The camera is the main new feature

The feature that gets the most attention when Apple presents new iPhones these days is the camera. The reason for this is obvious: there isn’t much room left for progress in a smartphone. Yes, the processor is faster, the display may be a bit better, the battery lasts longer, and the audio is improved, but these small, incremental changes aren’t enough to sway most people.

However, new features such as the ultra-wide lens on the iPhone 11, or the triple camera on the iPhone 11 Pro, give consumers new, improved technologies in a feature that, for many users, is essential. Smartphones are rarely used for phone calls anymore; and while the camera is not the essential element in a smartphone—arguably, what's most critical is the device's ability to access the internet—it is nevertheless a widely used feature. Given the way Apple promotes the new iPhone, it could almost be called the Apple iCamera.

Apple has segregated the two models of the iPhone 11 according to the camera features they offer. The Pro models contain much more than just a third camera, but that additional camera is the most obvious difference. And here, Apple has made an interesting separation. With previous two-camera iPhones, you had a standard lens and a telephoto lens to zoom in on distant subjects. Now, the two-camera model, the iPhone 11, has a wide and an ultra-wide lens; the Pro models have all three: ultra-wide, wide, and telephoto.