XS is the normal one. XR is the cheap one. XS Max is the big one. That’s a good start to understanding Apple’s confusing naming scheme for its new line of iPhones. Apparently jealous of Android’s fragmentation, Apple decided it needed three different models, three different storage sizes and nine different colors. You can think of the XS as the updated iPhone X, the Max as the new Plus and the XR as a revival of the great-for-kids budget iPhone SE. Here’s a comparison of their features, prices, options and release dates. The iPhone XS — standard, smaller, sooner Apple’s new flagship phone is the iPhone XS. If you want the best Apple has to offer that will still fit in your pocket, this is the one for you. It’s got a 5.8-inch diagonal OLED “Super Retina” HDR screen with 458 pixels per inch, which is actually taller than the old 8 Plus’s 5.5-inch screen, but it’s a little thinner, so it has less total screen volume. Dual 12 megapixel cameras offer stabilization and 2X optical zoom, plus the new depth control Portrait mode feature. It’s $999 for the 64GB, $1,149 for the 256GB, or $1,349 for the 512GB. It comes in silver, gold and space gray, all in stainless steel that’s waterproof to two meters. Pre-orders start Friday, September 14th, and they ship and hit stores on September 21st. The iPhone XS Max — bigger screen, bigger price If you love watching movies, browsing photos and shooting videos on your phone, you’ll want the iPhone XS Max. The 6.5-inch OLED “Super Retina” HDR screen is the biggest ever on an iPhone, dwarfing the 8 Plus’s screen, yet with a similar device size since the XS Max takes up more of the phone’s face. The twin 12 megapixel lenses stabilize your images and offer 2X optical zoom, as well as Portrait mode depth control. It also comes in stainless steel silver, gold and space gray that are all waterproof to two meters, and costs $100 more than the XS at $1,099 for 64GB, $1,249 for 256GB or a whopping $1,449 for 512GB. As with the XS, pre-orders start Friday, September 14th, and you can get it in your hands on September 21st. The iPhone XR — colorful, cheaper, duller Don’t need the sharpest or biggest new screen and want to save some cash? Grab an iPhone XR. Its size comes in between the XS and XS Max, with a 6.1-inch diagonal LCD “Liquid Retina” screen with 326 pixels per square inch. Fewer pixels and no HDR display means the XR won’t look quite as brilliant as the XS models. The XR also only has one 12 megapixel camera lens, so it doesn’t offer stabilization or 2X optical zoom like its XS siblings, but it still gets the cool Bokeh-changing Portrait mode depth control. The XR is only waterproof to one meter instead of two like its expensive sisters, and lacks 3D Touch for quick access to deeper features. As a bonus with the XR, you do get 1.5 hours of additional battery life and six color options in the aluminum (“aloominium” if you’re Jonny Ive) finish: white, black, blue, yellow, coral and red. And it’s cheaper at $749 for 64GB, with $799 for 128GB and $899 for 256GB. If that’s not cheap enough, you can now get the iPhone 7 for $449 and the iPhone 8 costs $599 — though there are no more iPhones with headphone jacks now that the 6S and SE are getting retired. In hopes that you’ll buy a pricier one, the XR arrives a month later than the XS models, with pre-orders on October 19th and shipping October 26th. Apple may find this level of customization lets everyone find the right iPhone for them, though it could simultaneously produce decision paralysis in buyers who aren’t confident enough to pay. While it’s a headache at first, you’ll end up with a phone fit for your style and budget. Though without a ton of improvements over the iPhone X, you might not need an “iPhone Excess.”<doc-sep>Photo : Apple A large chunk of Apple’s audience is already lighting their bank accounts on fire in anticipation of all the neat new gear they can start preordering this week. That’s just the way it is, and partly why Apple can afford to do things like build sprawling, $200 buildings in the heart of Silicon Valley. Advertisement No matter the price, or specifications, a lot of people are going to order one of the new iPhones: the iPhone XR, iPhone XS, or iPhone XS Max—a naming convention Apple totally didn’t borrow from that other company. You, however, are a reasonable Lifehacker reader who isn’t afraid to pay big bucks for sweet, geeky gear, but only if it provides a value and experience that’s greater than that which you already have. In other words, you don’t buy based on hype, and you don’t need an upgrade just because it’s new; you need an upgrade if it’s actually worth buying. Should you buy a new iPhone? Let’s explore: iPhone XS Screenshot : David Murphy Key specs iPhone XR : 6.1-inch “Liquid Retina” LCD display; 64GB, 128GB, or 256GB storage; red, yellow, white, coral, black, and blue finishes; A12 Bionic chip; 12MP wide-angle camera; 7MP front-facing “TrueDepth” camera. Ranging from $749 to $899. 