One year ago we met Apple’s iPhone X, an anniversary model to celebrate the 10 years of iPhone’s
existence. And while the presentation spawned a public conversation that went on and on for the
rest of the year, not many people seem to have learned how to read the model out-loud. Just to get
it clear, it was the iPhone TEN! (the letter X is also the number 10 in latin).
One year has passed by and recently the company revealed its new series of iPhones, the XS and XS
MAX models. Apart from giving up the numbers, it also seems that all you people who refused to
read the X as a latin number won; the new series are read as ‘excess’. Which according to some
reviewers, they actually are.
But let’s see what the first reviews say about the new handsets. They all seem to agree to a few key
points. Most reviewers report that they prefer the bigger size but there are some second thoughts
for the camera and the battery life. One of the most accepted opinions is the one that goes against
Apple’s pricing policy – what a surprise – and its decision to be strict when it comes to providing
accessories.
One good point that TechCrunch makes is that the XS is not a model that necessarily targets iPhone
X owners, but rather customers that have an older device and are looking to upgrade this year. And
truth be told, if you own any iPhone other than the X, you’re in for a big upgrade, compared to the
XS’ powerful camera, bokeh rendering and Smart HDR features.
There is however, one upgrade that all iPhone users will get with the latest generation. That’s the
LTE connectivity. It was common for previous said users to find out that their devices had lower LTE
connectivity speed compared to rival smartphones that were carrying a Snapdragon chipset.
SpeedSmart ran some tests on the XS & XS Max and we were glad to find out that this is no longer
the case, thanks to the new modem found in the phones, which supports MIMO 4x4 antennas for a
more powerful and steady connection. The initial tests were carried out on AT&T, T-Mobile and
Verizon networks. In addition, the new members of the family also support QAM and LAA, which
their predecessors don’t.
So far we’ve covered the latest models in relation to the previous one. Now it’s time to see how they
hold up on their own in terms of battery and performance. Specifically, the iPhone XS battery is 2658
mAh. It’s slightly lower that the X’s component but according to the Cupertino giant the device lasts
at least 30 minutes longer with typical usage thanks to the brand new and innovative A12 Bionic
chip.
Which brings us to the performance aspect. The said chip uses a 7 nanometer architecture. It’s
dubbed as the ‘neural engine’. We’re talking about 6 cores that deliver 50% overall faster in terms of
raw power.
The one thing that remains uncertain is the volume of sales that the XS and XS Max are going to
make respectively. They have their differences and for the fist time, Apple is looking to target the
lower budget tiers as well, which means that we could witness a different marketing approach from
the tech giant.
Stay tuned to find out all the latest news on this and many other hot technology topics!
Sources:
https://9to5mac.com/2018/09/20/first-iphone-xs-teardown-reveals-more-watertight-seals-new-
single-cell-l-shaped-battery-inside-video/
https://www.trustedreviews.com/news/apple-a12-bionic-3462239
