iPhone 11 Pro vs iPhone XS: What’s the Difference

BY Rajesh Pandey

Published 10 Sep 2019

iPhone 11 Pro vs iPhone XS Difference

The iPhone 11 Pro is here. As an iPhone XS owner, are you wondering how the new iPhone is different from your iPhone? Find out all the differences between the iPhone 11 Pro and the iPhone XS in this detailed comparison.

The iPhone 11 Pro is a pretty major upgrade over the iPhone XS in almost every area. While it is usually recommended that one upgrades their iPhone every 2-3 years, the sheer number of new features on the iPhone 11 Pro might compel even iPhone XS users to upgrade to it. Below are all the differences between the iPhone 11 Pro and the iPhone XS.

What’s Different between iPhone 11 Pro and iPhone XS?

Display

  • iPhone 11 Pro – 5.8-inch True Tone OLED, 2436 x 1125 pixels (458 ppi), 82.9 percent screen-to-body ratio, HDR10, Dolby Vision, Haptic Touch, Retina Display XDR
  • iPhone XS – 5.8-inch True Tone OLED, 2436 x 1125 pixels (458 ppi), 82.9 percent screen-to-body ratio, HDR10, Dolby Vision, 3D Touch, Super Retina HD

The iPhone 11 and the iPhone XS feature the same display size and that’s about it. The newer OLED panel on the iPhone 11 Pro is a major step up when compared to the iPhone XS’ OLED panel. It has a higher brightness level of 800 nits (vs 625 nits) with a peak brightness of 1,200 nits. The contrast ratio is also 2x times better than what the OLED panel on the iPhone XS can manage.

Despite all these improvements, the Retina Display XDR panel on the iPhone 11 Pro is up to 15% more efficient. It does lack 3D Touch though and Apple has replaced it with Haptic Touch which first debuted on the iPhone XR last year.

Design

  • iPhone 11 Pro – 144 x 71.4 x 8.1mm and 188g, IP68 certified
  • iPhone XS – 143.6 x 70.9 x 7.7 mm and 177g, IP68 certified

The iPhone 11 Pro is taller, wider, and heavier than the iPhone XS. It also comes with a new textured matte glass and polished stainless steel chassis. The rear and front glass panels are the strongest ever that Apple has ever used on its iPhones. The iPhone 11 Pro is available in a new Midnight Green color along with the usual Space Gray, Silver, and Gold in which the iPhone XS is available.

The matte finish and new color options mean the iPhone 11 Pro looks and feel entirely different when compared to iPhone XS.

While the iPhone 11 Pro carries the same IP68 certification as the iPhone XS, its water-resistance capabilities have actually improved. The latter is rated for up to 2m depth of water for 30 mins while the iPhone 11 Pro doubles that to 4m.

The stereo speaker setup on the iPhone 11 Pro has also improved and offers spatial audio for an immersive surround sound experience. There’s also Dolby Atmos support that’s missing on the iPhone XS.

iPhone Xs Max back

The iPhone XS and iPhone 11 Pro continue to feature Face ID. However, since the latter comes with an upgraded TrueDepth camera sensor with a wider field of view, Face ID works more reliability and at wider angles on the iPhone 11 Pro.

Processor

  • iPhone 11 Pro – A13 Bionic, 7nm+ EUV, Third-generation Neural engine
  • iPhone XS – A12 Bionic, 7nm chip, Second-generation Neural engine

The A13 Bionic is up to 20% more powerful than the A12 Bionic while also being more power-efficient than it. The GPU is also up to 30% faster and Apple claims up to 40% reduction in power consumption. There are a number of power efficiency-related improvements in the A13 Bionic chip which helps the iPhone 11 Pro last longer than the iPhone XS. The new Machine Learning Accelerators in A13 Bionic ensure that combined with the CPU, the chip is capable of delivering over 1 trillion operations per second.

Storage

  • iPhone 11 Pro – 64GB, 256GB, 512GB
  • iPhone XS – 64GB, 256GB, 512GB

This is an area where the iPhone 11 Pro does not offer any kind of upgrade over the iPhone XS. It ships with the same 64GB of base storage and tops out at 512GB — the same as the iPhone XS.

