Apple announced iPhone 11 during Tuesday’s “By Innovation Only” media event, a device that brings a new (and better) camera system and a lower price, starting at US$699. iPhone 11 also includes a faster CPU (the A13 Bionic processor), improved performance, and six color options, Purple, Yellow, Green, Black, White, and Product (RED).
iPhone 11, Now with Less Price
iPhone 11 replaces iPhone XR in Apple’s iPhone product line, but it has a starting price that’s lower than its predecessor. iPhone 11 starts at $699 for a respectable 64GB of storage. 128GB is $749 and 256GB is $849. By contrast, iPhone XR started at $749.
My takeaway from that is Apple found that it can’t jack up prices to make up for stalling iPhone revenues, and priced iPhone 11 to move more units.
iPhone 11 Camera, Now with Better Camera(s)
As rumors and leaks predicted, Apple replaced the tall and thin camera bulge on the back with a bulgy square. In that square is a Wide Camera and Ultra Wide camera. Note that those aren’t just “lenses,” they’re cameras. During Tuesday’s media event, company executives painted a picture of these new cameras working independently, but being brought together through software for a seamless user experience.
Andrew Orr is working on a standalone piece walking us through all the new camera features in iPhone 11 and iPhone 11 Pro.
They Come in Colors Everywhere
Apple is launching iPhone 11 in six colors, as described above. Those colors are being delivered from a body, “precision milled and sculpted from a single piece of glass.” The company stressed that it’s the toughest glass ever used for a camera body, and as we noted in Tuesday’s Daily Observations, the company showed lots of shots of iPhone 11 and iPhone 11 Pro dropping and not breaking.
Other New Features
iPhone 11 will also include support for gigabit-class LTE and Wi-Fi 6, support for Dolby Atmos audio, faster Face ID with improved angles and distance support, and a U1 networking chip.
iPhone 11 Availability and Pricing
iPhone 11 will be available for pre-order beginning Friday, September 13, and it ships September 20 starting at $699.
Like the phone, like the colours, love the price. Wish it came with a standard and a tele lens. I really don’t need an even wider lens.