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iPhone XS – Phone Review

Since the Black Friday sale is around the corner, we planned on reviewing the brand new iPhone XS, which was announced in September 2018, to give you an honest opinion on whether or not it should be on your black friday sale wishlist.

iPhone, a smartphone operating on Apple’s iOS mobile operating system has been a market leader ever since its inception in 2007. Post the release of the first iPhone in 2007, Apple has released eleven generations of smartphone, each with a major upgrade in the IOS software as well as hardware changes.

iPhone XS – Phone Review

Let’s take a quick look at the eleven generations of iPhone ;

iPhone

IOS

Release date

 iPhone  iPhone OS 1.0  June 29, 2007
 iPhone 3G  iPhone OS 2.0  July 11, 2008
 iPhone 3GS  iPhone OS 3.0  June 19, 2009
 iPhone 4  iOS 4  June 21, 2010
 iPhone 4S  iOS 5  October 14, 2011
 iPhone 5  iOS 6  September 21, 2012
 iPhone 5C  iOS 7  September 20, 2013
 iPhone 5S  iOS 7  September 20, 2013
 iPhone 6 / 6 Plus  iOS 8  September 19, 2014
 iPhone 6S / 6S Plus  iOS 9  September 25, 2015
 iPhone SE  iOS 9.3  March 31, 2016
 iPhone 7 / 7 Plus  iOS 10  September 16, 2016
 iPhone 8 / 8 Plus  iOS 11  September 22, 2017
 iPhone X  iOS 11.0.1  November 3, 2017
 iPhone XS / XS Max iOS 12  September 21, 2018
 iPhone XR  iOS 12  October 26, 2018

 

Here is a quick snapshot of the evolution of iPhone Screen Sizes over the years:

iPhone

IOS

Release date

 iPhone 3.5 inches 2007
 iPhone 3G 3.5 inches 2008
 iPhone 3GS 3.5 inches 2009
 iPhone 4 3.5 inches 2010
 iPhone 4S 3.5 inches 2011
 iPhone 5 4 inches 2012
 iPhone 5C 4 inches  2013
 iPhone 5S 4 inches 2013
 iPhone 6 4.7 inches  2014
iPhone 6+ 5.5 inches 2014
iPhone 6S 4.7 inches 2015
iPhone 6S+ 5.5 inches 2015
 iPhone SE 4 inches 2016
 iPhone 7 4.7 inches 2016
 iPhone 7 + 5.5 inches 2016
 iPhone 8 4.7 inches 2017
 iPhone 8 + 5.5 inches 2017
 iPhone X 5.8 inches 2017
 iPhone XS 5.8 inches 2018
 iPhone XS Max 6.5 inches 2018

Did you know the Black Friday Sale Revenue is expected to grow by 15% in 2018, in comparison to the Black Friday Revenue in 2017?

Speaking of the latest addition to the iPhone family, iPhone XS and iPhone XS Max are available for purchase for prices starting from $999 and $1099 respectively, making them one of the most expensive phones in the market. (You could expected to get them at cheaper prices and big discounts during the Black Friday Sale) But the question here is, are these iPhones worth the cost?

The new iPhone XS is loaded with latest features and technology that its predecessors missed out. Let’s take a look at the detailed feature list;

1. Display: Following Apple’s legacy, the iPhone XS too, has no hardware updation in comparison to its predecessor iPhone X. Both iPhone X and iPhone XS come with a 5.8 inch screen, that is decent enough for the big screen enthusiasts, while being functional enough to carry around. Although the display specifications of both iPhone X and iPhone XS are the same

  • 9.5:9 aspect ratio True Tone OLED
  • 2436 x 1125 pixels (458 ppi)
  • 2.9% screen-to-body ratio

Apple claims that the iPhone XS delivers 60% greater dynamic range with HDR content. Hence, you can expect better image & video quality.

2. Design: Although the iPhone X and iPhone XS look exactly the same, if you pay close attention to both their specification, you will find that the iPhone XS is lighter than iPhone X by 3 grams.

  • iPhone XS – 143.6 x 70.9 x 7.7 mm and 177g
  • iPhone X – 143.6 x 70.9 x 7.7 mm and 174g

3. Speaker Volume: Similar to the design difference, a very small and not-so-noticeable difference is the speaker volume and stereo support which has been improved in iPhone XS by about 25% since iPhone X.

