Review of iPhone XS and XS Max - the main smartphones from Apple in 2018

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

The life hacker tested both gadgets and tells how the new models differ from the “ten”.

We decided not to spell out the names of both models with every mention. Most of the claims that hold true for the iPhone XS are true for the XS Max as well.

Table of contents

1. Specifications
2. Equipment
3. Design and ergonomics
4. Screen and sound
5. Camera
6. Performance
7. Autonomy
8. How the iPhone XS differs from the iPhone X
9. How the iPhone XS differs from the iPhone XS Max
10. Impressions and results

Specifications

Frame	Aluminum, surgical steel, glass
Colors	Silver, space gray, gold
Dimensions (edit)	iPhone XS - 143.6x70.9x7.7mm iPhone XS Max - 157.5 x 77.4 x 7.7mm
The weight	iPhone XS - 177g iPhone XS Max - 208g
Display	iPhone XS - 5.8 inches, 2,436 x 1,125 pixels, OLED (Super Retina HD), 458 ppi iPhone XS Max - 6.5 inches, 2,688 x 1,242 pixels, OLED (Super Retina HD), 458 ppi
Platform	A12 Bionic
RAM	4 GB
Built-in memory	64/256/512 GB
Cameras	Main - 12 + 12 Mp, front - 7 Mp
Shooting video	Up to 4K @ 60 FPS and slo-mo video up to 1080p @ 240 FPS
Degree of protection	IP68
SIM card	nanoSIM + e-SIM (not available in Russia)
Wireless interfaces	Wi-Fi 802.11 a / b / g / n / ac, Bluetooth 5.0, GPS, NFC, GPS
Connectors	Lightning
Sensors	Face ID, accelerometer, gyroscope, proximity sensor, light sensor, barometer
Unlocking	Face ID, PIN
Operating system	iOS 12
Battery	iPhone XS - 2,658 mAh iPhone XS Max - 3,174 mAh

Equipment

Nothing out of the ordinary - Apple's classic modest set. Smartphone, documentation, stickers, paper clip, Lightning cable, EarPods, single amp adapter. The adapter from Lightning to mini-jack for headphones is missing.

Design and ergonomics

The iPhone XS is crafted from surgical steel, aluminum and glass, which Apple calls "the most durable." It is difficult to argue with this: the iPhone X with a similar glass has survived more than one fall, but somehow even crashed to the floor in the crowd, which stomped on it well. A couple of scratches appeared on the case. And that's all. No drop tests are needed: the new iPhones are reliable and almost unbreakable, it even feels tactile.

But small scratches and other traces of glass still collect over time - tested by almost a year of using the iPhone X.

You can protect yourself from these marks with covers. But with them, the iPhone becomes a little thicker, the feeling of the absence of frames on the sides disappears, and only the display, the bottom edge and the camera module remain visible. When a smartphone is beautiful, you don't want to put on a cover at all.

iPhone XS is available in three colors: Silver, Space Gray, and Gold. This is how they are called on the Apple website. We are more accustomed to saying it easier: there is white, black and a new - gold version of the color, which is actually golden pink. We got the XS just that color. And the white XS Max.

iPhone in gold looks especially advantageous against the background of other colors. Firstly, this is something new - with such a modification, everyone will know that you are not holding last year's Apple smartphone. And secondly, it is gender neutral. Gold, pink, but not at all feminine. It seems that the prank was a success - we are waiting for a lot of budget China with "bangs" in a new color.

There are almost no external differences between the mini-version of the iPhone XS and the “dozens”. The new model has two new antenna lines at the top and bottom, the camera module has slightly changed. Moreover, the latter is found only when trying to try on cases from the iPhone XS on the iPhone X, or vice versa. They are put on, but fall out of the ideal position in the camera area by a couple of millimeters. You cannot ignore this nuance - you will have to buy a new case for the new iPhone.

The XS Max is identical in size to the 8 Plus - it's immediately clear that this version is made for those who are used to large iPhones.

The XS weighs nearly identical to the X, and the XS Max weighs the 8 Plus. You won't have to get used to it. The maxi version of the new iPhone is bezel-less, but the classic XS is almost indistinguishable from the “dozen”. View, dimensions, weight - all the same.

Screen and sound

The new models have the same OLED display as in the top ten: Super Retina HD with a density of 458 pixels per inch.

