The iPhone Xs Max Review
Each year, Apple CEO, Tim Cook, calls the new generation of iPhones the best ever made. The company’s 2018 lineup, specifically the iPhone Xs and Xs Max, delivers on that promise – they’re literally the smartest, fastest, and best iPhones we’ve seen to date. Our blog this week gives users an iPhone Xs Max review covering some of the device’s most noteworthy specs.
Keep reading to find out if this device is something you need right away or one that is unworthy of its hefty price tag.
Camera
Revamping its image processing system, Smart HDR is what users can expect with the iPhone Xs Max.
With the device’s A12 Bionic chip, a new integrated image signal processing subsystem is put in place. Here, the basic idea is very similar to what Google is doing with the Pixel 2 – the iPhone Xs Max takes a series of images at different exposures and combines them into a final photo. This concept is called “computational photography” and to date, no DSLR or mirrorless camera can pull off anything like this, especially in real-time.
Another star feature is the device’s six-channel light sensor that subtly adjusts the white balance on-screen to match the colour temperature of the light around each user. Images on the display, therefore, look natural on a printed page and are easier on the eyes.
To test this new hardware, WIRED gave film director, Jon M. Chu, the iPhone Xs Max and the results were spectacular.
Chu shot the film using the iPhone’s native camera app. Using the phone’s default stabilising system, everything was shot on handheld mode. Chu didn’t apply any colour correction or any post-production tricks. The results were noteworthy and impressive on many levels.
Memory and battery performance
A couple of specs you’ll never hear mentioned at an Apple keynote or find on the company’s website are an iPhone’s actual battery capacity and the amount of RAM inside each phone.
Thankfully, Apple had to file this data with government regulatory agencies like China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology.
We thus discovered that the iPhone Xs Max has an improved 3,174mAh and 4GB RAM, which translates to talk time being extended to up to 25 hours and internet use to 13 hours. It’s not a stark difference from its predecessors but the charging speed has comparatively increased in the new iPhone XS Max. Wireless charging is also available with the glass back allowing the iPhone Xs Max to charge wirelessly.
Design and Display
With its custom OLED display, the iPhone Xs Max delivers the most accurate colour in the industry, with the jewel on the crown being the phone’s massive display – a whopping 6.5 inches. Boasting the sharpest display with the highest pixel density on any Apple device, this device is one for the ages.
The iPhone Xs Max comes in gold, silver, and space grey.
Face ID and security
Security is simple when your face is your password. You can unlock your iPhone, log in to apps, and pay for things with a glance and, now, it’s the most secure facial authentication ever in a smartphone.
Face ID uses advanced machine learning to recognize changes in your appearance. Wear a hat. Put on glasses. Maybe don’t push it with plastic surgery as of yet. With Apple pay in stores, you need not even take out your wallet – just hold your phone up to the reader and it will do the rest.
Key Takeaways
At £1099, it is the most expensive iPhone ever, and if you choose the 512GB model, you’ll pay £1,449.
While it may be hard to wrap your mind around spending nearly a thousand quid or more on a new iPhone but the iPhone XS Max is, arguably, worth it.
If you’re not in the market for another iPhone, can’t afford one or just can’t bring yourself to spend the money, consider upgrading your existing software to iOS 12 to make it feel new again!
