Apple just made buying an iPhone an even more expensive decision. Here’s our updated list of the best iPhones for sale.
The best iPhone 2018 just got more complicated, with new choices like the iPhone XR this month joining the iPhone XS and iPhone XS Max. We’ve ranked them all.
Our recommendations include the top 10 iPhones you can buy, because buying the newest might not be your best option if you want a cheap iPhone. For example, last year’s iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus are still great choices, and you’ll find the iPhone X on sale in certain places for a cheap price – even if it’s no longer at the Apple Store.
We’ve reviewed all three new iPhones: the mighty 6.5-inch iPhone XS Max, the 5.8-inch iPhone XS, and the brand-new ‘cheap’ iPhone XR, which launched October 26.
Good news, the top 10 iPhones we recommend run iOS 12, Apple’s latest update for its devices. It’s therefore a bit different from our prestigious best phones list and the best Android phones list. Apple’s prices vary wildly, all of them are an investment.
Our top iPhone list highlights the different specs, screen sizes, and price points. Each of these handsets has something to offer every type of Apple fan – so we’ve boiled down the choices for you in a simple-to-read format.
Weight: 208g| Dimensions: 157.5 x 77.4 x 7.7mm| OS: iOS 12| Screen size: 6.5-inch| Resolution: 1242 x 2688| CPU: A12 Bionic| RAM: 4GB| Storage: 64/256/512GB| Battery: 3,179mAh| Rear camera: 12MP+12MP| Front camera: 7MP
The iPhone XS Max is Apple’s biggest and best iPhone – if you’re hands and wallets and large enough. It has an expansive 6.5-inch OLED screen with HDR10 support to make colors pop. It’s the perfect phone if you want a giant screen.
Behind that huge screen is an improved dual-lens 12MP camera. Apple outfitted it with Smart HDR and increased the sensor size to capture larger pixels. Don’t let that static 12MP number fool you. The iPhone XS Max (like the XS) has new depth-sensing capabilities for adjustable bokeh (background blur) during and after a shot.
The TrueDepth camera returns with faster Face ID recognition, and your 7MP selfies get better depth control and Smart HDR, too. And, of course, Animoji returns with the iOS 12 benefit of having Memoji now.
The iPhone XS Max is more expensive than the iPhone X and iPhone XS that replaces the X, of course. But if you’re paying for it over the course of two years in a contract (or through the Apple Upgrade Program), it’s not that much more month-to-month.
Read our in-depth iPhone XS Max review
Weight: 194g| Dimensions: 150.9 x 75.7 x 8.3mm| OS: iOS 12| Screen size: 6.1-inch| Resolution: 1792 x 828| CPU: A12 Bionic| RAM: 4GB| Storage: 64/128256GB| Battery: 2,942mAh| Rear camera: 12MP+12MP| Front camera: 7MP
The iPhone XR is a great upgrade for the average consumer who doesn’t want to pay for the most expensive iPhone money (a lot of money) can buy. This is Apple’s cheap iPhone for 2018, at least when it comes to recently launched handsets.
It also stands out with a variety of iPhone XR colors: Blue, White, Black, Yellow, Coral, Red. This contrasts heavily with the rather muted colors of the iPhone XS and iPhone XS Max. Yet it shares the same internal specs: Apple’s fast A12 Bionic chipset and a 12MP dual-lens camera with a single lens on back. You don’t get the dual-lens camera like you do on a higher-tier iPhone, so you miss out on telephoto shots. But Smart HDR is the real perk to taking great photos, and that’s here.
It’s cheaper, it’s more colorful and it has a big 6.1-inch screen. That’s enough for most people, especially those who aren’t insistent on an impressive OLED screen.
Read our in-depth iPhone XR review
Weight: 174g| Dimensions: 143.6 x 70.9 x 7.7mm| OS: iOS 12| Screen size: 5.8-inch| Resolution: 1125 x 2436| CPU: A12 Bionic| RAM: 4GB| Storage: 64/256/512GB| Battery: 2,659mAh| Rear camera: 12MP+12MP| Front camera: 7MP
Believe it or not, the iPhone XS is Apple’s best ‘small’ phone. It has a 5.8-inch screen, so it’s more one-hand-friendly than the Max, but still a sizable upgrade for some people.
