iPhone XS and iPhone XS Max Review: here's the future

If 2017 was the year of the takeover of Apple on the iPhone then, in 2018, the iPhone XS and the iPhone XS Max are his master plan in the broad sense. In the case of the iPhone XS Max, it's really very big. Lined up on its first-screen design, these new smartphones promise awesome power and smarter photography in a beautifully designed package. You're paying a big premium for all of this, which raises the very real question of whether Apple delivers enough products in the premium category created.

A familiar face

Apple has changed its traditional iPhone design language with the iPhone X but, as is often the case in year "S", iPhone XS and iPhone XS Max do not deviate from this example. Indeed, if you are an iPhone XS buyer and you want everyone to know that you own the latest Apple smartphone, you should probably get one. The third color – alongside silver and space gray – is the most remarkable differentiator.

This does not mean that there have been no changes, only that they require more attention. The IP68 water and dust resistance is welcome, as are all those who have observed with as much patience as possible their smartphone soaked in a bowl of rice. In fact, Apple really exceeds this rating: the phone can handle a dip in the water up to two meters deep, and not just one, for 30 minutes.

Despite improved sealing, Apple has also reworked the speakers, making the iPhone XS and iPhone XS Max more powerful without sacrificing clarity. With glass in front and behind and a shiny metal group separating them, I can not say that I was hoping a lot for the durability of these phones, especially since the iPhone X tended to scratch itself. Apple claims to have used a harder new formulation of Corning's Gorilla Glass, so my fingers are crossed. One case, however, would probably be a wise investment.

The decision to display

As I suspect was true with many others, I switched to the plus size iPhone when this decision meant that you have two cameras instead of one. This is a choice that I chose until the iPhone 7 Plus, but the arrival of the iPhone X could return to a device better suited to the size of my hands without sacrificing the optical zoom.

Indeed, for twelve months, the form factor of the iPhone X has been close to the ideal balance for me. Now, however, I question that decision. The size of the iPhone XS Max is closer to that of the iPhone 8 Plus, but can accommodate a screen much larger than that of a phone Plus. Now that I have tasted it, and with the improvements of iOS 12, I'm not sure I can go back.

I must mention the significant reduction in the thickness of the bezel for a large part of it. Like the iPhone XS, the screen of the iPhone XS Max does not reach the limits of the phone, but proportionally, they are even smaller simply because this OLED panel is simply huge. 6.5 inches is a record for an iPhone, and is close to what the iPad mini 4 offers.

This is not to say that the screen of the iPhone XS is disappointing, far from it. In both cases, Apple's OLED is rich in color and light, easily visible outdoors, even in bright sunlight, and the videos and games are spectacular. Whichever size you choose, you get a resolution of 458 pixels per inch. The support for Dolby Vision and HDR10 is the icing on the cake, although it will inevitably be more subtle than the display technology on a full size TV.

As often, the hardware is ready before the software is up to date. Apple has added some new UI elements to take advantage of the extra space in the landscape orientation – there is a sidebar in apps like Mail, for example, while Safari places tabs iPad style under the address bar – but as you know, only bigger.

The home screen has the same number of application icons, and despite the larger space on either side of the notch, you still need to open the Control Center to see the percentage of the battery. For most applications, the activities are as usual at a higher magnification level, and this seems like a lost opportunity. More annoying, some apps are not quite ready for the 6.5 inches of iOS and suffer from small layout problems. I imagine that this will be fixed in a relatively short time, however.

A new speed lap

The heart of the iPhone XS and the iPhone XS Max is the same: the new Apple A12 Bionic processor. Compared to the A11 Bionic of the iPhone X, Apple claims that there is a 15% improvement in processor performance and a 50% improvement in GPU performance. Of course, there's a slight, but noticeable, change in the speed with which apps load when you tap their icons and how quickly iOS 12 lets you browse them and keep working.

It's not just the speed of loading and running applications. Facial identification is faster now, and it feels like you do not have to tilt the phone – or my neck – to get better. If you've ever tried to unlock the iPhone X in a recumbent position and you have to go back to properly attach to the TrueDepth camera, you'll be happy to know that these twists are now less necessary.

The initial concerns about Face ID – and the absence of the Touch ID sensor – seem even less problematic in twelve months. Just being able to check your phone to unlock passwords, site connections, and secure app features has become second nature. I much prefer to use a fingerprint. Nor do I have any problems recognizing myself with or without glasses, or when wearing sunglasses, although your frames and lenses may give you that level of flexibility.

The most promising change is probably the new neural engine of the A12 Bionic. Apple comparisons between this version and the A11 version are particularly attractive: 5 trillion operations per second, against 600 billion. However, it is too early to see the impact.

