2019 saw the introduction of the newest iPhone models – the iPhone 11, the iPhone 11 Pro, and the iPhone 11 Pro Max. Let’s take a detailed look at the iphone 11 camera specs to see how they have changed since the previous models.
The new iPhone 11s offer better software, a better processor, and a longer-lasting battery. Perhaps the most impressive and noticeable upgrades from the previous iPhone generation are the iPhone 11 cameras. Yes, that is supposed to be plural.
iPhone 11 Camera Specs
- The front-facing camera on all three models is now a 12-megapixel camera with Face ID, as opposed to the last generation’s 7-megapixel with Face ID.
- The iPhone 11 has two rear-facing cameras – a 12-megapixel wide lens and a 12-megapixel ultra-wide lens.
- The iPhone 11 Pro has three rear-facing cameras – a 12-megapixel wide lens, a 12-megapixel ultra-wide lens, and a 12-megapixel telephoto lens.
- The iPhone 11 Pro Max has three rear-facing cameras – a 12-megapixel wide lens, a 12-megapixel ultra-wide lens, and a 12-megapixel telephoto lens.
The basic model of Apple’s newest iPhone has a 6.1-inch LCD liquid retina display and weighs 6.84 ounces. You can choose between three different storage options – 64GB, 128 GB, and 256 GB.
The phone is splash, water, and dust resistant and comes with an A13 Bionic chip, and comes in black, green, yellow, purple, red, and white.
The iPhone 11 has one front-facing camera with 12-megapixels and has Face ID capabilities and two rear-facing cameras – a 12-megapixel wide lens and a 12-megapixel ultra-wide lens.
The 12-megapixel wide lens features a 1.8 aperture function, and the 12-megapixel ultra-wide lens features a 2.4 aperture function and a 120-degree field of view.
The front-facing camera of the iPhone 11 features a 2.2 aperture function and offers advanced bokeh and depth control with its portrait mode. The portrait mode also features 6 different photo effects – natural, studio, contour, stage mono, and high-key mono.
Other great qualities of the front-facing camera are:
| Photo | Video |
| Animoji/Memoji | 4K recording at 24, 30, or 60 fps |
| Smart HDR | 1080p recording at 30 or 60 fps |
| Wide Color Capture | Slo-mo support for 1080p at 120 fps |
| Retina Flash | Extended Dynamic Range at 30 fps |
| Auto-Image Stabilization | Cinematic Video Stabilization |
| Burst Mode |
The phone has two rear-facing cameras – one wide and one ultra-wide. Both offer two-time optical zoom out with up to five times digital zoom.
Their portrait modes are just like the front-facing cameras with great bokeh, depth control, and 6 different photo lighting effects. Both cameras have a sapphire crystal lens cover, Night Mode, and brighter True Tone Flash.
| Features | Wide | Ultra-Wide |
| Optical Image Stabilization | Yes | No |
| Five-Element Lens | No | Yes |
| Six-Element Lens | Yes | No |
| Panorama up to 63MP | Yes | Yes |
| 100% Focus Pixels | Yes | No |
| Auto-Adjustments | Yes | Yes |
| Smart HDR | Yes | Yes |
| Wide Color Capture | Yes | Yes |
| Advanced Red-Eye Correction | Yes | Yes |
| Burst Mode | Yes | Yes |
| Photo Geotagging | Yes | Yes |
| Images in HEIF and JPEG | Yes | Yes |
Not only do the rear-facing cameras of the iPhone 11 take amazing photos, they also have incredible video recording capabilities. The video functions feature the same specs as the front-facing camera, and they offer the following additional specifications:
- 720p HD video at 30 fps
- Extended Dynamic Range that goes up to 60 fps
- Optical image stabilization – only for wide
- Various zoom functions – 2x optical zoom out, 3x digital zoom, playback zoom, and audio zoom
- True Tone Flash that is brighter
- Subject tracking with the QuickTake option
- Slo-mo support also at 240 fps for 1080p
- Time-lapse option
- Continuous autofocus
- Ability to take pictures while recording video
- Stereo recording in both HEVC and H.264
iPhone 11 Pro & iPhone 11 Pro Max Camera Specs
The iPhone 11 Pro features a 5.8-inch OLED Super Retina XDR display and weighs 6.63 ounces. The iPhone 11 Pro Max features a 6.5-inch OLED Super Retina XDR display and weighs 7.97 ounces.
Both phones come with three storage options – 64 GB, 256 GB, and 512 GB. You can get either phone in one of four colors – gold, space gray, silver, or midnight green.
