Our Verdict
If you have an iPhone X and you are thinking about switching it up for a XS Max , there are some good reasons to kick upstairs , from the improved assault and battery life , better waterproofing , faster processor and GPU , and more storage . you could cash in your old iPhone X , either handing it back to Apple for a discount on your iPhone XS Max , or , if you have a bit more time to shop around , you could get a decent amount for it on the second handmarket . If you want a bigger screen the Max will give you that – but so would the XR .
Apple ’s unveiled three new iPhones for 2018 - 2019 . The iPhone XS , the iPhone XS Max , and the iPhone XR .
If you already own an iPhone X then you might be considering updating to an iPhone XS Max so as to get the larger concealment . Would the upgrade be worthwhile or should you wait until next yr to see what Apple has up its sleeve ? Is this is just an siemens update or is it more than that ?
iPhone history
These iPhones have been replaced with new models . discover connection below to our reviews of all iPhone models , including the latest generation.iPhone 16is await to set in motion in September 2024 ( seewhen is the best time to buy a new iPhone ) . You might also like ouriPhone buying guide , best iPhone dealsandcomparison of every iPhone that is available to buy today .
iPhone XS Max vs X: Price and availability
The iPhone XS Max break on sale on 21 September . If you have n’t already pre - ordered your iPhone XS Max you may have a waiting of a few weeks before you could get one in your hired hand .
A iPhone XS Max will be you £ 1,099/$1,099 ( 64 GB ) , £ 1,249/$1,249 ( 256 GB ) , or £ 1,449/$1,449 ( 512 GB ) .
When it set up the iPhone X cost from £ 999/$999 ( 64 GB ) or £ 1,149/$1,149 ( 256 GB ) but Apple no longer sell it .
So , for one hundred pound / dollar more than you spend ( or could have spent ) on the iPhone X , you may now get a bigger screen and a more advance CPU . But should you ? That ’s what we will undertake to aid you adjudicate .
Be sure to regularly ensure out ourBest iPhone X dealsandBest iPhone XS Max dealsto see what offers are around .
iPhone XS Max vs X: Design and build
Where the iPhone XS is almost the same as the iPhone X , the iPhone XS Max is a whole new iPhone . However , with the exclusion of dimension of the handset and the size of it of the cover , physically there is very little difference . Both phone have a stainless sword chassis , crank back ( to enable wireless charging ) , lightning port , stereo loudspeaker , microphone , and the power button and volume controls .
Like the iPhone X the front of the iPhone XS Max is almost alone covered by its OLED display , with the exception of the notch surface area at the top that houses the Face ID camera . look ID replaces Touch ID as the means of unlocking the gadget , so the Home clit is give-up the ghost .
The iPhone XS Max also sport the same treble - lense tv camera determine up on the rear as the iPhone X ( and iPhone XS for that matter ) . The lens of the eye is still raised , rather than wealthy against the iPhone , as has been the compositor’s case since the launching of the 2014 iPhone 6 . Thanks to the dual - lens , the iPhone XS Max can take Portrait Mode pic , just like the X and XS .
One difference in footing of materials is the fact that unlike the iPhone X , the 2018 iPhone XS and XS Max do come in a Au finish .
Another remainder is that the successor to the iPhone X propose an IP68 evaluation for sealing – which means it should survive being submerged in 2 metres of water for up to 30 minutes .
Of naturally , the gravid difference is the 6.5 in display on the iPhone XS Max compared to the 5.8 in screen door on the iPhone X ( and the iPhone XS ) . That ’s the handsome screen ever on an iPhone . The iPhone 8 Plus screen is 5.5 in .
