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Apple announced three new iPhones on September 12th. The iPhone XS, a direct and identical replacement for the iPhone X, the iPhone XS Max, a phone with a huge 6.5-inch screen, and the iPhone XR, more affordable, which will follow in October.

I've tested the XS and the XS Max a few moments after their revelation in Cupertino – you can see my initial response here and these are my thoughts after more than two weeks of intensive use.

I focused mainly on the larger iPhone XS Max, but apart from three elements: size, battery capacity and price, the phones are identical, so in the sections I wrote on both phones more in detail.

It should be noted that unlike the iPhone 7 Plus and the iPhone 8 Plus, the biggest iPhone this year has in no way a better camera than the smallest.

iPhone XS and iPhone XS Max: Design

You know what the iPhone X looks like, with its front screen, but for the TrueDepth camera sensor? Then you know exactly what the iPhone XS looks like. There is almost no visible difference.

I mean, it's a "S" year, but Apple has not put an S on the back of this iPhone like with the latest S handsets. So, you have to look closely to see which iPhone you're wearing. hold.

Turn down the iPhone and you will see pretty much the only physical change: the speaker grille on the bottom edge was symmetrical but now there is an antenna band at the bottom of the # 39; s iPhone. from one side to the other. This does not affect the sound – some of these holes are just cosmetic. Eagle eyes will also detect an extra antenna strip on the top edge of the iPhones.

The iPhone XS Max is identical, it's just a little bigger.

This visual similarity is not a bad thing. The stylish and brilliant iPhone X is one of the best smartphones ever seen, so it's good to see more – and this time there was no initial shortage, unlike the year last.

The all-screen style shines because of the way the bezel is consistent and even all around. Of course, it could be thinner in places, but there is something very satisfying in the uniformity, the narrow bezel making a pretty frame on the screen.

The only visual clue that this is a new iPhone comes if you see the XS in the new gold color. This, of course, is remarkably different from the Space Gray and Silver colors that the iPhone X has adopted – as the iPhone XS is still.

The golden iPhone XS is a different shade of the golden iPhone 8, just like the iPhone X silver was subtly different from the iPhone 8. This gold is darker, maybe a little more smoked, with just a more yellow peep. It's always subtle and pale, rather than rowdy and emphatic and it's very appealing, I would say. The gold-tinted stainless steel bracelet is very successful, it is opulent and elegant. It's more expensive than the silver version: it's one of the features I've chosen in an article about eight things you may not have heard about the phone.

And, of course, there is the famous attention to details of Apple, which means that other elements are accented in gold, like the metal case around the camera and even, as noted in my other item, in the Lightning charge socket.

The notch, like everyone else except Apple, calls the non-screen area located at the top of the phone, where the TrueDepth photo unit is, is also the same.

It's as striking when you see it for the first time as before and, in my experience, it disappears from your consciousness as quickly as it did last year, that is, very quickly.

Strictly speaking, it is less dominant on the larger iPhone XS Max as this screen is larger and the TrueDepth camera unit is virtually the same size on both.

There are other phone manufacturers who can offer the immaculate manufacturing quality for which Apple is known, and that is evident here. There are manufacturers with such a strong sense of color, or such a strong identity in their industrial design that tells you that it's a Nokia or a Motorola, even though the label has dropped.

But Apple continues to follow its own path and the results are, like this one, elegant, simple and pure. And in this case, these phones continue to be what Craig Federighi told me last year, it is still the intention of the company: to create a screen where all the other parts of the design just disappeared and all that is left is you and the pixels. Which brings us to the display.

iPhone XS and iPhone XS Max: screen

The screen of the new iPhone XS and XS Max is different from that of last year. It's still an OLED with a resolution of 458 pixels per inch (2436 x 1125 on the smaller iPhone XS and 2688 x 1242 pixels on the larger XS Max). . Note that this is the very first time that the pixel density of a normal size iPhone and a larger model is the same. Previously, the iPhone 8, for example, had a 326ppi screen while the 8 Plus was displaying 401ppi.

You no longer need to choose the biggest iPhone to get the best display.

Compared to last year's iPhone X, the displays offer a greater dynamic range, that is, a larger portion of the color spectrum. In practice, this means better effects with video playback of HDR 10 and Dolby Vision content.

