For those of us in the Northern Hemisphere, the nights have started to draw in and temperatures drop. This can mean only one thing - we're now in what is traditionally Apple's main season for new product launches.
Last week saw the releases of iPhone XS, iPhone XS Max and Apple Watch Series 4. The iPhone XR will begin shipping next month, and it's likely that at the very least there will also be an update to iPad Pro before the season ends. Beyond this, there might be new MacBooks; refreshes for iMac and Mac Mini; and possibly even a second generation of AirPods.
Add to this mix the recent round of major OS releases, and you currently have lots of talking points for anybody with an interest in all things Apple; lots to have opinions on; and lots to have questions about.
I've now had nearly a week with an iPhone XS Max, so I thought that I would share some experiences and early opinions in the hope that this will answer some possible questions.
Before we move on, I want to make it very clear that what follows should not be considered as a deep dive review, as I need more time to discover which of this iPhone's mostly subtle and incremental differences to my previous iPhone X will be meaningful over extended use. Additionally, having previously been somewhat hostile towards ājumboā sized phones, it's perhaps prudent to allow the iPhone XS Max some time to respond to any preconceptions or biases which I might bring to my relationship with its 6.5-inch display.
Accordingly, I would encourage readers to regard everything below as nothing more than a somewhat random collection of thoughts; some of which may prove to be incomplete - or even downright wrong - after more time and use of the iPhone XS Max.
But, this has to be enough preamble and caveats, lets get to some actual experiences and opinions.
When lifting the iPhone XS Max out of its box for the first time, it felt very familiar. And, so it should, as to all intents and purposes, it's visually a scaled up iPhone X.
If it weren't for reading this Apple Insider article, I would probably not have found out for myself with only touch to rely on, that there are in fact some aesthetic differences to the iPhone X that I had been using for the past 10 months:
Aesthetically, the iPhone XS is almost identical to last year's iPhone X, but if you take a closer look, you'll see that the speaker grille layout is completely different. The iPhone X had six speaker holes on the left side of its Lightning port, while the XS cuts that number down to three to make room for an added antenna band. Users will also notice a similar band at the top of the handset right above the camera lens.
Apparently, the camera bump is also ever so slightly larger than that of the iPhone X. This won't make a difference to those buying an iPhone XS Max, but anybody who gets an iPhone XS shouldn't assume that cases originally designed for the iPhone X will also fit their new iPhone.
It's not just visually that the iPhone XS Max has much in common with the iPhone X. Both feature OLED displays, Face ID, 3D Touch and wireless charging: whilst features like HDR10, Dolby Vision, and Super Retina technology are also identical.
As for differences between the iPhone XS Max and iPhone X, these include improved speakers, the ability to record video with stereo sound, better waterproofing, and an upgraded camera.
I'm not going to pretend that I understand the how and why, but of these changes, the camera on the iPhone XS Max and iPhone XS is reported to be āa huge camera upgradeā. One of the reasons for this, is that the camera sensor is approximately 30% larger, and this should convert into more detailed images and better performance in low light conditions. Although I rarely use my iPhone's camera to take photos, I do routinely use it to recognize text and images. I've not performed extensive or comparative testing, but when using KNFB Reader to scan letters, there does āseemā to be an improvement in low light conditions over the iPhone X.
Another notable change with the new iPhones, is that they feature Appleās new A12 Bionic chip. Apple unsurprisingly claims this to be āthe smartest, most powerful chip in a smart-phoneā; smarter and more powerful in ways that I am not going to pretend I fully understand or can begin to explain, so I will let Tom's Hardware assist me here:
The 7nm chip has 6.9 billion transistors. It features a 6-core CPU using Apple's Fusion architecture combining two performance cores and four efficiency cores. The Bionic also features a quad-core GPU that's promises to be up to 50 percent faster than the previous CPU. It allows for tessellation and multilayer rendering and lossless memory compression. It also features a new image processor, video processor, a faster secure enclave and more.
