Apple iPhone XS review

25 Sept 2018
Same. But different. And yet the same. The iPhones are masters at being that, especially the S series. What Apple obviously can't do is come up with clever names. Worse, the XS may as well go down in history as the worst labeled phone ever. Two letters but one is a Roman numeral. What could go wrong?

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  • ?
  • Anonymous
  • sxr
  • 27 Sep 2018

sylverandice, 26 Sep 2018We have to agree on disagreeing😊 I have been using my S... moreSure, iOS is not restrictive as long as you do things the APPLE WAY. I can never live with a phone that I cannot truly make my own. The iPhone is like an expensive, luxury brand RTW (ready-to-wear, ready made) clothing. The quality is very good, you can choose sizes, and color, and that's all. Android, on the other hand is custom tailored clothing made by you, by your favorite next door tailoring shop, and yes, even by your preferred high end clothing designer if you'd rather want to splurge.

    • ?
    • Anonymous
    • sxr
    • 27 Sep 2018

    Anonymous, 26 Sep 2018I got an iPhone for the user experience and for iOS; after ... moreYou mean prestige and personal image is not the main reason? Seriously? I doubt that unless, as I mentioned, all you do in your iPhone is post Facebook photos, watch YouTube, play Candy crush and call and text, in which case, any flagship android phone will be a vastly smoother, faster, and overall a much better user experience than an iPhone.

      • ?
      • Anonymous
      • JT5
      • 27 Sep 2018

      So, the almighty A12 can't record HDR 10 like SD845?

        Same. But different. And yet, MOSTLY the same. That's what the "s" stand for. That or speed.

        Only hardcore Apple fans bring out the enthusiasm. The rest of the world is getting tired of Apple or expensive smartphones altogether where most people only need it for social media. Why keep paying so much for incremental upgrades when most only use it for simpler tasks?

        That's why smartphone sales haven't grown. There was already a decline last year. And by the 2020's, it will never reach its peak like it did a couple years ago. People will move onto something else. Only YouTube tech hipsters want to keep the excitement relevant to put money in their pockets.

          • ?
          • Anonymous
          • 0Cc
          • 26 Sep 2018

          Duel83, 26 Sep 2018Huawei was actually very wrong https://youtu.be/T4HdURgi_5MIn day to day usage, 80% of the time is spent in stand-by and in that mode it does not matter that a chipset is a 7nm or 10nm one, because you need RF power and that simply needs large battery.

          So yes, you will still have to charge the iPhone XS daily while a P20 Pro will need charging once every 2 days. Unless, of course, you are playing games and videos for 7 hours straight, in which the iPhone's 7nm chip will prove superior until next year.

            sean687, 26 Sep 2018Huawei was right *passes power bank* you'll need these. Sti... moreHuawei was actually very wrong

            https://youtu.be/T4HdURgi_5M

              • ?
              • Anonymous
              • JT5
              • 26 Sep 2018

              Funny to read that Apple copied Xioami.

              First MI Mix was a copy of Sharp crystal. Sharp had 3 phones with one bezel design before Mix was created.

              Essential was the first notched phone. Few months later a Sharp phone came similar. If IPhone X was not notched, no brand would be using it right now.

              Chinese brands have poor sales outside China/India axis. In India most can't afford paying more than 450 dollars for a phone. That is why most end up with Reddit series.
              60% of Huawei sales como from Honor. Vivo and Oppo push many devices with micro USB that cost more than 450 dollars also don't have NFC.

              Look at the portfolio of these brands. How many devices look like iPhone? They know that many people cannot afford iPhone, but they accept something cheaper that looks alike.

                • ?
                • Anonymous
                • JT5
                • 26 Sep 2018

                The objective Guy, 26 Sep 2018Funny you mention that, Instagram opens faster on most flag... moreSharp has phones with 120Hz screen.

                Sony has with 120Hz: X, X Perf, XZ, Xz1, XZ Premium, Xz1 C, XA2, XA2 U, XA2+, XZs, Xz2, XZ2c and XZ3. . The Xz2 Premium has 144Hz. All locked by default and can be unlock by developers mode.

                Asus Rog has 90Hz.

                  AnonD-797904, 26 Sep 2018iPhones could become the best among the smartphones if only... moreWhy would Apple do that? History has shown Apple will sell tens of millions of these and most adopters will happily pay for an iPhone, no matter the price hikes. Apple (and most companies for that matter) are not people's friend, they just want your money.
                  It's well known the iPhone has long been Apple's finance-driving product. They definitely could bring down the MSRP, but they just won't do that unless maybe there's a drop in sales


                    Realistic1, 26 Sep 2018I had such bad lags on Instagram app on my S8 and even P20 ... moreFunny you mention that, Instagram opens faster on most flagship Androids than on the iPhone X. Can't comment on the XS and company, though.