6.1-inch “Liquid Retina” LCD display; 64GB, 128GB, or 256GB storage; red, yellow, white, coral, black, and blue finishes; A12 Bionic chip; 12MP wide-angle camera; 7MP front-facing “TrueDepth” camera. Ranging from $749 to $899. iPhone XS : 5.8-inch OLED display; 64GB, 256GB or 512GB storage; gold, space gray, and silver finishes; A12 Bionic chip; 12MP wide-angle and telephoto cameras; 7MP front-facing “TrueDepth” camera. Ranging from $999 to $1,349. 5.8-inch OLED display; 64GB, 256GB or 512GB storage; gold, space gray, and silver finishes; A12 Bionic chip; 12MP wide-angle and telephoto cameras; 7MP front-facing “TrueDepth” camera. Ranging from $999 to $1,349. iPhone XS Max : 6.5-inch OLED display. Everything else the iPhone XS has. Ranging from $1,099 to $1,449. Advertisement If you own an iPhone X... Congratulations: Your expensive smartphone lasted less time than the iPhone 8, as your relic is no longer purchasable from Apple... but the iPhone 8 (and even the iPhone 7) are still there. This makes sense, of course, since there’s absolutely no reason to buy an iPhone X with Apple dropping three new iPhones (two XSs and an XR) that basically take all the good things about the iPhone X and reconfigure them in different ways. Advertisement If you upgrade—and I don’t think it makes sense to upgrade—you’re not getting all that much, hardware-wise. That’s not to say the A12 Bionic chip in the iPhone XS isn’t faster: Apple claims performance boosts of 15 percent for its two “performance” cores; a speed boost of 50 percent from its apple-design GPU; and a big, juicy brain an eight-core neural engine that can reach 5 trillion operations per second (more than eight times your device’s “meager” 600 billion operations per second). Let’s go beyond the specs sheet for a second. In everyday use, your iPhone X is probably fast enough for everything you need it to do. You probably aren’t using augmented reality very much. I’m sure your smartphone’s camera and photo processing feels pretty responsive. You might be a gamer, but even an iPhone at its best isn’t going to look as good as one of the many (cheaper) gaming devices out there, like a Nintendo Switch, a PlayStation Vita, a Nintendo 2DS or 3DS, et cetera. Advertisement No matter how much Apple wants you to sweat with Kayla or fire up Pokemon Go (or any of its many clones), a device with more processing firepower than your current iPhone X won’t give you a better app experience save for the most extreme cases. Or, to put it another way, I’m still on an iPhone 8 Plus (I know, I know), and I have yet to use an app that makes me think, “Gosh, I probably need a faster iPhone. This is terrible.” Hey it’s that slide that leaked weeks ago Screenshot : David Murphy Advertisement If you’re a big photography nut—and Apple loves you, if so—the iPhone XS and XS Max aren’t coming out of the gate with a crazy-higher megapixel count for the wide-angle camera or telephoto cameras. There’s a new, larger sensor and improved TrueTone flash, but that’s probably not as monumental as the devices’ “Smart HDR” mode and, the big improvement, the ability to edit a photo’s depth of field after you’ve taken it. Would I drop $1,000 on that after already paying (at least) $1,000 for an iPhone X last year? No. Are the iPhone XS’ other improvements worth an expensive $1,000 upgrade? No. But you can probably sell your iPhone X for at least $500 or so right now from one of the many trade-in places (or eBay), so that helps soften the blow a bit. Generally speaking, though, I’d wait for next year’s iPhone upgrade—the non-”s” cycle—to really get your money’s worth. Advertisement If you own an iPhone 8/8 Plus... This one gets a little trickier. I do love my Home button, I do, and I wish I could take Portrait Mode selfies. And while Apple has let other devices (cough the “budget” iPhone XR cough) have a software solution for Portrait Mode using a single camera, the iPhone 8 or 8 Plus is apparently too stupid to make it work. That, or Apple wants to give users every reason possible to upgrade. I suspect the latter. Advertisement The Essential iOS Apps for 2018 Trying to find the perfect iOS apps