It also runs Apple's neural engine, with an 8-core design. The company claims that it can run 5 trillion operations for second, up from 600 billion operations per second on the A11 Bionic, Apple's last CPU.
The company also claims that apps will launch 30 percent faster on the XS and XS Max than previous phones.
I didn't expect any of this to translate in to something that I would notice in daily use of the phone. Possibly, apps do indeed open a little faster than they had on my iPhone X, but I wouldn't rule out that this is simply a placebo effect from being told that they would open faster.
There is, however, one area where I do believe that the new chip may be responsible for an actual performance improvement - VoiceOver feels faster and more responsive. Something that makes me believe that this isn't another possible placebo effect, is that I have switched to a voice other than Alex, and am enjoying the experience. Whenever I have tried other voices over recent years, the drop in responsiveness has typically had me revert back to Alex in less than an hour. On the iPhone X, I once managed to last on another voice for about 1 day, but spent most of that time complaining and missing Alex. I've now spent nearly a week with Ava, and the only niggles are the differences in some pronunciations and inflections.
Whilst on the topic of VoiceOver, I should also mention that the improvements to the speakers on the iPhone XS Max are noticeable when listening to VoiceOver. Not only are the speakers louder and clearer, but I suspect that they might also be a factor in why I am taken by the Ava voice. I don't know enough about audio and the workings of hearing to begin to understand the how and why of Ava sounding better than she used to, but I believe that the improved speakers of the iPhone XS Max are a contributing factor.
But, back to that new A12 Bionic chip.
One area where I have heard reports of people experiencing an immediate impact from the A12 Bionic chip's Neural Engine, is with the speed and reliability of Face ID. So far, I haven't noticed any discernible difference. It could be that this will come over time as the Neural Engine familiarizes itself with my face in a range of environments, but for now I am not noticing any improvement compared to that of an iPhone X running iOS 12.
Whilst on the topic of Face ID, I would recommend that anybody who hasn't owned or used an iPhone X and has questions about the setup and use of Face ID, or what the lack of a Home button means for VoiceOver users, should read my review from last year of the iPhone X along with the additional information shared by others in replies to that post. The only change of note in these areas since that review, is that VoiceOver users are now told about the āAttention Awareā feature when setting up Face ID - specifically, now being told that this feature has been automatically disabled due to them being a VoiceOver user.
If after reading last year's review and comments on the iPhone X you still have concerns about Face ID and the removal of the Home button, I would encourage you not to. You will adapt; you will adjust quickly; it will simply become what you are used to.
And this leads me on to the āadaptingā and āadjustingā which I'm currently going through with the iPhone XS Max.
Yes, it's finally time to mention what's probably most significant about the iPhone XS Max - it sports the largest screen ever seen on an iPhone, a whopping 6.5-inches.
If you've read my review of the iPhone X, you will know that one of the issues I had with it compared to my previous iPhone 6S, was that it might no longer be a one-handed device. This is even more true with the iPhone XS Max. Even those used to one of the āPlusā iPhones will need to adapt, as although the XS Max is similar in physical dimensions to one of these, its screen stretches to all four edges.
This leaves your fingers with a long stretch to reach the Status Bar and other page elements located near to the top of the screen, whilst triggering the Control Center and Notification Center are likely to require readjusting your grip.
I've noticed that without making a conscious decision to do so, I have switched to typically holding the iPhone XS Max in my left hand, and using my right hand to do most of the tapping and swiping. On those occasions when I do use the iPhone with just the one hand, it's already feeling less natural, efficient and secure. I guess that this is another example of how you adapt and just get used to whatever you are using.
One surprise with the iPhone XS Max, is that Apple hasn't taken advantage of the extra screen space to add at least one more row of app icons to the Home screen. There may be technical or UX reasons for not doing so. But, if they had, it's extremely likely that I would have moved to a single Home screen for all of my folders and apps, as it wouldn't have taken too much re-organizing on my part to have made this happen.
