The three new iPhones are finally here and have been priced very
exorbitantly. While all three
phones represent an upgrade, the iPhone XS (pronounced the “Ten Es”), the larger variant iPhone XS Max, as well as the iPhone XR build upon the design of the iPhone X.
As such many things remain the same as last year’s flagships
but some things have definitely improved. The new iPhones come with bigger
and crisper displays, new surgical-grade aluminum and stainless steel design
and immaculate finish, and more
power under the hood. Powered by the all-new A12 Bionic chipset, the new iPhones
are much faster and more power efficient than 2017’s iPhone X. Let’s see how the new iPhones improve on last year’s
flagship:
Now that we know that the new iPhones are more powerful than the iPhone X, let’s have a quick look at the exciting features offered in these upgraded models:
A12 Bionic
Chipset
Much
more powerful than previous chipsets and arguably the most powerful Apple SoC
yet, the A12 Bionic based on the Fusion architecture is significantly
faster and more power-efficient Apple claims. Besides the bump
in speed, the biggest noticeable change is a new eight-core neural processing unit
(NPU) which allows apps the use of real-time AI algorithms
for all kinds of use-cases.
The A12 Bionic is not only
smarter but also the industry’s first commercially available chipset
manufactured with a 7nm process – although Huawei recently announced Kirin 980 with the same process.
New Face ID
All three new iPhones now
feature a newer and improved version of
Apple’s Face ID which was introduced last year with the iPhone
X. While Apple did not share specific numbers, the new
Face ID is faster at assessing faces and unlocking the iPhone XS,
XS Max, and the iPhone XR. Needless to say, Touch ID has been dropped
completely from the lineup.
Displays
The
iPhone XS Max redefines what a large iPhone means, so much so that the company
had to choose a new nomenclature. The ‘Max’ display on the iPhone XS Max is massive
at 6.5 inches and gets a resolution of 2688×1242 pixels to
maintain the same pixel density of 458ppi as the smaller 5.8-inch display on
the iPhone XS.
As we’d been hearing in rumored for a long time, Apple also
unveiled an LCD iPhone this year with what Apple calls the “Liquid Retina”
display. The 6.1-inch
display has a resolution of 1792×828 with
a pixel density of 326ppi. It’s not even full HD but Apple made some tall claims about
color reproduction and accuracy on this display too.
The displays on all of the
three iPhones also get 120Hz touch-sensing which will ensure better haptic
feedback, faster touch recognition, and speedier typing. However, this is not
the 120Hz refresh rate which we get on the Razer Phone.
Improved Stereo Speaker
The iPhones XS, XS Max, and XR also
get stereo speakers which are improved over the iPhone X. The
speakers now produce a wider stereo effect, giving you an immersive sound
experience with enhanced spatial sound and better clarity while gaming or
watching videos.
Dual SIM
The
most advanced Apple smartphone – iPhone XS and iPhone XS Max – lets you carry
two different numbers in a single iPhone. Yes, these are the first dual-SIM
iPhones. Besides the primary SIM, Apple has put in an eSIM just
like the Apple Watch and latest iPads. This will be supported
by leading operators across the world including Airtel, Jio,
and Vodafone in
India.
For China only, Apple
will be changing the functionality and use a dual-sided SIM tray which
will allow users to use two different physical SIM cards simultaneously.
IP68 Rating
Compared
to the IP67 ratings on iPhone X, the iPhone XS and XS Max come with an
IP68 rating for better dust and water resistance. Apple
says that you can immerse the device in a 2-meter deep pond or pool of water
for up to 30 minutes without fearing for any damage to the smartphone. The
iPhone XR, however, comes with an IP67 rating.
Smart HDR
The cameras on the new iPhones
are getting a feature called Smart HDR which automatically improves
images by taking four different shots at very small
intervals and inter-frames which record lighting and depth in the images. This
multi-level image processing with the new ISP and enhanced by the better NPU on
the A12 Bionic chipset.
Better Battery Backup
The
iPhones are also getting a noticeable bump in terms of battery performance
with the iPhone XS offering 30 minutes of extra power over the
iPhone X while the iPhone XS Max exceeds the iPhone X
battery life by 90 minutes. On the other hand, the iPhone XR provides 90
minutes of additional usage time over the iPhone 8 Plus, Apple said. Apple has
not revealed the battery capacities and we’ll update you over the same once we
find out the mAh numbers.
iOS 12
2018’s
iPhone trio also comes with iOS 12 out of the
box. It comes with faster animations, quicker app launches, better
Animoji, and a new self-Animoji or “Memoji” feature. It also brings Group
Facetime with a total of 32 participants. To help you wind down after a day of
heavy usage, iOS 12 brings features like Screen Time, App Limits, and Downtime.
Besides iPhone XS, XS Max, and
iPhone XR, iOS 12 will be available for older devices
starting September 17 which is actually before the new
iPhones start shipping.
iPhone XS Lineup: A Worthy Upgrade Over iPhone X?
The
new iPhones have taken iPhone’s top-notch performance to the next level, but
whether it is a worthy upgrade to the iPhone X, is a question that we are yet
to find the answer to.
A
lot depends on the performance of these new phones and how much the cameras
have improved over the last gen. We will have to wait until September 28 to
check out the device when it starts shipping in India. While I feel the new
smartphone will be a great upgrade for anyone ditching older iPhones, I think
iPhone X users can still make the most out of last year’s flagship, without
feeling device envy.
What
do you think about the new iPhones? Tell us your opinions in the comments
below.
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