And , of trend , the bounteous screen means that the iPhone XS Max is physically heavy and heavier than the iPhone X was . The iPhone 8 Plus handset is a tad bigger , despite the screen being little , although it is slimly slimmer and slightly light .
iPhone XS Max vs X: Features and Specs
The iPhone XS Max has a fresh A12 Bionic poker chip to the A11 Bionic in the iPhone X. We have yet to test the processing power – but Apple boasts about how the A12 Bionic is the “ smartest , most brawny chip in a smartphone ” , betoken to amazing augmented realness experiences . In our belief , the A11 Bionic was already riotous enough , so in many way the new chip is improbable to make a big remainder to you in sidereal day to 24-hour interval function . We ’re yet to test the processor though , so we may be surprised .
There ’s also a novel Apple - design GPU which should help nontextual matter performance in game and any specially demanding apps . Apple claims the boost will have in mind art performance is “ up to 50 % faster than the A11 Bionic ” . Apple also says it ’s open up up the Neural Engine to Core ML – which essentially means that apps can apply veridical - time machine learning .
Another benefit of the fresh processor is that it patently offers “ up to 50 % low-pitched business leader ” than the A11 Bionic – which should translate into good assault and battery living . Indeed , Apple does claim better battery life , but it ’s difficult to determine what the actual stamp battery life is . In Apple ’s words , the iPhone XS Max “ last up to 1.5 time of day longer than iPhone X ” .
If you are marvel incisively how retentive that battery life is , so are we . Apple has made the same sort of title for generation of iPhone , with each gaining a half an minute or an hour in term of flush . At the iPhone X launching , Apple claimed that phone “ lasts up to 2 hour longer than iPhone 7 , ” for example .
However , you could get an idea of what you could expect in various use case from Apple ’s website . For representative , the iPhone XS Max should give you 13 hour Internet use or 15 hours of picture playback . While the iPhone X offered 12 hours Internet use and 13 hours or television playback . More than enough to allow you to watch video recording for the duration of a flight between San Francisco and London , and have enough battery left to receive your hotel and get hold of your family to get them know you arrived safely .
We ’ll attempt to run our own stamp battery life-time trial , although these are notoriously unmanageable because a fair comparison can only really be done between fresh phone , using the same operating system software . It may well be the case that iOS 12 itself gives a boon to barrage life , for example , but of row , the barrage fire in an iPhone XTC that has had a class of use may not be as good as it was a year prior .
One measure that people may ascertain more utilitarian than how long a electric battery lasts is how speedily it can charge . According to Apple , the battery in the iPhone XS Max takes 30 minutes to appoint up to 50 % ( using a USB - C power adapter ) .
speak of charge , apparently , when it come to wireless charging , the XS can also charge faster then the iPhone X can .
As for the camera , the new Depth Control feature on the XS and XS Max makes it potential to correct the fuzz in the background knowledge of your Portrait Mode photo , but in term of the difference between the iPhone X and iPhone XS Max cameras , it ’s not straight off plain what the difference of opinion are . Both earphone have a 12MP blanket - angle ( ƒ/1.8 aperture ) and telephoto ( ƒ/2.4 aperture ) lenses on the back , and both offer dual optical image stabilisation . However , the all-encompassing - slant lens system has a larger detector and larger pixels – 1.4 µm on the XS and XS Max compare to 1.22 µm on the iPhone X. With larger pixels the camera should be able to capture more luminance – which should mean better low - lighting photos . Other new features on the iPhone XS Max ( and XS ) include a 2x optic rapid growth .
Many of the new features are made possible by the neuronic engine and Image Signal Processor couple with the A12 Bionic chip find in the iPhone XS Max ( and XS ) . In addition to Portrait mode and Portrait Lighting , the XS models have pull ahead bokeh and Depth Control , as mentioned sooner . Another new lineament is Smart HDR modality , which should convey a swell dynamic range ( more high spot and shadow contingent ) , concord to Apple .
When it comes to viewing the images , the screen on the iPhone XS Max offers a 60 % betterment in dynamical range compared to the iPhone X – so you ’ll be able to see all that detail caught by the Smart HDR feature .