In everyday life, there is little discernible difference between this year's screen and last year's screen, but these iPhone screens are still huge.

This is even before taking into account True Tone in the mix. True Tone Display is an Apple specialty that uses sensors that measure the colors of ambient light. It then adjusts the color output so that everything is exactly the way it is supposed to, compensating for whether you're out in the sun or in a dimly lit room.

In other words, a series of four-channel ambient light sensors monitors the ambient temperature and adjusts the output to the screen. This means that everything you read on the screen should look more natural.

I find that True Tone is a subtle but certainly valuable improvement. Not as extreme as the effect of Night Shift, where the cold light of the shelves was heated to make the screen more pleasant at night, but still delicately effective.

Apple said that this new screen differs from last year because it offers a tracking technology at 120 Hz – different from the refresh rate of 120 Hz for the screen – but that means the responsiveness of the touch input is twice as fast.

I have never noticed a mediocre response time in terms of touching the screen, but this screen is very fast.

The video playback on the XS Max, in particular, is simply great: an almost constant sweetness, crisp and lively.

iPhone XS and iPhone XS Max: size

The iPhone XS has the same size as the iPhone X, itself about the same size as every iPhone since the iPhone 6 (apart of course the plus size versions). So, you will be very familiar with what you feel in your hand.

If you have used the iPhone Plus, you will know how you feel. But do not go away with the idea that this means that the iPhone XS Max is the same experience as the iPhone 8 Plus.

Even though it's slightly smaller than the 8 Plus, the fact that this year's iPhones are all full-screen machines means that the feeling is different when you use it. Your thumbs must travel higher and higher to reach the top and bottom of the screen because there is much more display.

More than ever, it's important to try the iPhone XS Max before you buy it, especially if you feel that your hands are smaller.

It's only 1mm wider than the Samsung Galaxy Note 9 and it's actually thinner from front to back, but it's bigger than the Note9.

My hands are not huge, so you know, but I found that the XS Max was absolutely handy and quickly comfortable, although you still know you were holding something big.

iPhone XS and iPhone XS Max: camera

Since the iPhone is available in two sizes, there have been differences in the camera in each. Sometimes it was a little extras and, more recently, from the iPhone 7 Plus, it came in the form of a single camera on the small phone, two on the largest.

This year, for the first time, both sizes have two cameras on the back and they are identical on both phones.

At first glance, they look like cameras last year. Two 12MP sensors, one with twice the focal length of the other to create an effective 2x optical zoom.

But the wide angle sensor is now bigger than last year, allowing pixels to better develop in low light conditions. The pixels are also deeper, which helps color saturation, and there are now more Focus Pixels to make autofocus faster, as explained here.

There is also now the addition of Smart HDR that uses the most advanced image processor of the brain of the iPhone to enhance the photos. Apple is sometimes accused of manipulating too much and processing photos. This may be true, but fortunately, Apple's engineers are pretty good at making this treatment almost always successful. There are failures but when the processor does things correctly, the results are spectacular.

There is another step forward for this year's iPhone camera and it's an improved Portrait mode.

It's great and it's a better version than I've seen on any other camera.

Bokeh is where your subject is perfectly net, but the background is blurry. Apple simultaneously takes wide angle and telephoto sensors and adds software to determine which bits need to be blurred and which ones should remain sharp.

What's new this year is that you can adjust the depth of field after the event. So, if you just want your dog's muzzle to be clean and even his eyes are blurry, you can do it. Or maybe the whole shot should be clean? I am fine too.

It is true that competing smartphones also have this capability. But Apple's slider, where you adjust the blur by changing the virtual aperture, is more granular than elsewhere.

It's also better done. Others simply add or remove fog levels in the background, but here, Apple mimics the effects of the change of aperture, thus compiling the appearance of details in each case.

It's a subtle but electrifying effect that occurs because it takes the raw data from what the camera sees and determines the effect of depth of field – it's not just a filter or something like that.

Soon, with an iOS update, you will be able to adjust the depth of field and see what it will look like on the screen as you shoot. But for now, it's a great upgrade to an already powerful camera.

iPhone XS and iPhone XS Max: Face ID

FaceID is slightly faster this time, though it has always been fast, if not as fast as Touch ID. The real improvement this time however comes from off-axis recognition.

