I’ve been a Mac fanboy since I bought my first Mac laptop computer. Coming from the industry standard PC/Windows environment the Mac was a revelation in simplicity. I had no routine tasks to perform, no re-stacking those little blocks, no blue screen freeze ups, no re-booting, no unplugging the power, no internet viruses and the thing worked for 10 years before it was too slow and space-limited to run a film editing program. My old Mac still works fine but it’s been softwared into obsolescence. Once I got the hang of never needing to do anything and learned the Mac Way of doing tasks I never looked back.
Mac users used to laugh about the bloatware that came standard with each new iteration of Windows. PC users had to upgrade their computers to fit all the useless junk that Microsoft stuffed into their multi-level marketing system masquerading as an operating system. Macs were clean machines: If you wanted extra programs you went out and got them.
With Apple fandom comes an Apple phone and I’ve had the 3, 4 and 6 models. For the most part the phones have been okay. The 6 I’ve been using for a long time was getting glitchy. I suspect the glitches are pre-programmed into the phone to drive sales of newer phones. The thing needed re-booting everyday. It was almost like Windows software had infected the thing. Web sites stopped displaying properly and the newer iPhone software versions (free!) were not compatible with the old 6. My wife decided that I needed a new phone and with Black Friday deals flying around on the Internet she secured a new phone at somewhat of a good price.
The biggest reason for choosing the 11 Pro over the other iPhone models is the camera. Or cameras. There are 3 separate focal length lenses built into the back of the phone: A super wide 13mm, a wide 26mm and a standard 52mm (all view angles 35mm equivalent). Note: These ranges are optical so you are not just zooming into an ever-decreasing pool of data. I don’t know if the three lenses share a sensor or if each lens has its own sensor. If you do digitally zoom there are a lot of pixels. I don’t know how many. You can look that stuff up online. Anyway, I don’t care about file sizes as long as they don’t get too big.
The new 11 Pro is supposed to be water resistant. I’m not going to test it out but that is a big improvement for motorcycle riders. No more digging around for a plastic grocery bag or a ziplock when it starts to rain.
Once you get past the great camera and the improved water resistance Apple has become Microsoft. This phone is full of bloatware and programs that I will never use. It’s the most intrusive thing you can buy. Everything you do or say is tracked. I spend my free time looking for ways to shut the junk off. If it’s not facial recognition it’s Siri butting onto the screen trying her best to seem relevant. The overly sensitive touch screen keeps taking me places I don’t want to go. Maybe there is a way to deaden the touch response.
The home button is gone so you have to tap out, but that motion sometimes takes you to another screen. I’ve yet to figure out how to stop the first open-screen from displaying my messages. Anyone can pick up my phone, tap the screen and see my latest communications. The home screen is two pages of junk I will never use. Maybe I’m not typical.
Everything seems to take an extra step or two. To screen shot I have to choose where to save the image; with the old 6 it went to photos automatically. The button functions are relocated for no good reason. I’m sure there is a way to work around this stuff. The thing is, I shouldn’t have to opt out of all this junk. I shouldn’t have to search through the extensive menu layout to find intrusive software and shut it off. I couldn’t even activate the phone without signing into iTunes. Apple isn’t selling you a phone any more; it’s selling a tracking device for advertisers. They should pay me to carry the thing. If someone invented a lead-lined, soundproof pouch to slip your iPhone into when you want to be alone they could make billions. Maybe print happy pictures of cats on the dead-zone pouch and call the thing “Garbo.”
“The best camera is the one you have with you.” It’s an old photographer’s cliché but so true. Get the iPhone 11 pro for the cameras. There is no other reason to subject yourself to the bloatware. And the cameras are enough reason for me to put up with Apple’s nosy corporate attitude. With this phone I’ll be able to rely even less on a real camera when I travel on a motorcycle. I’ve just got to watch what I say around the thing.
This is a timely input. Sue and I are considering new phones, too. I tried an Android phone before I got my iPhone 6 a few years ago; that lasted less than three days. Hated that thing. Been happy with the iPhone 6, but the camera has dirt on the sensor and I can see it in some of the photos. To me, the cell phone camera is for emergency use only. I lug the Nikon around for real pictures, and I’ve got the sciatica to prove it.
Yep, my better half and I are due. I’m on a 7s and she’s relegated to a 6-plus (don’t tell her how out of date it really is). You’re right, the camera is superb on the new iPhones, though it’ll be a long time till they come close to matching a “real” camera like Berk’s talking about. But for 99% of what folks take pictures of, it’s more than they need…
This will shut your nosy phone off from the world and leave you with a warm feeling of peacefulness.
https://amzn.to/2OVw9br
im about done hauling heavy camera gear. Maybe for a show or something but on the road? For what we do, take shots for a web site, the iPhone is good enough. I would have liked to have the focal Ranges 13mm, 40mm and 100mm.
I’m still on a iPhone 6 and wanted to up my photo game but was reluctant to upgrade for the reasons you mention. Ended up buying a Sony RX100 series camera for that. (Mine’s a Mk2 with 1.8 to 11 aperture); they go from Mk1 to 7 now; all still in production, all tweaked slightly differently depending on which features you prefer. It has a Zeis lens, all the buttons and dials as a big SLR, and is pretty intuitive to use; it’s not much bigger than the iPhone so it fits easily into my pockets. Having lots of fun with it, and it — my model at least — costs less that a new phone. Long live the 6!
I’ve been toting a canon S100 for motorcycle shots. For race photography you have to have a fast DSLT and a 300mm (or so) lens. I don’t know why I bother with race photography, it’s hard to sell race stories and you have to shoot hundreds of exposures to get a few really sharp shots.
I’m a Mac user from day one I can’t stand those are the kind of computers I’ve got an iPhone 5 my wife just bought me a refurbished seven I have yet to set it up maybe one day I’ll get an 11
I used to lug a camera around to get photo memories of my motorcycle trips….now I just stop at scenic places, sip a Yoo-Hoo, and burn the scene into my brain’s hard drive.