4. Dual Sim: A fairly old feature that other smartphones (mostly android) have been offering for a long time now – dual sim support is an additional feature in the iPhone XS, a relief to the iPhone fanbois looking to use two sims. Though Apple has been late in adapting the dual sim technology, it still withholds its position of a technology leader by introducing eSim, which is not your usual dual sim phone feature. The ‘e’ in the eSim stands for embedded, as the sim card is embedded in the phone instead of having a physical sim card slot. Though eSim support is currently limited, it is expected to grow since iPhones have them now. With eSim, you can use the service of any carrier. Other than the missing physical slot, the dual sim functionality in iPhone XS works similar to that of other mobile phones, both the sim cards work simultaneously in one device.

5. Touch Sensing: iPhone XS comes with an additional touch sensitivity of 120Hz touch sense. This will help make the iPhone XS faster, as it can now respond upto twice as faster to touch than its preceders.

6. Face ID Recognition: Apple claims that the iPhone XS is faster in face ID recognition than the previous versions of the phone.

7. RAM: The iPhone XS comes with a robust 4GB RAM, which would definitely outperform the 3GB RAM in iPhone X, making XS faster, smoother and better rendering.

8. GPU: GPU or Graphic Processing Unit in the iPhone XS is of 4 core, which is expected to perform better than the 3 core GPU in the iPhone X. This would help iPhone XS process better display and image quality, when compared to the iPhone X.

9. Camera: Apple has been boasting about the improved camera in iPhone XS. Mimicking Google Pixel’s HDR+, Apple has used the ‘Smart HDR’ that combines the best parts of multiple photos taken at different exposures into a single image. Along with this, the iPhone XS also comes with a 6-piece lens and a 1.4µm pixel size, that could perform better than the 1.22µm pixel size of the iPhone X.

10. Charging : Apple claims that the wireless charging on the iPhone XS is better, and that it can charge faster than the iPhone X.

11. Battery: Despite Apple’s claim of faster charging, iPhone XS has a battery capacity lesser than that of iPhone X. While the iPhone XS is packed with a 2,658 mAh battery, the iPhone X comes with a 2716 mAh battery. In Spite of a lower battery capacity, Apple claims that the iPhone XS has a longer battery life than that of iPhone X by almost 30 minutes. This isn’t a great relief to the users as the battery life of iPhone X is said to be poor.

12. Water Resistance: The iPhone XS is said to have a better water resistance when compared to iPhone X. While the iPhone X has a water resistance of upto 1 metre depth for 30 minutes, the iPhone XS has upto 2 metre deep of water resistance for 30 minutes.

13. Storage: The iPhone XS comes in a storage variant of 64 GB, 256 GB and 512 GB whereas the iPhone X comes in only 64 GB and 256 GB variants.

14. Price: Listed below the prices of the iPhone XS and its preceder iPhone X (Prices below are regular prices, you could get an iPhone XS or iPhone X at :

iPhone XS iPhone X
64 GB US $999 US $899
256 GB US $1149 US $1049
512 GB US $1349
Colours Gold, Silver, Space Grey Silver, Space Grey

Did you know an average person’s spend is expected to grow by $5 in 2018, as compared to the Black Friday spend in 2017, raising the Black Friday average spent of an individual from $335 to $340 in 2018.

Should You buy iPhone XS?
Should I buy iPhone XS?

If you are an iPhone loyal looking for an upgrade, iPhone X might be a better option over iPhone XS, considering the very few additional improvements at the cost of extra $100 (or you might get iPhone XS at the price of iPhone X during the Black Friday Sale). A lot of complaints regarding the iPhone XS charging issues has been received throughout the globe. The phone seems to not recognise the plugged in charger if the screen is off. One has the wake the screen every time to continue the charging. This could be disheartening when you spend a whopping $999+ for a phone and end up not being able to even charge seamlessly.

Although Apple claims that the iPhone XS charges faster than the iPhone X, the phone comes packed with a slow charger and a fast charger cost an additional $75, which is not something everyone would be willing to spend. If you have already bought an iPhone XS or willing to buy one, you could get the fast charger at amazing discounts during the black friday sale, don’t miss the chance to grab the offers.

