Two Weeks With The iPhone 11 Pro Max, Here’s Exactly What I Think

Mild disclaimer, I’m not a tech savvy person. So if you’re looking for the bleep-dee-bloops and the what-dee-whats on how things works and how many mega-buckels of ram horses are in this thing, I’m not your girl, this is not your article.

But I am an Apple user.

In fact, almost my entire life and business runs on Apple products. My iPhone is my primary place of work, my MacBook for writing, and my Apple Watch for some good ol’ connected disconnectivity (it means I get to walk away from my phone and laptop and not worry about missing a call from the kids).

All that to say, I have experience with Apple products, therefore I feel I have a valid opinion here. Expertise, advice, ~inFLueNce~, if you will.

Two weeks ago once I started using the new iPhone 11 Pro Max, and I wanted a couple weeks to hang with it before I just started talking about it. Officially, I suppose.

My last iPhone was the XS Max so typically, year over year, there isn’t a huge amount of difference, subtle changes, better camera, improved battery life. We get it, it got better, we wanted it.

But this one is different. Really different.

Apple chose to split the iPhone into two categories: the 11 and the 11 Pro (opt. Max for size and added battery life).

While the 11 may compare in many ways to its predecessor, the 11 Pro is an entirely new level of device.

As a creator, it actually changes my life. As someone who runs her business from a hand-held device, it actually changes my work, too.

Let me explain, bit by bit.

1. The Wide Angle Camera

I’m just going to start here because I know that it’s what most of us care about it. With a new wide-angle lens, and improved cameras all around, I’m finding that my $2000 DSLR camera I saved for two years ago is being left at home. I’m not using it, because the cameras on the 11 Pro are outstanding. I can’t get over the frame of shots I’m able to capture and things I’m able to do that even my DSLR couldn’t perform on.

2. Low Light, Too

Ok, a lot of these points are going to be about the cameras. Because with these cameras, there are LOW LIGHT photography options. With technology (don’t ask me what kind) in place, when you’re in a low-light area, the camera is automatically engages into low-light mode, becoming capable of actually picking up what’s in front of you in a way that I’ve never seen before outside of a professional camera. All of these everyday things and memories that have previously been missed due to its dim surroundings, suddenly have the opportunity to (literally) come to light.

3. Portrait Mode

Honestly, I just wanted to be able to take these kinds of pics of my dog. AND NOW I CAN. Apple worked to allow more types of “faces” recognized by the portrait lens, and now my sweet Pug can get exactly the captures she deserves.
But yeah, it makes for a pretty stellar selfie, too.

4. The Battery

It almost becomes a way of life to constantly be sourcing a plug, or an hour mid-day to find a charger to plug in your phone. Since switching to the iPhone 11 Pro Max, I haven’t had to do this. The 11 Pro gives 4 additional hours of battery life, the Max gives 5 hours. That’s a lot of time given back in a day.

5. For All The Things I Can’t List

Every single day, my day runs on my iPhone. We’ve gotten so used to this way of life, we’ve almost forgotten it’s real impact. My calendar, schedule, emails and documents sit readily available to me all day long. I record voice notes for my journaled thoughts, that will soon become Instagram captions. I take photos that will tell a story. I edit, design, write, all within the palm of my hand. It’s my alarm clock. It’s my payment system. It’s my banking. It’s how I FaceTime video chat with my kids while they’re at their dads. It’s my travel bookings and boarding passes, it’s my daily connection from me to you. It’s my meditation apps. It’s how I order things we need at home even when I’m across the country. It’s my map. It’s my compass. It is not just a phone. It’s a deeply woven part of life.

It’s not easy to invest in yourself, and I would never encourage anyone to spend money they don’t have. I do respect money spent though. I respect the hard decisions that come into play when you’re wondering, “is it worth it?”.

Two weeks in, and probably 10,000 photos, emails, calls and even a couple drops on the ground, I’ve gotta say:

Yes.

This is not sponsored content, and all opinions are my own.