Year after year, writing about technology and reviewing products involve telling people what’s new in a product or how it fits in with their lifestyle. Even in the year of the pandemic, companies haven’t stopped pushing out smartphones with some brands going with as many as three a month over three months. Ask them and the usual response is: “We want to fill out every price point, giving users variety.” That’s nice. But one phone series that has set a high standard in recent times has been the iPhone 11. Yes, of course, Apple changed the way smartphones are perceived in the first place; but with the three phones in the series that were released last year — almost one year ago — Apple is sort of saying: “Our phones will remain zippy for a long time to come.” In a way, it has reset the upgrade criteria.

First, context. Apple will unveil its new set of iPhones on October 13 and though slightly delayed by a few weeks because of the pandemic, it will be one of the most important dates on the tech calendar. Though the event will be followed by some bad jokes from a palmful of trolls on social media involving kidney-selling jokes, the fact is that Apple is trying to make its phones more accessible in India, which will slowly happen. For the time being, the upcoming Great India Sale on Amazon India has hinted that the iPhone 11 will sell for under Rs 50,000.

Smooth and spicy as Butter Masala

Some like the iPhone 11 and some go for the iPhone 11 Pro Max. Personally, it’s the iPhone 11 Pro for me because it’s the smallest of the three but it’s big enough to fulfil every daily need. It has been a steady relationship with this device. It continues to offer lag-free service even though I have been careless in this relationship, dropping it a few times. No harm has been done, thanks to the strong frame and even though it has gone dipping one of its edges into a bowl of Chicken Butter Masala, we both have come away satisfied in our own special way.

The sheer attention Apple paid to the iPhone 11 Pro’s design continues to amaze as does its bright display, which goes up to 800 nits, which is really bright. The journey started with the phone using iOS 13, then going through the motions of a series of upgrades before finally arriving on iOS 14. In the early days, there were some minor issues with the camera but Apple has been quick to send out updates to iron out every problem.

The iPhone 11 Pro’s main selling point remains the cameras. There is the ultra-wide, standard and telephoto snappers, which is just the right set-up. Even after one year, it has pretty much the best cameras for daily use. When the phone first appeared, Apple mentioned deep fusion technology that makes photographs better than the rest. It has remained a killer feature on the phone.

Back then and even now, I am impressed with the sharpness of the photos. It’s not over-sharpened while the focus of the snappers continues to beat competition.

The other aspect of the phone which remains unbeaten is its capabilities on the video front. Don’t listen to companies saying that they have a gimbal set-up inside the phone or it offers this and that with selfie cameras. Apple never spoke about gimbal-like performance instead it delivered it using software and optical stablisation. There are no phones that offer the same seamless performance while moving between lenses. You won’t even know the lens you are on while using the iPhone 11 Pro. The phone taught us how to take advantage of an amazing app called Double Take on which you can actually shoot a full film using all the snappers on the phone simultaneously.

Also in the past one year smartphone brands have come up with ways to charge phones at “super fast” speeds.

Like juicing up in 30 minutes. First, powering up a battery so quickly is not a good thing. Second, anybody with sense would charge their phones overnight and it would last them a day. Apple simply promised long battery life and the iPhone 11 Pro offers just that. Even after one year I still get a day and a half on a single charge.

Long-term relationship

Frankly, if I distance myself from my profession, I would want a device that would last me more than a couple of years, like four or even five, and it definitely should have my data secure. The iPhone 11 Pro (and other iPhones) offer just that. Apple offers updates for five years, which means that the company is that much dedicated to its users. This also means that I would get to use all the latest features in subsequent iOS upgrades for a long time.

The iPhone 11 Pro remains practical, alluring and wickedly fast even after one year.

The rumour mills

• How many: According to Apple enthusiasts and analysts, expect three or four versions of the iPhone 12. At least one is expected to be 5G enabled. One may even have a 6.7-inch display. And there might be a compact version.
• Price: Last year, the iPhone 11 started at $699 and was Apple's cheapest new smartphone since the iPhone 8. This year, the 5G edition may cost more but the others should be consistent with last year.
• Charger: Apple may remove both the in-box charger and earbuds, analyst Ming-Chi Kuo reported in June. It will help towards reducing e-waste.
• New processor: We may get the A14 Bionic which is in the new iPad Air.

Diwali offer

There is a Diwali offer coming up in a few days. Apple is offering AirPods for free if you buy an iPhone 11 from its recently-launched online store. The offer starts on October 17. That’s not all. Engraving on AirPods, iPad and Apple Pencil will also be available on the same date.

What do we want from iPhone 12?

• LiDAR: Apple added a LiDAR scanner to the 2020 iPad Pro to help the device understand one’s surroundings better. It made a big improvement on the augmented reality front.
• Astro mode: Google Pixel has a lovely astrophotography mode to capture the moon and stars.
• Reverse wireless charging: It would be an easy way to charge up something like Apple AirPods on the back of the iPhone.
• More base storage: It should be at least 128GB or a boost to the free tier of iCloud storage.