Both the iPhone 11 Pro and the iPhone 11 Pro Max are splash, water, and dust resistant, come with an A13 Bionic chip and a third-generation neural engine, and feature 4 camera options – front-facing 12-megapixel with Face ID and rear-facing 12-megapixel wide, 12-megapixel ultra-wide, and 12-megapixel telephoto.
The iPhone 11 Pro and Pro Max have a front-facing camera that has the same features of the iPhone 11.
The main difference in the rear-facing cameras between these models and the basic iPhone 11 is that the Pro and Pro Max both have three rear-facing cameras – one wide, one ultra-wide, and one telephoto.
The wide camera features 1.8 aperture, the ultra-wide camera has a 120 degree field of view with 2.4 aperture, and the telephoto camera features a 2.0 aperture.
The cameras are equipped with multiple zoom functions – 2x optical zooming in and out and a digital zoom that does up to 10x. The wide and telephoto lenses have dual optical image stabilization, as well.
Other than those differences, the photo function features of the Pro and Pro Max are the same as the basic iPhone 11. In addition, the video recording functions are the same as the iPhone 11.
iPhone 11, 11 Pro, & 11 Pro Max Camera Features Defined
Seeing the long lists of specs definitely shows how amazing these new iPhone cameras are, but what do all of the words mean? To have a full understanding of how truly incredible the new cameras are, you must understand the terminology.
Aperture Function
An aperture, according to optics, is a hole or opening that light travels through. Aperture stops limit the amount of light allowed into the aperture, and they determine the angles and brightness of an image point.
In photography, aperture references the diameter of the aperture stop over the aperture itself. So, different aperture numbers will indicate different depths of field.
Larger apertures generally mean that there is a smaller depth of field and better bokeh. The smaller the aperture function number, the larger the depth of field.
Larger aperture numbers also mean faster and more accurate auto-focus, more versatility, and better image quality.
Bokeh
According to Oxford dictionary, “the visual quality of the out-of-focus areas of a photographic image, especially as rendered by a particular lens” is called bokeh.
Smart HDR
HDR is short for high dynamic range. This is a photographic technology that combines multiple photos into one shot to create better shadow details and brighter highlights.
True Tone Flash
This is an iPhone technology that was introduced with the iPhone 5S in 2013. It uses two different colored LED lights – one white and one amber – in order to give off a flash that allows for more accurate flesh tones in pictures.
Depth Control
This camera feature turns pictures that are taken in portrait mode into pictures that look like they’ve been taken with a digital SLR camera that has expensive lenses and studio lighting.
Live Photos
Live Photos are 3-second moving images that can be taken with the iPhone camera.
5-Element and 6-Element Lenses
The elements in lenses refer to the number of individual glass lens elements that are within the lens of the camera.
Wide Color Capture
The Wide Color Capture feature was added to the iPhone camera with the iPhone 7. The feature means that all colors in the DCI-P3 color space are present in photos taken with the camera. The DCI-P3 color space is the standard coloring used in a digital movie projection of American films.
Dual Image Stabilization
Reduces the amount of blurriness in your photos that is caused by shaking hands.
Focus Pixels
The Focus Pixels technology in the iPhone camera allows for self-adjustment, better skin tones, facial acknowledgment, and larger-scale photography. It is basically the same as Phase Detection Auto-Focus or PDAF.
Photo Geotagging
When a photo is geotagged, it is linked or tagged to the location that it was taken. On the iPhone camera, you can turn on geotagging and never forget the exact location that you took your pictures.
Cinematic Video Stabilization
This feature allows for more latency in the videos you record while taking up significantly less memory than normal video stabilization.
QuickTake Subject Tracking
The QuickTake feature allows you to take still photos while you are recording. The subject tracking addition allows for focusing on a certain part of the video to take a picture of.
Telephoto Lens
Wide lenses and ultra-wide lenses are pretty self-explanatory, but what is a telephoto lens for? Telephoto lenses are made for photographing things that are moderate to far distances away from you. They are often used for photographing wildlife and sporting events. Telephoto lenses can also be used for portraits.
Other Notable Features of iPhone 11
The camera is not the only notable feature of the iPhone 11 models; there are many new technologies and specifications on these new phones. One of the new components of the new iPhone models is the A13 Bionic chip that powers the iPhone 11, the iPhone 11 Pro, and the iPhone 11 Pro Max.
