I revisited the iPhone 11, and I weirdly liked it

The iPhone 11 in all of its color variants. | Image by Apple

It is a weird feeling and a mildly absurd one when you pick up a phone from 2019 in 2026 and think to yourself, “Huh… this feels good.” And I don’t mean “good for its age.” I mean, just good.

It’s been six years since Apple released the iPhone 11, and the phone is objectively outdated in several ways. It comes with an LCD display, the iconic notch that’s no more, and it’s running on what will likely be its final major iOS update.

Yet, after spending a week with one, I realize why so many people who have owned the iPhone 11 talk so fondly about it.

The shape we forgot

I’ve been a fan of Apple’s boxy design ever since I held the iPhone 15 in my hands; previous boxy iPhones were too sharp, which made them uncomfortable. The slightly tapered edges of the 15 made the phone comfortable without taking away the firmer grip its flat sides offered. It didn’t take too long for the rest of the industry to follow suit—now almost all flagships come in a similar shape.

The boxy shape also makes the phone more practical to use. I occasionally prop my iPhone 14 on a flat surface when I want to watch something on it.

But then the iPhone 11 found its way back into my hands recently, and it immediately felt like heaven. Yes, its curved shape arguably makes it easier to drop, but it also makes it so “soft” and comfortable.

My first iPhone was the iPhone 6s, which had that same oval, friendly shape. So I don’t exclude that nostalgia might be playing a role here. But that doesn’t take away from the pleasant feeling of this design.

Modern phones feel more engineered and tool-like. The iPhone 11 feels more human and personal.

That said, I still think the flat design is more practical overall. It’s harder to drop and easier to place on a surface, and it’s not like I don’t use a case on them. But for the times when I took the case off at home, the iPhone 11 definitely felt nicer.

The display

If the design aged gracefully, the screen did not.

The iPhone 11’s 6.1-inch Liquid Retina LCD was controversial even in 2019. In 2026, it’s the one part that feels genuinely difficult to defend.

It’s not just that it’s LCD instead of OLED. Apple did a good job tuning that panel. The colors are accurate and the overall image quality is nice. Indoors, it’s perfectly fine; not so much when you go outside, though.

There were multiple moments where I instinctively cupped my hand over the display just to read a message. Modern phones blast past 2,000 nits of peak brightness, so this problem is a thing of the past, and as a phone from the distant past, the iPhone 11 doesn’t come close.

I can live with thick bezels and the 60 Hz display refresh rate. But the dim display is a nuisance I can’t ignore.

Performance: surprisingly normal

The iPhone 11 runs on the A13 Bionic chip with 4 GB of RAM. Compared to the modern standards, this hardware sounds ancient.

In reality, however, it is still completely usable.

Opening apps, scrolling, texting, browsing the web and social media—all the regular stuff you do on your phone—you can still do with the iPhone 11, and it feels plenty smooth. Not iPhone 17 smooth, obviously, but not frustrating either. It doesn’t feel like a “budget” phone, despite the fact that you can basically purchase it for budget-phone money.

Benchmarks don’t matter much here, but for context, the A13 still outperforms many current entry-level Android phones. That says more about how far ahead Apple’s silicon was six years ago than anything else.

The key variable is the battery. With a worn-out battery, the phone throttles performance to preserve power, and that’s when it starts to feel slow. With a fresh battery, it regains its rhythm, so if you own one and want to use it for longer than its update cycle, I’d recommend swapping the battery for a new one. It’s remarkable how much a simple battery replacement can revive this device.

Gaming-wise, the A13 is still perfectly capable. You’ll have to lower graphics settings for the most demanding titles, and you’ll see occasional stutters compared to a modern iPhone 17 or even an iPhone 14, but you’d be hard-pressed to find something it can’t run at all.

Cameras still feel “iPhone good”

The iPhone 11 introduced the ultra-wide camera to the standard iPhone lineup, and at the time, that felt like a major step forward. Today, it still holds up better than I initially expected it to.

In good daylight, photos look… well, like iPhone photos. The colors are natural, with well-balanced exposure and reliable dynamic range. You can take a picture and feel confident in sharing it.

If you compare it side-by-side with an iPhone 17, the differences are obvious. Newer phones capture way more detail, and the 17 is clearly better at preserving the highlights and shadows.

But at a glance, especially on a phone screen, the iPhone 11 still produces pleasing results.

Where it struggles is low light. Night Mode works, but it’s slower and softer. The ultra-wide camera falls apart in dim scenes. And of course, you’re missing modern features like cinematic video modes and the newer computational tricks.

Still, for everyday photos and 4K video, it’s more than competent.

No Apple Intelligence, and I love that

The iPhone 11 does not support Apple Intelligence, as it lacks the necessary hardware. Heck, not even the iPhone 15 supports it.

The thing is, it’s not like this is a major deal breaker at this moment.

Apple’s AI features are still in their early phase, and the truth is, if I need advanced AI tools, I use standalone apps like ChatGPT or Gemini anyway. They run perfectly fine on the iPhone 11.

The iPhone 17 is the new iPhone 11

I’m sure that as time passes, the iPhone 17 will be remembered as one of Apple’s best iPhones, just like the iPhone 11 is remembered now.

Apple did everything its fans wanted from a new base iPhone, and it delivered a polished product that could satisfy almost any user.

With six years worth of upgrades, the new model is leagues ahead of its predecessor from 2021. The iPhone 17 has a brighter 120 Hz OLED display with thinner bezels and Dynamic Island. It’s faster, it has USB-C, better cameras, much longer battery life, and basically better everything. And it starts at just $799 with 256 GB of storage.

If you own an iPhone 11 and have been patiently waiting to upgrade, chances are you will love the iPhone 17 just as much and for just as long.

So why did I like it?

Because it reminded me of when phones felt simpler, before every keynote revolved around AI capabilities. Because it somehow felt more human, more about me and less about what it was capable of.

The iPhone 11 is not the best phone anymore. But it is impressive just how solid, consistent and usable it still is.

I wouldn’t recommend getting it in 2026. After all, Apple will probably stop supporting it soon. But if you still own one and don’t feel like upgrading just yet, I think it is more than usable for another couple of years.

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