Buy an iPhone Now: Which One to Choose

Assess your current and future needs

We tend to think that the latest released to the market is the best and that it will always be the best purchase. In a way it is logical, since it is understood that devices such as the iPhone will be better the more recent they are, but for practical purposes they are not always the ones that best suit us.

With a last generation iPhone you will always have a great camera, the best battery, the fastest processor and many other features that are reduced in previous ones. But do you really need that? That is, if you like photography but you do not use the smartphone at a professional level, perhaps another terminal with a camera can serve you without the latest advances, but that also provides very good performance.

Therefore, first of all, you should make an assessment of which aspects you value most and in what order of priorities would you place it. Battery, camera, screen, size … And with all this you must find a device that fits as much as possible.

Regarding analyzing future needs, your assessment also comes into play. Perhaps now you value more the possibility of having a compact mobile for reasons of mobility, but if in the future you are going to have a more stable situation regarding it, perhaps you will regret having sacrificed aspects such as the camera in order to have a small iPhone . So we recommend that you also give importance to the future circumstances in which you will find yourself, as long as they are known, of course, since unforeseen events always arise.

Another factor to consider is how long you will keep the phone . If you are one of those who likes to change iPhone periodically, you may not be interested in making a large outlay. If, on the other hand, you are one of those who squeezes phones for years, you should preferably opt for a recent team that continues to support updates for more years and with more up-to-date components.

On the other hand, do you need to renew your mobile or is it a whim? Here your current terminal enters the scene. If it is damaged or you require features or power that it does not provide, the purchase will make more sense. If on the contrary it is a whim, you can buy it, logically, but you will have to be careful not to cause a break in your pocket, as we will talk about next.

Is your pocket ready?

Nowadays, high-end smartphones usually cost a lot of money, surpassing even 1,000 euros in most cases. In the case of iPhones this is more noticeable, since they are phones that suffer less degradation in price over the years and therefore you will find high prices even in those that are from previous generations.

Price is always important. It almost always depends on your purchasing power, so that you can better or worse assume the payment of a terminal. If in itself it is going to be a significant expense, you will have to consider buying the device in stores that allow paying in installments , although always with a certain head. Think that as much as you like a device, if you really do not need it, it can end up being an economic problem. Hence the importance of analyzing the needs that we have said previously.

Latest iPhone

iPhone 11

We already begin with the crux of the matter. We begin by analyzing the most “basic” model of recent Apple. And we quote the basics because it really is not the best adjective to define it despite having some inferior characteristics to the ‘Pro’. This terminal is probably one of the best recommendations regarding the famous term of value for money, since its official price starts from 879 euros.

We start with its weakest points, such as the screen . It incorporates a 6.1-inch LCD panel. It is a controversial point considering the quality of the OLED panels that incorporate its older brothers, but despite this it is a screen that looks frankly good. It has a very balanced and realistic color calibration, which in the end ends up making it less “serious” than not incorporating a panel with the latest technologies. In fact it is the best LCD panel an iPhone has ever owned.

Otherwise we find identical characteristics to the Pro , such as the second generation Face ID, a range that is up to the task and able to withstand the day without problems and a dual camera in which the 12 Mpx wide-angle and ultra-wide-angle sensors are identical to those of the highest models and only loses the telephoto lens with respect to these. It also incorporates the night mode and the powerful software image processing of Deep Fusion. All this under the orders of the A13 Bionic chip , the most advanced processor that exists today for iPhone.

Also, if you like colors , you can find it in many versions: white, black, red, purple, green and yellow. This does not make the terminal better or worse, but it is a range of possibilities to customize it that it never hurts to have.

iPhone 11 Pro and iPhone 11 Pro Max

We start by differentiating between both devices, taking into account that the only thing that distinguishes them both is size and battery . For the ‘Pro’ model we find a screen size of 5.8 inches and in the ‘Pro Max’ 6.5 inches . In autonomy we see that between them there is a difference of only two hours between them, in favor of the largest.

Otherwise, both incorporate latest generation OLED panels, being two of the devices with the best screen on the market according to numerous analyzes by experts in the sector. The truth is that it looks frankly good, especially in bright conditions, which was where these terminals slackened in previous generations.

In terms of performance we see the same processing speed as in the iPhone 11 because they also incorporate the A13 Bionic chip. This not only takes care of moving the device to the thousand wonders, but it will also keep it that way in future years. But above all this chip is capable of excellent battery management, being able to reach more than a day of autonomy in the ‘Max’ by making normal use of the device. Something less in the small version, but just as surprising.

