Top 20+ iPhone XS and iPhone XS Max functions [Video]

The official launch of the iPhone XS and the iPhone XS Max took place yesterday. Although the iPhone XS is an upgrade from the "S" model year, which usually means more refinements than radical new changes, there is still a lot to digest from the point of view of functionality.

More specifically, this year's release includes the largest iPhone screen ever designed – the 6.5-inch iPhone XS Max. Watch our handy video as we browse some of my favorite iPhone XS features.

Unlike newer models, which included better cameras, apart from the number of pixels (even 458 DPI) and body / battery size, the two iPhone XS models are virtually identical. This is a great thing for those who wish to have the smallest iPhone XS of 5.8 inches, but do not want to sacrifice the performance of the camera.

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This year's iPhone XS Max marks the beginning of the biggest display in the history of the iPhone. Thanks to its avant-garde design, the iPhone XS Max is able to store a massive 6.5-inch screen in the body of a phone slightly smaller than an iPhone 8 Plus in width and length.

The iPhone XS and XS Max have access to three new live wallpapers that accentuate the device's Super Retina HD screen.

Last year's iPhone X enabled us to buy gray and silver stainless steel bands around the phone. With this year's iPhone XS models, Apple has launched a new gold finish in the mix and it really stands out.

The gold band on the iPhone XS is not pink gold, and it's not exactly yellow gold, but it's somewhere in between.

I've never been a fan of gold colors on tech devices because they tend to look ridiculous, but the stainless steel band contrasting with the black bezel of the iPhone XS works perfectly.

The back of the phone is an upgraded version of this milky gold color that we have seen on the iPhone 8 Plus, which perfectly complements the stainless steel band.

Like the iPhone X of last year, the iPhone XS and XS Max have windows on the front and back of the phone. This means that the risk of broken glass is greater if the device is dropped. To help solve this problem, Apple has used the glass, which it says is the most durable glass ever on a smartphone.

The iPhone XS f / 1.8 wide-angle camera has a 32% larger sensor. Since it retains the same amount of megapixel (12) as its predecessor, the pixels are physically bigger, making them much more user-friendly. More light means better low-light pictures and better overall images that require less processing.

The enhanced True Tone flash on the iPhone XS comes with a new advanced flicker detection system. The photos taken with the flash seemed more natural to me.

The front-facing TrueDepth camera also benefits from an upgrade, now featuring a 7-megapixel sensor twice as fast as its predecessor. For the first time on an iPhone, the front camera is capable of shooting 60 frames per second in 1080p.

The update of the TrueDepth camera should be accompanied by other technologies to produce better selfies, faster FaceID authentication and better Animoji performance.

With the enhancement of the image signal processor in the iPhone XS, Apple says it is able to evolve the concept of HDR photography. Smart HDR brand, this computer technology uses a four-frame buffer to take pictures without camera shift. It also captures secondary interfaces that are taken at different exposure levels to highlight highlighting details and shadow details.

All of these images are analyzed on the fly and the best parts of each image are merged to create a single composite photo. All this thanks to the improved image signal processor that works with the upgraded A12 neural engine, allowing the iPhone XS to perform up to 1,000 billion operations. by photo.

When you edit photos in Portrait mode in the Photos app on the iPhone XS, you'll see a new depth slider at the bottom of the interface.

This slider allows you to dynamically adjust the depth of field from f / 1.4 to f / 16, which allows you to effectively control background blur, or bokeh, in the post. This is not the first time we see such a feature on the iPhone, as some third-party camera apps already have similar built-in features. This is, however, the first time we have seen such a feature appear natively in the Apple Photos app.

Thanks to the four microphones built into the iPhone XS, users can now record videos with stereo sound. This means that the stereo speakers of the device are now able to accurately read stereo videos taken on the iPhone XS.