I am also disappointed that Apple hasn't taken advantage of the extra space available to the Status Bar on the iPhone XS Max. For example, the name of my carrier and the current connection type (3G or 4G in my case) were only displayed on my iPhone X in certain situations. It would have been nice if some of the extra space on the iPhone XS Max's Status Bar could have been used to make one or both of these present all of the time.
One area where Apple has taken advantage of the larger screen of the iPhone XS Max, is by adding support for expanded landscape applications, allowing for a two-column view in apps such as Mail, Messages and Calendar. I initially struggled with this, as there just seemed to be more to swipe through on the screen than I was used to. However, since switching to using one thumb to navigate and activate what's in the left column, and my other thumb to do the same in the right column, I actually now find myself enjoying this layout and often opt for it in favor of holding my phone upright.
As somebody who routinely uses a combination of swiping and touch to explore and navigate my iPhone's screen, there are numerous times and situations where I've been aware that the screen on the iPhone XS Max is also taking advantage of that extra real estate to display more content than I am used to. For example, more tweets in my Twitterrific timelines, and an extra episode when browsing podcasts in Overcast. It's not significant, and hasn't yet felt like it's transforming my user experience. But, it's not a bad thing either.
As for other potential benefits of that larger screen, my assumption is that in our community the benefits will be for low vision users and those who routinely use the āexplore by touchā method to locate screen content.
I don't personally have enough residual vision to know from experience what the large screen of the iPhone XS Max offers to low vision users compared to smaller variants. However, one distinction between the iPhone XS Max and the iPhone XS that may be of specific interest and value to low vision users, is that the former supports the Display Zoom feature.
Display Zoom can be turned on in the Settings app under Display & Brightness and View. āStandardā shows more content on the screen, and āZoomedā shows larger controls for content. Display Zoom makes elements on screen more legible with larger tap targets. This feature was first introduced on the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus, but was notably absent on the iPhone X (and now also the iPhone XS).
All three of this year's new iPhone models have support for two SIMs. In some Asian countries this will be offered via two SIM trays, whilst elsewhere one by the standard nano-SIM slot and a second via eSIM, a fully digital alternative. Apple identifies three possible use cases where Dual SIM might make an iPhone XR, XS or XS Max a compelling upgrade:
- Use one number for business and another number for personal calls.
- Add a local data plan when you travel outside of the country or region.
- Have separate voice and data plans. List end
The iPhone XS and iPhone XS Max come in three colors: space gray, silver and a new shade of gold. They are available with storage capacities of 64GB, 256GB or 512GB. Prices start at US$999 and US$1099 respectively.
Unlike the āPlusā iPhone models released in the past, the smaller variant this year has the exact same camera system as its larger counterpart. In fact, the only difference other than in size, is that the iPhone XS Max offers up to 60 minutes of extra battery life than the iPhone XS.
Closing Thoughts
The big āleapā in terms of the evolution of the iPhone came last year. If there is a big change this year, it's that there are three new iPhone models, all of which build in mostly small ways upon the iPhone X; and each of which aims to offer potential buyers something different. I was thrilled last year at what the iPhone X offered compared to my previous iPhone 6S, and I have no doubt that I would be even more thrilled if I were upgrading from a 6S to one of this year's three new iPhones.
I am confident that anybody looking to upgrade from anything other than an iPhone X would also be thrilled by any one of this year's new iPhone models. For those who own an iPhone X, it's likely that only being on an annual upgrade program or needing extra storage space or a second SIM will be a strong reason to upgrade.
However, my strong recommendation to anyone considering buying the iPhone XS or iPhone XS Max, would be to wait at least a few weeks for the release of the iPhone XR, as it shares many of the headline features, but with a saving of at least $250. And, much of what it is lacking, may arguably not offer any added value to blind or low vision users.
The main differences between the iPhone XR and the XS and XS Max, are that the former has an LCD display rather than OLED, has Haptic Touch in place of 3D Touch, has an aluminium housing instead of stainless steel, has 1GB less of RAM, and that it has only a single rear camera compared to the dual camera system of the iPhone XS and XS Max.