The A13 Bionic chip was designed by Apple Inc. and has the following specifications:
- An Apple-designed 64-bit ARMv8.3-A six-core CPU
- Two high-performance cores that run at 2.65 GHz called Lightning
- Features machine learning accelerators called AMX blocks that are 6 times faster at matrix multiplication than the A12 core; they are capable of one trillion operations per second
- 20% faster with 30% power consumption reduction than A12
- 4 energy-efficient cores called Thunder
- 20% faster with a 40% reduction in power consumption than A12
- Four-core graphics processing unit (GPU)
- 20% faster graphics performance and 40% power consumption reduction than A12
- Eight-core Neural Engine that is completely dedicated to neural network hardware and performs 20% faster with 15% lower power consumption than A12
- 8.5 billion transistors
Only the iPhone 11, iPhone 11 Pro, and the iPhone 11 Pro Max feature the A13 Bionic chip!
Not only do these phones feature the A13 Bionic chip, but they are also equipped with iOS 13 mobile software technology.
The new iOS 13 technology has some amazing features that include:
- Loads apps up to 2x faster
- Has a new dark mode for a background that is easier on your eyes
- Swipe-typing with the Quick Path keyboard option
- Smarter reminders that recognize dates and times on their own
- Sign In with Apple feature that gives more security when signing into apps
- Revamped Maps app that gives more details and has new features, like Collections which lets you store your frequented locations
- A browsing option in the Photo app that helps remove clutter
- Siri has a less robotic voice
- More personal and customizable Memojis
- Choose the most appropriate Wi-Fi network in your Control Center
The iPhone 11, 11 Pro, and 11 Pro Max all come with iOS 13 pre-installed, but other iPhones do get to enjoy the new technology with software updates.
Which iPhone 11 is Right for You? – A Comparison of the Three Models
How do the three different iPhone 11 models compare to one another? It is important to understand what each phone offers when you are considering choosing one for your use.
Do you use your phone mostly for the camera? Do you use your phone only for personal use?
Do you use your phone for business? Depending on the answers to these questions are more will determine which iPhone 11 camera specs you need.
The iPhone 11 is the best phone for the money that you will spend. Some of the pros of the basic iPhone 11 model are:
- The dual cameras are a tremendous update over previous iPhone cameras.
- It has a 6.1-inch LCD screen that is bright and colorful.
- It is durable because of its improved water resistance and tougher glass front and back.
- You’re able to choose from 6 different color options.
- It averages over 11 hours of battery life.
Some cons of the iPhone 11 include:
- The LCD screen is not as bright and crisp as the OLED displays on the other iPhone 11 models.
- You will have to pay extra for fast-charging.
The pricing for the iPhone 11 is:
- $699 for 64GB
- $749 for 128GB
- $849 for 256GB
The iPhone 11 Pro is a compact powerhouse with one of the best smartphone cameras available currently. Some of the pros of this phone include:
- It offers a third camera that gives great optical zoom and more photographic range.
- Video has movie-like results because of the extended dynamic range and cinematic stabilization.
- You can get about 10 and a half hours of battery life from one charge.
- It comes with fast charging that can bring your phone charge to 55% in only 30 minutes.
- The phone has a super bright and crisp OLED display.
Some cons of the iPhone 11 Pro include:
- This phone has the shortest battery life of the three iPhone 11 models.
- It doesn’t have 5G connectivity.
The pricing for the iPhone 11 Pro is:
- $999 for 64GB
- $1,149 for 128GB
- $1,349 for 512 GB
According to Tom’s Guide, the iPhone 11 Pro Max has incredible cameras, battery life, and display that make it the phone to beat. Some of the pros of the iPhone Pro Max are:
- This phone also features the three best cameras on the market like the iPhone Pro.
- It shoots stunning 4K video because of cinematic stabilization and extended dynamic range.
- The battery life lasts an incredible 12 hours – the longest battery life of any iPhone.
- Fast charger that can charge it to 50 percent in only 30 minutes.
- The A13 Bionic chip inside makes it the fastest phone available.
Some cons of the iPhone 11 include:
- There are only 4 color options to choose from.
- You need more than 64GB if you take lots of pictures and video.
In Conclusion…
All three iPhone 11 models offer the absolute best cameras that are available on smartphones currently. Additionally, they have incredibly fast speeds and brand-new software that make them truly must-have phones. Pro tip – if you trade in your old iPhone for one of the new iPhone 11s, you can save money!
Apple truly stepped up their game with the camera functions of their new flagship iPhones. Furthermore, if you are struggling to decide which one is right for you and price is no objection, the iPhone 11 Pro Max is definitely the best phone that Apple has to offer currently.
The bottom line is this: if you are looking for a phone that can take professional-grade pictures and videos, the iPhone 11, iPhone Pro, or iPhone Pro Max are all perfect choices.
