Skip to main content

How tough is the iPhone 11 Pro? New Apple ads do the ultimate demo

Apple drops the cake (and many, many other things) on the new iPhone 11 Pro

Bottom line: I am not buying an Apple iPhone 11 Pro or Pro Max unless it comes with this dog.

Image used with permission by copyright holder

OK, just kidding. Whether or not I’m in the market for Apple’s brand new iPhone 11 Pro or 11 Pro Max, complete with its triple camera, I’m not sure I’m ready for all the abuse this poor iOS device must endure, as demoed in a brand new pair of Apple commercials, one of which is designed to prove how durable it is.

Recommended Videos

Unlike the “It’s Tough Out There” ad, I will not be pitching my entire vegetable drawer of organic broccoli, red butter lettuce, carrots, and onions, not to mention my gargantuan garden-grown zucchinis and tomatoes, my rubber duckie collection, or any other random items strewn around my house onto my phone — through a high speed wind tunnel no less — even though Apple has somehow seen fit to show me that this can be done without damaging the only thing that stands between me and the next episode of The Spy.

If that 10-ton wedding cake does to the phone what it does to your teeth, that IP68 submersion rating with its improved submerge-depth of four feet, will definitely come in handy.

Our canine friend provides a windblown demo of the new device’s camera, which features a triple 12-megapixel setup with a main lens that boasts an f/1.8 aperture, a telephoto lens with an f/2.0 aperture, and an ultra-wide-angle lens with an f/2.4 aperture, optical image stabilization (OIS), improved smart HDR, portrait mode with advanced bokeh, depth control, and brighter True Tone flash,  and a 120-degree ultra-wide-angle lens that lets users capture a wider field of view. Not to mention the enhanced low light capabilities.

The iPhone 11 models are available for preorder today and will be in stores on September 20. We’ll be giving you our take on how tough it really is, and how well it meets our exacting standards, in our upcoming review. We won’t bother testing with the wind tunnel, as Apple obviously has that covered.

Jackie Dove
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Jackie is an obsessive, insomniac tech writer and editor in northern California. A wildlife advocate, cat fan, and photo app…
It’s the end of the road for these two iPhone models
Apple iPhone 6S Plus

Seeing your favorite handheld gaming device in a retro store has a unique way of making you feel old, but Apple might have topped it. According to the company, the iPhone XS Max and iPhone 6s Plus are now "vintage." They join the ranks of the iPhone 4 and even the iPad Pro 12.9-inch model.

It's not wholly unexpected. Apple declares a device vintage after five years, and that means it becomes more difficult to have that device repaired or to find replacement parts for it. Obsolete is applied to products that are more than seven years old, but sometimes certain variants get that label early.

Read more
The uncertain future cost of Apple’s Emergency SOS feature
Person holding iPhone 14 searching for Emergency SOS satellite.

It's been roughly two years since the launch of the iPhone 14 and its Emergency SOS via satellite feature. You might recall that during the first two years, Apple said it would be free to use but that it might require a subscription after that time, according to MacRumors. Last year, Apple extended the time limit by one more year, so you actually have until November 2025, when the trial period ends.

That's good news. The Emergency SOS feature is, quite literally, lifesaving. During April of this year, three university students lost their way in a canyon and used the feature to call for help. Another story arose in July where the feature came through once more in a moment of crisis. And if you keep digging, you'll find numerous other examples of how this tech is truly beneficial.

Read more
Google Gemini arrives on iPhone as a native app
the Google extensions feature on iPhone

Google announced Thursday that it has released a new native Gemini app for iOS that will give iPhone users free, direct access to the chatbot without the need for a mobile web browser.

The Gemini mobile app has been available for Android since February, when the platform transitioned from the older Bard branding. However, iOS users could only access the AI on their phones through either the mobile Google app or via a web browser. This new app provides a more streamlined means of chatting with the bot as well as a host of new (to iOS) features.

Read more