That leaves a lot to potentially like about the iPhone XR, and my expectation is that it will be the most popular of this year's new iPhones. This has me waiting with anticipation for the first batch of iPhone XR reviews.
As I said right at the start of this post, my intention was not to go deep in to the iPhone XS Max at this point. This will no doubt have readers keener than ever to learn the experiences and opinions of others. So, if you've already taken the plunge and bought either an iPhone XS or iPhone XS Max, please do share your thoughts by posting a comment below. If you are holding out for the iPhone XR, it would also be great to hear your reasons.
If you are looking for a deep dive in to the iPhone XS and XS Max, , Mashable has you covered: iPhone XS and XS Max review: The best iPhones ever
Comments
Hi, also just to add the xs
Hi, also just to add the xs max has a bigger battery than both xs and xr which will be my reason for getting it.
speaking of battery how have you found battery life? I know apple claim an extra 1 and a half hours over the x, I imagine in theory because of us using screen curtain, turning brightness to 0 etc that this might be a bit more for us. How often do you find yourself charging it.
also, the xs max features faster wifi than the x, I don't know if this also features in the xs and xr, as I haven't paid that much attention to the other two phones. also xs max and xs you can get up to 512 gb of storage, but the xr you can only get up to 256gb of storage.
xr i believe is meant be better
hi, the xr battery i believe is meant to be better than the max or standard xs, but i may get the max to replace my ipad mini 4 so just have one device. battery on the max how is it not as good as the xr? is it because of the OLED? and why charge more for a phone whose battery is not as good as a cheaper phone
Glad someone else is finding VO faster.
Hi, I also got my 10 s Max on launch day and I noticed instantly how much quicker voiceover was and I was upgrading from an iPhone X, not because I thought the upgrade was worthwhile just because I had an upgrade due. Iām so glad I got the 10 s Max, although I am sure it would have been the same if iād got the 10 s too. The difference is enormous, definitely not placebo as I can use it then my old 7 Plus which is no slouch and the difference is stark. Best of all it really has changed how I use my phone, Before I tended to swipe more where as now with the lower latency I tend to explore more as the speed difference really is more like its speaking instantly when my finger moves over an item, on every phone before there was a very slight delay. Other differences are much better speakers, often I wonāt bother with a speaker when iām listening to youtube or audible, its even loud enough to hear in the shower but I will still usually use a speaker there. Battery is another area where I have noticed a big difference, not that its so important these days as I always carry a 10000MAh battery but its nice to know for definite iāll get through an entire day with just the phone battery. I would imagine it helps that I turn that big beautiful screen off which obviously nobody else is doing than VO users. I was never very impressed with the battery on the X but now with the Max its pretty good. Strange though that the 10R will have a much better battery still,, like 2 hours better? Very odd considering how much less expensive it is. Anyway, in short I would upgrade to the X S or X S Max now knowing what I do about how different it is. In fact iād say this time around VO users may have got the biggest difference out of an upgrade. That low latency really is a treat.
Re: Battery life
Unfortunately, I can't meaningfully comment on the battery life of the Max, as my habit is to place my phone on a charger whenever an opportunity presents itself during the day. This leaves me with no baselines to compare against (for instance, I can't say that with my previous iPhone X, the charge level would typically be at x% by a certain time in the day, whilst with the Max it's at x%).
However, some reports I've read have indicated somewhat disappointing battery performance, with some saying that it's worse than that of some past Plus models:
Tom's Guide: iPhone XS and XS Max Battery Life: The Results Are In
Trusted Reviews: iPhone XS Max ā Battery life
in terms of capacity the max
in terms of capacity the max definitely has a bigger battery than the xs and xr, not sure where people got the idea that the xr will have better battery than the max, come on would they really make there budget phone have better battery than there flagship premium product? there have been articles published that give the capacities of batteries found in the max and the one that will be in the xr.
