Apple iPhone 11 Pro and Pro Max review

Final thoughts

We love wrapping up iPhone reviews as it doesn't really matter what we are going to say as you've probably already made your mind. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet iPhone 11 Pro and we are done.

No, seriously, the first batch of the iPhone 11 series is already in the hands of a lot of people around the world and the phones are already on backorder in these first markets. This Friday the second batch is going to ship, but we can safely bet most of these orders will be fulfilled in October, too. Because the satisfied iPhone users don't need any reviews to tell them the new iPhones are amazing.

And they are. The Apple iPhone 11 Pro and iPhone 11 Pro Max are faithful sequels and meaningful updates over the XS iPhones. And while we can always argue the XS users should wait off this generation, this is probably a must buy for any owner of an older iPhone.

The iPhone 11 Pro duo focuses on camera and battery life, two features where Apple has been consistently lacking. And the Cupertino company definitely took its time catching up with the Android gang, but it is finally there, and the wait seems to be worth it. The main camera gets a third ultrawide snapper, Night Mode has arrived, and the batteries grew in size. That's what many hoped for.

Luckily Apple did manage to sneak a few software tricks that sprinkle some of that magic the maker is known for. You can shoot 4K videos at 60fps with all four cameras at once. The Crop Outside Frame is very cool feature and it surely required some proper camera calibration to work that good. The expanded dynamic range across all videos is pretty impressive.

The battery enlargements are very welcome, and our tests showed massive improvement in the endurance. But we were most delighted to see those 18W fast chargers bundled with the new iPhones. It was about time. No, it was long, long overdue.

And surely the new iPhones brought refinements to the already 2-year old design and those made them tougher and even better water-resistant. The A13 chip is the fastest in the world, the screens got better with XDR (no $999 stand required), iOS 13 is better, there is a new green color, the sky is blue, the water is wet. All of these are indeed great achievements, it's just that these improvements became expected instead, the market demands them, and the element of surprise was lost. We suppose we as consumers are all responsible for that.

So, the iPhone 11 Pro and 11 Pro Max are the best iPhones Apple has ever made. The fastest, with the longest battery life, the best screens, and the best (and most) cameras. And if you think something is missing, we are sure it will come in a generation or two.

The verdict

The iPhone 11 Pro and 11 Pro Max aren't that worthy upgrades over the XS and XS Max. Just because Apple added an extra rear camera, it doesn't mean you need to jump this year. It's a good idea to wait for the 11S models, but who are we to stand in the way of the Night Mode and slofies?

Frankly, the new iPhone 11 Pro duo is expectedly great and even pulled off a couple of surprise moves here and there. We wished for a lot of things with the new generation and we got almost all of them. Sure, the prices are steep, and they skyrocket if you go for more gigabytes, but that's Apple and many will convince you the premium warranty, seamless and hassle-free experience, variety of apps, blazing performance, great camera skills and about 5 years of major updates are worth every penny. Well, we are not going to deny it.

Pros

• Tougher and waterproof design, matte back
• The XDR screens are the brightest OLEDs around, excellent contrast and color accuracy
• Apple A13 Bionic is the fastest smartphone chip on the planet
• Excellent battery life, fast charging
• Stereo speakers with class-leading quality
• iOS provides smooth user experience
• The main and zoom cameras produce very good photos, Night Mode works as advertised
• Amazing video quality and stabilization across the board
• Excellent selfie photo and video quality
• The calibration between the three snappers is excellent and allows for Crop Outside Frame, simultaneous video capturing, and smooth switching during recording

Cons

• The notch is still enormous
• A high-refresh rate screen would have made it more competitive.
• No 3.5mm jack or audio adapter in the box, limited NFC usage
• The file management and transfer in iOS isn't that easy to understand
• The camera photos come out bland
• Ultra-wide camera lacks autofocus and Night Mode
• Telephoto cam is 2x while competitors are already at 3x and even 5x.
• The camera options MUST BE INSIDE the Camera app, c'mon Apple!
• Expensive. Very Expensive.