Author | An unhappy bear (cool friend)
【Tips before viewing】
Strongly biased.
This is an article that attempts to change the way I think about technology products, and there will be a lot of references to the classic Zhihu fruit powder Craig Fedewidget/Stevett/Luv Letter and Li Ruyi's style and way of thinking.
The main text begins.
"Mobile devices are our tools, they're not ourselves."
This is the starting point for our discussion of all digital products, and it is also the most satisfying point in the process of living with the iPhone 11 Pro this year. Apple's "Design and Experience First" product strategy has built a unique product experience, which has given it a unique market position. On the iPhone 11 Pro, we also see the continuation of this product strategy, and we also see subtle changes in this product strategy.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" > [industrial design and heating].</h1>
The 5.8-inch screen size is the classic size of three generations since the iPhone X, and the width of about 70mm is indeed very suitable for one-handed holding. Even if the width of the iPhone 11 Pro has increased to 71.4mm due to the thickening of the screen border this year, it can still meet the comfortable state of one-handed holding. The thickness of this generation has increased to 8.1mm, the weight has reached an unprecedented 188g, and the grip drop feel is still obvious. (Although I didn't have a strong perception of the last Xiaomi MIX2) But under the excellent industrial design, the front panel, middle frame, and rear panel transition are smooth, and the grip is still excellent. However, due to the frosting process of the glass back plate, it is inconsistent with the smooth touch of the stainless steel frame, which lacks the integrated experience of the previous generation of touch, but it is also a sacrifice. As a green control, this time the 11 Pro I chose is the dark night green color. Although Apple's renderings have always been known for their accuracy, this time there is still some chromatic aberration, and the texture of the real machine is grayer. If you ignore the rear camera module, the frosted back cover glass and the dark green stainless steel frame are quite harmonious. But it is worth noting that the dark green stainless steel green after staining the fingerprint is not obvious, but it is not discolored, that may just be your fingerprint.
The design of the rear camera module has been criticized, and the arrangement of the equilateral triangle of the three-camera module is still regular, but the arrangement of the flash and the rear microphone opening hole completely breaks the sense of order, and the triple bulge of the glass module, the camera protection frame is raised, and the protective glass is raised. Although Apple gave this design a refined texture through stainless steel mirror treatment and CNC glass, it was still surprisingly ugly. Based on the dismantling of various media, we understand that this is due to the compromise of the internal stacking structure and the need for imaging capabilities. But such a compromised design can appear on the iPhone, which also reflects the trend of enhancing the right to speak relative to the design. The advent of the 2019 Mac Pro/Pro Display XDR's "grater" thermal design and the return of the scissor foot keyboard on the Macbook illustrate this.
Back on the front, Apple's insistence on Face ID determines that the "compromising" "notch" still exists. When the wind of curved screens blew through the domestic Android camp, the iPhone screen is still a familiar 2.5D glass straight screen, a familiar comfortable R angle, and a familiar isospace black edge - oh no, this year due to the upgrade of the screen, this year's border has become thicker. But the same is the front design, you don't have to worry about the curved glass in a more fragile and fragile problem, do not have to endure the color of the curved screen on both sides of the screen, do not have to be mad for the app that misfits the information display, do not have to worry about the four corners of the phone when holding it with one hand, do not have to worry about the edge of the wrong touch... In any case, it is still the experience that is good and practical, but it is also a familiar positive.
Due to the dual-layer motherboard and the lack of aggressive heat dissipation, the iPhone 11 Pro's heat generation is still concentrated in the small area below the camera module. In the summer non-game scene, the motherboard area will also be warm, and in the heavy load scene and browsing Zhihu, the heat is more obvious, so it is recommended to wear a condom in a heavier use environment.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" > [screen: not XDR, but good enough].</h1>
The phone hardware we use most often is not the camera, but the screen. The iPhone 11 Pro uses the Super Retina XDR screen. It is worth noting that although the name of the promotion has the name of "XDR", but from the display principle to the reality of the effect is not related to the previously released Pro Display XDR, it is still just a mobile OLED display, the contrast has increased, the peak brightness (or limited to the local peak brightness of HDR content) has increased, but it has not exceeded the standard of HDR. In this sense, Apple's marketing and innovative self-aggrandizement doesn't hold. Therefore, Zhihu @Stevett criticized this:
"Sorry, please overtake all the HDR standards before XDR, I'd rather not deserve it." With a consistency coating, there's an extra 1:1,000,000 contrast ratio?"
