The 5 Most Eye-Catching Updates On The iPhone 11 And 11 Pro

Enhanced performance and battery life--along with a price drop on one of the new models--are among the highlights of the 2019 iPhone lineup, an Apple partner tells CRN.

The world will have to wait until at least 2020 to get an iPhone with 5G capabilities, but Apple is still looking to offer plenty of enticing new elements with the iPhone 11 and iPhone 11 Pro models.

That's crucial, as the company is seeking to revive sagging iPhone sales caused in part by a slowdown in upgrades.

[Related: The 10 Biggest Features On Apple's New iPhone 11]

Apple on Tuesday unveiled one new LCD model, the iPhone 11, as the successor to the popular iPhone XR. The company also debuted two OLED models, the iPhone 11 Pro and Pro Max, as the follow-ups to last year's iPhone XS and XS Max.

Following the event on Tuesday and an interview with Glenn Gruber, senior digital strategist at Apple partner Anexinet, here is our roundup of the five most eye-catching iPhone 11 and 11 Pro updates.

iPhone 11 Vs. 11 Pro

What became clear after the launch of the iPhone XR last fall was that most iPhone buyers still want a lower-priced device, and are just fine with an LCD display. The iPhone XR, as Apple itself noted during the event Tuesday, is the most popular iPhone on the market—far more so than the iPhone XS and XS Max have been.

So for the 2019 iPhone lineup, Apple is acknowledging that "the iPhone 11 is the iPhone for most people," Gruber said.

The iPhone 11 Pro and Pro Max, meanwhile, are now clearly defined as devices for users that have more-advanced needs than the typical user. The change is smart, Gruber said, offering improved branding over the iPhone XR vs iPhone XS approach.

"If you want the best that Apple has to offer, as Phil Schiller said, you have the Pro models," he said.

Camera

Perhaps the biggest difference in iPhone 11 Pro models is the inclusion of a third rear camera lens: Apple is introducing an ultra-wide camera to join the wide and telephoto cameras on the iPhone 11 Pro and Pro Max.

The ultra-wide camera will feature a 120-degree field of view for taking expansive shots.

"It's definitely valuable," Gruber said, of the triple-lens setup. "I think where it can get interesting is not necessarily in just taking the pictures. But when you marry that with the continued advancements in machine learning, the camera becomes another kind of sensor--whether for things like image recognition or for using it to take measurements."

Battery Life

Apple has faced criticism in the past around the battery life of its devices, which have often trailed the battery life in smartphones from rivals such as Samsung. The company signaled that it's seeking to remedy the situation in the 2019 lineup, with all three models featuring expanded battery life.

The iPhone 11 Pro lasts up to four hours longer than the XS does, while the iPhone 11 Pro Max can run up to five hours longer than the XS Max, according to Apple. The iPhone 11 gets another hour of usage on top of the iPhone XR, Apple said.

While Apple doesn't reveal the battery capacity of its devices, the fact that the iPhone 11 Pro devices are heavier than the XS devices suggests a larger battery may be included. The iPhone 11 Pro weighs 6.63 ounces, up from 6.24 ounces on the XS, while the iPhone 11 Pro Max weighs 7.97 ounces, compared to 7.34 ounces for the XS Max.

Performance

All three of the new iPhones will get a major performance boost with the inclusion of the A13 Bionic processor, according to Apple.

The six-core CPU in the A13 Bionic includes two high-performance cores (offering up to 20 percent faster CPU and GPU than the A12 Bionic), along with four low-power cores (featuring up to 40 percent improved energy efficiency over the A12). Apple is calling the A13 Bionic "the fastest chip ever in a smartphone." In addition, the A13 Bionic is outfitted with enhanced capabilities for enabling machine learning, with new machine-learning accelerators that let the CPU “deliver more than 1 trillion operations per second," Apple said.

"Most of the internals are at parity across the iPhone 11 and 11 Pro—most importantly the A13," Gruber said. "Apple is giving a pretty substantial device and capability to everybody [in the customer base]."

Price Drop

In one of the most significant changes with the iPhone 11, Apple is actually offering the smartphone at a lower starting price than the original pricing for the iPhone XR. The starting price for the iPhone 11 will be $699, compared to the original starting price of $749 for the XR.

The move comes after Apple has taken heat for the increased prices of its iPhone lineup. The pricing shake-up returns the iPhone 11 to a price point last seen with the launch of the iPhone 8.

The price drop with the iPhone 11 is an "impressive" move for Apple, Gruber said. And with the inclusion of enhanced specs such as the A13 Bionic chip, "doing that at $699 is pretty darn good," he said.

Pre-orders for the iPhone 11, 11 Pro and 11 Pro Max will begin Friday, and the devices will ship Sept. 20. The iPhone 11 Pro and Pro Max have starting prices of $999 and $1,099, respectively.