My only real complaint with Face ID last year was that when the iPhone X was on the table in front of me, I had to look at it so that my face was at the very top of the screen, mimicking the relative angle of the camera. I saw when I was holding the phone. It was embarrassing.

Now I find that the camera is more tolerant and it recognizes me when my face is just visible.

I still find Face ID much more consistent than other facial recognition features on competing phones, including the Samsung Galaxy Note9 where it is common to see messages encouraging me to hold the phone differently. This is very rarely the case with the iPhone.

iPhone XS and iPhone XS Max: A12 Bionic

The new processor that, like last year, bears the name of Bionic, is definitely powerful. It was the same for the A11 and it was difficult to find a phone that beat in power. I think this will be the case this time around: it's a fast, high-performance chip designed to handle everything from video playback to AR.

In fact, it is so powerful that you can ask yourself if you really need such a power supply in your phone. Do not ask too many questions, because if you buy one of the 2018 iPhones, you'll get one with this A12 Bionic chip, even the cheaper iPhone XR.

Although Apple does not refer to artificial intelligence, it is rather a skillful system with a lot of ingenuity, including a neural engine, that allows you to learn more than ever before on an iPhone.

Apple phones are consistently top performers, but they are easily the most efficient and put the company at the forefront of phones with intelligent capabilities.

iPhone XS and iPhone XS Max: battery life

Although the analysis of the autonomy of the iPhone XS and XS Max compared to the iPhone X last year has shown that the X was to last the longest, it is not my experience.

I found the battery increase compared to the iPhone X to be definitive, even modest, in the case of the iPhone XS. In practice, this has changed little my recharge habits.

But the battery of the iPhone XS Max is a revelation. And it continues, again and again. A whole day was easily accomplished with a decent charge piece left late at night. On an experimental basis, several times, I did not recharge myself overnight. That would not have allowed me to spend a second day, so a daily fee is recommended, but that means if you do not put the phone right on the wireless charger and that it does not charge for At night, you will not see the dreaded red battery and the image of the charging cable on the screen.

There are other phones with a longer battery life, often much longer, but as some last more than two days and all need daily recharges for total peace of mind, the XS and above all the XS Max is enough.

iPhone XS and iPhone XS Max: price

The iPhone XS starts at $ 999 and the iPhone XS Max at $ 1,099 and up. These are very expensive phones. But the components, the quality of manufacture and the power make me think that they are not necessarily bad for all that.

Compared to these prices, there is the next iPhone XR that starts at $ 749. I have tried it briefly and it looks fantastic: the display is not as high resolution but it is a sleek and stylish phone. And for many, it will be the best choice, especially considering the price – even if the camera may not be as good. It's hard to say that the XR is there.

iPhone XS and iPhone XS Max: disappointments

Well, these are great phones. But…

It seems a shame that Apple has not finally opted for a more powerful charging connector, while its competitors have been doing it for quite some time. A battery that recharges quickly is a great way to get away from the fact that no battery lasts long enough. You can still charge your iPhone faster if you buy a separate Apple charging jack, but it's not cheap.

Similarly, it is a pity that there is no 3.5mm adapter in Lightning in the box, like last year and the year before. Of course, we could not expect Apple to provide them forever, and many phone contracts mean that a large portion of buyers already have such an adapter. It's not like it's expensive, $ 9, but there's something wrong with the fact that the cheapest iPhone 7 that you can buy will come with it. Adapter and that these more expensive phones will not be.

Because of course, there is no headphone jack on these iPhones, although it is not a surprise.

And although there is a lot of high-tech stuff in these phones, you can not deny that they are expensive, which will make them lose a lot or at least let them wait for the XR to reach the tablets.

Finally, although the life of the battery is excellent on the iPhone XS Max, the life of the battery XS seems only slightly higher than that of the iPhone X.

iPhone XS and iPhone XS Max: Verdict

These new iPhones are just as exciting as the launch of the iPhone X last year. Finally, Apple treated both iPhone sizes in the same way, with no difference in features between small and large.

So, you must first choose based on the size that fits your hand and the display that suits your eyes. There is a price difference of $ 100, so that can also be a consideration. In this case, you may want to wait for the iPhone XR, more affordable, especially if you are looking for one of the colors of this phone.

If you know that you are a heavy user, the extra life of the iPhone XS Max is a definite plus.

