1. The iPhone XS Max has a bigger display — and for smartphones, bigger screens are better for just about anything. The iPhone XS (L) and XS Max Getty The iPhone XS and XS Max both feature the same OLED "Super Retina" display from last year's iPhone X — the same pixel density, same contrast ratio, same everything. The only difference, screen-wise, between the iPhone XS and the XS Max, is the size. But size is a pretty big deal. Going from 5.8 inches on the iPhone XS to 6.5 inches on the iPhone XS Max is a pretty substantial leap, and that bigger screen comes in handy just about everywhere: If you're writing an email, taking notes, watching a movie, or just reading Reddit or Twitter, having more real estate is a good thing. Your content looks bigger and better — particularly your photos and videos, which really pop on that large OLED screen. If you spend a lot of time on your phone, it's worth the extra $100 (to start) to upgrade to the bigger screen on the iPhone XS Max.<doc-sep>Continuing AppleInsider's video series comparing Apple's iPhone XS Max to Google's Pixel 3 XL, this installment takes a closer look — or listen — at the two flagships' speaker systems. Apple's iPhone XS and XS Max carry over the stereo speaker configuration seen on past iPhone models, with the ear speaker and down-firing loudspeaker acting as discrete units when holding the phone in a landscape orientation. The design has one speaker directing audio toward the user, while the other channels sound out to the side. For 2018, Apple tweaked audio output algorithms for better stereo separation, though the difference from iPhone X is negligible. With the Pixel 3 XL, both speakers fire directly toward the listener, so it should have an edge over iPhone in terms of clarity. To test sound output, we positioned a boom microphone a fair distance away from both phones and played a variety of music and video content through their respective speakers. Results were gleaned from both live listening and recorded audio. Overall, the Pixel 3 XL outperforms the iPhone with louder highs and a wider dynamic range of frequencies. We also noticed that vocals sound much more clear on the Pixel 3, while the handset's bass is very punchy. On the XS Max, the bass is noticeably deeper but is less refined. The top speaker on the Pixel 3 XL, which also serves as the phone's ear speaker, is very quiet compared to the bottom loudspeaker. When watching a video in landscape mode, you can easily tell that most of the sound is coming from the down-firing speaker. On the XS Max, sound output is a lot more balanced, probably because the bottom speaker is firing sideways instead of towards the listener. We noticed some unique software tweaks on the iPhone. For instance, the smaller ear speaker takes care of most of the high notes, while the larger bottom speaker handles the mid and low tones. On the Pixel 3, both speakers seem to output the same range frequencies at equal levels. Interestingly, the right side of the Pixel 3 vibrates at loud volumes. We are not sure if the vibration is a result of frequency tuning issues or is perhaps due to the handset's plastic frame, but the XS Max does not suffer from similar issues. Other reviewers mentioned the Pixel 3 distorts audio at high volumes, and we were able to reproduce those problems as well. The XS Max isn't perfect, however, as we experienced some distortion coming from the top speaker when playing back audio with sharp highs. Despite the vibration and quiet ear speaker, the Pixel 3 XL wins out over iPhone XS Max thanks to very clear vocal reproduction and a pleasingly wide dynamic range. Deals on the iPhone XS Max and Google Pixel 3 XL If you haven't already ordered Apple's iPhone XS Max, wireless carriers are incentivizing the purchase. Want to get your hands on a new device asap? eBay sellers are also shipping units now.<doc-sep>The other day the folks at PhoneBuff ran a battery test that compared the iPhone Xs Max against the Samsung Galaxy Note 9. On paper the Note 9 had a larger battery which is why it wasn’t surprising that in their test, they found that the Note 9 managed to trounce the iPhone Xs Max in terms of battery life. Advertising However in a video uploaded by Mrwhosetheboss, it seems to paint a very different picture when he compared the iPhone Xs Max against the Note 9, the Pixel 3 XL, and the Sony Xperia XZ3. For those who can’t spare the time to watch the entire video, spoiler alert: the iPhone Xs Max actually walked away the winner. Why the discrepancy, you ask? Basically the Note 9 despite having a QHD resolution is set to 1080p by default, and a lower resolution display means that the phone uses less energy. So in this particular test, Mrwhosetheboss essentially maxed out all the settings to try and keep things as fair as possible, in which the Xperia XZ3 actually ran out of battery first, followed by the Google Pixel 3, then the Note 9, and 12 minutes later and in first place, the iPhone Xs Max. Now is this a conclusive test? Hardly, and if you do choose to run your Note 9 at a lower resolution that’s entirely your prerogative, but it does seem to prove that despite sporting a smaller battery than the competition, the iPhone Xs Max seems to be a good example of optimized hardware and software. Filed in . Read more about Galaxy Note 9, Google, Google Pixel 3, Iphone Xs, Samsung and Sony.