However, if we put aside Apple's publicity and look at the level of the mobile phone screen itself, this is indeed, as always, the top level of the mobile phone screen. Perhaps there is no rich HDR film source in the domestic content market that can make us frequently feel the instantaneous local peak brightness of 1200nits in our daily lives (but it can be more convenient to use on overseas platforms such as Netflix and YouTube, which are much more mature and rich in HDR content ecology for many reasons). But when you take a picture of the sunset and look through the photo album app, the clearly visible outline of the sun and the local brightness of the picture that is very different from other mobile phones are impressive. The manually adjusted maximum brightness can reach 800nits according to the test of digital bloggers, which is very good in the sun, and even when displaying text content on a white background, it seems too high and a little dazzling. In terms of hardware and software, the complete color management mechanism of iOS and the cooperation of this screen can ensure that this device can reach an excellent level in the experience of mobile content consumption.
<h1 class= "pgc-h-arrow-right" > [intuitive, "restrained" interaction design</h1>].
The ultimate goal of all interaction logic is intuitive.
This is the tendency of iOS to design interactions. Although iOS 7 has undergone a huge change in appearance from a skeuomorphic appearance to a flat abstract appearance, it seems to be to distance the connection between the presentation of screen content and the real world, but in terms of interaction methods, the interaction principle that echoes the physical world has not wavered. Since iPhone X adopted the "bangs screen" that compromised on face ID, the card-like interface has become the main way to organize iOS content. From multi-task switching to the secondary interface inside the application, the card-based operation logic runs through the system, native apps, and apps designed in strict accordance with the guidance. The card-based design also echoes the card size of the actual size of the iPhone in reality. In iOS 14, card widgets expand the reach of cards in iOS interactions.
iOS 13 Music App
Multitasking interface
Around different elements such as cards, icons, and so on, Apple organizes the relationships between these elements in a way that conforms to the motion of these physical images on a flat surface: sliding. Imagine having a bunch of cards on a table, how do we interact with them? Rummaging, flicking, covering, throwing away... As long as our interaction is not separated from the plane of the table, our movements are derived from strokes. And when the screen content is organized on the screen in the form of cards, the most intuitive way is to imitate the way we interact with the cards on the desktop. So we see intuitive operations such as sliding up to return to Home, sliding left and right to switch tasks after swiping up pauses, overlaying the right side of the interface to enter, and sliding right on the left edge back to the previous level. And because there is a correspondence between this set of operation methods and the interaction of real entities, a clear logical relationship is formed between these interaction methods. On this basis, gesture operations that form a logical and clear system with the help of realistic intuition have become the most important interactive methods in the system. Similar unity of interaction logic was also seen in previous versions of iOS. On iPhone 8 series and previous models, icons and combinations were at the heart of screen content organization, so tapping was at the heart of iOS interaction. So we've seen the extension and enhancement of click-and-drag interactions in previous iterations of iOS, the most well-known example of which is 3D Touch. In order to achieve this effect, Apple has also joined the hardware, developed and adopted the industry-leading Taptic Engine, which has long been ahead of the "friendly business" click texture and experience. With the cooperation of these interaction designs, the iPhone of the "Click Era" also realizes an intuitive and logical interaction system.
It is worth noting that in this process, the logic of interaction comes from the intuitive reality relationship, which is not the purpose of interaction design, but a by-product of intuitive interaction design. iOS 'Settings' is an example. In the organization of setting items, we often classify according to the main functional categories, further subdivide into the menu according to the actual functions of the options, and strive to avoid the blurring of the classification of the setting items, ensure the uniqueness of the set items, and form a tree structure with extremely clear logic. This line of thinking is typical of the "logic-centric" approach. If we evaluate iOS Settings by such a standard, the answer will be "fail". Duplicate settings and classification methods that do not conform to functional classification have long been complained about by large-scale users, especially those who are accustomed to thinking in terms of logical relationships. But apple's approach can be explained if viewed intuitively. If we put aside the logic system to adjust a specific function, such as adjusting the permissions of an application, then there are two objects in the user's intuition: a specific application or a permission, or both. For this intuition, of course, it is the optimal solution to adjust the position of both settings. From the intuitive scenario, we can also explain Apple's design goals in this regard, and we can also understand Apple's trade-offs for the operation logic itself: compared to the logic itself, intuition is the goal that interaction needs to achieve.
Logical, intuitive interactions tend to be elegant, but intuitive doesn't always mean easy to use.
