Skip to main content

Digital Trends may earn a commission when you buy through links on our site. Why trust us?

Apple’s iPhone 11 and 11 Pro phones are here, and they’ll set your pulse racing

 

Meet the latest fruit from the Apple tree: the iPhone 11 family. Apple announced the iPhone 11, 11 Pro, and 11 Pro Max at a special event on Sept. 10, 2019, on its futuristic campus in Cupertino, California. The new phones replaces the iPhone XR, iPhone XS and iPhone XS Max family of devices, which were released at the end of 2018.

Recommended Videos

“We’ve always believed by giving people wonderful tools, you enable them to do wonderful things,” said Apple CEO Tim Cook at the beginning of the event.

The new naming structure means the iPhone 11 is now the entry-level phone, and should be considered this year’s iPhone XR — the first steps into the iPhone line up. The iPhone 11 Pro is the new iPhone XS, and the 11 Pro Max is this year’s iPhone XS Max. That should clear things up, and the introduction of the Pro name — which Apple says refers to the camera setup’s quality and ability — makes the line-up easier to understand. Here’s everything you need to know about the iPhone 11. (You can also check out our first impressions in our iPhone 11 review.)

Apple iPhone 11

iPhone 11 colors | Apple September 2019 Event Keynote
Julian Chokkattu/Digital Trends

The new baby of the iPhone family is the iPhone 11. The body is made of glass and aluminum, while the twin-lens camera bump is made from a single piece of glass. It comes in six different colors, including a great yellow, a subtle purple, a green, black, white, and a special red version. It has a 6.1-inch Liquid Retina, True Tone display, plus spatial audio and Dolby Atmos for a great movie experience.

The camera has two lenses, made up of a 12-megapixel wide-angle camera and a 12-megapixel ultra-wide camera. Apple has also added a new Night Mode that automatically activates when the light is low, and a slow-motion video mode. Enhancements have been made to the video mode, with improved stabilization, as well as 4K resolution at 60fps.

The iPhone 11 uses the new A13 Bionic processor, which Apple claims is the fastest processor ever in a smartphone, and is 20% faster than the A12 Bionic inside the previous generation iPhone models. Face ID is 30% faster than before, with improvements in performance over distance and at different angles. The phone’s battery will provide an hour more use over the iPhone XR, and it comes with wireless charging too.

The new iPhone 11 will start at $700, a lower price than the original price of the iPhone XR. It is currently available for pre-order, and deliveries will start on September 20 when the phone fully releases.

Apple iPhone 11 Pro and 11 Pro Max

iPhone 11 Pro and Pro Max display sizes and features | Apple September 2019 Event Keynote
Julian Chokkattu/Digital Trends

Apple’s flagship phones for 2019 are the iPhone 11 Pro and the 11 Pro Max. The iPhone 11 Pro models are made of stainless steel, and the back from a single piece of glass with a matte finish. It comes in a stunning midnight green, space gray, silver, and a new gold finish. It has a new screen called the Super Retina XDR that comes in two sizes, the 5.8-inch 11 Pro and 6.5-inch 11 Pro Max, with the new OLED panel delivering a brightness of 1,200 nits. Movies will be great with spatial audio sound, Dolby Vision and Atmos, as well as HDR10.

Like the iPhone 11, the 11 Pro models use the Apple A13 Bionic processor. Apple says it is a low-power design, built around a 7nm platform containing 8.5 billion transistors. The battery lasts four more hours in the iPhone 11 compared to the iPhone XS, and five hours more in the iPhone 11 Pro. It comes with a fast charger in the box. The phone has improved water and dust resistance, faster cellular connection than before, and wireless charging.

Apple iPhone 11 Pro and Pro Max Camera lens features and specs |
Julian Chokkattu/Digital Trends

The triple-lens camera has new 12-megapixel wide, ultra-wide and telephoto lenses, all controlled by a new image signal processor. The camera offers a 2x zoom, Night Mode, Smart HDR, and a new True Tone flash unit.

One new camera feature is called Deep Fusion technology, which uses machine learning to shoot nine images, four before you have even pressed the shutter button. Going through the image pixel-by-pixel, it generates the best possible image. It will arrive as an update in the fall. On the front is a 12-megapixel TrueDepth selfie camera with a wider view, and the chance to shoot 4K video at both 4K resolution, and in slow motion. The same improvements to Face ID from the iPhone 11 will come to the 11 Pro and 11 Pro Max.

The iPhone 11 Pro starts at $999, and the 11 Pro Max at $1,099. Pre-orders began at 5 a.m. PT on on Friday September 13, and the new phones ship out on September 20. Apple will also release a series of new cases, including transparent ones.

What else?

Apple TV Plus Release Date | Apple September 2019 Event Keynote
Julian Chokkattu/Digital Trends

Apple will include a year’s subscription to its new Apple TV+ service with every new iPhone purchased too. Apple TV+ will launch on November 1. Apple also provided more details on Apple Arcade, its game-focused subscription package, which will contain more than 100 exclusive games at launch. It’ll launch on September 19 in more than 150 countries, at a cost of $5 per month for complete access.

Updated on September 13, 2019: The iPhone 11 is now available for pre-order.

Andy Boxall
Andy is a Senior Writer at Digital Trends, where he concentrates on mobile technology, a subject he has written about for…
Five reasons I’m excited for the new Google Pixel 9a
Person holds Pixel 9a in hand while sitting in a car.

Google has consistently ranked among the best smartphones for its affordable devices over the past six years, particularly with its Pixel A series. The Pixel 3a set the trend for major phone manufacturers to provide a compelling experience at half the price of flagship models, intensifying competition in this segment.

In the last three months, we’ve seen Samsung introduce the Galaxy A56 and Galaxy A36, which deliver features from the Galaxy S25 series at a significantly lower price point. Then there’s Apple, which entered the market with the iPhone 16e, priced considerably higher than its rivals. Additionally, Nothing offers the Nothing Phone 3a and Phone 3a Pro, arguably the best phones available at $379 and $459, respectively.

Read more
The iPhone 16e made me face a hard truth about mobile cameras
OuttaFocus: The iPhone 16e made me face a hard truth about mobile cameras.

I’ve spent a few days taking photos with the Apple iPhone 16e, which has a single camera on the back. One, solitary lens on the back of a current smartphone makes it look rather old school, and somewhat under equipped next to the multi-lens competition. But instead of feeling short changed by the iPhone 16e, it made me face a hard truth. I don’t need a wide-angle camera on my phone as much as I think I do.
One camera is better?

Wide-angle cameras have been a staple addition on smartphones since the days of the LG G5. Most have a 120-degree field of view, allowing us to capture photos of vistas to help convey scale in a way cameras with a narrower field of view cannot. It’s normal and accepted to have a “0.6x” mode in the camera app, and to not see it as an option on the iPhone 16e was quite jarring at first.

Read more
Here’s a big reason the ‘iPhone Fold’ will look like an iPad
Concept render of a foldable iPhone in a fully open state.

Apple is expected to launch its first “iPhone Fold” in 2026, several years after rival companies like Samsung and OnePlus have already released their own foldable devices. The reason for Apple’s delay in entering the foldable market is not entirely clear. However, one plausible explanation is that Apple has focused on ensuring the device offers a seamless transition between the outer and inner displays.

This week, it was reported that Apple plans to use a liquid metal hinge in the iPhone Fold. This innovation aims to enhance durability and reduce the visibility of the display crease. Creasing was a significant issue for early foldable devices, such as the first Samsung Galaxy Z Fold, but it has improved considerably over the years.

Read more