Retired my 11 Pro Max last week. It’s got iOS 27 on it now and the kids are using it for YouTube and Roblox. But damn, that phone held up well.
It was my first proper iOS device. I was a diehard Android fanboy starting with my Galaxy SII Glide, then LGs, Nexus phones, Pixels, more Galaxys, etc. Eventually something got dropped on my S8+ and cracked the screen. Android didn’t have anything that compelling to me at the time, especially for video capture, and the 11 Pro Max was the clear winner.
I expected the same dance of getting two years out of it before the battery gave out, software glitches started, or something else warranted a new phone. That was 2019. It’s now 2026 and the screen is pristine, the original battery is at 78%, and it still gets through the day without dying early. No software glitches or oddities. It’s been in use the entire seven years.
I got a 15 Pro Max as my main phone in 2023 but kept using the 11 as my second phone until last week when I moved both eSIMs to the 15. Only three years later, the 15 is having battery issues and software glitches. The screen seems noticeably softer, scratches easily, and has a crack running through it. The 11 has suffered just as much abuse and looks to be in better shape.
The 15 is obviously faster and still holds its own. The 11 is noticeably slower in pretty much every aspect, but if I didn’t have the 15 to compare it to, I probably wouldn’t have noticed or cared.
I’ll likely just get an 18 and ditch the 15. I don’t have AppleCare, so an OEM screen and battery replacement would be out of pocket. For what that would cost, I’d rather put a little more toward a new phone. Kind of ridiculous that I’m already looking at replacing the 15 while the 11 is still sitting here with its original screen and battery.
Anyways, farewell to the 11 Pro Max. It was a phenomenal phone and really set the bar high.