While iOS is unique in terms of ease of use, many consumers don't buy it, and that's why. Long before the rise of the domestic Android camp in the domestic mobile phone market share, the large-scale use of the auxiliary button "small dot" on the screen of iPhone users has begun to emerge. For many users, ease of use only means the convenience of migration when getting started, but in the long-term use process, the intuitive interaction method will be time-consuming and laborious compared to some less intuitive or even some rough clicking operations. In the context of returning to the parent page, one-handed slide or one-handed operation using a "small dot" to return is obviously much faster than reaching out to the other end of the screen to pull the page. The operation of the domestic Android camp manufacturers on the basis of the original Android "three diamond keys" interaction logic evolved at both ends of the screen is not intuitive, because its essence is to evoke shortcut functions through edge gestures rather than operate on the window itself, but in the efficiency scene, it has indeed received large-scale praise for its practicality for most consumers. Another example is the setting. As mentioned earlier, iOS settings do not depend on logical organization, so for targeted users, adjusting the path of specific functions is not logical, and it is very laborious to find, which is not a good interactive experience for these users. Intuition is precisely what hinders the interactive experience here. Although the same interaction is intuitive and elegant, bringing us an absolute advantage in aesthetics, ease of use and partial user experience, this does not necessarily mean easy to use in the face of specific scenes and user groups.
Remnick: How to count as abusing the iPhone?
Jony: Use continuously.
But fortunately, in addition to intuitiveness, Apple is "restrained" in interaction design, it does not pursue "fun" and "pleasure" in form, trying to create fun with rich color matching and redundant animation, trying to keep the pace of users. The interaction design of iOS is not only intuitive, but also goes to the function itself. Of course, on the one hand, there are factors affected by the market environment and user habits, and the business model itself has provided sufficient profit considerations, but on the other hand, there is also the insistence of Apple's own design concept. This is especially evident in the experience of first-party apps. The model information set does not blatantly prove that the owner is a user of a certain model using iOS 14, and there are only cards and credentials to be used in the "wallet", and "music" and "podcasts" quietly make a pure player. Siri is really just an assistant, it will follow your orders, but it will not be spoiled, it will not sell cuteness, and it will not try to make you emotionally dependent. These functional settings are often considered to be technologically backward and cannot catch up with the speed of competitor fireworks, but the lack of functionality does constitute a global situation throughout the overall functional arrangement. The paid app ecosystem built up on the app store's single app distribution channel also allows the paid app to stick to the essence of the tool. Together, the iOS device at hand is more of a tool than an Android device than a tempting world and life. And since it is a tool, it is natural to put down a tool.
Of course, the tendencies and visions presented in design are always beautiful, but it is powerless to reverse the tendencies caused by the application ecology itself, and if you only expect Apple's interaction design to help you solve the problem of human-machine relationships, it is as absurd as trying to buy a kindle to develop a reading habit. Under the inherent attributes of free-to-play application ecosystems and media social third-party applications, third-party applications can effectively cover Apple's efforts in tooling. Advertising, typesetting of sensationalism, these free application ecology and media stubborn diseases make the experience of iOS devices and Android experience in daily use scenarios not significantly different. Just by looking at the current state of mobile phone use in overseas markets, we can see that these abuses are continuing to occur. And if you want to return the mobile phone to the tool, in the end, you can only rely on your own reflection or conscious self-improvement. Interaction design may help you, but it's like a downhill slope: the slope is there, but you have to go down on your own.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" > [endurance: OK?] Ok. 】</h1>
The battery life of the iPhone 11 Pro has achieved an increase of up to 4 hours compared to the iPhone Xs in the official promotion, and the streaming video playback has reached up to 11 hours. But iPhone users know that such a standard test environment is far from the real use scenario, and the charging treasure as a "urine bag" is their difficult knot. In this generation, in the state of rapid improvement of standard tests, the improvement of realistic scenes is also very obvious. As the iPhone 11 series product with the smallest battery capacity (shown in the regulatory document as 3046mAh, less than the 3110mAh of the iPhone 11 and the 3969mAh of the iPhone 11 Pro Max), the iPhone 11 Pro achieves a battery life level comparable to the 3500mAh Xiaomi MIX2, enough to support the next day's use of medium usage intensity. If it involves high-energy-consuming scenarios such as travel, it can also support the use from morning to night. However, for people who are anxious when they see that the phone's power is less than 40%, it is safer to take a charging treasure. Compared with multiple competitors in the domestic Android camp, the battery life level of the iPhone 11 Pro can only be regarded as the usable level (but the iPhone 11 Pro Max has reached a prominent level), and it is obviously inferior in the competition. Limited by the ancestral internal space stacking method of the iPhone and the L-type battery, the battery since the iPhone X is generally not large. However, under the perfect ecological control and benign application development ecology, the energy consumption control of the iPhone is relatively excellent and can meet the needs of normal use. But using software scheduling to go beyond the physical limits is still not expected to be good.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" > [signal: available, usable, not good].</h1>
Title. Asking is to be useful, asking is to be poor scene is very bad.
Thinking that Apple's next-generation antenna is still self-developed, even if it is on Qualcomm's baseband, it still has to pinch a sweat. The iPhone's signal problem isn't just an Intel baseband issue.