The screens differ in size: the XS received a 5.8-inch display with a resolution of 2,436 × 1,125 pixels, the XS Max - 6.5-inches with a resolution of 2,688 × 1,242 pixels. The latter is the largest screen in iPhone history. The dimensions are calculated without taking into account the cutout for the sensors.

The screen is contrasty and has a pleasant color reproduction. The picture is readable even in bright sunlight.

The software features are in place: True Tone, which adjusts the color temperature of the picture to the environment, and Night Shift, which shifts colors to the warmer end of the spectrum. The latter mode is turned on in the evening (this can be adjusted) and makes the image on the screen more pleasant and soothing.

In terms of the combination of hardware and software characteristics, the screens of the new iPhones could be called one of the best. The battle of the flagships in this territory has long been taking place somewhere in the field of subtle technical nuances. In my opinion, the XS display is no worse than Samsung's latest Super AMOLEDs. But it’s not better either.

This time, Apple has tried even harder to turn the iPhone into a movie-watching device. High dynamic range standards are still supported: HDR10 and Dolby Vision. Movies in these formats can be bought from iTunes, Netflix, Amediateka, or other online cinemas. But one of the main evolutionary changes has undergone dynamics.

The sound has become a little more voluminous. This is noticeable if you place your smartphone horizontally and turn on any track or video. Especially the panorama began to stand out on the XS Max with the long distance between the speakers. The volume margin has remained at about the same level, readability and detail have not been lost.

Should you watch a movie on the iPhone XS? Of course not. Here I agree with director David Lynch: small screens and smartphone speakers are not designed for this. But for watching sitcoms and YouTube videos, the new iPhones are great.

Camera

Two lenses are responsible for taking pictures: a wide-angle lens with aperture / 1, 8 and a telephoto lens with a / 2, 4 aperture. The resolution of both is 12 megapixels.

The pixel area has increased, but in general terms, the iPhone XS camera has retained the configuration of its predecessor. At the same time, she shoots in a completely different way: the computing power of the A12 Bionic and the Neural Engine system affected. What this means is not very clear in words, so we will analyze it with examples.

First, the camera now shoots in Smart HDR mode by default. Dynamic range width is achieved by instantly creating several photos and combining them into one - with well-developed dark areas of the image and not overexposed light ones. Here are a couple of photos taken with the iPhone XS in natural light:

The light did not turn white, the dark became a little lighter and more legible

And here the algorithms are a little pumped up. But the dark areas are still readable, and they can be made lighter in post-processing.

In this scenario, the evolution of the iPhone's camera is the least obvious. It is noticeable that the shooting angle has become a little wider.

But when comparing cameras in the dark, my iPhone X failed miserably: "ten" more catching glare, although this could not be affected by the absolute purity of the lenses. The same goes for landscapes with a minimum of light: there is less noise in pictures with the XS.

iPhone XS

iPhone X

iPhone XS

iPhone X

iPhone XS

iPhone X

iPhone XS

iPhone X

Moving on to portraits. Now they can change the depth of field by changing the aperture value in post-processing. Anticipating the comments of the indignant: yes, we know that this has already been in other smartphones. It does not matter. The important thing is that by adjusting the level of background blur and a little conjuring with standard filters, you can take photos that friends will disassemble into avatars.

The old problems of portrait mode have not gone away: in the Simulate Lighting mode, I still have a hard time taking selfies with a face without cadaverous shades and with correct clipping. Well, for 20-30 portraits, a couple will always fall out with a piece of the background that is in focus, or vice versa. All the roughness is interrupted by a bold plus from the previous paragraph: it is easy to take a photo of a friend on the main XS camera so that he urgently asked to send the photo in the messenger.

Slightly worse, in my opinion, is the situation with the front camera. Now the pictures taken from it have a slightly different white balance - they have become less yellow. The edges have lost their sharpness, and the colors have slightly lost in contrast. Photos have become a little more honest - this is not why we, not the most beautiful people, love selfie cameras. On the left is the result of the iPhone XS, on the right is the X.

However, this is a matter of taste. Even in our not very large edition, opinions about the front camera of the new iPhones were divided.

It would seem that all modern flagships shoot almost equally well, there is nothing to surprise with. But Apple did it again.

The publication of a couple of pictures in social networks - and subscribers like it, envious people write sharp comments, friends order photo sessions. You are on a horse.

