iPhone 11 Review in Nepal

iPhone 11 is the direct successor to the iPhone XR. The iPhone XR was a cheaper and toned-down version of the XS generation, which was well received by the users. In September 2019, Apple released iPhone 11 at a cost lower than the iPhone XR’s price in 2018. The iPhone 11 packed more advanced technology in the processing power under the hood and camera capabilities. 

The iPhone 12 series are the latest device from Apple. But not being the newest device means significant discounts on the iPhone 11. The iPhone 11 price in Nepal starts at NPR 99,000 for the base 64GB variant, NPR 107,000 for the 128GB variant, and the most expensive 256GB variant costs NPR 124,000.

iPhone 11 Overview

Being the cheapest iPhone in the iPhone-lineup in 2019, iPhone 11 employs the same 6.1-inch Liquid Retina HD display with an HD+ resolution of 1792 x 828 pixels at 326 PPI pixel density. The LCD multi-touch screen is based on IPS technology and has a notch on top that houses the front-facing camera with FaceID technology. 

The iPhone 11 is powered by the new Apple A13 Bionic Chip with the Third-generation Neural Engine. The phone features a dual rear camera setup comprising a 12MP f/1.8 aperture wide camera and another 12MP f/2.4 aperture ultrawide camera with a 120-degree field of view. Both rear cameras can record up to 4K videos at 60fps. The front camera packs a 12MP selfie snapper with an f/2.2 aperture that also supports up to 4K videos at 60fps. The selfie camera also gets Slo-mo video support for 1080p at 120fps, termed as “Slofies.”

Apple has integrated a 3110 mAh battery for powering the iPhone 11 as compared with the 2942 mAh unit within the iPhone XR. It supports 18W Fast Charging but ships with 5W charging inside the box. The phone runs on the latest iOS 14. Besides, iPhone 11 has IP68 certification for Splash, Water, and Dust Resistant. The phone is available in six different color options – black, yellow, green, white, purple, and red. Also, you get three storage variants – 64GB, 128GB, and 256GB.

Let’s see how the device fares in our initial impression and its performance in our long-term review.

Unboxing Experience

The iPhone 11 comes in a small white box that is slightly larger than the phone itself. Inside the box, you will find the iPhone 11 along with a regular Lighting cable, a pair of EarPods, and the 5W power adapter.

While the device supports 18W fast charging through USB Power Delivery, it does not ship with the 18W fast charger that comes with the Pro models.

Design and Build Quality

The iPhone 11 is relatively similar to the iPhone XR from 2018, except for the dual-camera setup at the rear and new color finishes. Apple has adopted the same screen from the XR on the iPhone 11, and the bezels on all sides are noticeable like in XR, but it is not that distracting. The phone employs a 6.1-inch IPS LCD panel with a big notch for the selfie camera, the FaceID, and the speaker grille. The front glass also has custom Gorilla Glass protection and a Fingerprint-resistant oleophobic coating.

The back of the iPhone 11 is made of glass with a custom version of Gorilla Glass protection. The back panel looks different than its predecessor, as it is more in line with its Pro models. The Apple logo is also centered. What’s new is the square matte glass at the top left corner that houses the dual cameras, truth Tone flash, and a mic. The device also features an IP68-rated water-resistant design that can withstand a maximum depth of 2 meters up to 30 minutes.

The iPhone 11 has aluminum frames with a brushed finish which we liked as you can’t see any marks on it. On the left side, it has the usual silent switch and the volume keys. The power button and the SIM tray are on the right, and at the bottom frame, you get the Lightning port in the middle, the second speaker, and the mouthpiece.

Display

The iPhone 11 equips the same 6.1-inch Liquid Retina HD display with an HD+ resolution of 1792 x 828 pixels at 326 PPI pixel density. The LCD Multi-touch screen uses IPS technology, and the viewing experience is great with vibrant colors, sharp text, and adequate brightness. But the OLED panels would have been much better. Likewise, the iPhone 11 screen does not offer HDR10 or Dolby Vision as there is no high dynamic range playback.

However, the display comes with the P3 wide color gamut and Apple’s True Tone technology, which automatically corrects the white balance using a six-channel ambient light sensor. The iPhone 11 display panel registered 625 nits of maximum brightness and a screen contrast ratio of 1400:1. The screen refresh rate is still 60 Hz, and the touch sampling rate is 120 Hz for zero-like touch latency.

We found the iPhone 11 screen to be clear, sharp, bright, and no visibility issues when using outdoors on bright days for daily use. Though in comparison to the higher Pro models, you will see the difference in quality. The Pro models’ OLED panel delivers richer colors, fine details, blacker blacks for better contrast, and a better viewing experience than the iPhone 11’s LCD panel.

Performance (Hardware and Software)

Apple has used the latest A13 Bionic chip with Third-generation Neural Engine inside the iPhone 11. With this, Apple claims faster performance across the board, including CPU, GPU, and machine learning. The A13 chip has 8.5 billion transistors and is built on a 7nm+ process. The SoC packs a Hexa-core CPU with 2×2.65 GHz Lightning high-performance cores and 4×1.8 GHz Thunder efficient cores. The CPU is 20% faster and 30% more efficient than the previous Apple A12.

