Here's what the iPhone 11 Max will probably look like

The camera module is huge but not very thick

Courtesy of YouTuber Lewis Hilsenteger of Unbox Therapy, the unit provides an allegedly accurate depiction of both the front and rear of Apple’s next-gen flagship. It coincides perfectly with previous CAD-based renders of the smartphone and also corrects some of the errors present on the Chinese clones that have been circulating online recently.

Looking at the phone’s back panel, it’s instantly obvious that the new camera module is just as massive as first expected. It sits right along the edge of the top-left corner and houses a total of three sensors which have been triangularly arranged. Per leaked information, the iPhone 11 Max will feature three 12-megapixel cameras of similar characteristics but with some fundamental differences. One of the sensors will act as the primary one and support optical image stabilization, while the second one looks set to inherit a telephoto lens that’ll offer 2x optical zoom.

Regarding the third camera, reports suggest Apple wasn’t able to include optical image stabilization. Nevertheless, it’ll feature a new super-wide-angle lens that’ll allow the latest flagships to compete more directly with Samsung and Huawei’s latest offerings. All of the cameras are accompanied by a large quad-LED flash and a small microphone. Also, circling back to the physical appearance, the module itself is actually pretty thin despite its overall size and looks set to be Apple’s thinnest camera in years. 

The same notch but with upgraded Face ID sensors

Turning the iPhone 11 Max dummy unit over reveals a very familiar sight. As previously rumored, the new flagships look set to inherit the front panel design Apple first debuted on the iPhone X way back in 2017. This means the uniform bezels and wide notch will be making a return, although to justify the latter the Cupertino giant reportedly has some upgrades planned.

As visible on the dummy unit, the front sensors appear to be noticeably larger than those found on the XS Max. That’s because a more advanced Face ID unit is in the works that’ll be more accurate and work from both shorter distances and wider angles. In addition to this, a new 12-megapixel selfie camera should replace Apple’s current 7-megapixel alternative.

Looking at some of the other physical differences, both the SIM card tray and power key appear to be positioned slightly lower on this year’s model. The same can be said for the volume buttons and mute switch on the other side of the device. Speaking of which, the latter has now been switched from an elongated slider to an iPad-Esque circular implementation.

On a related note, the shiny finish on the iPhone’s stainless-steel frame has seemingly been ditched in favor of an anodized look not too dissimilar to the iPhone XR’s. Elsewhere, though, everything, including the presence of the Lightning port rather than USB-C, is the same.

The iPhone 11 Max is expected to go official around the 12th of September and should be joined by the standard iPhone 11 and the cheaper iPhone 11R. Pre-orders for the devices are expected to kick off towards the end of that same week and should be followed up by a launch on Friday, September 20th.

If everything goes ahead as planned, there’s a very high chance the smartphones will be joined by the Apple Watch Series 5 and a new 10.2-inch iPad.