<h1 class= "pgc-h-arrow-right" > [take a picture: accurate and you're done].</h1>
I believe that the camera function of smartphones should not be elevated to the current level that dominates the evaluation standards of mobile phones. Even if the current limited by the mobile Internet ecology and the maturity of the business model and the large-scale competition of the mobile phone industry itself, the current smart phone products have reached this highly homogeneous situation, but taking pictures is a function that is much lower than the frequency of communication, touch operation, and App use, compared to opening the screen every day, viewing content, and sending messages, the frequency of taking pictures can be considered very small. Therefore, for the vast majority of user groups, it is not reasonable to use it as an important criterion for evaluating mobile phones. In the main application scenarios such as WeChat, poor compression also makes the playability on software and hardware compressed into a "filter game". That's why I spend a lot of time talking about interactions and not going to talk too much about shooting. But we also have to admit that mobile phones have significant advantages over cameras in the intrusiveness of the shooting process, which does provide space for "recording life" and simple "content creation". Full support for 4K60fps, ultra-tolerance, and multi-lens uniformity (but ultra-wide angle is still pulled down) are all Apple's efforts to create content on the iPhone. But these efforts still lack a strong perception for the average user.
As an ordinary user who is disorganized, my habit is to decide whether to take pictures, what to take, and how to take pictures based on what the human eye sees. Under this set of quite intuitive ideas, the color reproduction of the iPhone native camera is particularly important. Because of this hair color tendency, I was able to reconstruct the scene corresponding to the idea during the photo shoot according to my judgment. With the intuitive parameter adjustment function provided in the native album, I can also easily adjust it relatively conveniently to strengthen some of the picture elements and atmosphere, or make color and performance corrections on the spot according to the real scene. In this way, inspiration and moments are most accurately preserved in the form of images in the shortest possible time.
Although this time the iPhone will focus on the night mode to promote, but from my actual experience, the effect is still at a rather unusable level compared with the domestic Android flagship night mode. The noise of the sky and the brightness of the picture make me, who is often dissatisfied with the domestic Android camp, is as bright as day "night photos" ashamed. Although the intelligent opening of the iPhone in the night mode meets the actual needs of the user, it has become a burden for me: I have to manually turn it off every time.
When it comes to video, the power of the iPhone is unquestionable among its rivals. Super tolerance, excellent color reproduction ability as well as taking pictures. But if you want to shoot videos with a fairly usable degree of stability, the iPhone's stabilization performance is still not enough, and you may need to choose one of the professional tools or the "Weibus Arm" to cooperate.
However, due to the hardware gap with competitors, the iPhone's camera has a flaw: it does not stand up to enlargement. Conspicuous noise and low resolution birth defects in some scenes will be highlighted in magnified scenes. However, in the current content consumption scenario, which is mainly limited to the background of mobile phones, such defects are not as important as imagined. As a device that quickly records, expresses, and shares ideas and inspirations, the iPhone 11 Pro is truly a tool at your fingertips. However, if you pursue the production and distribution of high-quality content in multiple scenes, this is still the world of traditional photography equipment and other professional equipment.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right">【Conclusion】</h1>
In the iPhone 11 Pro product and even the entire series of iPhone 11, we see Apple's ultimate pursuit of formal aesthetics for the evolution of function and marketing needs: it introduces a "three-camera" design that makes people fall through the glasses, cancels 3D touch, increases the battery weight, it strips the refinement from the main product, seeks more profits in the name of "Pro", and leaves "mediocrity" to most consumers for the popularization of services... This is the world's number one public company to be accountable to shareholders. But we also see the insistence on the product itself - the elegance and intuitiveness of the product and the tool attributes are still there, and the positioning and logical ability of the product are still there.
For me, as a tool, the iPhone 11 Pro meets my basic needs for a smartphone with photographic functions in terms of functionality: excellent size and grip for small hands, smooth daily operation experience with very few frame drops, pure and low-invasive content services, rich software ecology without worrying, and shooting functions that restore the human eye's feelings in color. In the dimension of experience as a tool, Apple has shaped an intuitive and restrained experience with a deep understanding of interaction for many years, directly reaching the function in an intuitive interaction mode, cutting redundancy outside the function, and trying to leave the remaining space and time to the user. (Although this is clearly a failure)
What is the relationship between tools and people? Pick it up when you need it, complete the task (preferably in a good way), and put it down when you're done. It opens up the boundaries of our interaction with the world, and we use it to complete our interaction with the world. But tools are not the end, we are.
(p.s. people who don't play games don't think about how to talk about A13 performance, so let's not talk about it)
The article is the author's own opinion and does not represent the position of Ku'an
#Apple##Apple Fall 2020 Launch ##iPhone 11 #