I think it will not take long, though. One of the biggest differentiators in machine learning and neural networks is whether you do it locally – as Apple does – or in the cloud – like Google and other users – and what it means for user data and latency. Apple's argument has always been that relying on smarter devices to perform their own AI treatment pays off in terms of speed and privacy, and the new Bionic A12 neural engine

At the moment, there is not much that is testing the new silicon of Apple. With the arrival of ARKit 2 and the growth of digital photography, it will change rapidly.

When it came to wireless speed, we did not expect 5G and, of course, it was not included. Even with fifth-generation networks coming online later this year, limited coverage and bulky first-generation modems mean it will probably be a year or two before Apple decides they're ready for the iPhone.

Instead, you get Gigabit LTE, which with the right operator could still make a significant difference. The faster service coverage than LTE is already important, and it is likely that the download and download speeds displayed on your iPhone will exceed those offered by your home Internet connection. While you're at home, you'll find the 802.11ac WiFi with 2 × 2 MIMO, and Apple has also added Bluetooth 5.0 support.

The other big wireless change for 2018 is the dual SIM card support, although only China will have the option of placing two physical SIM cards in a single handset. Everywhere else, we associate a physical SIM card with a virtual eSIM, as Apple has used on cellular iPads in recent years. Again, it depends on the operator (and the eSIM feature will not be activated until the end of the year), but it will mean the ability to switch between two different lines for calls, messaging and data, or a combination of the three.

Depending on how your operator of choice handles it, you may be able to activate your normal service on eSIM only. This would let the SIM physical slot for a local card that you pick up when traveling, or the card of your business phone.

Smarter cameras

The set of two cameras on the iPhone XS and the iPhone XS Max may look like the iPhone X, but there are some changes on the inside. The 12-megapixel telephoto lens – responsible for the 2x zoom – is the same, but the main sensor is 30% larger and now has 1.4 pixels rather than 1.22 micron in front. They are also a little deeper, and Apple has doubled the pixels used in its phase-detection autofocus.

Larger and deeper pixels mean more captured light. Apple then associates this with Smart HDR, which takes several photos – underexposed and overexposed – each time you press the shutter button. They are all powered by the A12 Bionic, which combines with the idea that the most difficult areas will be clearer and the sections destroyed will be tempered. Any other detail present in the intermediate images is taken into account and woven, while taking into account things such as the hand shake or the presence of faces.

Apple allows it by default, although you can optionally enable / disable an HDR in the camera app to manually disable it if you prefer. You also have the choice to have a regular and non-intelligent HDR shooting. Apple tells me that most users prefer its treatment, although, a few times, I am delighted that the original image is also captured.

Smart HDR can be aggressive with its treatment, almost as it wants to impress you with how much detail it can draw from each scene. Sometimes it's exactly what you want: vibrant colors and a lot of contrast in daytime pictures, or twinkling lights in velvet black layered at night, and they're really pretty on the rich OLED panel of the day. iPhone XS Max. At other times, however, the treatment may be a bit too heavy, letting the photos feel overworked and occasionally with odd color tones or fringes under dim lighting. I have no doubt that iPhone XS captures more information for each image, but sometimes I wanted it to be a bit more subtle in the way it used it for the final image.

The other big change is in Portrait mode. As before, it combines the two front or rear cameras for a fake bokeh effect in the background. Now, in addition to switching between different types of lighting, you can also adjust the degree of blur. By default, you get a simulation of a f / 4.5 lens, but you can go to f / 1.4 for maximum blur, or to f / 16 for a lot less.

It's interesting – though Apple is not the first to offer post-capture tuning – and is adjusting the bokeh level before even pressing the shutter button. Third-party applications such as Focos nevertheless allow for more in-depth modifications, such as improving glittering highlights and changing the shape. Portrait mode itself promises better overall results, especially with regard to the accuracy with which to select the contours of the subject and keep them sharp while adjusting the background.

I agree that it's better than the iPhone X, and even more so than the iPhone 8 Plus, although it's still not foolproof. Fine hairs always present a significant difficulty. My cat – which, as I mentioned in previous reviews, is the most beautiful creature in history and is often the test subject of any camera I see – sometimes loses details around its whiskers. When I deign to take pictures of human beings, hair and glasses can also be embarrassing. Sometimes being able to tone the bokeh directly in the new editing function can be enough to save a portrait with ill-defined edges.

Conservative battery claims

Apple does not really like to talk about the size of the batteries in its phones. What she prefers to highlight is how long it lasts compared to its predecessors: in the case of the iPhone XS, "30 minutes longer than the iPhone X". more hours, "meanwhile.