The XR may indeed offer the best battery life
Actually, Apple's own figures indicate that the iPhone XR will indeed have the best battery life of this year's new iPhones.
First, here are the battery capacities of the three new iPhones:
And from Apple Insider we have Apple's battery life figures:
So, even though the battery in the XR will be smaller in capacity than that in the Max, battery life will be better in some areas. Apparently this is due to using a different screen ā¦ one which shouldn't be so power-hungry.
And here's an explanation the reasons why that screen gives the iPhone XR the better theoretical battery life: https://www.howtogeek.com/367237/why-the-iphone-xr-has-the-best-battery-life-of-the-new-iphone-x-series/
Of course, if you routinely use your iPhone with the screen curtain turned on, the Max may edge back in front for battery life.
Thanks for the review, here are my thoughts!
Using the iPhone 8 as my current daily driver, I am very excited to upgrade to the max or XR! I would already be rocking the max if it not for awaiting the XR to compare speaker output! Given the reduced power requirements of the LCD display, I am very excited about the XR battery life potential! Itās notable on several reviews that the max does have better speakers then the XS! Since the footprint of the XR is larger than the XS, I am hopeful that the speakers on the XR match the max! Could be the best match for this Blinky!
I am really digging haptic feedback improvements in iOS 12! Though I am not a heavy 3-D touch user, I will be testing the XR to see if all the usual haptic feedback properties that I enjoy right now using my iPhone 8 are still present Despite the absence of 3D Touch on the XR! The musings regarding voiceover latency ponders the question: Is the improvement due to the max display and will that suffer with the traditional LCD display? Or, is it all down to the new bionic chip? If my dreams come true, the XR is for me! Otherwise, and given the above, Iāll go with the max! Fourth with! Cheersā¦ Rocker
thanks for the detailed
thanks for the detailed battery explanation above, as you say I guess its a trade off in certain areas.
I still plan to go for the max because it has all the new camera features that the others don't have all of, in reality it won't make any difference to me with picture taking, but I hope it might improve text recognition etc as the other phones certainly don't have all the camera hardware of the max, plus there is that extra ram. in reality I doubt most of us will do anything that will really tax our phones hardware, but still nice to have the extra ram.
also I am thinking a larger screen might make typing in braille screen input easier, more finger space and bigger targets to aim at when looking for dots, which could be helpful as sometimes some of the dots go walkies and are not in there usual place.
the two handed operation doesn't bother me as that's how I always have used my phones even in the 4 and 4s days, really if your wondering around trying to use phones one handed I think its asking for accidents, drops etc especially if your walking around or just out in public not sat down.
Youāre right about the faster
Youāre right about the faster RF communication, but itās faster cell, not Wifi. The XR and last yearās models had a 2-by-2 IMO modem, (donāt really know waht that means but anyway), and the Xs and XS max have 4 by 4.
Hi, sorry to correct you, but
Hi, sorry to correct you, but I am sure it said somewhere in the keynote that the max certainly offers gigabit wifi speeds now, not sure about the others as I say but they certainly referred to gigabit wifi somewhere.
face ID
I would like confirmation on something regarding the security of face ID on a Voice-Over user's phone. My thought is this: The necessity to focus your eyes on the sensor is turned off if VO is being used. Could I pick up your phone, aim it at your face, and unlock it? If so, it has just killed the security of face ID. If this is true, I want the fingerprint feature to remain.
You are correct Charles,
You are correct Charles, though a VoiceOver user can enable the attention aware features again if they choose to, but of course that assumes you have enough control of your eyes to try to look into the camera.
I have heard of blind people who have enabled the attention aware features again and can still use face ID, I haven't tried it though. But I totally agree with you face id makes security for us a joke, unless we decide to disable it and just use the pass code.
I wrote to apple accessibility recently and said I would prefer a phone with both options and got the usual thank you for your feedback message.
Interesting review, I'm keeping the 8 plus for another year.
