Apple iPhone XS and XS Max review: X evolved

Overview

Last year's iPhone X was a huge leap forward for Apple: a bold new stainless steel and glass design, a bezel-less OLED display, Face ID and the removal of the home button. This was without a doubt the future of iPhone. A year later and Apple is back with the iPhone XS and iPhone XS Max, two models that build on that foundation. If you're familiar with how Apple does things, you know that means this year's 'S' models look almost the same as last year's, with the real difference being what's inside the phones.

There’s now an option for 512GB storage, an all-new A12 Bionic processor built on a 7nm manufacturing process, louder speakers, improved rear cameras, and a better display. And if you are looking for something that looks different from last year, the new XS Max does stand out in one very notable way: it's a lot bigger and that's the only difference going for the XS Max. Here's a quick comparison of the 256GB editions we received for review:-

Design: Gold is back and it looks better than ever

As expected, the XS and XS Max look basically the same as last year's iPhone X. Like most 'S' years, if you want people to know you have the latest iPhone, you'll have to get one in the new color: Gold.

While Apple has had gold iPhones before, this is the first time we've seen the color done in stainless steel, and the result is absolutely gorgeous. The shiny stainless steel frame has a warm finish with just the right amount of yellow in it to keep it classy without veering into gaudy territory. The back of the phone is finished in a very nice glossy non-metallic gold color, with metallic accents on the Apple and iPhone logos. I normally think Gold phones look a bit too feminine, but there's actually something quite masculine about the gold iPhone XS.

Other than the new color, there are a couple of other minor differences, but the changes are so small, you'll have a hard time telling them apart.

The XS has exactly the same dimensions as last year's X, and is just 3g heavier. The XS Max on the other hand is roughly the same size as the iPhone 8 Plus and, at 208g, weighs about the same too.

Like last year, the shiny stainless steel frame is wrapped around a 5.8-inch bezel-less display; or if you opt for the XS Max, a massive 6.5-inch display. There's no home button or fingerprint scanner, and you still get the same notch at the top of the display housing all the components required for Face ID:-

The back is still glass, and Apple says that the glass (on both the front and back) is now the most durable ever used on an iPhone. It looks and feels exactly the same, but it's now more resistant to both cracks and scratches, at least according to Apple.

The phone itself has also been given a boost in durability and is now IP68 rated, up from IP67. This lets it survive for up to 30 minutes submerged in 2 meters of water. For the record, this is the same IP rating Samsung has on both the S9/S9+ and the Note9.

On the back of the phone, unfortunately, the camera bump is just as prominent as last year's. I'm not normally a fan of phone cases, but I keep my iPhone X in a case just to make the bump look a little more streamlined. Plus, it doubles up to protect the camera module The camera module itself is also a few millimeters longer this year, which annoyingly makes many of last year's cases incompatible. They will fit, just about, but it's a tight squeeze.

On the bottom of the phone, there's an extra antenna band on the left side. This does slightly spoil the symmetry, as the left speaker grille - which is purely decorational anyway - has been shortened to accommodate it as seen in the following photo.

The top of the phone also has an extra antenna band on the right side. There's still no headphone jack and, surprisingly, Apple doesn't even include a Lightning-to-3.5mm dongle in the box anymore. They're now sold separately for S$15. You can of course just use the included Lightning connector EarPods.

Everything else is exactly the same: the volume buttons and silencer switch remain on the left side, and the elongated Power/Siri/Apple Pay side button remains on the right, both in exactly the same place as before.

Handling the iPhone XS and the larger XS Max; is the latter too big?

Unsurprisingly, the XS feels identical in hand to last year's X. Between the two phones, it's the more manageable size, and it feels compact and easy to use one-handed. It's now the smallest phone in Apple's lineup, and while I know many people are lamenting the loss of the 4.7-inch size iPhone, I think for most people coming from an iPhone 6, 7, or 8, this will be a fairly pain-free upgrade. It's not that much bigger than an iPhone 8, and the upgrade in screen real estate will quickly soothe any growing pains. The jump from the iPhone 5 to the iPhone 6 was far more significant.

