Apple iPhone 11 Review (2024)

In a year that Apple's new phones aren't particularly exciting, the most compelling thing about the new iPhone 11 is its price: $699 for a 64GB model, $749 for 128GB, and $849 for 256GB. If you're upgrading from a slower, older iPhone, that's the best deal you're going to get with the latest processor and a super-bright screen, considering the next step up to a Pro model is (gulp) $300 more. The iPhone 11 blows older models like the iPhone 6 away, though newer than that, and the biggest difference is that the iPhone 11 has more cameras. There's nothing wrong with more cameras (they're very good), but if you can hold out, we're almost certain to see a lot more innovation next year.

Physical Form and Display

The iPhone 11 is a sleek, slightly slippery, glass-backed phone that comes in six compelling colors: black, green, purple, red, white, and yellow. The new dual-camera bump on the back is a rounded square near the top left edge, with slightly sharp-feeling edges. The phone is gorgeous, but the glass back looks eminently breakable; I prefer the matte back on the Pro phones. All three models are waterproof.

At 5.94 by 2.98 by 0.33 inches (HWD) and 6.84 ounces, the iPhone 11 is the exact same size and weight as the iPhone XR, and noticeably wider than the iPhone 8 or iPhone 11 Pro. That makes a difference, at least in my hand. It's difficult to find narrow, one-handed phones these days, but if that width is a killer for you, it's time for the $300 Pro upcharge.

The 11 uses a new version of the XR's 6.1-inch LCD, at the same 326ppi pixel density. Does that screen density matter? It does if you look at a lot of small text. And perhaps in a subtle push toward the more expensive phones, Apple puts some very small text on its home screens nowadays. The iPhone 11's 326ppi is certainly readable, but the Pro's higher-density 458ppi display is a little more restful if you're staring at it a lot.

The display is noticeably brighter than the iPhone XR's. We tested it with a Klein K-80 colorimeter and Portrait Displays' CalMAN and MobileForge software, and found that the 11 has very strong color performance. It's noticeably more color-accurate than the XR, which tends to be undersaturated in our tests.

There's no headphone jack or a standard USB-C port. Apple remains passionately committed to its Lightning accessory revenues.

Processor and Performance

All three of the new iPhones have Apple's A13 processor, which at the moment is the fastest mobile chip available. It's 40 percent faster on the Geekbench multicore benchmark than the iPhone XR, 17 percent faster on web performance, and 50 percent faster in terms of GPU. On Geekbench, it's 30 percent faster than the Samsung Galaxy Note 10+ on multi-core performance and 20 percent faster on web performance. This is in part because Apple's and Qualcomm's chip releases are spaced six months apart; Qualcomm will probably catch up early next year. On graphics benchmarks, the iPhone 11 even performs better than its more-expensive siblings because it has fewer pixels on the screen.

See How We Test Phones

The A13 enables Night mode in the camera, which is a very big deal. But in other apps, it seems like the hardware has outstripped the software for a moment. I can't think of any apps that run poorly or slowly on A12-based devices, and Apple has made a point of keeping things running well even back to the A10 (which is in the brand-new iPad).

iOS 13 has been a moving target, because it's pretty buggy—Apple has already revved it twice since I started researching this review. In my experiences with the three new iPhones, they've frequently crashed and quit applications, but I'm not going to hold that against the hardware. iOS 13.1.1 fixed data signal loss, battery drain, and stability issues; 13.1.2 has even more bug fixes. That's part of the pluses, not the minuses, of having an iPhone—when you have an Android phone, you get used to months, not days, between bug fixes and new feature additions.

Wireless Capabilities and Battery

The iPhone 11 has the least-inspiring wireless capabilities of all of the new iPhones, but it's still a huge jump up from an iPhone 6 or even an iPhone 7, depending on what carrier you're using. As I found in my in-depth testing of the iPhones' LTE capabilities, the iPhone 11 is stuck with 2x2 MIMO LTE, which has half the maximum speeds of the iPhone XS, the 11 Pro, or most recent Android phones. But if you're coming from a much older iPhone on AT&T or T-Mobile, the presence of LTE bands 14 and 71 will greatly improve range and building penetration.