Much as the new phones seem interesting, I'm keeping the plus for another year as it is the iPad pro I am most interested in. I'm entirely iOS first and have no mac or PC so rely on iOS 24 hours a day 7 days a week. The face ID is rather concerning because I have my confidential things in iOS and don't like the idea of someone just pointing, unlocking and causing trouble. As to VO being quicker, I've written thousands of words in BSI on the glass in Ulysses, use explore by touch on constantly because I hate swipers and I never have any kind of lag.
Hmm...i didnāt know about
Hmm...i didnāt know about that. Gigabit LTE on phones would be very impressive. I havenāt watched the Keynote firsthand, so I donāt know for sure, but i could that wrong. Thanks for correcting me, anyhow
well you only have a few
well you only have a few options, don't use face ID and only use a pass code, try with the attention aware features on or stick with touch id as long as you can.
Speaker Performance
I wonder if anyone else has noticed a difference in the sound of Voiceover on the XS, VS the X? Right away I heard something I can only describe as distortion coming from Alex. I don't hear this when playing music, and everything mentioned above about the better speakers I would agree with. I think this is really an effect of having more bass, and possibly a design change inside the phone. I actually took mine back to the Apple store to see what they thought, and after comparing it to another XS Max, I finally decided this is expected behavior. I since have noticed the same sound on my 8, and so now I'm feeling like my X is the only one that doesn't have this artifact.
I have tried changing voices, and there is some improvement, but overall it is still there. It isn't even something I would classify as annoying, but rather something I noticed straight away, and simply wondered if anyone else noticed it as well.
R
hi all, still torn about xs max or the upcomming xr. st've only ever had a 6s and 7 with these bigger screens and just don't see how someone with no sight would bchefit from a plus-sized or bigger phone. interested in thoughts.i use braille screen input extensively, but do have an ipad for reading. i am assuming an xs max could replace an ipad if i just wanted one device? i know the xr will be big too but i guess i'd need to handle one first.
Actual dimensions
XR: H 150.9 mm, W 75.7 mm, D 8.3 mm, W 194 G
XS: H 143.6 mm, W 70.9 mm, D 7.7 mm, w 177 G
XS Max: H 157.5 mm, W 77.4 mm, D 7.7 mm, W 208G
Since you asked about screen size, I thought it was worth comparing the actual sizes of all three. As you can see here, the XR will be the thickest at 8.3 mm, while both models of XS are 7.7 mm thick. The max is biggest both height and width wise, with the XR coming in next, followed by the XS. As for weight, the Max wins, probably due to its overall size difference, and presumably a bigger battery. If you want the smallest footprint, the XS is the clear winner here.
XS Max Thoughts
I decided to upgrade from my iPhone 7 Plus, and got my XS Max on launch day. Now that I've had it for a couple of weeks, here are a few thoughts.
First the bad stuff. While Face ID is usable, and I'm starting to get used to it, I much prefer Touch ID because it was just so instant, and worked virtually every time, unless I had wet hands. Face ID doesn't seem near as reliable, and I often have to give it a couple of tries before my phone unlocks. I haven't had too much trouble with using Face ID for purchases though.
If you are a low vision user, the XS's screen and camera are excellent. I've always liked OLED screens, and thought aobut the X last year. I didn't want a smaller screened phone than my 7 Plus though. Now that I have the 6.5 Max screen, everything looks really sharp. Text looks clear, and I love watching videos and playing games on this screen. My only 2 complaints are: The notch still looks dumb, and Apple Really needs to make a true dark mode, especially for the OLED phones. Pure black pixels on OLED screens don't need power, so lots of dark backgrounds means better battery life, at least a little.
Oh, one other thing about the screen. I'm not sure if it's an IOS 12 thing, or the notch thing, but when I have a bluetooth headset connected, there's no longer a battery indicator for the headset in the status bar. On my 7 Plus, it was just to the left of my phone's battery indicator. I do miss this. It doesn't even seem to show any more in the Control Center. It says what headset is connected, but no battery level.