I expected the XS Max to feel a little unwieldy in hand (I've always thought the iPhone 8 Plus was a bit too big) but I actually found myself liking it quite a lot. For starters, the notch is the same size on the XS Max as it is on the XS, which means it is comparatively smaller relative to the rest of the display (although unfortunately, Apple doesn't use that extra space on the sides to pack in more information). On previous 'Plus' iPhones, I also never felt that the size of the display really justified the extra size of the phone, but on the XS Max, its massive 6.5-inch display really does look huge. It's still a big phone, but the extra size feels more justified now. If you're a fan of big displays, you'll love the XS Max. It's easily one of the biggest displays you can find on a smartphone right now.

The best display for HDR content

A year on from the iPhone X and notches have practically become the norm now. The notches on the XS and XS Max are actually quite wide compared to many of the notched phones out there, but that's only because Apple packs so much technology into them.

If you haven't used a notched phone before, it's something that you'll get used to within a week or two, but it's worth remembering that there are some aggravating drawbacks that come with it. For starters, there are still some apps that aren't optimized for notched displays, which often means there's information hiding behind them. When watching videos, you'll also have the option of either not using the full screen, or expanding the video to fill the whole screen and dealing with the notch obscuring some of the content.

The OLED displays themselves are better than ever and improve on what was already the best display I've seen on an iPhone. The XS uses a 5.8-inch 2,436 x 1,125 pixels resolution display, while the XS Max has a 6.5-inch 2,688 x 1,242 pixels, which gives them exactly the same screen pixel density (~458ppi), so you're not actually sacrificing clarity by opting for the larger screen.

The displays are practically perfect, with rich colors, deep blacks, excellent contrast, and perfect viewing angles. Once again, like the iPhone X, the displays are HDR10 and Dolby Vision certified, and Apple has actually increased the dynamic range by 60% so HDR content (even photos you took previously) looks even better now.

The XS Max's huge display looks particularly good when watching HDR content like this episode of Black Mirror on Netflix:

Right now, the best display on a smartphone comes down to either the iPhone XS Max or the Samsung Galaxy Note9. Both look fantastic but if I had to pick a winner, I'd go with the iPhone simply because of how good HDR content looks on it.

Audio: Significantly louder

Audio on the iPhone XS and XS Max is once again provided by a stereo speaker setup comprising of one downward firing speaker, and the earpiece doubling up as the second speaker. Sound on the XS is impressively loud, and is noticeably louder than last year.

Sound separation has also improved and the left-right stereo effect is a lot more distinct now - this is even more obvious with the XS Max. Bass could be a little better, but overall this is still one of the best on-board speaker setups I've experienced.

iOS 12: Mostly the same, but with some nice new features

The iPhone XS and XS Max run on iOS 12. iOS 12 isn't a big departure from iOS 11, but does include some nice new features.

iOS 12 finally includes grouped notifications, with notifications grouped by app, topic, and/or thread. The Do Not Disturb during bedtime feature will now prevent notifications from showing up on the screen. When it's morning, you'll get all of your notifications as per normal. The feature also has an ending time in Control Center to make it easier to use.

The Photos app has been upgraded, and you can now search it for businesses and events, people, scenes and you can even use multiple search terms. There's also a new tab called 'For You', which suggests memories to revisit, and you'll also see suggestions for photos to share with key people. It will even suggest effects to spruce up your photos.

There's a new Screen Time feature that will tell you exactly how you’re using the phone, how much time you’re spending on apps, and what apps you use the most. You can view a report that should help you manage your screen time, and you can set restrictions that will let you limit the amount of time you can use an app per day.

If you're using the iPhone XS Max, it also includes the landscape mode we previously saw on Plus sized iPhones. All you have to do is turn the phone on its side to activate it. Landscape mode is active in quite a few apps, including Mail, Messages, Notes, and Calendar, and will present a two column view with messages on the left and their content displayed in a separate column to the right.

