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Hands-on: Apple iPhone 11, the iPhone for most people

By Kenny Yeo - 15 Sep 2019

Hands-on: Apple iPhone 11, the iPhone for most people

Will the iPhone 11 become another hit for Apple?

I never expected the iPhone XR to be the hit that it was but maybe because the Singapore market is unique from the rest of the world. Despite having a less advanced screen, an aluminium chassis, more prominent bezels, and only one camera, it was Apple’s best-selling phone in 2018. Naturally, I was excited to meet its successor, the iPhone 11.

The iPhone 11 follows the same winning formula of the iPhone XR. It has mostly the same hardware as the iPhone 11 Pro but with some reduced features. On first impressions, the iPhone 11 looks just like the iPhone XR, that is until you turn it around. It now has two cameras and the back is no longer matte ― it’s glossy.

iPhone 11 still uses a Lightning connector.

The display is the same 6.1-inch Liquid Retina display which uses an IPS LCD panel with a resolution of 1,792 x 828 pixels and a pixel density of 326ppi. It still looks great of course but the difference is appreciable when you place it next to an iPhone 11 Pro or even an iPhone XS.

The iPhone 11 has two cameras. One wide and one ultra wide. Both shoot at 12MP.

The big news is that the iPhone 11 gains one camera. Apart from a 12MP wide camera, it also has a 12MP ultra-wide camera with a wider field of view that makes it great for landscapes or sceneries. These two cameras are identical to the ones you get on the iPhone 11 Pro, and the iPhone 11 also has Night Mode capability. In other words, the only difference is the lack of the telephoto camera.

The front camera has been updated too and it’s also a 12MP camera with a wider field of vision for better group selfies. Since we are on the subject of selfies, the iPhone 11’s front camera will also be able to take slow-motion selfies that Apple calls “slowfies.”

Apple claims significant performance improvements with the A13 Bionic.

As for the processor, the iPhone 11 is also powered by the same A13 Bionic chip found in the iPhone 11 Pro. Apple says the A13 Bionic has the fastest CPU and GPU ever found in a smartphone. It’s built using a second-generation 7nm process and consists of over 8.5 billion transistors. More importantly, it promises better performance and efficiency. We’ll have to wait until we get the chance to benchmark these phones. But given Apple’s illustrious track record in designing mobile chips, there’s a very good chance that the iPhone 11 will be amongst the fastest phones ever tested.

PRODUCT(RED) is very striking.

Colours will play a big part in the iPhone 11’s line-up. There are still six colours in total and they are purple, yellow, green, black, white, and PRODUCT(RED). Purple and green are new and they replace blue and coral. The glossy finishing makes them very eye-catching.

Of course, there are numerous others things that I don’t have time to get into here such as support for Wi-Fi 6, faster Face ID, longer battery life, and more. That will all have to wait until the full review so stay tuned right here. But for now, the iPhone 11 looks like a formidable update to last year’s iPhone XR. An additional camera is always welcomed as is a faster processor, and then there’s a host of other little tiny updates, and not to mention the fact that it has a lower launch price.

More for less. The iPhone 11 is cheaper than last year's iPhone XR when it first launched.

Cheaper? Yes, that’s right, the iPhone 11 is cheaper than the iPhone XR was when it was launched last year. The 64GB model is S$1,149, the 128GB model is S$1,219, and the 256GB model is S$1,389. This means all models cost S$80 less.

Pre-orders start this Friday at 8pm (SG time) and the first units will be delivered the following Friday on 20 September.
 

Read Next (1): All the price points for the iPhone 11, 11 Pro and 11 Pro Max!

Read Next (2): Hands-on with Apple's first Pro iPhones - the 11 Pro and 11 Pro Max

Read Next (3): Exclusive games through the new Apple Arcade, coming to Singapore

Read Next (4): Free one-year subscription to Apple TV+ streaming entertainment service with every iOS device change

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