This article is a work in progress, having told several people here in Prague that I'll publish full resolution of my iPhone photos as soon as possible, as the blurring that Twitter does really doesn't show what phones are capable of these days.
I had promised to share full resolution images of some of my recent iPhone 11 Pro Max photos, and figured I'd put some older phone pictures in as well, for comparison.
Back on September 19th, I tweeted about iOS 13, which kicked off a long string of replies with sample teaser pics I had taken with my iPhone 11 Pro Max. But Twitter lowers the resolution of everything you share there.
The below hi-resolutioin gallery aren't necessarily my best photos, they're just representative samples of what is possible with new low-light capabilities and those new 0.5X, 1.0X, and 2.0X lenses. I've been waiting for a high quality wide-angle lens in my pocket for about a decade now, and I'm so glad the technology is finally here.
Leżajsk, Poland.1000 Islands Harbor Hotel, Clayton, New York. Apple iPhone XS Max, hand held.Portsmouth, New Hampshire. Apple iPhone XS Max, hand-held.Washington, DC. Apple iPhone XS Max, hand-held.Washington, DC. Apple iPhone XS Max, hand-held.Picture of iPhone 11 Pro Max from Apple iPhone XS Max, hand-held.
Silas W. Robbins House, Wethersfield, Connecticut, 0.5X lens.Silas W. Robbins House, Wethersfield, Connecticut, 1.0X lens.Silas W. Robbins House, Wethersfield, Connecticut, 2.0X lens.CornFest, Wethersfield, Connecticut, 2.0X lens.CornFest, Wethersfield, Connecticut, 2.0X lens, Portrait mode Bokeh effect.CornFest, Wethersfield, Connecticut, 2.0X lens, Portrait mode Bokeh effect.Tampa, Florida, 0.5X lens, automatic HDR. Interesting that aiming at the sun didn't ruin the image, only a small lens flare artifact.Philadelphia, Pennsylvania from JetBlue, hand-held for 3 about seconds. Sorry I couldn't block the ambient cabin lighting, I sure as heck tried.New York, New York from JetBlue, hand-held for about 3 seconds. Sorry I couldn't block the ambient cabin lighting, I sure as heck tried.Boston, Massachusetts.LastPass event featuring Steve Gibson and Leo Laporte at the Intercontinental Hotel, Boston, Massachusetts. Building edges vertically made straight by Photo app straighten function.Boston, Massachusetts.Boston, Massachusetts.Wethersfield, Connecticut.Glockenspiel at Marienplatz, Munich, Germany. Apple store facade with iPhone 11 Pro promotion.Glockenspiel at Marienplatz, Munich, Germany.Isar River, Lenggries, Bavaria, Germany.Isar River, Lenggries, Bavaria, Germany.Leutasch, Austria. Nighttime. Seems like reciprocity failure of the parking lot lamp at bottom right, it wasn't actually green.Leutasch, Austria. Full moon and jet plane vapor trails, nighttime.Leutasch, Austria, notice it's actually nighttime.Leutasch, Austria.Leutasch, Austria.Leutasch, Austria.Leutasch, Austria.Leutasch, Austria.Leutasch, Austria.Leutasch, Austria.Leutasch, Austria.1.0X panorama, Leutasch, Austria.0.5X panorama, Leutasch, Austria.Leutasch, Austria.Salzburg, Austria.River Salzach, Salzburg, Austria.River Salzach, Salzburg, Austria.Salzburg, Austria.Salzburg, Austria.Mozart's Gebursthaus/Birthplace, Salzburg, Austria.Salzburg, Austria.Salzburg, Austria.Prague, Czech Republic.Prague, Czech Republic.Prague, Czech Republic.Prague, Czech Republic.Prague, Czech Republic.Prague, Czech Republic.Prague, Czech Republic.Prague, Czech Republic.Prague, Czech Republic.Prague, Czech Republic.Prague, Czech Republic. Full moon.Prague, Czech Republic.Prague, Czech Republic.Prague, Czech Republic.Duomo, Florence, Italy on October 18, 2019.Pitti Palace, Florence, Italy on October 20, 2019.Wethersfield, Connecticut on October 23, 2019.
These systems still work great for many even 9+ years later, mine included, even with (unsupported) vSphere 8 and Windows 11 Version 21H2. But unless you added the optional TPM module, it may be the end of the line as far as repurposing them for running the latest Windows 11 Version 24H2 and beyond.
After 6 successful years testing then shipping well over 1,000 Xeon D Bundles, Wiredzone had to stop SuperServer bundles in mid-2021 due to cost, supply, and logistics challenges. Bare bones system sales continued for years longer.
What's next in 2025? I don't yet have my answer for my home lab, especially now that VCF certification is required to keep non-production home lab licenses going, even as a vExpert and VMUG Advantage EVALExperience customer.
As for a SuperServer follow-on, the Xeon D-1700/2700 (Ice Lake D) was a minor refresh for 2023, with Xeon D-1800/2800 (Granite Rapids D) refresh slightly better in 2024, and hopefully Xeon 6 (Granite Rapids-D) much better in 2025 featuring PCIe Gen5, MCRDIMMs, and 100GbE networking, wow! Feb. 27 2025 update update looks promising, but pricey. Infortunately, it's become clear to me that Supermicro is less focuses on the mini-tower form factor these days.
As for the CPU industry, it's unfortunate that Pat Gelsinger was apparently ousted from Intel's helm in these challenging times, but I'm also grateful to have had the honor of working at VMware when he was the CIO there. I'll leave it at that, given the whole Broadcom thing.
These systems still work great for many even 9+ years later, mine included, even with (unsupported) vSphere 8 and Windows 11 Version 21H2. But unless you added the optional TPM module, it may be the end of the line as far as repurposing them for running the latest Windows 11 Version 24H2 and beyond.