When shooting at 30 fps, the iPhone XS is able to provide an extended dynamic range to help in low light situations. If you venture into Settings → Camera → Record video, you'll find a new Alow brightness FPS setting. This setting changes the frame rate to 24 FPS on the fly when the camera encounters low light conditions.

I was skeptical when it was revealed that face identity would squarely replace touch ID on the iPhone. However, after using Face ID over the last year, I would not want to go back.

Face recognition was not perfect, however. It is even slower than Touch ID in many cases, and it is always difficult to authenticate in certain situations (for example when going to bed). With the iPhone XS, Apple has improved face authentication with what it calls Advanced FaceID. It uses advanced Secure Enclave technology and new algorithms to accelerate performance.

The new A12 chip system is the first 7-nanometer chip on the market and, like its predecessor, its processor has six cores: two performance cores and four low-power cores. Apple claims that performance cores are up to 15% faster, while efficiency cores are up to 50% less powerful.

The GPU designed by Apple has four cores and is 50% faster than the GPU of the A11.

These specifications are good, but do not totally destroy the SoC precedent, as is usually the case. The real difference with the A12 is related to higher speed, like the improved neural engine.

The A11 has a two-core neural engine, while the A12 has an eight-core engine dedicated to machine learning. The A12 Bionic is thus capable of handling 5,000 billion operations per second.

Other notable features include the enhanced Image Signal Processor (ISP), which works in conjunction with the iPhone's XS cameras. There is also an enhanced storage controller that can handle twice as much internal memory as before.

The iPhone XS marks the first time we saw 4GB of RAM in an iPhone. The iPhone of the previous generation, the iPhone X, comes with 3GB of memory.

The iPhone XS is also the first iPhone available with 512 GB of internal storage. This is thanks to the improved storage controller mentioned previously on the SoC A12.

The iPhone XS is the first iPhone to get an IP68 rating, which not only offers increased resistance to dust, but also a dip in the liquid up to a maximum depth of 2 meters for 30 minutes.

Another first for the iPhone is the inclusion of an eSIM, a feature appeared on the iPads for some time now, but which debuted on phone equipment with the iPhone XS. The eSIM, or electronic SIM card, allows users to connect to wireless networks without a physical SIM card.

On the iPhone XS, eSIM, in addition to the standard nano-physical SIM, will allow users to authenticate with two cellular connections at once. For users with separate business and personal phone lines, this means you can have both without having to carry two phones.

The eSIM feature will require future iOS update and operator support after launch. Once done, we'll come back with a follow-up article to discuss configuring multiple lines on the iPhone XS.

One of the least known aspects of the iPhone XS and XS Max is its improved cellular support. The new gigabit class LTE with 4 × 4 MIMO adorns the iPhone for the first time. It is also the first iPhone to support the 71 band, a spectrum that will help rural users to use the T-Mobile LTE.

According to John Gruber of Daring Fireball, the iPhone XS and XS Max support faster wireless charging through a new, tighter coil design. This design ensures better contact with the wireless charger being used, resulting in slightly better charging speeds. In other words, there is no real technological improvement to wireless charging in Apple's new devices.

The iPhone XS offers 30 minutes of battery life more than the iPhone X. The iPhone XS Max, with the most powerful battery ever appeared on an iPhone, offers additional battery life. One and a half hours.

Although the iPhone XS may appear to be an incremental upgrade to paper, it is a larger update than it appears on the surface. In particular, the camera receives a significant upgrade for photos and videos. The intelligent HDR associated with the wider wide-angle sensor brings immediately visible improvements in terms of photos and videos.

From a processor perspective, the upgrade is not as radical from a benchmark standpoint, but augmented reality and machine learning enthusiasts will be excited about the new neural features of the iPhone XS. Other areas, such as the camera, storage and battery life, are also useful.

The biggest upgrade, though, is also the most obvious upgrade. The screen of the iPhone XS Max is simply huge and anyone who prefers big phones will love the display of this 6.5 inch screen in such a small space.

What is your new favorite feature for the iPhone XS? Sounds in the comments below.