The A13 SoC has a new GPU that delivers the same performance 20% faster and 40% more efficiently as A12’s GPU. The Third generation Neural Engine has eight cores and is 20% faster and 15% more efficient. The iPhone 11 packs 4GB of RAM and comes in three storage variants – 64GB, 128GB, and 256GB.

The iPhone 11 was launched with iOS 13 out of the box, which was the latest Apple iOS. Though iOS 14 update is now available for the phone. The iOS 13 brings a significant update with a new system-wide dark theme, improved Face-ID, improvements to battery life and charging technology, enhancements to the messages app, and updates to some default apps like Photos, Maps, Reminders with new look and features. Another thing we liked is the Control Center with all customizable toggles.

Similarly, Apple introduced the latest version of the iOS operating system – iOS 14. The iPhone 11 is now available with iOS 14. iOS 14 is Apple’s another big iOS update bringing redesigned Home Screen, significant new features, updates for default apps, Siri improvements, and many other tweaks for a better user interface.

iPhone 11 Camera

The iPhone 11 is different from the iPhone XR in the camera department. The phone features a dual rear camera setup packed inside the glass square lens bump similar to its Pro models. It packs a wide camera and an ultrawide camera of 12MP each. But, the selfie arrangement at the front is the same as its predecessor. 

The main camera is a 12MP sensor with an f/1.8 aperture, has 1.4µm pixels, and is 26mm wide. It is a six-element lens that supports Optical image stabilization, Dual Pixel AF, Night mode, and Deep Fusion. The photos clicked from the primary camera have rich detail, the noise level is low, and excellent dynamic range. The colors and lighting are accurate in the typical setting. 

The camera automatically activates Night mode when it detects low-light conditions. Night mode photos are excellent with excellent color accuracy, decent detail, sharp, top-notch contrast, and balanced exposure. Night mode is available in the primary camera only, but the ultrawide camera does not support it.

Apple has added a 12MP sensor with 1.0µm pixels that sit behind the 13mm ultrawide angle lens. It has an aperture of f/2.4 and a 120-degree field of view. There is no optical image stabilization and autofocus for the ultrawide lens, but the images are good with enough detail and less distortion towards the edge of the frames. The color, contrast, and dynamic range are suitable.

Portraits

The Portrait mode uses the main camera for shots with advanced bokeh and Depth Control. The Portrait mode also has Portrait Lighting function with six effects – Natural, Studio, Contour, Stage, Stage Mono, and High-Key Mono. The Neural Engine within the Apple A13 Bionic chip handles both subject separation and Lighting effects.

Selfies

The iPhone 11 brings an update to the selfie camera as well. The 3D TOF snapper stays for Face ID, portraits, and Animojis & Memoji, but the front-facing camera uses a 12MP sensor behind a 23mm wide lens with an f/2.2 aperture. When in portrait orientation, the camera uses a 7MP selfie with the old 32mm lens. The landscape orientation uses the full 12MP resolution and field of view. 

The selfies support next-generation Smart HDR to shoot quality images. The details, sharpness, dynamic range, and colors are reliable. You also get various portrait lighting effects with adjustable blur. Auto image stabilization is included, and you can record up to 4K videos at 60 fps with extended dynamic range for videos at 30 fps. The front camera also features 1080p at 120 fps slow-motion videos, which Apple termed Slofies.

Video recording

Apple iPhone 11 is capable of recording up to 4K videos at 60 frames per second with both wide and ultrawide cameras. Cinematic video stabilization is out there for both cameras when recording videos at 4K, 1080p, and 720p resolution, but optical image stabilization for video is only supported in the wide camera. Thanks to the new Smart HDR, all video modes up to 60fps feature extended dynamic range. Also, you get slo-mo video support for 1080p at 120 fps or 240 fps.

Besides, other video functions you get are 2x optical zoom, digital zoom up to 3x, and a new feature – audio zoom. You can choose between two video formats – HEVC for High-Efficiency mode and H.264 for the Most Compatible mode.

Battery 

Powering the Apple iPhone 11 is a 3110 mAh battery, an upgrade compared with the 2942 mAh unit within the iPhone XR. It supports 18W Fast Charging via the USB Power Delivery 2.0 but unfortunately, it ships with 5W charging inside the box. This resulted in extremely slow charging as it took a half-hour to fuel an empty battery to only 18%. If you use the 20W adapter available separately, you can gain up to 50% charge in 30 minutes. You should also note that the iPhone 11 supports wireless charging.

iPhone 11 Specifications

Final Thoughts

The iPhone 11, the successor to the iPhone XR, is the cheapest iPhone of 2019. Though it is not cheap considering other android devices in the market; however, if you want an Apple phone, then the iPhone 11 is a good option for those looking to spend less. The iPhone 11 packs the most powerful chip – the Apple A13 Bionic chip, to deliver powerful and fast performance. You get a bright and colorful screen, the text is sharp and the videos look great.

It has a dual-camera setup offering top-notch camera technology and many features. The new Night Mode is a great addition to the camera feature. Moreover, the phone has tougher glass panels, a long-lasting battery with 18W fast charging support, improved audio, and a new selfie camera.