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The iPhone Xs Max has a 6.5" screen, making it the biggest display ever =
on an iPhone, but also hard to reach one handed
=20
<https://www.rte.ie/author/666389-will-goodbody/> By Will Goodbody=20
Science & Technology Correspondent
=20
It is an S year.
That=E2=80=99s how those in Apple=E2=80=99s world describe every =
alternate 12 months when the iPhone gets a mostly interior-based =
redesign rather than a full cosmetic facelift.
Hence the little "s" after the X or 10 on this year=E2=80=99s flagship =
model.
But don=E2=80=99t be fooled into thinking "s" really stands for slight.
There are some significant modifications to this year=E2=80=99s new =
iPhone - some you might leave, others you might take.
The question is, at a starting price of =E2=82=AC1,179, is it worth an =
upgrade?
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DESIGN
=20
The most modest changes, as you=E2=80=99d expect, are in the design =
department.
The iPhone Xs looks, to all intents and purposes, like its predecessor =
which isn=E2=80=99t a bad thing at all.
Gold has been added to the colour range, alongside space grey and =
silver.
There=E2=80=99s also now a larger screen version - the Xs Max - with a =
6.5" display and it is this that we=E2=80=99ve been testing.
The water and dust resistance level has been upgraded too and now =
reaches IP68.
This means, Apple says, that it will survive in 2 metres of water for up =
to 30 minutes.
Its tests also included other liquids, like sea water, tea, coffee and =
fizzy drinks, and apparently it passed them all.
Apple says all it asks of a user who finds themselves in such damp =
circumstances is that they rinse it with fresh water afterwards and =
leave it for five hours before charging.
If you don=E2=80=99t believe all this, you can try it yourself with your =
own =E2=82=AC1,100+ smartphone to see if it is true - go on, I dare you.
The device remains all glass, front and back, but Apple says that the =
glass is the most durable ever used in a smartphone.
Again that=E2=80=99s difficult to prove without risking damage to a =
perfectly good device - so we=E2=80=99ll just have to wait to see how =
quickly people complain about accidental breaks to their brand new =
iPhones now the first sales have been made.
The rear glass also enables faster wireless charging.
In the sound department, the Xs has a wider stereo sound and although =
they are offset from one another, software now adapts what=E2=80=99s =
coming from the speakers on either side of the phone to balance the =
output.
The result is as solid a stereo sound experience you can get from tiny =
speakers in a smartphone.
Aside from these few changes there are no other obvious alterations to =
the outer design of the iPhone Xs.=20
Presumably this time next year though, that will all change again.
=20
DISPLAY
=20
The screen on the iPhone X was very good indeed and that accolade has =
continued through to the new model.
It boasts a Super Retina OLED display with HDR10 which once again fills =
almost the entire front of the phone.
The notch - yes that old notch that attracted so much ire a year ago - =
is still there at the top of the screen, and hasn=E2=80=99t been =
magically designed out.=20
Hopefully manufacturers will find a way of hiding front facing cameras =
behind displays in the future though, because it does detract somewhat =
from the full-screen experience.
But otherwise the quality remains excellent.
Apple marketing will spout lots of numbers to justify this, like the 60% =
greater High Dynamic Range and the million to one contrast ratio.
But in language that we all actually understand, I found it to be very =
bright and clear when it needed to be, that the colour replication was =
excellent and that it does an all round great job.
The smaller of the two variants, the iPhone Xs, has a 5.8 inch screen =
and as mentioned already the Max stretches to 6.5 inches.
That sounds whoppingly large and yes it is very big to hold, putting it =
squarely into phablet territory.
The downside though is that reaching the control panel in the top right =
corner is even more of a challenge now and has really become a two hand =
task which sort of undermines the introduction of the gesture based =
navigation system.
But interestingly, despite its much larger screen size the actual =
physical footprint of the Max is very similar to the iPhone 8 Plus.
Those who like big screens will love it. But if you prefer compact =
smartphones, look to the Xs or elsewhere.
=20
CAMERA
=20
Of all the areas where Apple claims to have made significant changes for =
the better to the iPhone, this is probably the one that most lives up to =
them.
The main camera still has two 12MP sensors - a wide angle and 2x optical =
telefocus, with f1.8 and f2.4 apertures.
The sensors though have been upgraded to gather bigger pixels for =
low-light photos, speed up autofocus as well as image production and to =
stabilise video.
All are claimed improvements that are difficult to definitively verify =
and that, let=E2=80=99s face it, won=E2=80=99t really make a huge =
difference to most users.
But most of the changes have happened in the software, not the hardware =
through integration of the cameras with the neural engine and other =
gadgets.
The number of frames captured in Smart HDR mode is now eight, twice what =
it is on the iPhone X.
The best bit of those frames are then put together by the neural engine =
to build the strongest possible composite image.
(It doesn=E2=80=99t keep the other frames, so you don=E2=80=99t need to =
worry about eating into your storage).
Other phones like the Samsung Galaxy S9 and Huawei P20 Pro have similar =
features, so this isn=E2=80=99t new ground. But the Xs execution is =
equally good.
=20
The Portrait mode, which uses both cameras to create a soft-focus =
background "bokeh" effect, has also been improved.
It is now possible (only in Portrait mode) to adjust the level of bokeh =
in the background between f1.4 and f16, after the image has been =
captured.
