Why the iPhone 11 Pro Max in 2021?
The iPhone 11 Pro Max with that amazing ultrawide camera might just be the best affordable upgrade. With an incredible price drop, is using it in 2021 any good?
| NETWORK | Technology | GSM / CDMA / HSPA / EVDO / LTE |
|---|
| LAUNCH | Announced | 2019, September 10 |
|---|---|---|
| Status | Available. Released 2019, September 20 |
| BODY | Dimensions | 158 x 77.8 x 8.1 mm (6.22 x 3.06 x 0.32 in) |
|---|---|---|
| Weight | 226 g (7.97 oz) | |
| Build | Glass front (Gorilla Glass), glass back (Gorilla Glass), stainless steel frame | |
| SIM | Single SIM (Nano-SIM and/or eSIM) or Dual SIM (Nano-SIM, dual stand-by) – for China | |
| IP68 dust/water resistant (up to 4m for 30 mins) Apple Pay (Visa, MasterCard, AMEX certified) |
| DISPLAY | Type | Super Retina XDR OLED, HDR10, Dolby Vision, 800 nits (HBM), 1200 nits (peak) |
|---|---|---|
| Size | 6.5 inches, 102.9 cm2 (~83.7% screen-to-body ratio) | |
| Resolution | 1242 x 2688 pixels, 19.5:9 ratio (~458 ppi density) | |
| Protection | Scratch-resistant glass, oleophobic coating | |
| Wide color gamut True-tone |
| PLATFORM | OS | iOS 13, upgradable to iOS 15.4.1 |
|---|---|---|
| Chipset | Apple A13 Bionic (7 nm+) | |
| CPU | Hexa-core (2×2.65 GHz Lightning + 4×1.8 GHz Thunder) | |
| GPU | Apple GPU (4-core graphics) |
| MEMORY | Card slot | No |
|---|---|---|
| Internal | 64GB 4GB RAM, 256GB 4GB RAM, 512GB 4GB RAM | |
| NVMe |
| MAIN CAMERA | Triple | 12 MP, f/1.8, 26mm (wide), 1/2.55″, 1.4µm, dual pixel PDAF, OIS 12 MP, f/2.0, 52mm (telephoto), 1/3.4″, 1.0µm, PDAF, OIS, 2x optical zoom 12 MP, f/2.4, 120˚, 13mm (ultrawide), 1/3.6″ |
|---|---|---|
| Features | Dual-LED dual-tone flash, HDR (photo/panorama) | |
| Video | 4K@24/30/60fps, 1080p@30/60/120/240fps, HDR, stereo sound rec. |
| SELFIE CAMERA | Dual | 12 MP, f/2.2, 23mm (wide), 1/3.6″ SL 3D, (depth/biometrics sensor) |
|---|---|---|
| Features | HDR | |
| Video | 4K@24/30/60fps, 1080p@30/60/120fps, gyro-EIS |
| SOUND | Loudspeaker | Yes, with stereo speakers |
|---|---|---|
| 3.5mm jack | No |
| COMMS | WLAN | Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/6, dual-band, hotspot |
|---|---|---|
| Bluetooth | 5.0, A2DP, LE | |
| GPS | Yes, with A-GPS, GLONASS, GALILEO, QZSS | |
| NFC | Yes | |
| Radio | No | |
| USB | Lightning, USB 2.0 |
| FEATURES | Sensors | Face ID, accelerometer, gyro, proximity, compass, barometer |
|---|---|---|
| Ultra Wideband (UWB) support |
| BATTERY | Type | Li-Ion 3969 mAh, non-removable (15.04 Wh) |
|---|---|---|
| Charging | Fast charging 20W, 50% in 30 min (advertised) USB Power Delivery 2.0 Qi wireless charging |
| MISC | Colors | Matte Space Gray, Matte Silver, Matte Gold, Matte Midnight Green |
|---|---|---|
| Models | A2218, A2161, A2220, iPhone12.5 | |
| SAR | 1.16 W/kg (head) 1.17 W/kg (body) | |
| SAR EU | 0.95 W/kg (head) 0.99 W/kg (body) | |
| Price | $ 524.90 / € 1,300.21 / £ 388.99 |
| TESTS | Performance | AnTuTu: 459713 (v7), 536883 (v8) GeekBench: 13870 (v4.4), 3503 (v5.1) GFXBench: 57fps (ES 3.1 onscreen) |
|---|---|---|
| Display | Contrast ratio: Infinite (nominal) | |
| Camera | Photo / Video | |
| Loudspeaker | -25.6 LUFS (Very good) | |
| Audio quality | Noise -94.3dB / Crosstalk -81.5dB | |
| Battery life |
It’s almost September and we’re expecting some new iPhones. Makes one wonder if getting older, a bit cheaper models any good. Well, I got the chance to use the Apple iPhone 11 Pro Max and I have some thoughts. Is it still any good?