can be tough, and we’re willing to bet that your iPhone or iPad Read more As before, my performance argument still stands—I have yet to have a poor enough of an app experience to make me yearn for a new iPhone. However, my iPhone 8 Plus is now a full year old. The battery is reasonably fine, but the value of my iPhone will soon reach a point when I’ll get next to nothing for a trade in. I’d prefer to strike while the iron is lukewarm and at least get something reasonable for my device while I still can. Advertisement I love the iPhone XS’ dimensions: The regular iPhone XS gives you more screen space than the iPhone 8 Plus (5.8 inches to 5.5 inches) in a smaller form factor. That’s appealing. And if you want to stick with iPhone 8 Plus’ gargantuan size, you get 6.5 inches of screen on the iPhone XS Max. That’s great, and it definitely has me eager to upgrade. Also, you get a much better-looking OLED screen, a higher pixel density, and all the photographic improvements previously mentioned—as well as optical image stabilization for your telephoto lens and a slightly faster lens (ƒ/2.4 versus ƒ/2.8). And don’t forget about animoji. Gotta have that talking poop. I will probably upgrade to a newer iPhone, because it seems like a reasonable upgrade, but I could make just as compelling an argument for keeping my device. If you’re on an iPhone 8, I’d recommend going for at least an iPhone XR—the camera features are interesting enough to warrant giving it a go, even though the iPhone itself is going to be larger than what you’re used to using (and you might not like that). It gives you reasonable access to performance, security, and speed improvements without forcing you to drop four figures on a new iPhone. Advertisement The iPhone XR—the “r” stands for “really colorful” Screenshot : David Murphy The iPhone XS is an even better step up (obviously), but if you weren’t swayed by last year’s iPhone X, you probably aren’t going to be as convinced to pay that much for its improvements over the iPhone XR: an OLED “True Tone” display; a second, telephoto lens; a slightly smaller form factor; 3D Touch (get it while you can! ); and more portrait lighting effects, to name a few. Advertisement If you’re on an iPhone 8 Plus, like me, you’ll probably want to go iPhone XS at minimum.<doc-sep>Among all the changes in iPhone XS and iPhone XS Max versus the iPhone X, the camera saw the most detail work from Apple, with changes like a new sensor on the iPhone XS Max, a brand new depth control feature, and a new Smart HDR feature which is one of the biggest improvements. We decided to take our iPhone XS Max and iPhone X to Couer d'Alene, Idaho and snap some photos to see how much the camera actually improved. High Dynamic Range Comparison Starting off with a selfie photo in harsh lighting conditions, both phones fared well. The iPhone XS Max did have better dynamic range. Some of the color in the sky is washed out on the iPhone X. Taking a closer look, there's more detail with the iPhone XS Max as well. View full size - iPhone X versus iPhone XS Max selfie in harsh lighting Shooting against the sun, the iPhone XS Max does much better in terms of dynamic range. It's also able to bring more color into the photo. View full size - iPhone X versus iPhone XS Max Portrait photo against the sun In a portrait mode photo against the sun, the subject's face on the iPhone X image is extremely underexposed. On the iPhone XS Max, there is clearly more detail of not just the subject, but the surroundings. Both phones do a great job with dynamic range and sharpness. Interestingly, the iPhone XS Max wide lens has a wider field of view than the one on the iPhone X, given the same distance from the subject, and same zoom. View full size - iPhone X versus iPhone XS Max wide zoom comparison In this photo, we also see some pretty major improvements in dynamic range. The arms have a more linear exposure on the iPhone XS Max, even though the exposure of the background is the same with both phones. View full size - iPhone X versus iPhone XS Max backlit portraits Portrait mode and depth control With the new depth control feature on the iPhone XS and iPhone XS Max, we can now adjust the depth of the background. This also adjusts bokeh as well, which we'll show you a bit later. View full size - iPhone X versus iPhone XS Max portraits The default setting is F4.5, but turning it up to F2.8 makes a decent improvement in blur. F1.4 is the maximum and it really makes the photo stand out compared to the photo array taken on the iPhone X. View full size - iPhone X versus iPhone XS Max Portrait Mode blur comparison Apple's new depth control feature has an extremely wide range of adjustment from F16 to F1.4. This is much wider in practice, compared to other phones like the Samsung Galaxy Note 9, which can only go from its own zero to seven scale in terms of background blur, which we're guessing is about F10 to F2.0. Even images of objects like a wooden post can look better when the blur is turned up on the XS Max. Here's the maximum distance at which you can snap a portrait mode photo. View full size - iPhone X versus iPhone XS Max maximum Portrait mode distance There is also a massive difference in dynamic range. The background on the iPhone X is extremely overexposed. The iPhone XS Max easily keeps the photo balanced and maintains all of the detail. The shots we took are very near to the minimum range at which you can take a portrait photo — and is uncomfortably close. View full size - iPhone X versus iPhone XS Max minumum Potrait Mode distance comparison Selfie portrait mode photos look great on both the iPhone X and iPhone XS Max, with the iPhone XS Max delivering more detail. You can adjust the depth on selfie portrait photos as well, which is something you can't do on other phones like the Galaxy Note 9. View full size - iPhone X versus iPhone XS Max selfie Potrait Mode With low-light portrait photography, much more color comes through on the XS Max. Even though the iPhone XS Max white balance is cooler compared to the iPhone X, the bokeh on the iPhone XS Max is warmer, closer to how it actually looks. View full size - iPhone X versus iPhone XS Max low light potrait photo Autofocus auto-exposure speed comparison We noticed that the iPhone X had drastic exposure changes while the iPhone XS Max adjustments were very smooth, and hunted for the optimal pointless. Not only that, but the dynamic range on the XS Max was many times better than the iPhone X during this test. Photo detail comparison While shooting some up-close photos of plants and flowers, the detail looked similar on both phones. However, the iPhone XS Max images seemed to be more balanced and a bit flat compared to the iPhone X photos, which had more contrast which made them look more detailed. View full size - iPhone X versus iPhone XS Max minimal focus range detail comparison View full size - iPhone X versus iPhone XS Max flower detail comparison In a close-up shot of a tree, the iPhone XS Max had extremely accurate white balance, where the iPhone X's photo looked too cool. We also noticed much more detail with the iPhone XS Max as well. View full size - iPhone X versus iPhone XS Max detail comparison In wider detail shots, the XS Max produced more vibrant colors on flowers and in the sky, while maintaining the great dynamic range. View full size - iPhone X versus iPhone XS Max color detail comparison With the telephoto lens, there were significant improvements in detail as well. The XS Max continued to bring out more color in the sky and plants than the iPhone X was able to. View full size - iPhone X versus iPhone XS Max telephoto detail comparison With a regular selfie photo, both phones did great in dynamic range, but the iPhone XS Max had much more detail in the face, so we can see that detail was improved all around. View full size - iPhone X versus iPhone XS Max selfie photo detail comparison Low-light photo comparison Moving indoors, we see an even bigger difference in dynamic range. As you can see in this photo, the lamp and the painting are extremely blown out on the iPhone X. Not only that, but the iPhone X is applying far more softening to the image than the iPhone XS Max, which you can see on the pants. The iPhone XS Max is showing incredibly great dynamic range, and you can see every little detail on the painting. View full size - iPhone X versus iPhone XS Max low light HDR photo An even bigger difference in dynamic range was demonstrated in a dark environment with very bright lights at a distance. The iPhone XS Max's photo was more balanced overall and you could see more color and detail in the background. View full size - iPhone X versus iPhone XS Max backlit HDR photo We found the darkest spot we could find and snapped a photo. There was noticeably less noise on the iPhone XS Max's image, and it has much more detail. We can also see how much wider the wide lens is on the iPhone XS Max than the iPhone X. View full size - iPhone X versus iPhone XS Max very low light detail and noise Later on in the evening, we snapped a photo of the night sky with buildings and bright lights in the foreground. The iPhone XS Max did better in terms of dynamic range, but we're still not completely happy with it. View full size - iPhone X versus iPhone XS Max bright lights in the darkness Finally, we snapped a low light portrait photo in the office to compare blur. The colors of the bokeh on the iPhone XS Max were true to life and the tree was properly exposed. After adjusting the depth on the iPhone XS Max to F1.4, the bokeh looks even better.<doc-sep>
