iPhone 11 Event Thoughts

I first want to say I did not attend the iPhone 11 reveal event in Cupertino. Like most, I watched it online, with my Apple TV. I always find these events entertaining with some being better that others. How was this one in my opinion? It was good, but not great on the onset, but looking back, it’s getting better. It’s one of those ‘once the dust settles’ and you can do some research reflect, you start to see what Apple has done. And this is pretty much all good.

Apple Videos

I first want to say I love the production of Apple videos. These are always enjoyable to watch to me and you can see they put the time in these. This event did not disappoint.

Apple Arcade

This is Apple’s new subscription service for games. I am not a gamer, but I am definitely going to try this out. For $4.99 a month, you get over 100 of top quality games. Not only do you get access, but this plan is for the family too. No more ads for games I play, no more coins. I am looking forward to this.

Apple TV+

This service, I’ll admit, I am on the fence. The shows look good, but do I need another TV subscription service, especially when Apple does not have a large catalog. Well, the good news is, when I get the new iPhone 11, I get Apple TV + for a year. I thought this was a great way to get people invested in the service until they get a larger catalog.

iPad

Apple introduced a new iPad for $329. It looks like a good one for that price. But what’s even better is schools can get this for under $300. With the new iPadOS with a desktop quality browser, I find this intriguing. Especially as someone who is helping out a local school with their Apple devices. A large, very large, percentage of the work is all done using Google Docs on Google Chrome. Something that iPadOS can handle easily. This is something I am keeping my eye on.

Apple Watch

I didn’t expect a whole lot on the Apple Watch, but they did throw a nice new feature out there with the Series 5 Apple Watch’s – Always On. Now you can always see what time it is. I did not expect this. Is it enough for me to buy a new Apple Watch? Probably not, but I do love this feature for the next version I do buy.

New iPhones

And the big one – iPhone 11. First, Apple did not introduce a new iPhone with a Home button. Does this mark the end of the Home button? Something to watch. So what did they introduce? Three new iPhones. iPhone 11, iPhone 11 Pro, and iPhone 11 Pro Max.

iPhone 11

This is a nice update from last year’s version that this iPhone is replacing. Now, instead of one lens, you get two. The camera also went from 7MP to 12MP, the iPhone has a new faster chip (A13), the battery lasts longer, it’s more water resistant, the camera has night mode, and more video options. The improvement list there is pretty nice there!

iPhone 11 Pro

So what’s Pro about this iPhone? Apple is touting the camera. They added a 3rd lens for wide angles. I say they may have something here, the photos they showed were impressive, but of course, they were shot by professionals. What else is different? A textured matte glass! I really like this as I do not keep my iPhone in a case, and the all glass design is slippery. I’m thinking this will help in reducing the slipperiness of iPhone. Along with the new features mention above with the iPhone 11, the Pro model is also more water resistant.

iPhone 11 Pro Max

What’s different about the Max? Size and battery life. Outside of that, it’s the same as the iPhone 11 Pro. This is something that is a bit different for Apple, as in the past, the larger iPhone also had better specs. Not in this case aside from a bigger battery.

So what am I going to do?

I think I am going for the iPhone 11 Pro Max. I love the camera specs and am looking forward to seeing what I can do with it. It is a bit larger than my current iPhone X, but I am looking at this a camera first and a phone second. Also, I do not plan on putting a case on it, so that may keep the size to a minimum.

Compare for Yourself

Apple put together a nice page where you can compare three different iPhone models, including older ones. So if you want to see how your iPhone compares to the newer ones, head of over to Apple Compare iPhone models page.

Summary

So there are my thoughts on Apple iPhone 11 event. Watching it, it was good, but not great. reading more about the phones and processing it a but more, I moving toward it was a better than average keynote for Apple. One that makes me excited to be an Apple customer.