iPhone Xs – Phone Review

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. Read on to get a clear picture of whether or not it should be on your Black Friday sale wish list.

Operating on Apple’s iOS, the iPhone is the company’s flagship smartphone and has been a market leader ever since its inception. Post the release of the first iPhone, Apple has released a wide range of generations of the smartphone, each launched with a major upgrade in the hardware as well as the software.

Speaking of the latest addition to the iPhone family, the iPhone Xs and iPhone Xs Max are available for prices starting from $999 and $1099 respectively, making them one of the most expensive phones in the market. (You could expect to get them at big discounts during the Black Friday sale) But the question here is, are these smartphones 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.

Display
Following Apple’s legacy, for the iPhone Xs too, there has been no hardware update in comparison to its predecessor iPhone X. Both iPhone X and iPhone Xs come with a 5.8-inch screen, which is decent enough for the big screen enthusiasts while being functional enough to carry around.

Apple claims that the iPhone Xs delivers 60% greater dynamic range with HDR content. Hence, you can expect better image and video quality. Although the display specifications for both iPhone X and iPhone Xs are the same, here are some unique specifications of iPhone Xs.

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

Design
Although the iPhone X and iPhone Xs look similar, if you pay close attention to both their specifications, you will find that the iPhone Xs is lighter than the 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

Speaker
Similar to the design, there has been a slight, not-so-noticeable difference in the speaker volume and stereo support. It has been improved in the iPhone Xs by about 25% as compared to the iPhone X.

Dual-sim support
A fairly old feature that other smartphones (mostly Android) have been offering for a long time now, the dual-sim support is an additional feature in the iPhone Xs, a relief to the iPhone loyalists 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. 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.

Touch sensing
The 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 up to two times faster to touch than its predecessors.

Face ID recognition
Apple claims that the iPhone Xs is faster in face ID recognition than the previous versions of the phone.

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

GPU
The graphic processing unit (GPU) 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 the iPhone Xs process better display and image quality when compared to the iPhone X.

Camera
Apple has been flaunting the improved camera in the iPhone Xs. Similar to 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.

Wireless charging
Apple claims that the wireless charging on the iPhone Xs is better as well as faster than that of the iPhone X.

Battery
Despite Apple’s claim of faster charging, the iPhone Xs has a battery capacity lesser than that of the iPhone X. While the iPhone Xs is packed with a 2,658-mAh battery, the iPhone X comes with a 2716-mAh battery. Despite a lower battery capacity, Apple claims that the iPhone Xs has a longer battery life than that of the iPhone X by almost 30 minutes. This is a great relief to the users as the battery life of iPhone X is usually said to be poor.

Water resistance
The iPhone Xs is said to have a better water resistance when compared to the iPhone X. While the iPhone X has a water resistance of up to 1 meter depth for 30 minutes, the iPhone Xs comes with up to 2-meter-deep water resistance for 30 minutes.

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

Price
Listed below the regular prices of the iPhone Xs and its predecessor iPhone X. Please note that the prices may vary depending on different deals available.

iPhone Xs iPhone X
64 GB US $999 US $899
256 GB US $1149 US $1049
512 GB US $1349
Colors Gold, Silver, Space Gray Silver, Space Gray

Should you buy the iPhone Xs?
Should I buy iPhone XS?

If you are an iPhone loyalist looking for an upgrade, the iPhone X might be a better option than the iPhone Xs, considering the very few additional improvements at the cost of extra $100. However, you might get the iPhone Xs at the price of iPhone X during the Black Friday sale.

Many complaints regarding the iPhone Xs charging issues have been received throughout the globe. The phone seems to not recognize 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 over a whopping $999 for a phone and end up not being able to even seamlessly charge it.

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 costs an additional price, which is not something everyone would be willing to spend. If you have already bought an iPhone Xs or are 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 some amazing offers.

The battery life of iPhone Xs doesn’t seem to be anything better than that of the 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 have shattered into pieces with just a drop. Hence, the iPhone is not the best choice for the clumsy ones.

But if you are an Android user, or someone looking for a feature-loaded smartphone, here are some options you could consider at cheaper prices, we have compared them to help you make an informed decision.

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

Now that you know the specifications of the iPhone X, Xs, and its competitors, if you are planning to buy a new phone anytime soon, consider buying it during the Black Friday sale and grab amazing discounts.