iPhone XS and iPhone XS Max are the most expensive iPhone models till date. Are they worth the big price tags? Read on to find out.
If you watched this year’s iPhone launch event, you could’ve been forgiven for thinking that the iPhone XS is the most underwhelming ‘S’ upgrade in the iPhone’s history. Apple spent surprisingly little time talking about the new features of the flagship iPhone models — a lot more information has come out since, which makes them seem like bigger upgrades than one had initially thought.
Not many realise that while the ‘S’ cycle of iPhone models represents no major changes in design language, historically, we’ve seen some significant features introduced. Siri, Touch ID, 3D Touch, and even the M-series of motion coprocessors all debuted in an iPhone ‘S’.
Of this year’s two new ‘S’ models, the iPhone XS Max can at least claim to be the biggest iPhone till date — packing a 6.5-inch display in a body that’s marginally smaller than that of the 5.5-inch iPhone 8 Plus ( Review) — but, on the face of it, the iPhone XS certainly seems to lack the kind of headline feature found in many of the previous ‘S’ models.
So is the iPhone XS really the most underwhelming S upgrade in the iPhone’s decade-long history, or does it pack improvements that Apple just didn’t talk about during the keynote? Is the iPhone XS Max too large for its own good, or does the most expensive iPhone till date also represent the most perfect form of the smartphone? Let’s answer these questions and more.
The iPhone XS has exactly the same dimensions as last year’s iPhone X ( Review), though it’s 3g heavier. We loved the iPhone X’s design, so we have no complaints with the fact that Apple has decided to stick to what’s clearly been a popular choice with consumers as well. However, the camera bump on the iPhone XS is a tiny bit bigger than the one on the iPhone X.
Physically, the iPhone XS Max is pretty much the same size as the iPhone 8 Plus, so if you are someone who’s used a Plus-sized iPhone before, you will be right at home with the size. With that said, at 208g, the iPhone XS Max is the heaviest phone Apple has ever made, and it certainly makes its presence felt.
While not that much heavier than the iPhone 8 Plus (202g), the iPhone XS Max is quite a jump if you are coming from any other model or generation. It’s safe to say that not everyone will be fan of this extra weight, but we got used to it pretty quickly.
What we struggle with even after using the phone for a couple of months is reaching the upper corners of the screen. By getting rid of the Home button and the bezel above the screen, Apple has managed to squeeze a 6.5-inch display on the iPhone XS Max, giving you an extra inch compared to previous Plus-sized phones.
While the extra real estate is great, it’s even more difficult to reach the upper corners of the screen — especially the upper right corner, which you need to do bring down Control Centre, a pretty common operation. You’ll need to perform a little juggle to move the phone in your hand, or as will likely be the case for many people, involve the other hand. The Reachability gesture to pull down the home screen that we mentioned in our iPhone X review is still there, but it requires the kind of precision that is almost impossible to achieve, especially if you are worried about balancing your phone.
Of course the iPhone XS Max is not alone in this regard, and this is a problem with large phones in the Android world as well. What’s disappointing is that Apple has done little to make use of the additional real estate by adding extra software features.
For example, we would’ve loved a picture-in-picture mode for videos or Apple Maps navigation — which sadly remains unavailable in India, but more on that later — or, for example, the ability to watch videos on the home screen, or on top of other apps, similar to what we have on the iPad.
You do get a multi-column layout in landscape mode in apps like Messages and Mail, but it’s utility is questionable at best, especially when you consider that just like the iPhone X, the iPhone XS, and iPhone XS Max do not support landscape mode on the home screen.
Apple says the iPhone XS and iPhone XS Max have “the most durable glass ever in a smartphone on the front and back”, but, as ever, the company is silent on what type of glass is being used. The all-glass front and back are held together by “surgical-grade” stainless steel bands in between, and the overall finish is everything you’d expect from an iPhone and more.
What we didn’t expect from an iPhone is the asymmetrical speaker grilles at the bottom. The left side has fewer holes than the right, and surely we can’t be the only ones who find this a little bit problematic. This is a strange move indeed for a company that’s often compromised usability for symmetry and perfect visual design.
The iPhone XS and iPhone XS Max are available in a new Gold finish, in addition to the Silver and Space Grey options we saw with the iPhone X. All three finishes look good in our opinion, and the Gold should be your pick if you want something that will stand out. Of course most people will end up putting a hideous case on their iPhone, so what colour they pick doesn’t really matter to begin with.
In our iPhone X review, we called its display “arguably the best we’ve ever come across on a smartphone”. The iPhone XS has the same panel with HDR10 and Dolby Vision support. Apple’s True Tone technology, which is designed to adjust white balance on screen to match ambient light conditions, is present as well. It also has a wide colour gamut and a million-to-one contrast ratio.