For the first time, Apple ’s most exciting new iPhone is its cheapest. Launched alongside the premium iPhone XS and eye-wateringly expensive iPhone XS Max, the iPhone XR appears to retain their best features for a much lower asking price. So is this the perfect upgrade, or are there problematic differences which you should avoid? Here’s everything you need to know… Apple Displays - Bigger, But Not Better Perhaps the most surprising difference between the iPhone XS and iPhone XR is it’s the latter which has the bigger display. That said, everything else about the iPhone XR’s screen is inferior: iPhone XS - 5.8-inch OLED, 19.5:9 aspect ratio, True Tone, 2436 x 1125 pixels (458 ppi), 1,000,000:1 contrast ratio, 82.9% screen-to-body ratio, iPhone XR - 6.1-inch LCD, 19.5:9 aspect ratio, True Tone, 1792 x 828 pixels (326 ppi), 1,400:1 contrast ratio, 79.0% screen-to-body ratio As you’ll see above, the big compromises with the iPhone XR are its downgrade from OLED to LCD and a substantially lower native resolution. In fact, the iPhone XR can’t even display Full HD 1080p content - that’s surprising for a 6.1-inch device. The iPhone XR is Dolby Vision / HDR10 compliant like the iPhone XS, but it lacks the pressure sensitive 3D Touch technology which has been a part of the iPhone range since the iPhone 6S. So should you care about the downgrades? In reality, no. Apple LCD displays may not match OLED in terms of contrast ratio and black levels, but they are more than good enough for the vast majority of users. The lower 326 ppi (identical to the iPhone 8) is still 3x higher than a 40-inch 4K television (110 ppi), and you’ll still get the same 19.5:9 aspect ratio as the iPhone XS, the same True Tone colour accuracy and “120Hz touch sensing” for a faster response to touch input. As for the absence of 3D Touch, iOS 12 has enabled a long press to replace most of its functions and the technology is expected to be axed next year anyway due to a lack of consumer interest. So while the display is one of the biggest technical differences between the iPhone XS and iPhone XR, in a side-by-side comparison I’m not convinced most users will care. Read more - iPhone XS Vs iPhone XS Max: What's The Difference? Design - Similar, But Downgraded At first glance, aside from their physical sizes, the iPhone XS and iPhone XR look identical. But they aren’t. iPhone XS - 143.6 x 70.9 x 7.7 mm (5.65 x 2.79 x 0.30 in) and 177g ( 6.24 oz) iPhone XR - 150.9 x 75.7 x 8.3 mm (5.94 x 2.98 x 0.33 in) and 194 g (6.84 oz) While the iPhone XR has roughly a 5% larger display than the iPhone XS, it is 10% heavier and slightly thicker. The primary reason for this is the LCD display, which is not as flexible as OLED so it cannot fit as seamlessly into the chassis (look for the larger bezels on all sides of the iPhone XR display). Apple The iPhone XS also has a stainless steel chassis which has a slightly more premium feel than the 7000 Series aluminium of the iPhone XR (used in the iPhone 8 and older) and you get IP68 water resistance from the iPhone XS and IP67 water resistance on the iPhone XR. Should you care? Again, I don’t think so. Some will not like the iPhone XR’s thicker bezels, but they are still thinner than many OLED rivals. Likewise, aluminium feels great in hand and IP68 simply means the phone can be submerged for up to 30 minutes in two metres of water, not one metre. These are not deal breakers for most people. Where the two iPhones match, however, is more tangible. Apple Both get 25% louder external speakers (which also add stereo left and right channels), and dual sim support courtesy of a physical nano sim and internal eSIM so owners can run work and home or home and travel sims in a single device. No iPhone has offered this before. Interestingly, the iPhone XR also comes in a much wider and more interesting range of colours - White, Black, Blue, Yellow, Coral, (PRODUCT)RED - than the iPhone XS which is limited to Silver, Space Grey and Gold and looks identical to last year’s iPhone X. Apple From a head-turning perspective, the iPhone XR is simply more interesting.