One of the heaviest smartphones of 2019, the Apple iPhone 11 Pro Max got unboxed by us last fall and now it’s time to recap our impressions. The big machine is basically a larger iPhone 11 Pro and it’s also one of the heaviest phones around. It’s priced at around $1099 and we finally get a decent battery on it, closer to 4000 mAh…
First things first: my impressions. The device is massive, but the matte Midnight Green back looks nice. It draws less prints compared to regular glass, on account of the frosted look. The camera area is a big ugly, but at least you can tell an iPhone from the crowd. Also, it draws copious amounts of lint and dirt around the lenses for some reason. Inside the box we find a Lightning to USB-C cable, an 18W charger, a classic set of EarPods, a SIM key, manual and stickers. No trace of Lightning to 3.5 mm adapter. Here are some Handy Tips on How to Change Your Apple ID Email.
If you want other color versions, the device also comes in Space Gray and Silver. I have to admit that the Midnight Green is closer to a sort of camo-gray in real life. The iPhone 11 Pro Max is really heavy at 226 grams, but after a while of handling it, you can get used to the weight. At least it’s a decent 8.1 mm in waistline and comes with a stainless steel frame, glass at the back and front. It’s IP68 certified and provides an OLED 6.5 inch screen with a 2688 x 1242 pixel resolution, with 120 Hz touch sensing, HDR, Wide Color and True Tone.
Another first impression is that the screen is amazingly bright, has excellent contrast, but the notch ruins it all, as well as the beefy bezels. Inside we find the Apple A13 Bionic processor, which should be future proof for 3 to 4 years. It’s a hexa core CPU with 7 nm+ production process and a quad core GPU. There’s also an octa core NPU here, 4 GB of RAM, 64 GB of storage (also 256 GB, 512 GB versions) and a 3969 mAh battery with 18W fast charge, plus wireless charge.
There are stereo speakers and replacing the 3D Touch mechanism is a Taptic Engine with a discrete vibration. For security we have Face ID via the TrueDepth sensor, this time at a wider angle. Upfront there’s also a 12 MP selfie camera, finally an upgrade from the usual 7 MP sensor. It can now do 4K 60 FPS video, which for a front camera is a big deal. At the back we have these 3 cameras:
- 12 MP, wide angle, F/1.8, OIS, Dual Pixel Autofocus
- 12 MP, telephoto, 2x optical zoom
- 12 MP, ultra wide, 120 degrees
There’s a quad LED flash, 4K 60 FPS video capture, Slow Motion video in 240 FPS and Full HD res. The Night Mode activates automatically when it detects darkness and you can set the seconds of exposure. Then there’s Portrait, Live Photo, ability to switch cameras during video and a variety of editing options in the new Photos app from iOS 13. On the connectivity front we have Bluetooth 5.0, WiFi dual band, 4G LTE, GPS, Glonass, Galileo and NFC.
We’ll be back with a full review soon, but in the meantime you can get the phone here.