The camera on the XS and XS Max is exceptional, and the XR will probably not compete with that, but we will have to wait and see.

The other elements that stand out especially come back to the processor. Of course, you can not use the AR features yet, but that could change if a great app requires the processing power of the 2018 iPhones to work.

Still, the last flagship phone of a company is the best and it is certainly the case here, with some distance between the pair XS and iPhone X last year. But updates are sometimes iterative rather than revolutionary.

If you have an iPhone X, well, you have it in less than a year, so you might want to wait a bit, but if you have another iPhone, the XS and XS Max are upgrades convincing. Still, there is the shadow of the iPhone XR, more affordable and very attractive, available in a few weeks. If you like the colors offered by the XR (and I really like the coral and yellow versions especially), there are good reasons to wait.

The iPhone XS and XS Max are expensive phones, but they offer real power, a franking screen, the highest storage capacity to date on an iPhone and great cameras. There is also a usefully improved operating system, and all these features are housed in a beautiful and attractive hull.

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Apple announced three new iPhones on September 12th. The iPhone XS, a direct and identical replacement for the iPhone X, the iPhone XS Max, a phone with a huge 6.5-inch screen, and the iPhone XR, more affordable, which will follow in October.

I've tested the XS and the XS Max a few moments after their revelation in Cupertino – you can see my initial response here and these are my thoughts after more than two weeks of intensive use.

I focused mainly on the larger iPhone XS Max, but apart from three elements: size, battery capacity and price, the phones are identical, so in the sections I wrote on both phones more in detail.

It should be noted that unlike the iPhone 7 Plus and the iPhone 8 Plus, the biggest iPhone this year has in no way a better camera than the smallest.

iPhone XS and iPhone XS Max: Design

You know what the iPhone X looks like, with its front screen, but for the TrueDepth camera sensor? Then you know exactly what the iPhone XS looks like. There is almost no visible difference.

I mean, it's a "S" year, but Apple has not put an S on the back of this iPhone like with the latest S handsets. So, you have to look closely to see which iPhone you're wearing. hold.

Turn down the iPhone and you will see pretty much the only physical change: the speaker grille on the bottom edge was symmetrical but now there is an antenna band at the bottom of the # 39; s iPhone. from one side to the other. This does not affect the sound – some of these holes are just cosmetic. Eagle eyes will also detect an extra antenna strip on the top edge of the iPhones.

The iPhone XS Max is identical, it's just a little bigger.

This visual similarity is not a bad thing. The stylish and brilliant iPhone X is one of the best smartphones ever seen, so it's good to see more – and this time there was no initial shortage, unlike the year last.

The all-screen style shines because of the way the bezel is consistent and even all around. Of course, it could be thinner in places, but there is something very satisfying in the uniformity, the narrow bezel making a pretty frame on the screen.

The only visual clue that this is a new iPhone comes if you see the XS in the new gold color. This, of course, is remarkably different from the Space Gray and Silver colors that the iPhone X has adopted – as the iPhone XS is still.

The golden iPhone XS is a different shade of the golden iPhone 8, just like the iPhone X silver was subtly different from the iPhone 8. This gold is darker, maybe a little more smoked, with just a more yellow peep. It's always subtle and pale, rather than rowdy and emphatic and it's very appealing, I would say. The stainless steel group tinged with gold is very successful, it is opulent and elegant. It's more expensive than the silver version: it's one of the features I've chosen in an article about eight things you may not have heard about the phone.

And, of course, there is the famous attention to details of Apple, which means that other elements are accented in gold, like the metal case around the camera and even, as noted in my other item, in the Lightning charge socket.

The notch, like everyone else except Apple, calls the non-screen area located at the top of the phone, where the TrueDepth photo unit is, is also the same.

It's as striking when you see it for the first time as before and, in my experience, it disappears from your consciousness as quickly as it did last year, that is, very quickly.

Strictly speaking, it is less dominant on the larger iPhone XS Max as this screen is larger and the TrueDepth camera unit is virtually the same size on both.

There are other phone manufacturers who can offer the immaculate manufacturing quality for which Apple is known, and that is evident here. There are manufacturers with such a strong sense of color, or such a strong identity in their industrial design that tells you that it's a Nokia or a Motorola, even though the label has dropped.

