Apple's iPhone 11 Pro cameras are the best ever on a smartphone

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Apple's (AAPL) new iPhones are here, and outside of their drastically improved batteries, and faster performance, the biggest upgrades to the iPhone 11, iPhone 11 Pro, and iPhone 11 Pro Max are their cameras. And boy, are they something special.

The iPhone 11 now packs two cameras — one for wide-angle shots and the other for ultra-wide angle photos — while the iPhone 11 Pro and 11 Pro Max get the same cameras as the iPhone 11, as well as a third telephoto camera lens.

Apple has also improved the low-light photo capabilities of the three iPhones thanks to the use of 100% focus pixels in their wide-angle lenses. That means you can capture shots in low-light settings that look as though they were taken with a professional camera.

There's even more to the cameras, including improved video functionality, and Apple's new slow-motion selfies feature, which Apple has taken to calling "slowfies."

I took the iPhone 11 Pro out on the town to give its camera a test drive, and the results show that Apple now has the best cameras of any smartphone. They're foolproof, capture gorgeous photos and videos, and are loaded with features that are approachable and functional.

Here's what it's like to use the cameras on Apple's latest iPhones.

Colors

Taken with the iPhone 11 Pro Max.
Taken with the iPhone 11 Pro Max.

To help illustrate the iPhone 11 Pro Max’s color balance, I took this photo of a flower in Manhattan’s Washington Square Park. The purples and pinks along the flower’s petals pop against the green of its leaves, offering a sharp contrast.

Telephoto lens

Taken with the iPhone 11 Pro Max's telephoto camera.
Taken with the iPhone 11 Pro Max's telephoto camera.

This photo was taken using the iPhone 11 Pro Max’s telephoto lens, showing how sharp images look from a distance. Details like street signs are easy to make out, as is the NYU flag in the background.

Wide-angle lens

Taken with the iPhone 11 Pro Max's wide-angle camera.
Taken with the iPhone 11 Pro Max's wide-angle camera.

This photo was taken with the iPhone 11’s wide-angle lens from the same position I took the previous image. You can see how much of the scene is now visible, and the difference the optical zoom makes from the standard wide-angle lens.

Ultra-wide angle lens

Taken with the iPhone 11 Pro Max's ultra-wide-angle camera.
Taken with the iPhone 11 Pro Max's ultra-wide-angle camera.

This picture was taken from the same location as the previous two, but was shot using the iPhone 11 Pro Max’s ultra-wide angle lens. The difference between the three lenses is incredibly impressive, as is the clarity in each photo. The ultra-wide angle lens proves useful when taking photos of landscapes, or when you want a shot of a large group of people.

Low-light shots

Taken with the iPhone 11 Pro Max's low-light mode turned off.
Taken with the iPhone 11 Pro Max's low-light mode turned off.

I captured this shot as a base image to better show how well the iPhone 11 line’s new low-light photo mode functions. While the low-light feature is automatically activated based on the lighting you’re working with, you can turn it off completely, as I did with this picture.