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Last year was one of the most revolutionary years of the iPhone. With the iPhone X, Apple ushered in a new era of design and unveiled what was once a hallmark of the iPhone brand. Apple exchanged the Touch ID for Face ID, which switched from the Home button to a complete sign system. An OLED screen has replaced the emblems at the top and bottom.
For me, the transition to the iPhone X has not been a success. As I detailed last year here at 9to5Mac, I was immensely impressed by the iPhone X from the start. The only problem I had was its size; As a long time user of the "Plus" model, the iPhone X was a bit less powerful in terms of screen size, even though, technically, it offered a larger screen of 5.8 inches.
This year, Apple has extended the design of the iPhone X to a new form factor: the iPhone XS Max 6.5 inches. Read on for my first impressions of 1 week on iPhone XS Max.
Sylvania HomeKit light strip
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Only a few weeks ago, I wrote that if this year is an "S" year for the iPhone in general, the iPhone XS Max is much more than that. It introduces a brand new, larger form factor for the iPhone X's design, while making it smaller than previous iPhones.
The iPhone XS Max measures 157.5mm x 77.4mm x 7.7mm and weighs 208 grams. This compares to the iPhone 8 Plus at 158.4mm x 78.1mm x 7.5mm thickness and 202 grams. This means that the iPhone XS Max, despite a larger screen of 6.5 inches, is both narrower and shorter than the iPhone 8 Plus.
One of the things that worried me was the transition period from the 5.8-inch screen to the 6.5-inch screen. After only a week, however, I adjusted perfectly. The biggest problem I had was getting an idea of the size of the keyboard, but other than that, it was a pretty transparent setting.
In terms of one-handed use, it is certainly possible that your hands are larger than average, but for most people, two-handed use is the main method of entry here. Accessing Control Center and Notification Center is not the easiest thing to do, but it's a good compromise between adding a screen to real estate, in my opinion. In addition, I do not find the use of one hand much better on the iPhone X either.
One thing I found with the iPhone XS Max is that the larger size makes the transition to the box a little harder. I am the type of person who regularly goes from one case to another on a weekly basis, but this time, I see myself much more dependent on a case. I think it may be because the iPhone XS Max looks very heavy, but it's a little embarrassing to be used without a case.
The best cases for iPhone XS Max:
applications
With this larger screen, developers need to optimize their applications to take full advantage. Although there is no type of mailbox as we saw last year when transitioning to the original iPhone 8, many apps do not use the 6.5 inch screen to offer more information. Instead, the same interface of the iPhone X is simply improved.
This will change as time passes and more and more developers update their apps with the iPhone XS Max in mind, but for the moment, this is a minor inconvenience. As you can see in the picture above, neither Facebook nor Instagram fit properly on the iPhone XS Max screen, unlike the Apple News app .
With the larger display, there is a lot of potential for more information-rich designs, and we hope it's a trend.
Camera
My colleagues Zac Hall and Michael Steeber have already come up with excellent sample images of the iPhone XS Max, but I still think it's worth noting how great this iPhone X upgrade is.
The most remarkable feature for me is the support for depth control. Being able to take a picture in portrait mode and knowing that I can adjust the depth afterwards gives me greater peace of mind when using the feature than in the past. Plus, live preview support for depth control – currently available in the beta version of iOS 12.1 – further improves things.
For more examples of iPhone XS images, I strongly encourage you to watch the cover below:
Drums
The battery life of the iPhone XS Max has been the subject of many discussions. Although Apple claims that the device should last about 90 minutes longer than the iPhone X, the first tests showed that it was not necessarily the case.
In my use, the battery life on the iPhone XS Max was comparable to that of the iPhone X. I mean it was not significantly worse and was not noticeably better. I can survive a day of moderate to intense use, but it's still impossible to last a single charge for two days.
Apple is at a crossroads with iPhone battery life. In many cases, it is not very useful to have a device that can last more than a day, but not two days. Being able to spend two days without recharging your iPhone would be a wonderful feeling, but we're not there yet.
And that's probably why Apple does not spend too much time talking about the life of its battery. Unless their iPhone can spend two full days with a single worry-free charge, many users will bill each night, even if they can theoretically extend it by a day and a half.
In the end, I'd really like to see Apple double the battery life of the iPhone, but for now, we'll have to just recharge each night.
One more thing, it's time for Apple to drop the 5W charger. Each other flagship smartphone includes a USB-C fast charger. It's not a good idea for Apple to send a 5W USB-A charger with a phone of $ 1,000 or more. That's all.
USB-C Fast Charging Solutions for iPhone XS:
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Face identifier
On stage, during its September event, Apple announced that Face ID would be faster on the iPhone XS than the iPhone X. After a week with the iPhone XS Max, I found no improvement in the speed – but this is due to the fact that my iPhone X has spent almost a year learning my face is that the iPhone XS must do the same.
More generally, Face ID was fantastic on the iPhone X and it remains fantastic on the iPhone XS Max. Even though I feared a larger form factor for finding the right face identifier, this is definitely not the case.
One thing I always do, however, is to keep the "Require Attention" setting disabled for face identification. I know it compromises security to a certain extent, but I think the extra flexibility is worth it.
I wish I went in gold …
I've always chosen gray space (or the equivalent of this year) as the color of my iPhone, and this year is no different. This time, however, I must admit that I have a little desire for gold. I was hesitant to pre-order the color for not having it in person, but now that I've seen it in the Apple store, it's a very beautiful color.
I still think that the white iPhone XS is not quite correct. The white just does not look like the previous white iPhones – especially the iPhone 4. The white iPhone XS looks rather dark and cloudy, I think. At the same time, although Apple tends to vary its shade of gray, the gray iPhone XS is exactly the same as the iPhone X.
It's easier than ever to update every year
Apple does a great job of making it easy to upgrade to a new iPhone every year. With its own iPhone upgrade program and operators offering their own smartphone rental options, incentives to upgrade are sometimes more incentive than they are.
Personally, this is my first year on the iPhone upgrade program after using AT & T Next. The inclusion of AppleCare + and the ease of upgrade via the Apple Store app and the receipt of a rework kit every year make it almost a no brainer for people knowing that & # 039; They will upgrade each year.
In addition, the process of setting up a new iPhone continues to become considerably easier. This year, I was able to restore my iPhone XS Max from the backup of my iPhone X and instantly connect my Apple Watch in less than 10 minutes. Previously, this process was so tedious that I almost always set up my iPhone as new every year.
As the growth of the iPhone slows down, Apple is making every effort to facilitate the upgrade every year. And that's a hell of a lot of work.
Conclusion
In the end, the iPhone XS Max is almost the perfect phone for me. Last year, I wrote that the iPhone X was almost perfect, but that the larger screen of a phone "Plus" I missed.
The issue of upgrading since the iPhone X is tricky. If you want the largest 6.5 inch screen, then, absolutely, the iPhone XS Max is worth it. If you switch from iPhone X to iPhone XS standard, it's a little more difficult to justify. There is also the question of how the iPhone XR fits into the equation. The more we learn, the more attractive the device looks.
What do you think of the iPhone XS and the iPhone XS Max? Let us know your first week experiences in the comments!
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