Friends+Design
- Continues the gorgeous, premium design language of last year's iPhone X
- Ditching the home button and moving to a face-based login was a bold move from Apple last year - and its mostly ended up working (with just a bit of a learning curve for previous iPhone users), and thus allowed modern iPhones to go nearly all-screen - the new iPhones this year continue the trend
- There is now even better water and dust resistance - these iPhones can stay water-safe an extra meter under water, up to 2 meters of immersion for up to 30 minutes (last year's iPhones already survived up to 1 meter) - this phone, according to Apple, will also better handle salt water, chlorinated water and various liquid spills
- Face ID is now faster than before
Display
- The display is fantastic, and even slightly better than the already great one on the iPhone x - the new display looks subtly brighter and richer at maximum brightness
- Apple also claims to have used even more durable, scratch-resistant glass, than on the iPhone X
Software
- The new iOS 12 brings a number of new features like group notifications and most importantly makes deep performance improvements - Apple is known for regularly tuning its software to perform optimally with the hardware - overall, this as refined and polished a software experience on a smartphone as you can hope for
- One of the best things about iPhones of course is that you are pretty much guaranteed updates for many years to come (even the best Android phones top out at about 3 years), so as long as you take care of your phone physically, the longevity factor here is really high!
Performance
- The iPhone XS is a performance monster - there is no other way of putting it - it still blows the best Android phones away - and the new A12 Bionic processor sets a new standard for performance, and for chip design
- The most important gains from the crazy fast A12 Bionic are in AI, AR and graphics - AR apps for instance show better, smoother video and higher-resolution backgrounds (Apple says that's due to a greatly improved Neural Engine chip for machine learning and computer vision)
Camera
- The cameras will blow you away, and are easily the best-in-class along with the Pixel 2
- The dual rear cameras are markedly improved from the iPhone X delivering better photos in both dark and high-contrast environments (Apple calls this "Smart HDR") thanks to a new sensor and the new image processor on the A12 Bionic chip - in practice, this means photos look better whether shot on a nighttime street, in a dark bar or in bright sunlight - focus is faster, too - all these elements combine to produce an even better camera than the already great iPhone X - and the difference is significant enough to get serious photographers interested
- There is also a new adjustable background depth feature in portrait mode, that allows you to tweak the bokeh level, giving you even more power over your photos
- Portrait Lighting effects, which digitally remove the background and turn selfies into head shots, now look slightly less artificial
- The iPhone XS' video recording quality might benefit even more from the phone's camera improvements than still photos - the added HDR (better auto contrast, as with the still photos) and extra stabilization will make even your more casual videos look more vibrant, even at 1080p and 30fps - and the microphones now record in stereo, too
Audio
- As with the iPhone X, the iPhone XS pumps out some solid stereo sound in landscape mode, but the XS takes it up a notch - they sound even better, crisp and loud - movies and games sound great, almost like listening on an iPad Pro
- Headphone jack dongles are now no longer included in the retail package - which means you will have to rely on Apple's included lightning port earphones (or purchase wireless earphones)
Battery
- The battery lasts the work day, and is slightly improved over last year's iPhone X - though it's not world-beating by any definition
- Better wireless charging than before - Apple says the phone's wireless charging coil has improved so there'll be fewer misses when you place it on a charge pad
- No fast charger included in the retail box - Apple only includes a 5-watt basic Lightning iPhone charger in-box - a fast charger will need to be purchased separately
More
- Support for faster Gigabit LTE
- Finally, the iPhones this year also add dual SIM support - this is done with a physical nano-SIM + eSIM combination (eSIMs are currently supported in India only on Airtel and Jio)
- On the whole, the iPhone XS series is pretty much an "S" iPhone series, an overall polish and refinement of the bold iPhone X - they're faster, with better camera hardware that will make everyday photography more professional-looking - for most iPhone X users this will be a skippable upgrade, but for everyone else, the iPhone XS and XS Max, are the very best iPhones (and arguably the best smartphones) you can get - that's of course if you can afford it - these are crazy good phones at crazy high prices!