                    In all honesty, all flagships nowadays don't suffer from lagging. The "speed " advantage on the latest iPhones won't mean that much now but it shall help on futureproofing, it may be something after 2 years when those Android flagships receive their last updates and heavier apps start becoming a heavier weight on those SoCs. All screens are 60Hz (except for the Razr Phone), no matter how much the GPU improves, there's a graphics cap due to the refresh rate of the screen (which all flagships nowadays are able to top).
                    Also, most early iPhone adopters don't keep their phone for long. They want the latest and greatest so they upgrade every 12 or 24 months; it is unlikely they'll witness the speed advantage of the iPhone at all.

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                      • AnonD-797904
                      • UD{
                      • 26 Sep 2018

                      Mumbai-Indians, 26 Sep 2018Perfect, wonderfull, honest & none Craapple biased revi... moreThis is not the right site for you if you're only looking for her selfies.
                      You may look her up on Twitter or Instagram, perhaps you could find a lot of her photos there.

                        • D
                        • AnonD-797904
                        • UD{
                        • 26 Sep 2018

                        iPhones could become the best among the smartphones if only they bring the price lower or at least comparable to Samsung's, LG's, Sony's, and some other Chinese makers'.

                          • M
                          • Mumbai-Indians
                          • 7kh
                          • 26 Sep 2018

                          Perfect, wonderfull, honest & none Craapple biased review. Thats the reason I visit Gsmarena more often than phonarena, Gsmarena will always none Craapple biased & Honest site..

                          And by the way where is Angie's selfies?

                            Anonymous, 26 Sep 2018Of course, because Mi Mix was the first to have a wide notc... moreXiaomi Mi Mix is not fully bezelless! Remember that chunky chin below the screen? iPhone X however doesn't have it, only a cutout on top which is half the width and nearly one third of the thickness, while the borders of the screen are symmetrical all-around. iPhone X started the trend of notches, while not being the first to introduce it, because Apple influence indicates the market, design, camera, and any other mobile component, while everyone else follows.

                              • ?
                              • Anonymous
                              • JT5
                              • 26 Sep 2018

                              I still do not know why OEMs keep wasting money on hardware/software for these bokeh.

                              - Small sensors will never give proper shallow DOF necessary for Bokeh.
                              - Always part of the subject is cut by defocused area. Like hair and shoulder. Even worse when part of the background has different amount of blur compared to another part of the picture or not even any blur.
                              - 52 mm equivalent is far from being good. At least 200 mm is necessary.
                              - They require the subject to be less than 2m away from the phone.

                                • ?
                                • Anonymous
                                • 043
                                • 26 Sep 2018

                                ZinovievBG, 26 Sep 2018"The whole Android market just copied Apple's notched appro... moreOf course, because Mi Mix was the first to have a wide notch on the top and no bottom bezel and everyone copied that instead of the iPhone X notch /s

                                  • i
                                  • imRGZ
                                  • U{X
                                  • 26 Sep 2018

                                  Realistic1, 26 Sep 2018I had such bad lags on Instagram app on my S8 and even P20 ... moreYeah, i do accept Android isn't as fluid as iOS but also don't accept that it's as laggy as some iFans proclaim it to be. I had also experienced few app crashes in iOS. I hadn't experienced any of the issues you said about. Please be realistic. None of my friends who are using Androids complained about lag, and all of them are using flagships.

                                    camera still loses to Pixel 2 in still images , makes you wonder about Pixel 3 camera quality .. still Portrait shots are interesting , nice upgrade over the last gens , but to pay that much of money for slightly better portraits and high performance that even if it was exactly two times less i won't notice it at all? nah thanks apple .

                                      imRGZ, 26 Sep 2018That sounds unrealistic! My one year old Note8 or even the ... moreI had such bad lags on Instagram app on my S8 and even P20 Pro was not much better despite whatever Huawei claims. It also shattered like crazy from single drop.

                                      Android is not well known for fluidity no matter how much users will claim that it does not lag to them...

                                        what is life, 26 Sep 2018'Like if you turn on your Android device in the morning and... moreReally? So there’s no delay even when opening gallery app? You do not realize those things until you try something else. That is the point.

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