Unfortunately, the homescreen landscape mode and extended keyboard are no longer available in iOS12. Nevertheless, I still really like landscape mode as it makes good use of the extra screen space, and makes the XS Max feel like a mini tablet rather than just a massive phone.

Finally, Face ID has also been upgraded and is now faster and safer than last year. It now unlocks the phone almost instantaneously and still works just as fast in the dark too. A nice new addition in iOS 12 is the ability to add a second person to Face ID. You can do this by selecting the "Set Up an Alternative Appearance" option in the Face ID setup menu. You can also do this on the original iPhone X after upgrading it to iOS 12.

For a full rundown of all of the new features in iOS 12, check out this article.

Note: The iPhone XS and XS Max have the same camera system. For readability’s sake, I’ll refer to both using ‘iPhone XS’ from here on.

There’s not much here in the iPhone XS that you’ll be surprised by. Apple’s iPhones capture good images and exceptionally good video, and the XS offers more of the same but better.

For example, the new, bigger 12MP sensor in the wide-angle camera delivers cleaner images in low light with more detail. In good light, the iPhone XS captures noticeably more dynamic range and color than last year’s iPhones, even without the new Smart HDR feature enabled (more on that below).

The pixels are larger and deeper, and they do make a difference. But low light performance isn’t that much better. At ISO 1,000 the iPhone XS is pushing it, while the Huawei P20 Pro is handling it with style. And it’s not just detail loss in low light at high ISOs either. Whenever a shot involves heavy processing, like Smart HDR or Portrait Mode, more noise, not less, is introduced into the shot.

Smart HDR is missing a shadow

Smart HDR is a headline feature, and it’s basically a re-brand of HDR. It captures multiple exposures for a single shot and combines them into one image. Apple doesn’t say how many. What we do know is that competing phones like the Samsung S9 series combines up to 12 images, while the Google Pixel 2 XL combines up to 10.

Smart HDR manages to preserve highlights, but not for extreme blowouts. It also doesn’t do much to boost the shadows. Even Apple’s promotional materials for Smart HDR show photos with shadows that have gone to black. It could be that Apple is leaving the shadows to preserve contrast (an evenly toned image creates a flat image). But that’s what ordinary exposures are for. Lost shadows are exactly what you’d have expected a better HDR system not to do.

Something you’ll notice is that the iPhone XS is prone to glare. It’s there when you’re directly facing a bright light source and can be a problem if you’re facing multiple light sources in video, like in this clip below.

Play

Another headline feature is speed. The new 8-core Neural Engine is now strongly linked with the iPhone XS’ image signal processor (ISP), and that extra power makes a difference. Once the Camera app is launched, it continuously captures a four-frame buffer in the background. This results in zero shutter lag when you hit the shutter and ensures you never miss the desired shot. The iPhones 8 aren’t slow phones, not by a long shot. But when shooting side by side, the iPhone XS’ responsiveness made my iPhone 8 Plus feel sluggish by comparison.

The other benefit to having a faster processor is that Portrait Mode is now much faster. I’ve grown so used to waiting for Portrait Mode to lock on my iPhone 8 Plus that I almost think it’s not working when the iPhone XS locks on almost instantaneously. Portrait shots appear to have cleaner outlines and are more accurate for the most part. And it’s a small detail, but the iPhone XS induces perfectly round highlights in its faux bokeh, which is something photographers love.

The iPhone XS paints with richer hues

One of the best things about iPhone photographs is their bright, vivid colors, and the iPhone XS takes that up a notch. Hues are deeper and richer when compared to last year’s iPhones, and you can see it on the phone’s screen. Apple says the iPhone XS’ screen shows a 60 percent greater dynamic range in HDR photos. The OLED screen is also color accurate, with a wide color gamut (P30) and color management at the OS level. It’s a real pleasure to shoot with, and if you capture to HEIF, the images are saved in the wider P3 color space.