It’s an upgrade over last year’s iPhone X, our previous best iPhone recommendation, though you’ll have to look more closely for the changes – the design isn’t different at all. It has a Smart HDR-capable 12MP camera, enhanced TrueDepth front-facing camera, and a fast A12 Bionic chipset, exactly like the larger iPhone XS Max.
In fact, this all-screen phone is pretty much the iPhone XS Max in last year’s smaller form factor. It does have a smaller battery than the Max and obviously a smaller screen, but you will still capture the same great photos and videos on this device and play the same games. There’s no different there.
Read our in-depth iPhone XS review
Weight: 174g| Dimensions: 143.6 x 70.9 x 7.7mm| OS: iOS 11| Screen size: 5.8-inch| Resolution: 1125 x 2436| CPU: A11 Bionic| RAM: 3GB| Storage: 64/256GB| Battery: 2,716mAh| Rear camera: 12MP+12MP| Front camera: 7MP
The iPhone X is as impressive as it is expensive, but if you really want the best iPhone today and don’t want to wait for the iPhone XI, this is the one to get today. Millions of Apple fans already have since it launched almost seven months ago. It’s the future of Apple’s smartphone.
It has a large all-screen display, except for a notch cutout at the top that houses a new TrueDepth Camera. This takes selfies to another level and can also map your face to an iPhone X-exclusive Animoji. If you don’t know what that is by now you probably won’t care.
The iPhone X is Apple’s 10th anniversary smartphone and has just about everything iPhone users have been asking for, from a more forward-leaning design to faster specs and new features. You’ll just have to get used to Face ID instead of reaching for that non-existent fingerprint sensor.
Read our in-depth iPhone X review
Weight: 202g| Dimensions: 158.4 x 78.1 x 7.5mm| OS: iOS 11| Screen size: 5.5-inch| Resolution: 1080 x 1920| CPU: A11 Bionic| RAM: 3GB| Storage: 64/256GB| Battery: 2,691mAh| Rear camera: 12MP+12MP| Front camera: 7MP
The iPhone 8 Plus is the best iPhone if you’re not willing to take the plunge into Apple’s proposed smartphone future and need that Touch ID fingerprint sensor. It remains popular due to its screen size, cheaper price and physical home button.
It does have several key features you’ll like, however. It’s among the first iPhones to have both wireless charging and fast charging, and the camera has improved. Its dual-lens camera doesn’t have OIS in the telephoto lens (a feature saved for the X), but it’s still a great way to snap a photo at long distances.
It won’t turn nearly as many heads with its bezel-heavy design, but the iPhone 8 Plus is the iPhone built for big hands and slightly smaller wallets than the new iPhone X.
Read our in-depth iPhone 8 Plus review
Weight: 148g| Dimensions: 138.4 x 67.3 x 7.3mm| OS: iOS 11| Screen size: 4.7-inch| Resolution: 750 x 1334| CPU: A11 Bionic| RAM: 2GB| Storage: 64/256GB| Battery: 1,821mAh| Rear camera: 12MP| Front camera: 7MP
This is actually the best-selling iPhone from Apple, and for several good reasons. First, we get it, you refuse to budge from the 4.7-inch iPhone screen size and, frankly, we don’t blame you. Every time we go back to this iPhone with ‘normal’ dimensions, we feel like we just went on a smartphone vacation. Second, its price is way more reasonable for a lot a folks than the iPhone X and iPhone 8 Plus.
Just because the size is the same as iPhones of old, doesn’t mean the technology behind it is, though. The iPhone 8 features the same A11 Bionic chipset as the iPhone 8 Plus and the iPhone X, and it too debuted wireless charging and fast charging on an Apple smartphone.
The camera is still fantastic, even if it doesn’t have the dual-lens capabilities that are exclusive to the X and Plus, and you’ll dig iOS 11 at this size more so than the even smaller iPhone SE.