The camera though is very clear, and very fast. When using the built-in Magnifier app, text is very sharp and detailed. You can even see more of the fine details in the grain of the paper at times. Likewise, when using Magnifier to look at something on a computer screen, the image focuses much faster and appears quite clear. I use this fairly often for reading text in some games.
The overall speed is also very fast. Apps open quickly, and there isn't much loading time, even in GPU or processor intensive games. I have had several apps instantly crash when launching sometimes, but opening them again seems to work fine. This may be an IOS 12 thing. Wi-Fi and bluetooth also seem fine. I haven't had as much of a chance to fully test this, as the Internet service at my home has been crap for the first week or so I owned the phone due to Comcast Internet problems, but since then, it's seemed very fast.
I do miss the Home button, especially touch ID. That said, the new gestures don't bother me much. I had been playing with these during the public beta of IOS 12 on my iPad Pro, so I was kind of familiar with them already. I do sometimes think that double tapping the Lock button will bring up the app switcher, because a triple tap turns VO on and off, but it instead brings up Apple Pay. Other than that, new gestures work pretty well.
I did get a wireless charger for my desk at work, and sometimes keep the phone powered up that way, but the battery life seems to last the majority of the day, and I'm a pretty heavy phone user throughout the day.
XX 143
Well I got the iPhone XX and it took time to learn to how to open and go to app switch. Notice that when playing an audiobook, and charging the battery, gets hot. I setup face ID yet I can open the phone using finger going up and open without looking at it.
Considering upgrade
Hello David.. I need your opinion. I'm using the iPhone X for 11 months now. Do you think if i upgrade to iPhone XS Max is a good choice? How about the speaker quality? Are they better than the X?
Face ID
I've written about this on here before, but it's worth saying again that I agree with others who are concerned about the security of Face ID. if someone can simply point my phone at my face to open it (I do not have enough control of my eyes to use the attention aware feature with any reliability) that is not at all secure. This matters for those of us who have not only our own confidential data, but confidential data relating to other people on our iPhones. Since the implementation of the GDPR (General Data Protection Regulations) across the European Union and closely associated countries, the approach to data security has become much stricter. The company for which I work is bound by the GDPR and we have to be very careful in all sorts of activities, from sending group emails to reporting data breaches committed by colleagues...and the definition of data breach constitutes more than you might think. the GDPR doesn't just cover companies - if you run a website or maling list, for example, it may cover you. So in fact, if Face ID compromises the security of our phones, that could get in the way of the jobs we do, paid or unpaid. Sure, I realise you can use a passcode instead, but doesn't that mean the biometric features such as Apple pay are disabled? Perhaps that doesn't matter so much if you work for a company - after all, just protect your corporate device with a passcode and disable the biometric features, which you're unlikely to use as part of your job - but what if you're a church warden in charge of the Sunday school rota, or chairman of a residents association? Both these are covered by the GDPR, and neither comes with a corporate Apple device.
Just got my iPhone X as Max yesterday
Hello everyone, I just got my iPhone X as max yesterday. I like this device very much. The speaker quality is great, the body and the size for the iPhone is like the plus series. About to face ID, in this iPhone X as Max, we can use face ID even when attention aware feature is on. I am thinking face ID is more reliable than before on the iPhone X.
A wonderful article
That was a wonderful article about this phone. I am totally blind, and Iām using this phone. I personally like it, and I definitely agree with what you said. I like the larger screen size, becauseā¦ I am one of those people that likes to do the four finger swipe command. I upgraded from a 6S, and so I really like this one. It also has a nice feel to it in the sense of the hardware and the software. Finally, I personally did not like the voiceover Ava
question
Hi,
After reading your review on the XS Max, I'm actually thinking about upgrading from an iPhone 7 to either the XS or XS Max, but I have a question: is voiceover very responsive? also,has the stereo speakers on both the XS/XS Max been improved?
iPhone
Both phone work well when iOS does also. However with iOS 13.3 AKA unlucky 13. Is not the phone the issue but software. Hope eventually iOS becomes better with VO.