iPhone 11 Pro review

Our iPhone 11 Pro review shows you just how good this compact powerhouse is

By musa mina

• OUR VERDICT

  The iPhone 11 Pro delivers amazing photo quality with its three cameras and best-in-class performance in a compact design.

  FOR

  • New triple cameras are fantastic                                                                     
  • A13 Bionic is fastest phone chip
  • More durable glass front and back
  • OLED display a lot brighter
  • Longer rated battery life

  AGAINST

  • Shorter battery life than iPhone 11 Pro Max and iPhone 11
  • Just 64GB of storage for starting price
  • A bit heavier and thicker than iPhone XS

• 
  

  • Apple iPhone 11 Pro (Green) at Amazon for $779.97

  
  

  The iPhone 11 Pro delivers big performance in a compact package. You get triple rear cameras offer amazing performance, complete with an ultra-wide lens, a new Night mode and better Smart HDR, plus extended dynamic range in video. Overall, the iPhone 11 Pro is now arguably the best camera phone around.

  Other highlights include a very bright 5.8-inch display that's easy to use with one hand, a fast A13 Bionic processor that smokes the Android competition and a fast charger in the box (finally). Apple also wins our iPhone 11 Pro vs Galaxy S10 face-off, though the upcoming Galaxy S20 should give the iPhone 11 Pro a tougher challenge.

  
  

  
  

  I wish Apple included more storage than just 64GB standard, especially at $999, and the iPhone 11 Pro Max offers longer battery life to go with is bigger screen, which is why we consider that larger model to be the best iPhone you can buy right now. But overall, the iPhone 11 Pro is a stellar flagship phone. Read on for our full iPhone 11 Pro 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. (Our Pixel 4 vs. iPhone 11 Pro face-off has a full comparison between the two phones.)
• 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 deals page to make sure you take advantage of any discounts.

• iPhone 11 Pro Specs

  	iPhone 11 Pro
  Starting Price	$999
  Screen (Resolution)	5.8-inch Super Retina XDR Display (2436 x 1125)
  CPU	A13 Bionic
  RAM	Unknown
  Storage	64GB, 256GB, 512GB
  MicroSD?	No
  Rear Cameras	12-MP wide (f/1.8), 12-MP ultra wide (f/2.4), 12-MP telephoto (f/2.0)
  Front Cameras	12-MP (f/2.2)
  Water Resistance	Up to 4 meters for 30 minutes
  Battery Size	Unknown
  Battery Life (Hrs:Mins)	10:24
  Size	5.67 x 2.81 x 0.32 inches
  Weight	6.63 ounces
  Colors	Gold, space gray, silver, midnight green

• 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. Nevertheless, it is still compact enough to top our list of the best small phones.

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.