Camera

  • iPhone 11 Pro – Triple 12MP camera setup f/1.8, f/2.0, and f/2.4 aperture, OIS for Primary and Telephoto sensor, 100% Focus Pixels for primary camera, Improved Smart HDR, Portrait mode with advanced bokeh and Depth control, Brighter True Tone Flash
  • iPhone XS – Dual 12MP camera setup with OIS, f/1.8 and f/2.4 aperture, 1.4um pixels, Smart HDR, Focus Pixels, Portrait mode with advanced bokeh and Depth control, True Tone Flash

The triple-camera system on the iPhone 11 Pro is a major revamp of the iPhone’s camera system. Apple has not just updated the hardware but the software as well to deliver an improved imaging experience especially in low-light scenarios. The new iPhones feature an updated camera app to better take advantage of their powerful camera system.

The iPhone 11 Pro’s primary 12MP camera has improved focusing speeds, dynamic range, and details, while the telephoto sensor has a wider f/2.0 aperture which should allow it to capture usable photos in low-light scenarios. The new 12MP f/2.4 120-degree ultra-wide angle camera will let iPhone users capture photos with an entirely different perspective. This is something which the iPhone XS lacks.

There’s a new Night mode in the camera app which automatically triggers itself in low-light scenarios to capture brighter photos.

The video recording capabilities of the iPhone 11 Pro is also a major step up from the iPhone XS. It features Audio Zoom in which the iPhone will automatically focus on the audio coming from the subject. The dynamic range and cinematic stabilization have also been improved on the iPhone 11 Pro.

There’s QuickTake video as well which allows one to seamlessly start recording videos on the iPhone 11 Pro by simply pressing and holding the shutter button.

Front Camera

  • iPhone 11 Pro – 12MP TrueDepth Camera, f/2.2 aperture, Retina Flash, Portrait mode with advanced bokeh and Depth control, Smart HDR
  • iPhone XS – 7MP TrueDepth Camera, f/2.2 aperture, Retina Flash, Portrait mode with advanced bokeh and Depth control, Smart HDR

The TrueDepth camera system on the front of the iPhone 11 Pro has received a massive upgrade when compared to the iPhone XS. The sensor has a higher 12MP resolution and it features improved Smart HDR allowing it to capture more details and offer improved dynamic range. It can also record 4K videos at 60fps with cinematic video stabilization and with ‘slofies’ at 120fps.

Connectivity

  • iPhone 11 Pro – Dual SIM/eSIM, 1.6Gbps Gigabit LTE, Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth 5.0, VoLTE, NFC with reader mode, Ultra Wideband chip
  • iPhone XS – Dual SIM/eSIM, Gigabit LTE, Wi-Fi ac with MIMO, Bluetooth 5.0, VoLTE, NFC with reader mode

The iPhone 11 Pro represents a huge leap over the iPhone XS in connectivity. It supports faster 1.6Gbps LTE download speeds along with support for newer Wi-Fi 6 standard. It also features Apple’s new U1 Ultra Wideband chip which will be useful once Apple Tags are launched later this year. It will allow for better indoor positioning, location tracking, and spatial awareness.

Battery Life and Charging

  • iPhone 11 Pro – Lasts up to 4 hours longer than iPhone XS, 18W USB-C charging brick
  • iPhone XS – Lasts up to 30 minutes longer than the iPhone X, 5W USB-A charging brick

The iPhone 11 Pro represents a massive leap over the iPhone XS in terms of battery life. Apple claims the iPhone 11 Pro can last up to four hours more than the iPhone XS which is really a lot. The improvement means that the iPhone 11 Pro will easily make it late into the night for users who were struggling to make it through a day with the iPhone XS.

What’s even better is that Apple is bundling an 18W USB-C adapter with the iPhone 11 Pro series this time around. This means the phone can charge from 0-50% in just 30 minutes. While the iPhone XS also supports fast charging, Apple only bundles a 5W charger with it.

Both phones also support 7.5W wireless charging.

Pricing

The iPhone 11 Pro replaces the iPhone XS in Apple’s iPhone lineup. This means it starts at the same pricing as the latter at $999 and goes all the way up to $1,349. The iPhone XS has now been discontinued by Apple, though you can find it at many retailers with a sweet discount.


What are your thoughts on the iPhone 11 Pro when compared to the iPhone XS? Drop a comment and let us know!