Practical work on iPhone 11, Pro and Max: Apple is betting hard on the camera for new phones

This story is part of Apple Event, our comprehensive coverage of the latest news from Apple's headquarters.

Apple has updated its range of iPhones for 2019 to a event on tuesday, announcing the iPhone 11, the iPhone 11 Pro and the iPhone 11 Pro Max. The phones cost $ 699, $ 999 and $ 1,099 respectively – a surprising price in a world where we usually pay $ 1,000 for an iPhone. These new iPhones offer a fresh color palette, longer battery life and A13 Bionic Processor inside which promises faster performance. But more than any other feature, it's the camera hardware and software who take the limelight. There is three cameras at the back of Pro phones and two on the back of the iPhone 11. See below for our first practical impressions.

This new generation of iPhones can wear different colors, but in terms of overall design, it looks remarkably like last year. iPhone XS, IPhone XS Max and iPhone XR – hack and all.

The three cameras on the back of the iPhone 11 Pro and Pro Max represent the biggest risks for Apple in a series that: play security this year. For many people, the iPhone represents the absolute standard in smartphone design and advanced features such as the unlocking of faces, which, according to Apple, is now faster than before. But despite simple features, such as support for Wi-Fi 6, the iPhone 11 trio fails to push the boundaries, relying instead on the big change of the camera and smaller improvements to keep up the pace.

There is no 5G support (this is expected to happen in 2020), and none of the inverted wireless recharges supposed to charge the AirPods, Apple Watch and other phones from the back of the iPhone 11 – as you can do it with the Galaxy S10 and Note 10 phones.

Apple also retained on the rumored features This makes the new iPhone 11 compatible with the Apple Pencil and a USB-C port that has been muttered to replace the Lightning connection.

Without an important set of new features designed to appeal to buyers, Apple has a lot of work to do as it prepares for the highly competitive holiday season and the 2020 holiday season. Phone sales are down. Competitors such as Samsung, Google and Huawei are going from the front with the tools and features of the camera. And then there is the question of 5G – iPhone users will have to wait a full year unless Apple surprises us all with a special event before September 2020.

the iPhone 11, 11 Pro and 11 Pro Max go pre-order from Friday, September 13 at 5 am Pacific Time. They will arrive in stores on September 20th. Apple will continue to sell the iPhone XR at $ 599 and the iPhone 8 at $ 449.

For now, take a look at all the new iPhones have to offer. You can catch up with all that Apple has announced here, from Launch date of iOS 13 at the new Apple Watch Series 5. here's how IPhone 11 phones compare to iPhone XS and XR.

We tried the iPhone 11 phones and here is what we think

CNET got their hands dirty with the iPhone 11, the iPhone 11 Pro and the iPhone 11 Max. The colors and finishes look more refined and much less similar than fingerprint magnets, compared to last year's phones, especially compared to the iPhone XR, equivalent to the iPhone 11 of this year.

What stood out most were the cameras and the telephoto lens, especially because that was the main difference between the iPhone 11 and the much more expensive 11 Pro and 11 Pro Max. The three phones share most of the other features, at least as much as we could have known during our brief contact with the phone.

New slow motion video mode for the front camera is fun, but not an indispensable feature by any means. Nevertheless, we would not be surprised if other phone makers were shouting this one.

Both iPhone 11 Pro phones feature a new matte finish and a stunning, dense steel shell. You may think that this is gravitas. We think it's a little heavy. The photos do not do justice to the green shade night. Chalk us as fans. We are not sure that the regular iPhone 11 to 11 Pro supplement is worth it, but having a telephoto lens helps to complete the features.

The exchange between the three lenses of the Pro and Pro Max cameras looks homogeneous, and a new "Haptic Touch" return that Apple uses instead of 3D Touch is quite easy to summon on the new net screen – just hold down your finger.

