I'm doing this.
The Xs Max is the phone I have wanted Apple to build for several years now - ever since I bought my first pair of smartphones (a pair of Samsung S5) - and it's finally here. Full screen edge-to-edge, great camera that idiots like me can actually use and benefit from, and what is essentially a computer in the hand. That display looks juicy....
My smartphone "experiment" was with a pair of S5s - but not long after using them began to notice things that the Apple owners talked about being an issue. I made it a point to allow that experience to springboard some research I needed to do on the topic, took notes along the way, and had come to the conclusion that Apple would likely be in my future, especially once the "full screen" concept was realized. I'm not one to just up and buy the latest gadget every year - I tend to milk out what I can from them before giving up. I got that pair of S5s brand new for $600 total. So it was worth the look-see and the experience of it, for not much invested.
My S5 took a dive last December - nine months too early as I was holding out for Apple's "X Plus". But I had to buy a phone, and didn't like the X screen size. Wanted something bigger in the 16 x 9 space. So I bought an Apple 8 Plus, 256GB, just as another experiment, figuring I could sell it if I wanted to bail on it. I got that phone two days ahead of a new Year's trip to NYC, and had a host of ticket stuff go bad on day one and on NYE itself. I literally had that phone in hand for the third and fifth day of ownership respectively, having never owned or used an Apple phone before, and that phone bailed me out of jams all week. Spent a couple of hours setting it up/loading apps and a few things and it was "game on" WRT functionality. I was sold on it by the time I got home.
My wife's Samsung is now limping along on it's last legs, as we've been "nursing" this phone to the Apple Xs Max finish line. So as I told my cell agent today, "This is the weirdest day of my life - lining up on pre-order day to buy a smartphone". But the situation warranted it - especially in light of the fact that the Gold Xs Max will be a hot seller, especially in bigger hard drive considerations.
I really like the 8 Plus, and I think my wife will get along with it great (save for the eventual Face ID and other trick envy and maybe the size). I think the home button is a better logical migration for her on the 8, as well as the 16 x 9 layout of the screen. I'll do better clunking through the lack of home button and retooling that old habit, and my larger hands will navigate the Xs Max screen just fine (although I know many might have issue). I don't know how I will respond to the no-home button - I've heard some say it trips them up for a while, but once brain retools and it "clicks" it's a non issue. I've seen others switch back to the 8 plus from the X over this and the screen dimension. I think the screen dimension issue is fixed for me - and I expect I will learn the "home" thing just fine. Eventually. My wife being completely tech troubled will make the change to the 8 Plus much more readily, I think. If not, I'll sell it and get her the one she wants.
But for me, the Xs Max is a no brainer - what I had pretty much dialed up in my head I wanted Apple to do upon pondering a pretty much ideal smartphone. Not a fan of being all shrouded in glass, but it's not like I have much choice these days, especially in high end product, so that's about the only complaint (I would buy an Xs Max with side edges like an Apple 5S/SE if they sold it, just to try to get it more bulletproof). And so they have otherwise built that close to ideal phone that I've thought would suit me, and so here I am to grab one.
Oh, and I got a $300 bill credit on mine this morning through my cellular carrier so I'm rather giddy with the unanticipated savings.
Now to wait for it to get here.........