But Apple continues to follow its own path and the results are, like this one, elegant, simple and pure. And in this case, these phones continue to be what Craig Federighi told me last year, it is still the intention of the company: to create a screen where all the other parts of the design just disappeared and all that is left is you and the pixels. Which brings us to the display.

iPhone XS and iPhone XS Max: screen

The screen of the new iPhone XS and XS Max is different from that of last year. It's still an OLED with a resolution of 458 pixels per inch (2436 x 1125 on the smaller iPhone XS and 2688 x 1242 pixels on the larger XS Max). . Note that this is the very first time that the pixel density of a normal size iPhone and a larger model is the same. Previously, the iPhone 8, for example, had a 326ppi screen while the 8 Plus was displaying 401ppi.

You no longer need to choose the biggest iPhone to get the best display.

Compared to last year's iPhone X, the displays offer a greater dynamic range, that is, a larger portion of the color spectrum. In practice, this means better effects with video playback of HDR 10 and Dolby Vision content.

In everyday life, there is little discernible difference between this year's screen and last year's screen, but these iPhone screens are still huge.

This is even before taking into account True Tone in the mix. True Tone Display is an Apple specialty that uses sensors that measure the colors of ambient light. It then adjusts the color output so that everything is exactly the way it is supposed to, compensating for whether you're out in the sun or in a dimly lit room.

In other words, a series of four-channel ambient light sensors monitors the ambient temperature and adjusts the output to the screen. This means that everything you read on the screen should look more natural.

I find that True Tone is a subtle but certainly valuable improvement. Not as extreme as the effect of Night Shift, where the cold light of the shelves was heated to make the screen more pleasant at night, but still delicately effective.

Apple said that this new screen differs from last year because it offers a tracking technology at 120 Hz – different from the refresh rate of 120 Hz for the screen – but that means the responsiveness of the touch input is twice as fast.

I have never noticed a mediocre response time in terms of touching the screen, but this screen is very fast.

The video playback on the XS Max, in particular, is simply great: an almost constant sweetness, crisp and lively.

iPhone XS and iPhone XS Max: size

The iPhone XS has the same size as the iPhone X, itself about the same size as every iPhone since the iPhone 6 (apart of course the plus size versions). So, you will be very familiar with what you feel in your hand.

If you have used the iPhone Plus, you will know how you feel. But do not go away with the idea that this means that the iPhone XS Max is the same experience as the iPhone 8 Plus.

Even though it's slightly smaller than the 8 Plus, the fact that this year's iPhones are all full-screen machines means that the feeling is different when you use it. Your thumbs must travel higher and higher to reach the top and bottom of the screen because there is much more display.

More than ever, it's important to try the iPhone XS Max before you buy it, especially if you feel that your hands are smaller.

Il est seulement 1 mm plus large que le Samsung Galaxy Note 9 et il est en fait plus mince d’avant en arrière, mais il est plus grand que le Note9.

Mes mains ne sont pas énormes, alors vous savez, mais j&#39;ai trouvé que le XS Max était absolument maniable et rapidement confortable, bien que vous sachiez toujours que vous teniez quelque chose de gros.

iPhone XS et iPhone XS Max: appareil photo

Depuis que l&#39;iPhone est disponible en deux tailles, il y a eu des différences dans l&#39;appareil photo dans chacune. Parfois, il s’agissait de petits extras et, plus récemment, à partir de l’iPhone 7 Plus, cela s’est manifesté sous la forme d’une seule caméra sur le petit téléphone, deux sur la plus grande.

Cette année, pour la première fois, les deux tailles ont deux caméras à l&#39;arrière et elles sont identiques sur les deux téléphones.

À première vue, ils semblent des caméras similaires à l&#39;an dernier. Deux capteurs 12MP, l&#39;un avec deux fois la distance focale de l&#39;autre pour créer un zoom optique 2x efficace.

Mais le capteur grand angle est maintenant plus gros que l&#39;année dernière, ce qui permet aux pixels de mieux se développer dans des conditions de faible luminosité. Les pixels sont également plus profonds, ce qui aide à la saturation des couleurs, et il y a maintenant plus de Pixels Focus pour rendre l&#39;autofocus plus rapide, comme expliqué ici.