If you’ve been here for a while, you may have realised I love and enjoy using Android devices. I did a review about the iPhone X a while back, but it didn’t come with an ultrawide camera so I couldn’t recommend it to most people, but the 11 Pro Max does. Why the 11 Pro Max you say? Well, I asked Paul Duse from PDY Photography, who is using the 12 Pro Max and had used the 11 Pro Max to tell me how different the 2 devices are. This is what he had to say, and I quote ……. If the camera is the headline difference, then the 11 Pro Max is the one to go for.
The camera weighs 226 g (7.97 oz), and in case, for some reason, you don’t remember how it looks, well, let’s start up with the design. We have the volume rockers and silent switch on the left. The power button and sim tray on the right. The legendary triple camera setup on the back, right alongside the iconic apple logo at the center. There’s also the speaker grill, the charging port and microphone at the bottom.
The device itself is covered in Gorilla glass, both front and back, in a stainless-steel frame with rounded corners. It comes with an IP68 dust and water-resistant rating. So, dip this in any clean water up to 1.5m for 30mins, and this would survive.
The screen is 6.5 inches, Super retina XDR OLED, with support for HDR10 and Dolby Vision. With 1200 nits of brightness, it gets insanely bright outdoors. I don’t think I’ve seen a phone with a screen this bright before. Yes, it is glossy and quite reflective too, but that wasn’t too much of an issue to me. The screen has a resolution of 1242 x 2688 px and an aspect ratio of 19.5:9.
It uses Apple’s 7nm A13 Bionic chip, which combined with the native iOS 13 (upgradable to 14.7), makes the phone super-fast and responsive. Not once did I ever notice a lag or down in speed. Any 11 Pro MAX you get would either have 64GB, 256GB or 512GB of internal storage but with 4GB RAM. And like all Apple devices, the RAM size doesn’t matter as much cos their software optimization is so on point. It has a 3969mAh, no removable battery that supports fast charging at 18W, with support for Qi Wireless charging if you agree to buy the wireless charger separately.
For security, there’s no fingerprint scanner, anywhere. Instead, we get Apple’s famous Face ID, which works phenomenal on the iPhone. The front of the device, basically fires up infrared lights to detect the face structure and unlocks the device if it’s a match just like the iPhone X. And in that review, I did mention that there are different options when you swipe down from either side of the top notch. We get the same feature here. The iOS experience couldn’t get any better. Unlike Android, you get a preview of all the apps you had preinstalled on your previous iPhone when you sign in to a new one. With android, you would have to go to the Play Store, your Profile, and then Apps and Games. It’s annoying though, but I guess it’s OK, given the fact that there are so many Android devices.
Let’s talk about the cameras. For the front, we get a 12MP, f2.2, 23mm wide camera with HDR support which can shoot 4K videos @ 24/30/60fps or 1080 @ 30/60/120fps. Although, I love the portrait mode on this device, image quality is still questionable in my opinion. Being a lot greener and warmer in most situations. Come on Apple, my teeth aren’t that yellow.
On the rear, we get a 12MP, f1.8, 26mm wide camera, a 12MP, f2.4, 13mm ultrawide and a telephoto lens at 52mm, f2.0. The rear cameras also record 4K videos @ 24 /30 /60fps or 1080 videos @ 30/ 60/ 120/ 240fps, for those crazy slow-motion shots. The edge detection in the portrait mode is, not so great in photos. Even the cheaper, Samsung A12 I reviewed a while back did a better job. But that is a newer device, and I believe this issue can be resolved with a software update from Apple.
Anyway, for videos, no smartphone can compare to the impressive and consistent High Dynamic Range on the iPhone. It’s just that great. There’s also a great level of colour consistency when switching cameras. Here’s me switching from the telephoto, to the main, to the ultrawide. These are some ridiculous views.
Related Posts
PHOTO GALLERY
