Apple’s iPhone 11 receives flak for ‘odd’ triple camera design

The tech giant’s latest design becomes one of the local trending topics on Twitter with 1.8m tweets

By S BIRRUNTHA / Pic By ARIF KARTONO

THE unveiling of Apple Inc’s latest phone, iPhone 11 reignited debates among local Internet users on its “odd” design as well as operating system with its closest rival Android smartphones.

Apple gave the world a glimpse of the exclusive triple camera system, which was the first since its former design chief Jony Ive left the company in July.

The new three-camera system on the iPhone 11 Pro and Pro Max versions are located on the rear of the phone, featuring three lenses clustered into a triangular shape.

This has become the point of joke among users, who compared the triple camera system with a kitchen stove, a fidget spinner and even a bowling ball.

Apple stated its reasoning behind the three-lens camera design was to give users an impressive four times optical zoom range and a night mode to help with lower light shots.

Tech Radar, a UK-based tech website wrote in its review that the new iPhone 11 is nowhere near the standard of Apple’s underground hit iPhone XR which was launched last year.

“While the iPhone XR did not perform anywhere near as powerfully as the flagships XS, it stole the show for being cheaper and a highly capable entry into the iPhone universe.

“Now, the iPhone 11 is aiming to repeat that trick, but it does not have a huge number of upgrades to really draw the eye,” it said.

One Twitter user identified as @MyWoess wrote: “It’s basically a camera and spec boost from last year’s iPhone. Not very innovative, since they will be releasing 5G in their 2020 line-up. But if you’re coming from an 8 (iPhone8) or less, it’s not bad.”

Internet users also noticed the size of iPhone 11, which is deemed too large for a normal size hand.

According to Tech Radar, the design is starting to look a little dated and the absence of certain features that other rivals have.

“With things like the upgraded camera making it just enough of a different proposition from the iPhone XS Max for Apple fans, it doesn’t feel like a must-have,” the website wrote.

SoyaCincau.com highlighted that the overall build of the iPhone 11 range remained unchanged with a familiar glass and aluminium construction with a pastel colour option.

The website also stated that Apple has not upgraded from the 6.1” Liquid Retina Display. So, users upgrading from iPhone 6, 7, 8 or XR will use the same pixel density just as the newer iPhone models.

As at noon yesterday, iPhone 11 became one of the local trending topics on Twitter with 1.8 million tweets.

Despite netizens’ scrutiny, iPhone enthusiasts remain loyal to the brand, expressing interest to switch to the latest phone, especially now that Apple is releasing the phones into the local market sooner than expected.

The pricing for Malaysian market is a lot lower than last year’s model at the time of launch.

The iPhone 11 will be made available for retail on Sept 27, 2019, and the price range starts from RM3,399 to RM6,899, with devices available in a wide range of colour and storage options.

Based on the latest iPhone index released by Picodi.com, it is revealed that an average Malaysian would take 30.1 days to save up for the new iPhone.

The index also stated that the Swiss would be able to afford the iPhone 11 Pro in only 4.8 days, but the Mexicans would have to work for 54.2 days for a unit.