The front camera , aka the TrueDepth camera , still has a 7MP sensor and is still f/2.2 . Apple say that Face ID should be quick than it was on the iPhone X – but this is n’t a feature of speech limited to the new models : confront ID on the iPhone X will benefit from a fastness - enhancing software update .
at last , one major dispute between the iPhone X and the XS generation – the libertine storage restrainer signify that the 2018 iPhones can offer 512 GB storage , up from a maximum of 256 GB on the iPhone X. If you need that much storage then the XS models are the only iPhones to offer it .
Specifications
iPhone XS Max
iPhone X
iOS
Io 12
colour
Gold , Silver , Space Grey
Silver , Space Grey
presentation
6.5 in Super Retina Display ( 2688×1242 , 458ppi ) OLED
5.8 in Super Retina Display ( 2436×1125 , 458ppi ) OLED
Processor
A12 Bionic
A11 Bionic
Storage
64GB/256GB/512 gibibyte
64GB/256 GB
rearward photographic camera
12Mp wide - angle , f/1.8 , OIS + 12Mp telephotograph , f/2.4 , OIS , ocular zoom , 10x digital zoom , Portrait Lighting , Portrait Mode , quad - LED flash
Front camera
7Mp FaceTime HD , f/2.2 , 1080p video
TV recording
4 K at 24/30/60fps , 1080p slo - mo at 240fps
Biometric certificate
Face ID
Wireless charging
Yes
sealing
IP68
IP67
Dimensions
157.5 mm x 77.4 mm x 7.7 mm
143.6 mm x 70.9 millimetre x 7.7 mm
weightiness
208 g
174 gee
Leontyne Price
£ 1,099/£1,249/£1,349
iPhone XS Max vs X: Software and Apps
When it ships the iPhone XS Max will run iOS 12 , and it is possible to upgrade any iPhone X to iOS 12 , so there ’s no real difference there .
However , there are a few software program features that it ’s potential only the iPhone XS Max ( and XS ) will get . These include the power to adjust the depth of field in the Photos app , although software program does exist that would allow you to do that on the iPhone X ( and many other handset ) . We have an clause aboutgetting Portrait Mode on an honest-to-goodness iPhone here .
As we say earlier , the enhancements to the neural engine should intend apps can become more reasoning ( using real - fourth dimension machine scholarship ) and the novel GPU should assist graphics performance in games and very demanding apps , so this is where the software system remainder will be most apparent .
iOS 12 will bestow more Animoji and the new Memoji , but these will be usable on the X , XS and XS Max , so that ’s not a reason to choose the Max over the X. Read ouriOS 12 reviewfor more on what to expect from the iPhone software update .
Verdict
Now that the iPhone X is no longer sell by Apple it ’s unlikely that anyone is attempting to adjudicate between the iPhone X and XS Max , other than to find whether it would be a good update from the iPhone X.
If you are the variety of person who wants to own the late and greatest iPhone then you are in all likelihood sharp to get your hand on the iPhone XS Max and hoping to get a decent damage for the iPhone X you raced to buy last year . If you have a 256 GB iPhone X in first-class condition Apple will give you £ 550 for it , which is around half what you would have paid for it last class , but that have the price of a new iPhone XS Max a little easier to bear .
You might get even more if you sold your iPhone X elsewhere though . For more advice take our article onselling an old iPhone ) .
If you are n’t looking to upgrade because you just have to have the best iPhone , then the reason to upgrade an iPhone X to an iPhone XS Max boil down to the 512 GB memory and the gold colour choice . And obviously all the CPU and other technical and software enhancement . Are they deserving the price ? We ’ll considering that you could get up to £ 550 off the price of the novel handset if you part - exchanged it at Apple , probably .
If you are actually considering purchasing an iPhone hug drug new – or second hand – and you are wondering whether you should , or if the iPhone XS Max would be a better fit , we ’d say , go ahead , if the damage is right . The iPhone X is a great iPhone and you will likely be doing someone who is despairing to get their hands on an iPhone XS Max a favour .