<doc-sep>The latest speed test results are in from YouTuber, PhoneBuff. This time around he pitted the iPhone XS Max against Google’s Pixel 3 XL and the results weren’t pretty for the new Android flagship. However, it seems Google currently has a memory management issue with its Pixel 3, so a redo in the future might better represent real world results. PhoneBuff recently put the XS Max up against Samsung’s Galaxy Note 9. Even with 8GB RAM in the Android device, the XS Max with 4GB of RAM still completed the same tasks 14 seconds faster than the Note 9. The Pixel 3 XL however, sports the same 4GB RAM that the XS Max does, and it finished the most recent speed test over a minute slower than Apple’s flagship smartphone. The XS Max was able to complete the tasks that involved social media, gaming, productivity, photo editing, and more in 2 minutes and 30 seconds. Surprisingly, the Pixel 3 XL took 3 minutes and 35 seconds, with PhoneBuff noting that the Android device wasn’t keeping the apps in its memory for the second lap of the speed test where he relaunches previously used apps. PhoneBuff notes that he ran the same tests multiple times and the results were consistent. However, there is a known issue that many Pixel 3 users are experiencing that is closing out apps from the device’s memory. While I would imagine the XS Max will still beat the Pixel 3 after that bug is resolved, it would likely be a much closer race. Check out the full speed test below: FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More. Check out 9to5Mac on YouTube for more Apple news:<doc-sep>
iPhone XS Max and Pixel 3 XL are the latest and greatest offerings from Apple and Google, respectively. Both handsets have notches at the top of the display, Portrait Mode-style photography tricks, and wireless charging support. However, for all their similarities, there are some dramatic differences in performance between the Pixel 3 XL and iPhone XS Max, according to a new speed test that pits the flagship phones head-to-head for the first time. On paper, Google Pixel 3 XL and Apple iPhone XS Max line-up well in terms of specs. Both handsets have 4GB of RAM, 64GB of storage in the entry-level model, similar display sizes and resolutions, and the newest versions of their respective mobile operating systems. But the Pixel 3 XL can't hold a candle to the latest iPhone when it comes to raw, unfettered performance. YouTube channel PhoneBuff tested the Pixel 3 XL and iPhone XS Max with 16 separate apps. These represent a mixture of everyday and performance-intensive tasks – from opening a Starbucks to quickly pay for your morning caffeine boost, editing a selfie, or exporting a high-resolution video project. It's no exaggeration to say the iPhone XS Max, which is powered by the Apple-designed A12 Bionic processor, smokes the Pixel 3 XL. T3 has watched countless of these side-by-side smartphone speed tests over the years, but nothing like this. The £1,099 ($1,099) iPhone finishes the first round in 1:46.57, compared to the Pixel 3 XL, powered by Qualcomm's flagship SnapDragon 845, which finishes in 2:02.09. That difference is pretty negligible, but the iPhone XS Max is only getting warmed up. Whereas, Apple's iOS operating system is able to keep fifteen of the sixteen applications in RAM – loading them instantly on the second round, Android is forced to relaunch the software anew from the fifth app. That slows things down alot. Watch the full speed test video below: At the end of the second round, iPhone XS Max has a time of 2:30.84, whereas the Pixel 3 XL staggers to the finish line at 3:35.29. That's more than a minute slower. iOS and Android handle memory management very differently. While neither of these approaches is significantly better than the other, Android typically requires more RAM than its iOS counterpart. This is because available memory on iOS is handled by the apps themselves. Instead of allowing apps to take up as much RAM as they need and freeing it when no longer in use, like on Android, iOS software automatically allocates and deallocates memory as needed. As a result, most flagship Android handsets have much more RAM than their Apple-built counterparts for similar levels of performance. However, Google has opted for 4GB of RAM with its Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL, which is paltry compared to the 6GB included in the Samsung Galaxy Note 9, and 8GB in the flagship Huawei Mate 20 Pro and OnePlus 6.