Il y a aussi maintenant l&#39;ajout de Smart HDR qui utilise le processeur d&#39;image plus avancé du cerveau de l&#39;iPhone pour améliorer les photos. Apple est parfois accusé de trop manipuler et traiter ses photos. Cela peut être vrai, mais heureusement, les ingénieurs d’Apple ont assez de bon goût pour que ce traitement soit presque toujours réussi. Il y a des ratés mais quand le processeur fait les choses correctement, les résultats sont spectaculaires.

Il ya un autre pas en avant pour la caméra iPhone de cette année et c’est un mode Portrait amélioré.

C’est formidable et c’est une version plus efficace que celle que j’ai vue sur n’importe quel autre appareil photo.

Bokeh est l&#39;endroit où votre sujet est parfaitement net, mais l&#39;arrière-plan est flou. Apple prend simultanément des capteurs grand angle et téléobjectif et ajoute un logiciel pour déterminer quels bits doivent être flous et lesquels doivent rester nets.

Ce qui est nouveau cette année, c’est que vous pouvez ajuster la profondeur de champ après l’événement. Donc, si vous voulez simplement que le museau de votre chien soit net et même que ses yeux soient flous, vous pouvez le faire. Ou peut-être que le coup entier devrait être net? Ça va aussi.

Il est vrai que les smartphones concurrents ont également cette capacité. Mais le curseur d&#39;Apple, où vous ajustez le flou en modifiant l&#39;ouverture virtuelle, est plus granulaire qu&#39;ailleurs.

C’est aussi mieux fait. D&#39;autres ajoutent ou suppriment simplement les niveaux de brouillard en arrière-plan, mais ici, Apple imite les effets du changement d&#39;ouverture, compilant ainsi l&#39;apparence des détails dans chaque cas.

C’est un effet subtil mais électrisant qui se produit parce qu’il prend les données brutes de ce que voit la caméra et détermine l’effet de profondeur de champ – ce n’est pas simplement un filtre ou quelque chose du genre.

Bientôt, avec une mise à jour iOS, vous pourrez ajuster la profondeur de champ et voir à quoi cela ressemblera à l’écran au fur et à mesure de la prise de vue. Mais pour l&#39;instant, il s&#39;agit d&#39;une mise à niveau géniale vers un appareil photo déjà performant.

iPhone XS et iPhone XS Max: identifiant de visage

FaceID est légèrement plus rapide cette fois-ci, même si elle a toujours été rapide, sinon aussi rapide que Touch ID. La véritable amélioration cette fois-ci vient toutefois de la reconnaissance hors axe.

Mon seul vrai reproche avec Face ID l’année dernière était que lorsque l’iPhone X était sur la table devant moi, je devais me pencher dessus pour que mon visage se trouve tout en haut de l’écran, imitant l’angle relatif de la caméra. m&#39;a vu quand je tenais le téléphone. C&#39;était gênant.

Maintenant, je trouve que la caméra est plus tolérante et elle me reconnaît lorsque mon visage est simplement visible.

Je continue à trouver Face ID beaucoup plus cohérent que les autres fonctions de reconnaissance faciale sur les téléphones concurrents, y compris le Samsung Galaxy Note9 où il est fréquent de voir les messages m&#39;encourager à tenir le téléphone différemment, attendre un peu, puis demander de saisir mon code. C&#39;est très rarement le cas avec l&#39;iPhone.

iPhone XS et iPhone XS Max: A12 Bionic

Le nouveau processeur qui, comme l’an dernier, porte le nom de Bionic, est définitivement puissant. So was the A11 and it was hard to find a phone that beat that in processing power. I think that will be the case this time: this is a fast, capable chip that is designed to handle everything from video playback to AR.

In fact, it’s so powerful that you might question whether you actually need such power in your phone. Don’t question it too much, though, because if you’re buying one of the 2018 iPhones then you’re getting one with this A12 Bionic chip, even the lower-priced iPhone XR.

Although Apple doesn’t refer to artificial intelligence, plumping for the term machine learning instead, this is a slick processor with plenty of cleverness built in, including a Neural Engine, which takes machine learning further than before on an iPhone.

Apple’s phones have regularly been strong performers but this is easily the most effective and puts the company at the absolute forefront of phones with smart capabilities.

iPhone XS And iPhone XS Max: Battery Life

Though there has been an analysis of how battery life on the iPhone XS and XS Max compare to last year’s iPhone X  which indicated the X to last the longest, that’s not my experience.

