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](https://cdn.find.smartanswers.net/assets/Ly9jZ.jpg?eurl=Ly9jZG4uZmluZC5zbWFydGFuc3dlcnMubmV0L2NvbnRlbnQuZ2V0c21hcnRpbnNpZ2h0cy5jb20vd3AtY29udGVudC91cGxvYWRzLzIwMjIvMDgvaVBob25lWFNQaG9uZVJldmlldy02MDB4NDM2LmpwZw%3D%3D)
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?
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.