Rear cameras: Wide, ultra-wide, telephoto

The iPhone 11 Pro and 11 Pro Max are all about the camera. The competing brands are no stranger to the three-camera system (or even four!), But this marks the first time that Apple has associated a wide-angle lens with telephoto and ultra-wide angle sensors.

We're working on a deep camera dive soon, but what you need to know is that Apple wants you to go from the main lens of the 12 megapixel camera to the ultra-wide angle lens from 13 megapixel to 12 megapixel telephoto, which you perform from the main screen of the camera.

Having used this type of system on other phones, such as Huawei P30 Pro and Galaxy Note 10 For example, it can really make the photos more atmospheric or more striking – especially landscape photos – taken with the ultra-wide lens. Apple says that the number of supported scenes is four times that of the main camera.

On the other hand, a telephoto shot can make the difference between grabbing your photo or not when you're too far away to really see the face or details you're trying to capture, just because you're too far away. A concert, a cornice on a historic building, a celebrity behind a cord of velvet. That sort of thing. Apple announces a 4x total optical zoom via its camera system, although the telephoto lens is provided for 2x optical zoom.

Dedicated night mode is another thing that has become a basic feature of premium phones. It is intended to make the details brighter and to reduce noise in low light conditions.

But the most interesting feature we will not see when launching the iPhone 11 (it will be available for all three phones), is Deep fusion, which makes the most of nine different images taken automatically by the iPhone. It uses machine learning to combine these disparate images in one second, and then displays a more detailed compilation than you would get if you took it yourself. That's the theory, anyway.

The last feature we can not wait to try is the slow motion video for the front camera, but it may be just so we can say we've taken a "slofie"We do not know if we will like to hate or hate loving it, but yes, one of those.

Key specifications of the new iPhone 11 Pro and Pro Max

• Two screen sizes: 5.8 and 6.5 inch OLED displays (458 dpi pixel density)
• The "Super Retina XDR" screen supports HDR 10 with Dolby Vision (and Dolby Atmos sound)
• Phone body: Textured matte finish
• Storage capacity: 64 GB, 256 GB, 512 GB
• Three rear cameras with 4x optical zoom: Wide-angle wide-angle lenses for telephoto (OIS for wide-angle and telephoto lenses)
• Upcoming camera function called Deep fusion compiles nine images to reduce noise and improve details
• 4 hours of additional battery life (Pro) and 5 hours of additional battery life (Pro Max) compared to last year's models
• Faster unlocking of facial identities
• Wi-Fi 6 supported, but not 5G
• 4K video for front and back cameras, with slow motion video for selfie cameraslofies")
• New portrait lighting effect: monochrome
• iOS 13 on board
• Quick charge adapter
• Colors: midnight green, gray space, silver, gold
• iPhone 11 Pro starts at $ 999 or $ 25 a month (£ 1,049, AU $ 1,749)
• iPhone 11 Pro Max starts at $ 1,099 or $ 29 a month (£ 1,149, AU $ 1,899)

What's new in the iPhone 11

• Six colors: black, white, yellow, purplegreen product red
• Bionic chip A13
• Storage capacity: 64 GB, 128 GB, 512 GB
• Time more autonomy than the iPhone XR
• Faster unlocking of facial identities
• Wi-Fi 6 supported, but not 5G
• Dual camera system with 12 megapixel lenses: wide and ultra-wide (change tapping on the screen)
• Night mode camera
• 2x optical zoom
• New monochrome portrait lighting
• 12 megapixel front camera (instead of 7 megapixels)
• 4K video for front and back cameras, with slow motion video for selfie camera
• iOS 13
• Starts at $ 699 or $ 17 a month (£ 729, AU $ 1,199)

Will the iPhone 11 Pro and Pro Max invigorate Apple's iPhones, or will it be a flag of excitement? Stay tuned while we take into account the announcement of Apple and let's go ahead when we see the new Apple iPhones after the event.

Scott Stein contributed to this story updated throughout the day.