The triple camera incorporates a telephoto lens with optical zoom x2 and digital zoom up to x10. All with an f / 2 aperture. For the rest, both ultra wide angle and wide angle maintain the same specifications and photography modalities as the iPhone 11. Also like that phone, they are best suited for video recording , being able to record in 4K at 24, 30 and 60. frames per second and with image stabilization that you will hardly find in the competition.

iPhone from previous generations

iPhone XS and iPhone XS Max

We now look at the previous generation to the current one, that of the iPhone XS and XS Max. These are identical frontally to the 11 Pro and 11 Pro Max, also having little differences between them beyond the size and battery. They have a double camera on the back that really is not too far from that of the iPhone X. Precisely with this terminal they must be compared, since it would not be worth perhaps opting for an iPhone XS having that other, while the change perhaps is considerable with the large precisely for its screen size.

Generally speaking, they are still phones that perform well, but have certain shortcomings covered by the following models. One of them is in the field of photography , where they are very competent but they lack a wide-angle mode and an improvement in low-light situations. However, they are also outstanding in video recording thanks to their good image stabilization quality and the possibility of recording in 4K.

In terms of drums, the small model arrives at the end of the day without too much fanfare, while the ‘Max’ holds something else. The A12 Bionic processor does its job in this area as well as performance and power, as it guarantees many years of updates, making them continue to be worthwhile for users who want it in the long term.

By price we can find it with notable differences with respect to the new generations. Although it is not sold in official Apple stores, there are online stores and portals such as Amazon where there may be succulent offers that make them even more attractive.

iPhone XR

Few bad things we can say about this terminal, since it was the predecessor of the iPhone 11 and incorporated in its day that dogma of being the ‘cheap’ but high-performance iPhone. The most striking thing about this was that at the time it was the one with the best battery , even surpassing the XS. In addition to that its available colors (white, black, red, yellow, blue and orange) were also another attractive symbol of the terminal.

Its price today is completely groundbreaking , being 709 euros the official and being able to find it at an even lower price in different stores. To this is added that it has the same A12 Bionic chip as its older brothers and that it also gives it a longer useful life in terms of software.

The screen is an LCD similar to that of 11, so we are not going to repeat the same as in that section, beyond highlighting that although it is a weak point, it is not as bad as it may seem on paper reading specifications. It also incorporates a front with the famous ‘notch’ and Face ID.

It has a single rear camera , which is not a problem to take the popular photographs in portrait mode, although they can only be taken on people. Actually, the effect is treated by software in this terminal, so photographing objects and pets in portrait mode can perhaps be compensated with third-party camera apps, but without the same quality as in a dual-camera iPhone.

Otherwise, this phone performs spectacularly, which has made it the leader in sales for many consecutive months, surpassing even the iPhone 11. If you are not looking for a terminal with the latest of the latest, perhaps our most appropriate recommendation is that of this terminal or the iPhone 11.

Devices that may no longer be worth it

We do not want this to be misinterpreted, it is not that the other devices are not worth it. By specifications they can be perfectly useful for anyone, but understanding the current context of Apple devices, perhaps the above are better options. However, we will quickly analyze the virtues of each of them.

We started with the iPhone X , which has already become an icon of Apple due to the renovation it entailed at its launch in 2017. Perhaps highlighting that year, of which only three more have passed, is something important. It is still a phone that will last for many years , but that lacks in aspects that today can be vital. Autonomy is one of them, arriving very late in the day and sometimes even having to resort to the charger to continue using it. In general, both in cameras and in performance it is very balanced, although logically we will not have photography and video technologies as current as those of its next generations.

The iPhone 8 and 8 Plus deserve a special distinction. Beyond that they carry the old design with a Home button and pronounced frames, they incorporate the same A11 Bionic chip as the iPhone X , which puts them at the height of performance. The large model is perhaps the most attractive for its dual camera and for an autonomy that is slightly higher than that of the iPhone X. The small model for its part sins of falling too short in this last aspect and that its only camera has already been quite out of date, although if it is not a priority for you it is more than enough to make good photographs without more.

However there is a threat that surrounds these iPhone 8 and even iPhone 7. We refer to the hypothetical new iPhone 9 that would come to recover the lost generation between the 8 and the X. In sentiment they would remember the mythical iPhone SE, although in design they would be Identical to the 8 and 8 Plus, incorporating processor enhancements and perhaps a slightly larger battery. The price of this would also be similar to what these models currently have, so if you are interested you could wait. You would be paying the same, but for a device with components that will make it more durable.

Obviously iPhone 6s and earlier are not worth it , either for its hardware or for its software. In fact, it is anticipated that iOS 14 could already be the last major update for these devices. They can continue to be valid for those who already have it and even for very basic users who require iOS, but not great features.

Conclusion

Returning to what has been said in paragraphs such as that of needs and pocket, we hope that you are the one who finally opts for one or the other device. We have tried to tell you the highlights of each of them, without going into detail but giving data that you surely have taken note of when putting the factors in a balance. Therefore we can only recommend that you make the purchase in a thoughtful way and not on impulse and that, whatever you decide, you know how to get the most out of the terminal and you can enjoy it a lot.