Wi-Fi is also fine. The iPhone 11 doesn't have the Wi-Fi 6 capabilities found in the 11 Pro or the Galaxy Note 10+, but those didn't seem to make a difference in our Wi-Fi tests. The phone also has Bluetooth 5 with Apple's quick-pairing W1 chip, and the mysterious U1 ultra-wideband chip, which is supposed to do something involving indoor positioning and location, but in my tests didn't do much of anything at all.

One advantage the iPhone 11 has over all non-iPhones in the US, though, is its support for dual SIM with eSIM. iPhones are still the only phones sold by US carriers that you can put two lines on; the first line can be from any carrier, while the secondary line can come from AT&T, T-Mobile, Verizon, or a list of roaming and international carriers. This capability, which is popular abroad but up until last year was practically banned in the US, is great for folks trying to keep personal and business lines on their phones.

In terms of calls, all of the new iPhones have the latest voice technologies, including Wi-Fi calling and the superior EVS codec (brought in with the iPhone 8, in case you're upgrading from something earlier). The speakerphone and earpiece are just fine, and I didn't find any difference between the new iPhones when it comes to making calls.

I'm still in the process of testing battery life. On one video rundown test I got 5 hours, 40 minutes, which is about in line with the XR, and far short of the 11 Pro and 11 Pro Max. One thing that's clear, though, is that the included five-watt charger isn't up to the task of filling the iPhone 11's juice box. It took 3 hours, 40 minutes to reach 100 percent with the included charger, as opposed to a mere 1 hour, 50 minutes for the iPhone 11 Pro with its 18W charger. You can get the 18W charger for the iPhone 11 as a $29.99 accessory, and you should. The phone also supports wireless charging.

Are Two Cameras Just as Good as Three?

The best feature on any new iPhone is the camera. Our lead camera analyst, Jim Fisher, looked at all the new iPhone cameras in a separate, detailed article. The iPhone 11, unlike the Pro and Pro Max, has two main cameras—a 12-megapixel "wide" camera and another 12-megapixel, 120-degree "ultra-wide" camera. We are least impressed with the Pro and Pro Max's third camera, a 2x zoom, so it looks like Apple made the right choice here in which sensors to include.

The dual cameras and depth-sensing, 7MP front-facing camera allow for hardware bokeh, which Apple calls Portrait mode, with better detection of things like flyaway hair than on single-camera iPhones like the 8 and the XR.

Not sold yet? Night mode is the deal maker. Apple's Night mode combines a whole bunch of frames to make dramatic improvements in low-light performance, and it's adjustable based on how long you're willing to wait and how much light you want to add. Google's Pixel 3 and Huawei phones already have dramatic night modes like this, but this is the first time we're seeing this big leap on iPhones. The new system requires the A13 processor, so it isn't coming to older models.

Apple's camera software, and third-party camera apps, are still way ahead of your average Android phone when it comes to responsiveness. Tapping the shutter button takes pictures instantly, and third-party apps like Flimic Pro add options like recording with multiple cameras at once.

Should You Buy the iPhone 11?

If you're in the market for a new phone, should you buy the iPhone 11? Or should you pick up the 11 Pro, the XR, the 8, or some Android phone instead? (I doubt it's the latter, really; if you're shopping for an iPhone, you're probably shopping for an iPhone.)

I think you need to focus on the cameras this year. Just buy the phone with the type of camera you want and can afford. There's not a huge difference in processor or screen performance between this year's and last year's iPhones, and I'm hesitant to encourage a $300 upgrade to get 4x4 MIMO no matter how fast it makes your LTE speeds. Are you OK with one camera? Get an iPhone XR for $599. Going wide angle? Spend $699 on the iPhone 11. Need a zoom? Open up that wallet.

For what it's worth, I think 2020 is going to be a big year for iPhones. Next year's models will probably have 5G, they may be associated with some sort of AR glasses, and they'll almost certainly have a new design. That isn't to say you should keep pumping the bellows on a creaking, dying, shattered iPhone 6. But if you're waiting to be wowed, I think you'll be waiting another year.