The iPhone XS wins video

Apple has one of the best, if not the best video performance in a smartphone camera. The Huawei P20 Pro doesn’t have optical image stabilization in 4K, while the Samsung Galaxy S9, S9+, and Note9 can only do OIS at up to 4K/30p. The iPhone XS offers OIS to 4K/60p. That OIS makes a big difference, and Apple’s implementation is solid. And for the first time ever, the iPhone XS records video in stereo sound.

Play

When it comes to slow-motion video, the iPhone XS shoots at 1080p at up to 240fps. The Samsung S9, S9+, and Note9 shoot slow-motion at up to 960fps, but at a lower resolution of 720p. The Sony Xperia XZ2 Premium and Xperia XZ2 however, can shoot slow-motion videos at 1080p resolution at up to 960fps. But I gather that most people would shoot more normal video than slow-motion.

The iPhone XS pushes the camera game forward

The iPhone XS doesn’t change the camera game, but it does push it forward. That isn’t necessarily a bad thing. One of the best things about the iPhone is that it has consistently delivered a compelling package of both still and video performance with an easy to use UI. That hasn’t changed here. If you’re upgrading from an older iPhone, you’ll enjoy the images and especially the videos you’ll get from the iPhone XS and XS Max.

I’ll have to admit though, it’s September 2018, and I’m spoilt. The Samsung Galaxy S9/S9+ introduced a dual aperture camera, which switches between f/1.5 and f/2.4. The wider aperture makes a visible difference in low light. The Huawei P20 Pro’s incredible Night Mode, while imperfect, opens up new sights in the dark. Even the Sony XZ2 Premium’s new Ultra-High Sensitivity mode changed my mind on what a smartphone camera can do with high ISOs.

It isn’t to say that the Apple iPhone XS camera is bad. It isn’t. But there’s nothing terribly new here, and that’s a big surprise from a company that usually surprises.

Benchmark Performance

Both the XS and XS Max are powered by Apple's new A12 Bionic chip, which is the first processor made on a 7nm process technology. The A12 Bionic packs a hexa-core CPU (two performance cores + four efficiency cores), a quad-core GPU, as well as a ‘next-generation’ octa-core neural engine (up from dual-core on the iPhone X) that handles all the machine learning and AI tasks.

Calling it the ‘smartest and most powerful chip ever in a smartphone’, Apple says the A12 Bionic’s neural engine can process 5 trillion operations per second, a huge leap compared to the A11 Bionic’s 600 billion. Apple also says the A12 Bionic enables apps to launch up to 30 percent faster.

SunSpider Javascript

SunSpider JavaScript measures the browsing performance of a device when processing JavaScript. It not only takes into consideration the underlying hardware performance, but also assesses how optimized a particular platform is in delivering a high-speed web browsing experience. 

Apple has always performed really well on this benchmark due to how well optimized Safari is for Apple's processors. That trend continues with the XS and XS Max, which are getting close to sub-100ms scores. No other phone is even under 200ms. In terms of actual user experience, the web browsing experience on the XS and XS Max is lightning fast, smooth and lag-free. 

Antutu

AnTuTu is an all-in-one benchmark that tests CPU, GPU, memory, and storage. The CPU benchmark evaluates both integer and floating-point performance, the GPU tests assess 2D and 3D performance, the memory test measures available memory bandwidth and latency, and the storage tests gauge the read and write speeds of a device's flash memory. 

The A12 Bionic proved just how powerful it is by absolutely crushing the competition in this benchmark. The XS and XS Max both scored about 30 percent better than last year's iPhone X, and about 25 percent better than the Qualcomm Snapdragon 845-powered phones.

Geekbench CPU

Geekbench CPU is a cross-platform processor benchmark that tests both single-core and multi-core performance with workloads that simulate real-world usage. Geekbench 4 scores are calibrated against a baseline score of 4000 (which is the score of an Intel Core i7-6600U CPU processor).

The A12 Bionic was again impressive in this benchmark and was about 12 percent better than the iPhone X in both the single-core and multi-core benchmarks. Compared to the Exynos 9810-powered Samsung Galaxy Note9, the XS and XS Max were about 25 percent better in both categories.