I found the battery increase over the iPhone X to be definite, if modest, in the case of the iPhone XS. In practice, it made little difference to my recharging habits.

But the iPhone XS Max battery is a revelation. It goes on and on. A full day was easily achieved with a decent chunk of charge left late at night. As an experiment I several times didn’t recharge overnight. It wouldn’t have got me through a second day, so daily charges are recommended, but it means that if you don’t put the phone just right on the wireless charging pad and it doesn’t recharge overnight, you won’t see the dreaded red battery and charging cable image onscreen.

There are other phones with longer battery life, often much longer, but since few last for more than two days, and all need nightly charges for complete peace of mind, the XS and especially the XS Max are enough to get you through.

iPhone XS And iPhone XS Max: Pricing

The iPhone XS starts at $999 and the iPhone XS Max is $1,099 and up. These are very expensive phones. But the components, build quality and power make me think that they are not necessarily bad value, for all that.

Set against these prices is the upcoming iPhone XR which starts from $749. I have tried this out briefly and it looks and feels fantastic: the display is not as high-resolution but it is an elegant, stylish phone. And for many it will be the best choice, especially given the price – though the camera may not be quite as good. It’s hard to say until the XR is actually here, of course.

iPhone XS And iPhone XS Max: Disappointments

Well, these are tremendous phones. But…

It seems a shame Apple didn&#39;t finally plump for a more powerful charging plug in the box, when rivals have been doing so for some time. A battery that recharges fast is a great way to get away from the fact that no battery lasts long enough. You can still recharge your iPhone faster if you buy a separate charging plug from Apple but it&#39;s not cheap.

Similarly, it&#39;s a shame there&#39;s not 3.5mm to Lightning adapter in the box as there was last year and the year before. Sure, Apple couldn&#39;t be expected to supply these for ever, and many phone contracts means a large proportion of buyers will already have such an adapter from last time around. It&#39;s not like it&#39;s expensive, $9, but there&#39;s something not quite right about the fact that the cheapest iPhone 7 you can buy will come supplied with the adapter and these more expensive phones won&#39;t.

Because, of course, there&#39;s no headphone socket on these iPhones, either, though that&#39;s hardly a surprise.

And although there&#39;s a bunch of high-tech stuff in these phones, you can&#39;t deny they are pricey which will put many off or at least leave them waiting until the XR hits the shelves.

Finally, although the battery life is great on the iPhone XS Max, the XS battery life seems only a modest step up from the iPhone X.

iPhone XS And iPhone XS Max: Verdict

These new iPhones are every bit as exciting as the launch of the iPhone X last year. At last, Apple has treated both sizes of iPhone equally, with no feature differences between small and large.

So, you should choose first of all according to the size that fits your hand and the display that suits your eyes.  There is a $100 price difference so that may be a consideration, too. In which case, you might like to wait for the more affordable iPhone XR, especially if you fancy one of that phone’s range of colors.

If you know you’re a heavy user, the extra battery life on the iPhone XS Max is a definite bonus.

The camera on the XS and XS Max is outstanding, and the XR will likely not compete with this, but we’ll have to wait and see.

Other elements that stand out mostly come back to the processor. Sure, you may not use AR features much yet, but that might change if there’s a killer app that needs the 2018 iPhones&#39; processing power to work.

It’s pretty much always the case that a company’s latest flagship phone is its best and that’s definitely the case here, with some distance between the XS pair and last year’s iPhone X. But the upgrades are sometimes iterative rather than revolutionary.

If you have an iPhone X, well, you’ve had it less than a year right now so you might want to wait a little anyway, but if you have any other iPhone, the XS and XS Max are convincing and appealing upgrades. Still, there is the shadow of the more affordable, highly appealing iPhone XR coming in a matter of weeks. If you like the colors the XR offers (and I do, I really like the coral and yellow versions especially) then there&#39;s good reason to wait.

The iPhone XS and XS Max are expensive phones but they offer real power, a knockout display, the highest-capacity storage yet on an iPhone and superb cameras – none of which the iPhone XR can match. There&#39;s also a usefully improved operating system, and all these features come housed in a gorgeous and appealing shell.

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