New features appeared in video: now the camera shoots videos in HDR when shooting at frame rates up to 30 FPS, and also records sound in stereo.

We have not yet figured out why an ordinary user needs this, but it works. On-site 4K shooting function.

Performance

The iPhone XS features the new A12 Bionic Seven-Meter Processor with Neural Engine. It saves battery power, Face ID responds faster, games look almost like they do on consoles (only smaller), and augmented reality apps run at their full potential.

In almost a year of using the iPhone X, I have never had a single complaint about its performance. Perhaps because I didn't really use augmented reality apps and didn't play resource-intensive toys. The performance of the XS had no "wow" effect on me, but only because everything worked perfectly for the previous model.

So that this item does not look completely boring, I will give a report from AnTuTu. Here you can see that the XS has left the top ten far behind and slightly outperformed the most powerful iPads in performance.

Autonomy

Apple claims the XS lasts half an hour longer than the iPhone X, and the XS Max lasts an hour and a half. The capacities of the batteries are 2 658 mAh and 3 174 mAh, respectively.

	iPhone XS	iPhone XS Max
Talk time (with wireless headset)	up to 20 hours	up to 25 hours
When working on the Internet	till 12 o'clock	up to 13 o'clock
When playing video wirelessly	up to 14 hours	up to 15 o'clock
When playing audio wirelessly	up to 60 hours	up to 65 hours

We didn’t have time to test the new iPhones in all of these scenarios, but the stated figures are similar to the truth. XS should be enough even for a very active day - this is the most important thing.

If you don’t need the most powerful iPhone and you always try to choose the “longest-playing” flagship, wait until the XR is on sale. It should hold a charge a little longer than the XS Max - up to 25 hours of talk time, up to 15 - when browsing the Internet, up to 16 - when playing video, and up to 65 - audio.

How the iPhone XS differs from the iPhone X

We compare the new smartphones from Apple with the iPhone X because it was their predecessor - the XS inherited everything that matters most from it. If these comparisons were not always clear, then read the detailed iPhone X.

This time around Apple showed a bunch of evolutionary improvements. And not a single overturning, sorry, game, as is the case with the "monobrow" or Face ID.

A serious innovation is drawn only by the support of a second SIM card. Recall that in Russia the e-SIM standard is not supported, and the version with a physical additional slot is sold only in China. Bringing a smartphone from there is a dubious idea. The Asian version may not have a bunch of other features. Probably, we will hear some feedback from those who decided on this adventure very soon.

Here is a list of what has changed since the ten:

• 512 GB memory appeared.
• A modification in gold color has become available.
• The look hasn't changed enough for you to notice, but enough for you to go shopping for a new case.
• The protection level has increased to IP68, and now with the iPhone you can dive deeper and stay underwater for longer.
• The sound has become more spacious.
• The camera now better adapts to low light, lightens the dark and darkens the light areas of the photo.
• The function of controlling the depth of field in post-processing of portraits has been added.
• The software work of the front-end has changed.
• The smartphone began to work a little longer.

How the iPhone XS differs from the iPhone XS Max

Everything is quite simple here. They do not differ in anything other than the screen size. However, we did find something: when horizontally, the XS Max shows the desktop version of the browser, and the XS is still mobile. It's all.

Impressions and results

The new iPhones generated less discussion this time around than last year. To the question: "Why buy a new one?" - the answer was not immediately found. In memory, random and not the most significant theses from Apple's presentation were selected, and fears lurked in my head that, it seems, there would not be much to talk about.

The fears were not confirmed. It's like Apple has rebuilt the iPhone X, improving everything that comes to hand in it. There seems to be no radical experiments, but the impressions are still new.

The iPhone isn't just about specs. This is primarily user experience and mutual love with the device. Benchmark results, pixel density and camera resolution are of course important. But in 2018, the reality is that all flagships can do everything and about equally well.

The bottom line is how pleasant the device is to use, how it understands you and pleases you with unobvious little things. And in this regard, Apple has succeeded again.

Prices for iPhone XS and iPhone XS Max:

	64 GB	256 GB	512 GB
iPhone XS	87,990 rubles	100 990 rubles	118,990 rubles
iPhone XS Max	96 990 rubles	109,990 rubles	127,990 rubles

Disclaimer: the review is as subjective as possible and was written by a convinced "Yabloko". Editorial opinion may not reflect the views of the author.

iPhone XS →