Apple refreshed its line of iPhones for 2019 at an event on Tuesday, announcing the iPhone 11, iPhone 11 Pro and iPhone 11 Pro Max. The phones start at $699, $999 and $1,099, respectively -- perhaps a surprising price in a world where we're used to paying $1,000 for an iPhone. These new iPhones pick up a fresh palette of colors, longer battery life and a A13 Bionic processor inside that promises faster performance. But more than any other feature, it's the camera hardware and software that take the headlining role. There are three cameras on the back of the Pro phones and two on the back of the iPhone 11. See below for our early hands-on impressions.
This new crop of iPhones may wear different colors, but in terms of overall design, they look strikingly like last year's iPhone XS, iPhone XS Max and iPhone XR -- notch and all.
Those three cameras on the back of the iPhone 11 Pro and Pro Max are Apple's biggest risks in a series that plays it safe this year. For many people, the iPhone represents the gold standard for smartphone design and cutting-edge features like Face ID unlocking, which Apple says is now faster than before. But despite bread-and-butter features, like support for Wi-Fi 6, the iPhone 11 trio fails to push the envelope, relying instead on the big camera change and smaller refinements to keep up momentum.
There's no 5G carrier support (we expect that to come in 2020), and none of the reverse wireless charging that was rumored to charge the Apple AirPods, Apple Watch and other phones of the back of the iPhone 11 -- as you can with the Galaxy S10 and Note 10 phones.
Apple also held back on rumored features like making the new iPhone 11s compatible with the Apple Pencil, and a USB-C port that was whispered to replace the Lightning connection.
Without a strong suite of new features to tantalize buyers, Apple has its work cut out for it as it heads into the hyper-competitive holiday season and 2020. Phone sales are down. Competitors like Samsung, Google and Huawei are pulling ahead on camera tools and features. And then there's the question of 5G -- iPhone users will have to wait a full year unless Apple surprises us all with a special event before September 2020.
The iPhone 11, 11 Pro and 11 Pro Max go on preorder starting Friday, Sept. 13 at 5 a.m. PT. They arrive in-store on Sept. 20. Apple will continue to sell the iPhone XR for $599 and the iPhone 8 for $449.
For now, take a look at everything important that the new iPhones have to offer. You can catch up on everything else Apple announced here, from iOS 13's launch date to the brand new Apple Watch Series 5. Here's how the iPhone 11 phones compare to the iPhone XS and XR.
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