Yes, you read that right. I bought the iPhone 11, which was released in 2019, now in March of 2021. I did it for a number of reasons and I cannot wait to share my point of view with you.
I know we usually talk about the latest and greatest in technology here on this blog but the thing is, that the newest and most expensive might not be the best deal out there. When you’re buying yourself a smartphone, a number of factors come into play and the most important according to me is value. Cue, my first reason-
Reason#1: The Price
At Rs 46,000 or $599, the iPhone 11 is definitely the most appropriately priced iPhone you can buy today. It is bang in the middle of the lineup, between the older
iPhone XR and SE and the latest iPhone 12 lineup. But here’s the thing, at Rs 46-47,000, the iPhone 11 is roughly half or 60% the price of the iPhone 12 and a third of the price of the flagship iPhone 12 Pro Max. So jumping from the iPhone 11 to the iPhone 12 or 12 Pro Max requires a lot of money. In comparison, if you compare the prices to the cheaper iPhone XR and SE, the jump to the 11 is not as steep.
The iPhone XR retails at around Rs 40K and I think it makes no sense to get it when you can get its direct successor, the iPhone 11, for Rs 6-7K more. You get a better camera, a newer processor and an extra year of software updates. Of course you get the same things when you jump from the iPhone 11 to the iPhone 12, but you end up paying a lot more for that jump.
Reason #2: Performance
My second reason is well, performance. I am going to make it short and sweet since there isn’t really much to say here. I switched to the
iPhone XR a few weeks ago to try out iOS 14 on a 2 year old iPhone and I can promise you that the performance was so good that I didn’t even notice any change in performance from the iPhone 12 that I was previously using. What I’m trying to say is that in recent times, iPhones have gotten extremely good at retaining their smooth performance many years into their life cycle. The iPhone 11 is just a year old and I am fairly confident that it will provide smooth, usable performance for 3-4 more years. I cannot say that about any other phone in this very price bracket.
Reason #3: Software Updates
Another thing that I cannot say about any phone in this price bracket is software updates till 2024. Apple has had a stellar record in providing same day software updates for all their iPhone models for 5 years of their life cycle. So, with the iPhone 11 you get new features and new security updates for many years. To be fair, Android manufacturers like Samsung are catching up with 4 years of promised software updates but at the same time, brands like OnePlus also exist which make truly wonderful smartphones but fail to provide software support later. It is very upsetting that the brilliant
OnePlus 7 lineup is still waiting for Android 11 at a time when Google is pushing out betas of Android 12.
Reason #4: Cameras
Moving on, another reason I bought the iPhone 11 today is the cameras. The cameras on the iPhone 11 are still extremely good. It shares the same primary and ultrawide sensors with the iPhone 11 Pro, which had one of the best cameras in 2020. So, with the iPhone 11, you get a camera which shoots excellent photos and videos. More than enough for your Social Media use and still capable enough for the expert smartphone photographer.
With all that being said, there are still 2 factors that could sway you away from the iPhone 11, even at this great price. Factor #1 is Android. Notice how I said the iPhone 11 is the best iPhone at this price. That’s because it is not the best phone at this price. In the same price bracket as the iPhone 11, you get some extremely capable Android phones like the OnePlus 8T, the Samsung Galaxy S20 and even the Asus ROG 5. All these phones are beasts when it comes to performance and there are many factors where they are better than the iPhone 11, display being the most critical difference.
Reason #2 is the iPhone 12 Mini. As you might or might not know, the iPhone 12 Mini was not the hit that Apple was expecting because as it turns out, not a lot of people want such a small display. The small display is the only reason I didn’t mention the 12 Mini when I was talking about the price. But the thing is, if you don’t mind the smaller display, the iPhone 12 Mini sits bang in the middle between the iPhone 11 and the iPhone 12. So, you can still get all the advantages that you would’ve gotten with the regular iPhone 12 but not pay as much over the iPhone 11 for said advantages.
I talked to a lot of people about this iPhone 11 vs iPhone 12 Mini thing, and all of them told me they would rather pick the iPhone 11 with the larger display than go for the 12 Mini’s smaller panel. But again, that is a very small sample space so this is purely personal preference.
But yeah, this has been it everyone. This was my rundown of why I think the iPhone 11 makes for a stellar deal in 2021. If you’re out shopping for a
smartphone in this price segment, I would highly recommend you to check it out.
Check iPhone 11 Price:
Amazon (US): https://amzn.to/3tDmRUu
Amazon (India): https://amzn.to/30Xhh2O
Amazon (UK): https://amzn.to/3bWXvL3