The battery life of iPhone XS doesn’t seem to be anything better than that of iPhone X. This is a disappointment, considering its previously mentioned charging issues. You might want to keep a portable charger handy if you want to own an iPhone XS, don’t forget to get discounts on the iPhone portable charger during Black Friday.

A lot of user reviews have shed light over the iPhone XS’s fragile design. The back glass as well as the screen has said to shatter into pieces with a drop. Hence, not the best choice for the clumsy ones among us.

But if you are an android user, or someone looking for a feature-loaded mobile phone, here are some options you could consider at cheaper prices, we have compared them side-by-side for you:

iPhone XS SAMSUNG GALAXY S9 LG G7 THINQ HUAWEI P20 PRO
 Pricing $999 / $1,149 / $1,349 $720 $750 $749
 Dimensions 143.6 x 70.9 x 7.7mm (5.65 x 2.79 x 0.30 inches) 147.7 x 68.7 x 8.5mm (5.81 x 2.7 x 0.33 inches)  153.1 x 71.9 x 7.9mm (6.03 x 2.83 x 0.31 inches) 155 x 73.9 x 7.8mm (6.1 x 2.9 x 0.31 inches)
 Weight 177g (6.24 ounces) 163g (5.75 ounces) 162g (5.71 ounces) 180g (6.35 ounces)
 Screen Size 5.8 inches (147.32mm) 5.8 inches (147.32mm) 6.1 inches (154.94mm) 6.1 inches (154.94mm)
 Screen  Resolution 2,436 x 1,125 (458ppi) 2,960 x 1,440 (570ppi) 3,120 x 1,440 (564ppi) 2,240 x 1,080 (408ppi)
 Screen Type Super Retina OLED Quad HD+ Super AMOLED Quad HD+ FullVision LCD Full HD OLED
 Battery 2,659 mAh 3,000 mAh 3,000 mAh 4,000 mAh
 Internal Storage 64 / 256 / 512GB 64GB 64GB 128GB
 External Storage None microSD microSD None
 Rear Camera Dual cameras:
Wide-angle, 12MP, f/1.8, 1.4μm pixel size
Telephoto, 12MP, f/2.4
12MP, dual aperture f/1.5 and f/2.4, 1.4μm pixel size Dual cameras:
Standard, 16MP, f/1.6, 1.0μm pixel size
Wide-angle, 16MP, f/1.9, 1.0μm pixel size
Tri-lens camera:
RGB, 40MP, f/1.8
Monochrome, 20MP, f/1.6
Telephoto, 8MP, f/2.4
 Front Camera 7MP, f/2.2 8MP, f/1.7 8MP, f/1.9 24MP, f/2.0
 Video Capture 4K at 60fps 4K at 60fps 4K at 30fps 4K at 30fps
 NFC Yes Yes Yes Yes
 Bluetooth v5.0 v5.0 v5.0 v4.2
 SoC Apple A12 Bionic Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 Huawei Kirin 970
 CPU 64-bit hexa-core 2.8GHz octa-core 2.8GHz octa-core 2.36GHz octa-core
 GPU Unknown quad-core Adreno 630 Adreno 630 Mali G72 MP12
 RAM 4GB 4GB 4GB 6GB
 WiFi Dual band, 802.11ac Dual band, 802.11ac Dual band, 802.11ac Dual band, 802.11ac
 Operating System iOS 12 Android 8.0 Android 8.0 Android 8.1
 Other Features IP68 certified, Lightning connector, Qi wireless charging, dual SIM IP68 certified,
USB-C, 3.5mm headphone jack, WPC/PMA wireless charging
IP68 certified, USB-C, Qi wireless charging, 32-bit Hi-Fi Quad DAC IP67 certified, USB-C

If you planning to buy a new phone anytime soon, consider buying it during the black Friday sale and grab amazing discounts.

Disclaimer:
The content provided on our blog site traverses numerous categories, offering readers valuable and practical information. Readers can use the editorial team’s research and data to gain more insights into their topics of interest. However, they are requested not to treat the articles as conclusive. The website team cannot be held responsible for differences in data or inaccuracies found across other platforms. Please also note that the site might also miss out on various schemes and offers available that the readers may find more beneficial than the ones we cover.
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