I spent most of my time with the iPhone XS Max, and I found that Apple's ratings regarding increasing battery life were kept in practice, but not completely after 90 minutes. As a general rule, I would find that the iPhone X would be out of breath in the middle or late evening. In contrast, the iPhone X Max has risen to 23 hours with a few percent remaining. This is what I would call relatively heavy use: a lot of messages, emails, camera use, Slack instant messages, Google Maps and other applications.

If wireless charging is more your scene, the iPhone XS and the iPhone XS Max still support the Qi standard. However, Apple has changed the wireless charging coils inside each phone, which makes it less difficult for you to place them on a support or charging stand. You still have to line things up, but I had less frustration: "I put it on the pad, but not quite, and so all that time, it did not load even though I thought that it was with the iPhone X. Unfortunately, the wireless charging still reaches 7.5W, despite the fact that other phones support double.

Apple, unrepentant

If you had hoped that the Apple iPhones of 2018 would show some regret from some companies, like the abandonment of the headphone jack, you are mistaken. Indeed, not only do you still not have the 3.5mm plug, but you no longer have the Lightning adapter at 3.5mm in the box. Apple, at least, offers you a set of Lightning wired EarPods, but I was delighted to see that my AirPods were automatically associated with the new iPhone XS Max as part of the transfer process from my old iPhone X.

Skipping a $ 9 headphone jack adapter is one thing. Apple's refusal to switch from the USB-A cable to the Lightning and from the 5W AC adapter to a USB-C version and greater power seems totally perverse, when we consider that the Mac team is all-in on USB Type-C and fast charge. The salt in the wound is that Apple claims up to 50% recharge in 30 minutes … but only if you buy a 30W charger.

The question of the iPhone XR

As I have already written, this is probably the most confusing iPhone line we've seen in the history of this smartphone for ten years. The iPhone XR, which will go on sale in October, is the entry level of the new trio and starts from 250 dollars less than the iPhone XS. Despite this, it has a larger screen at 6.1 inches.

This is partly because the iPhone XR uses a cheaper LCD screen, with slightly larger glasses. It also gets a single camera on the back, sacrificing 2x optical zoom. Apple says that it has recreated the key functionality of the Portrait mode in software, although we have not seen how far it actually works in practice.

What stands out is the fact that you still get the A12 Bionic processor. You still get face recognition, and general aesthetics of X-family. You can also choose from more colors, including the type of glossy finishes that we have not really seen since the iPhone 5c. After only a brief period with the iPhone XR after its announcement, it's hard to say how it compares to the iPhone XS and the iPhone XS Max, but the savvy consumer would probably wait to find out before opening his handbag or his wallet.

The verdict of the iPhone XS

Although I'm simply preaching restraint, I can not really criticize you for wanting to recover iPhone XS or iPhone XS Max instead of waiting. Apple's new flagship products look and feel great; their cameras are excellently reliable; and they have the performance and the screen quality you expect. That does not make them, however, good smartphones for everyone.

To say that they are expensive is a euphemism. Like the iPhone X, the iPhone XS starts at $ 999. You pay $ 100 more if you want the biggest screen of the iPhone XS Max. 256GB of storage will cost you $ 1,149 for the XS or $ 1,249 for the XS Max. The new option of 512 GB – which seems exaggerated for all, except for the most ambitious users – represents a sum of $ 1,349 for the XS or $ 1,449 for the XS Max.

At this point, you are spending more than the cost of a new MacBook Pro on your smartphone, and while it may be true that the iPhone XS Max is a full-fledged computer, it still seems ridiculously extravagant. Unless you are an iPhone X owner with hands so big that only the iPhone XS Max will save you from paralyzing paralysis, I really can not dispute the fact that a free update to iOS 12 is sufficient for another 12-month success.

I suspect that Apple is doing well with the iPhone XS and the existing iPhone XS Max in the rarefied air at the top of the cellular food chain. If last year proved anything, the age of the thousand-dollar smartphone was not the ridiculous idea that some have decried. With the arrival of the iPhone XR, in the meantime, those who are thirsty for the X-family style but with reservations about the price will get a lot of the features for a not insignificant saving. For Apple, meanwhile, it's win-win.

I do not think that when we complained, we wanted something more, something new, in the smartphone business, that we had in mind the pricing of laptops. What I find most fascinating in the iPhone XS is its vision of the future. Apple and its diabolically intelligent silicon are paving the way for AI in your pocket with revolutionary talents. Of course, there is a tithing to pay to be at the forefront, but it's hard not to be excited at where this race takes us.