This time I got a non-Max iPhone (Pro)

This is one of those things I can’t quite explain, but after having received and used the new iPhone 11 Pro Max for a couple of weeks, I decided I wanted to give the non-Max a shot.

This is the first time I’m playing around with the second-largest screen (though I did get the max 512GB of storage), and to be honest, the thing that even got me thinking about it in the first place was that Pop Sockets won’t (yet) stick to this newest round of phones. That simple—though slightly embarrassing—catalyst was enough for me to really start examining the pros/cons of switching.

The single biggest thing that pushed me in that direction was the relative parity of the models’ batteries. No, they’re not equal, obviously, but given the massive efficiency gains between this generation and last, both are now truly all-day usable. Plus, they charge faster now too.

With power now a non-issue (2019! Quote me!), a few things I was “nervous” about when going to a smaller screen were photo editing (I do all of my post-processing on the phone), a smaller keyboard, and kind of a “feels less than” sort of thing. None one of these concerns amounted to anything.

Unless something crazy happens, I think I’m sticking with non-Max models for the foreseeable future.

Obviously, the smaller phone has the same issue with PopSockets not sticking to it. It was because of this that I started looking at minimal cases. I know, I know (believe me, I know!), but Apple has forced my hand (and this isn’t the first time 🙈).

I tried quite a few (surprise!) and settled on this case from Spigen. It’s plain as shit, fits like a glove, doesn’t cover any of the buttons, costs $10, and, most crucially, leaves the bottom screen edge completely open. I’ll never understand those cases that effectively put a bump there, the exact spot where you control many of the phone’s gestures. (Full disclosure: I ordered this aramid fiber case last week, but haven’t received it yet.)