a Wi-Fi 6 router.

One wireless surprise is Apple's proprietary U1 chip, which uses Ultra Wideband to accurately locate other nearby devices with the same chip inside. For example, you can share files over AirDrop with other iPhone 11 or iPhone 11 Pro owners by pointing your phone in their direction, and the transfers will be handled more efficiently than before. But I’m guessing that more exciting applications are on the way, such as the rumored object tracker from Apple that would take on devices like the Tile.

iPhone 11 Pro and iOS 13: The biggest highlights

Apple's iOS 13 comes preloaded on the iPhone 11 Pro, and it brings some welcome improvements. The one I'm most looking forward to is Sign in with Apple, which will make it easier to sign in with all sorts of apps without having to futz with passwords -- or worry as much about my privacy.

But right out of the gate I really appreciate the new Photos app. The new Days, Months and Years views help your pics come alive, and I like the way Apple mixes in videos with still photos.

While I'm not giving up Google Maps anytime soon (Apple burned that bridge for me and then gave me incorrect directions back to the bridge), I'm glad that there's a new Maps app that's been rebuilt from the ground up with high-res 3D photos. There's also a Look Around feature that's similar to Google's Street View.

It's a small thing, but I like the redesigned Reminders app, as there are more in-your-face counters to see at a glance how many items on a to-do list you still need to complete. Check out our full iOS 13 review to get an in-depth look at how well the software works.

iPhone 11 Pro bottom line

The iPhone 11 Pro is one of the last great small phones in existence. And that's no small feat when you consider all of the great stuff Apple packed into this phone. You get arguably the best cameras in a phone along with class-leading performance and an OLED display that outshines most Android phones.

My only reservations with the iPhone 11 Pro are its measly 64GB of included storage and that its battery life, while good, trails both the iPhone 11 and iPhone 11 Pro Max.

If it were my dough, I would spend the extra $100 on the iPhone 11 Pro Max for its bigger screen and extra endurance. But the regular iPhone 11 is very much worth the investment for those who desire killer cameras in a more compact package.