This is a non-destructive effect though, so the original remains there =
if you want to revert to it at any point.
It=E2=80=99s a neat feature and a new one for iPhone, but is already =
available on other manufacturers=E2=80=99 devices.
=20
The 7MP front-facing TrueDepth camera also has this new Portrait feature =
and Smart HDR, which makes for great selfies.
It also has Optical Image Stabilisation and Apple says FaceID has been =
made faster, which seems in my testing so far to be true.
That was necessary though, because the feature on the iPhone X was in my =
experience, occasionally slow and imprecise.=20
You can also add "another look" to FaceID - this can be a different =
appearance of your own face, or it can be someone else=E2=80=99s.
But be warned, adding another person=E2=80=99s face will, Apple says, =
increases the probability that a stranger could unlock your phone.
There is a lot that=E2=80=99s new and positive about the camera set-up =
then.
Some of it an average user will notice and like, such as the enhanced =
Portrait Mode for example, but more of it is just too subtle or =
technical for most to really appreciate.
=20
PERFORMANCE
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Apple has made huge strides in improving the iPhone=E2=80=99s =
performance in recent years and the new A12 Bionic chip takes it to =
another level again, beyond even what you=E2=80=99d find in many =
laptops.
Much of this improvement is due to the use of 7 nanometre manufacturing =
in the chip, which in simple terms means they=E2=80=99ve been able to =
pack a load more power into the same space.
It also means a slight bump in battery life because the chip requires =
less electricity to run.
In practice you=E2=80=99ll get 30 minutes more than the iPhone X from =
the Xs and 90 minutes more from the Xs Max, Apple claims, and our =
testing so far with the Max seems to bare that out.
You=E2=80=99d sort of expect at least that though from the Max, such is =
its gargantuan size.
So while beneficial, the improvements aren=E2=80=99t massive.
The chip has six cores, two of which are performance cores that are 15% =
faster than the A11 version.
There=E2=80=99s also a four-core graphics processor and the new =
eight-core Neural Engine which adds machine learning to all sorts of =
tasks, including photography and augmented reality.
Most people don=E2=80=99t care too much about the chip or its design - =
they just want a fast reliable experience, with solid battery life and =
as many features as possible driven by it.
You certainly get that with the iPhone Xs. It=E2=80=99s super-quick and =
as you=E2=80=99ve read already the company is certainly using the =
processing power to power as many new features as it can.
The storage set up has changed too.
The three options are now 64GB, 256GB and a whopping 512GB - more than =
many people=E2=80=99s laptops can store.
Although you=E2=80=99ll pay way more than laptop prices for the upper =
end of that spectrum.
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OTHER FEATURES
=20
One other new feature worth a mention is cellular connectivity.
The iPhone Xs now has dual-SIM support with one of these being an eSIM.
What this means in practice is that you can have your home network SIM =
card in the device but also be on a second network, while travelling for =
example.
The eSIM idea is still pretty much in its infancy - the latest iPads =
have it, but not many other devices do, although Apple is trying to =
convince others to follow its lead.
But it is a good idea because what it means is that when abroad you can =
turn on the eSIM, pick up a network, choose a temporary package and =
start using it.
No more buying second SIMs, changing them over, registering online etc =
when you travel.
It won=E2=80=99t be active on the iPhone Xs though until later this year =
at which point it will be available on EE in the UK and T-Mobile in the =
US.
There are no plans for a service in Ireland so far, we=E2=80=99re told.
The new devices also come with iOS 12 preloaded.
=20
It includes a Screen Time app for monitoring and restricting your phone =
use, new Animojis, support for up to 32 people in a group FaceTime call =
and my favourite - Measure - an AR app for measuring objects and taking =
levels.
The phones also record stereo now, which is nice if you use your device =
for capturing music for example.
=20
CONCLUSION
=20
Despite it being an "S" year, there=E2=80=99s much to like about the =
iPhone Xs and Xs Max.
The display quality is excellent, particularly on the Max version, the =
camera upgrades will appeal to many, it is powerful and the addition of =
eSIM will be handy when it arrives.
But the battery life improvements are modest enough, the design =
hasn=E2=80=99t changed at all really and many of the lauded alterations =
are minor enough to not matter to the average user.
Many of the "new features" are also available on other manufacturers =
premium devices, like the Samsung Galaxy S9 and Note 9, Huawei P20 Pro =
and Google Pixel 2XL.
A complicating factor, if you are thinking of an upgrade is the arrival =
later this year of a cheaper iPhone X - the XR.
It will have some but not all of the features of the Xs, like A12 Bionic =
chip, full-screen display, TrueDepth front facing camera and iOS12 - and =
for a much lower price.
Because the other complicating factor for the Xs is that it is very =
expensive.=20
The X last year (which is now no longer on sale by the way) started at =
=E2=82=AC1,000.
The Xs will start at =E2=82=AC1,179 and rise to =E2=82=AC1,679.
That=E2=80=99s a huge amount of money for a smartphone, particularly one =
where the improvements are solid but modest nonetheless.
Xs-ive, you might even be tempted to say, if you didn=E2=80=99t have the =
money or the inclination to buy one.
But that, I=E2=80=99m sure, is not where the very respectable 2018 =
iPhone gets its name.
=20
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