3DMark Sling Shot

3DMark Sling Shot is an advanced 3D graphics benchmark that tests the full range of OpenGL ES 3.1 and ES 3.0 API features including multiple render targets, instanced rendering, uniform buffers and transform feedback. The test also includes impressive volumetric lighting and post-processing effects. We're running this benchmark in Unlimited mode, which ignores screen resolutions.

The A12 Bionic isn't limited to just processing power, its quad-core GPU packs a punch too, and the XS and XS Max were once again way ahead of the competition.

Battery Life

Our standard battery test for mobile phones has the following parameters:

• Looping a 720p video with screen brightness and volume at 100%
• Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity turned on
• Constant data streaming through email and Twitter

The XS actually has a slightly smaller 2,658mAh battery than last year's X (2,716mAh) but Apple claims that it will still last about 30 minutes longer. The XS Max has the largest battery Apple has ever put in an iPhone with a 3,174mAh capacity, and Apple claiming it will give about 90 minutes more. In my daily usage, I found those estimates to be about right.

In our video looping benchmark, despite having a smaller battery capacity, the XS actually lasted 12 hours and 44 minutes, 17 minutes longer than the X, while the XS Max lasted 13 hours and 19 minutes, or 52 minutes longer than the X.

The XS Max fell just four minutes short of our current battery life champion, the Samsung Galaxy Note9.

Like last year's X, the XS and XS Max support wireless charging through the Qi wireless charging standard. Both phones also support fast charging through USB Power Delivery, but not with the charger bundled with the phone.

Like last year, you'll need to buy both a USB-C to Lightning cable, as well as a USB-C charger that supports USB Power Delivery such as the 30W power adapter that comes with the 12-inch MacBook, or the 61W or 87W adapter that comes with the MacBook Pro. Armed with one of these, both phones will charge to about 50 percent in just over 30 minutes.

Conclusion

The iPhone XS isn't the game changer its predecessor was. It's the iPhone X, but 'S'peedier, with a gorgeous new color and some notable but iterative upgrades - more storage, faster processor, louder speakers, better cameras, and a more colorful display. All of these are significant, but none of them are significant enough to make the XS a must buy, especially if you already own an iPhone X.

The iPhone XS Max, on the other hand, is a phone I know a lot of people have been waiting for. If you're a long-time iPhone Plus user, this is the iPhone X for you; the XS Max is everything you could possibly want. Unlike the XS, which sits in between previous iPhone sizes, the XS Max is exactly the same size as the 8 Plus, so there's no transition period as you get used to a new phone size. The Super Retina AMOLED display already looked amazing on the iPhone X, but the sheer size of the XS Max's 6.5-inch display really takes it to another level. HDR content on XS Max looks absolutely gorgeous - almost enough to make you forget about that notch. Even if you've never liked Plus-size iPhones, I highly recommend giving the XS Max a closer look. You might be surprised by how much you like it, I know I was.

Ultimately though, it doesn't matter which iPhone you pick, because for the first time ever, other than the screen size, there's no difference between them. In past years, the Plus was always a little better: it had the better camera setup, it had the higher resolution display, it had more RAM. But this year, the XS and XS Max have exactly the same specs, so there are no compromises to consider when choosing the display size that fits you best. Apple didn't mention this at all at the keynote, but it's one of the best changes they've implemented.

Finally, I have to mention the price. The iPhone XS has a starting price of S$1,649 for the 64GB model, and this goes up to S$1,889 if you want 256GB (these prices are in-line with the price of last year's iPhone X). If you want that 512GB model, you’re looking at S$2,199. The iPhone XS Max is priced at S$1,799 for the 64GB model, S$2,039 for the 256GB model, and S$2,349 for the 512GB model.

Those prices are insane for any smartphone, but if you're an Apple fan, you should already be used to premium pricing. Whether you're willing to shell out that much for a smartphone is up to you, but if you're on the fence, it's worth noting that the original iPhone X is now 10 percent cheaper (but only at the Apple Store), and don't forget, the much more affordable iPhone XR, which shares many of the same features as the XS, is coming next month.