Amber Neely
Consumer Reports has rated the iPhone 11 Pro Max at the top of their smartphone list, citing improved battery life and camera quality as favored factors.
Consumer Reports has released a piece discussing the many improvements the new iPhone 11 Pro Max has received over last year's iPhone XS Max, which also did well in their testing.
In their battery life test, the iPhone 11 Pro Max lasted for 40.5 hours, an increase over the 29.5 hours of the iPhone XS Max. They also stated that the iPhone 11 Pro lasted 34 hours on a single charge, over the iPhone XS's 27.5 hours. The iPhone 11 lasted 28 hours, which was still an improvement over the iPhone XR.
Camera improvement was also a crucial factor in Consumer Report's glowing review. Their testers stated that the iPhone 11 Pro and iPhone 11 Pro Max received some of the highest scores in the ratings for still-image quality. All three phones in the iPhone 11 line received excellent ratings for rear-video quality.
The testers also found that the A13 bionic chip in all three phones in the iPhone 11 line was significantly faster than the 2018 Phone models, as well as the highest-end Android models. They point out that this is especially useful for editing 4K video and gaming.
Other factors included a durability test in which both the iPhone 11 and the iPhone 11 Pro Max did well, with the iPhone 11 Pro not surviving the repeated drop test.
Overall, Consumer Reports seemed quite impressed with the iPhone 11 line. Though they echoed the same concerns that many have about purchasing an iPhone that isn't 5G capable, they did call them "high-performing, sleek machines."
The iPhone 11 Pro Max is the first Apple phone to top the rankings in several years. The iPhone XS series lost out to the Samsung Note 9. Notably, the iPhone also came in second to the Galaxy Note 7, which was plagued by battery fires shortly after examination.
Charles Martin
Malcolm Owen
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William Gallagher
19 Comments
Well, it's Consumer Reports, so ultimately this means nothing to me.
I stopped paying attention to CR years ago due to what I considered shoddy reviewing and their weird recommendations (like giving a recommendation on a product that THEY didn't rate well but had a low price - bizarre!).
Perhaps more impressive is Bloomberg's Mark Gurman review today calling Pro best in class, almost tripping over himself with compliments.
Congats, Apple. Your mission is a success. I wonder how many bump and notch haters are buying this model anyway?
Apparently a fine product as is, but the camera promises to be even better with the next iOS update. Improving the camera for those who just point and shoot is to the point for typical cell phone camera use.
I got a feeling that most reviews like to put Galaxy before iPhones. If there was an iPhone, it must be No.2 or 3, while the #1 usually be Galaxy. I'll be surprised if someone puts the iPhone first. Is it just me or that's how things goes?