iPhone 11 - bye bye bumper

Life happened.
Not in a bad way like you would expect when a blog post is starting with those two words; it just happened. I wrote a recap of the Apple keynote feeling underwhelmed. Appreciating all the upgrades and small improvements but for me there simply was no "wow" factor in anything they showed. Others seemed pretty excited, especially about the option to get a new colour to show the world you have the latest iPhone. (As if the three cameras would not be indicator enough.)

A few days later I learned about two things. First, my parents needed new phones. They still were on the iPhone 6 (s). Second, I could get free phones with my phone contracts. (While this is only technically true and I am not planning to go deep on how taxes work in Germany, it is close enough to be accurate to go with it.)

So I got myself an iPhone 11 Pro Max, my mother an iPhone 11 and my dad got my iPhone X. To me it was a chance to get my hands on the larger screen, which I really appreciate and missed with the X.

Having used my 11 Pro Max for a week now and having played around with the 11 a few times I am actually quite confident in what to recommend to people when they are looking to get a new one! (And as every year around this time I get this question a few more times than you would imagine.)

iPhone 11 Pro (Max)

• you want the absolute best camera
• you want the larger screen
• you want every minute battery life you can get
• it is (one of) your primary tool(s) for work

iPhone 11

• you likely want this, seriously
• the screen is great and the difference is not noticeable to some people having it right beside an 11 Pro
• the camera is good enough to take nice photos of your pets
• overall it is just more than good enough in every single discipline except a few extreme cases or power user scenarios

If you are on an X({s|r}) I would not bother except if you really want the camera. The upgrade would in my opinion not have enough impact to justify the price.

In all seriousness, the 11 is likely the best device for over 90% of people who buy an iPhone because they want an iPhone. Most likely even for enough who know the difference between the 11 and the Pro.
That being said, the 11 Pro Max is an awesome device and you’ll have to rip it out of my cold, dead hands for at least the next 11 months.

To be very honest, the best thing about the phone (beside the screen size) is the material and feel of it. The iPhone X was the first one for which I bought a bumper - to make sure I had a solid grip on it. For any other phone before I usually got a nice case from germanmade and used it without a bumper. I really enjoy the feel of the material (which is also why I cannot stand using cheap Android phones). But believe me, I did not like having to use a bumper or otherwise feeling like I would drop the phone any second.

The stainless steel band ensures I have a solid grip and the whole last week I never felt like it is sliding away. The matte glass on the back seems more slippery than the glas on X and 11, but it is nice to the touch and does not influence the security of the grip I got. So my phone is finally bumper free again. And while it might seem idiotic to you that I rave about holding my phone without a case, it is the most notable and enjoyable difference to me.

>> posted on Sept. 28, 2019, midnight in apple