So the silver iPhone X is my favorite phone I’ve ever owned. It’s just awesome.
This time I tried the gold Max and just didn’t like it. Too big for me and didn’t like the color.
So I went down to the silver Xs, thinking it’s the same as my favorite phone, but better and faster. Can’t go wrong with that, right?
But after a couple days, I’m really struggling to justify that decision.
Doing side-by-side tests of Face ID, they appear to unlock at the exact same speed most of the time. I’m not sure why it looks faster in some YouTuber’s videos, but for me it had been exactly the same. I mean holding them next to each other, staring at the middle point right between them, touching the screen at the same time... they almost always unlock at the exact same time. Every now and then one of them won’t work, or one will work first if I shift my eyes more toward one side. But when I get it right in the middle, they are the exact same speed.
Next I tried comparing LTE speeds. Using the same SIM card, sitting in the same spot, connecting to the same Verizon tower... Ookla speeds were about 17 on the Xs, then 15 the X, then 9 on the Xs, then 16 on the X, and still around 9 on the Xs. Just sitting here swapping the SIM card back and forth between the two and running the tests. So that was kinda disappointing.
Comparing the screens side-by-side, the Xs is slightly warmer. Both are using the exact same settings, True Tone and all that. Not sure that’s good or bad really, just something I noticed. I think I do like the X screen slightly better, but I’m not quite sure why. I do have a couple micro scratches on the X screen which you can’t see unless you look really hard when it’s off, and a very tiny deeper scratch you can see against white screens. Also a spot where it seems the oleophobic coating may have worn off (Apple tech said it’s not considered when replacing a screen), as well as tons of micro scratches along the stainless steel and one nick at the top. So cosmetically, I was looking forward to a shiny new phone.
Lastly, I’ve noticed some screen stutter with the Xs, which I have NEVER seen happen on the X. Sometimes it’s when opening or minimizing apps. Sometimes when zooming a photo in the Photos app. I cannot consistently replicate it though.
I did take a bunch of pictures yesterday with the Xs, which looked fantastic (especially low light), but I don’t really take a lot of pics generally. And I was already very impressed with the X camera, especially when I’d take the same pictures side-by-side with my sister’s 7+ and compare them. The X always blew the 7+ away. Haven’t directly compared the X and Xs camera though.
Now, like I said, I really want to like the Xs because it’s a “better” version of my X, but I feel like I’m missing something.
Now, I will say that going from a SS s0 watch to the SS s4 was a huge upgrade, and very noticeable. The phones are not giving me that same feeling.
Did anyone else go from X to Xs? What were your observations and justifications? I keep teetering back and forth between keeping it because it’s shiny and new, or returning it because my X was so good. I know upgrading every year, you won’t get as noticeable of a difference, but I always do it anyway. I think the only one I’ve skipped was the 4S. But I’ve still always been happy with the upgrades every year. This year I’m still on the fence, even after using it for a couple days, which is weird.
This time I tried the gold Max and just didn’t like it. Too big for me and didn’t like the color.
So I went down to the silver Xs, thinking it’s the same as my favorite phone, but better and faster. Can’t go wrong with that, right?
But after a couple days, I’m really struggling to justify that decision.
Doing side-by-side tests of Face ID, they appear to unlock at the exact same speed most of the time. I’m not sure why it looks faster in some YouTuber’s videos, but for me it had been exactly the same. I mean holding them next to each other, staring at the middle point right between them, touching the screen at the same time... they almost always unlock at the exact same time. Every now and then one of them won’t work, or one will work first if I shift my eyes more toward one side. But when I get it right in the middle, they are the exact same speed.
Next I tried comparing LTE speeds. Using the same SIM card, sitting in the same spot, connecting to the same Verizon tower... Ookla speeds were about 17 on the Xs, then 15 the X, then 9 on the Xs, then 16 on the X, and still around 9 on the Xs. Just sitting here swapping the SIM card back and forth between the two and running the tests. So that was kinda disappointing.
Comparing the screens side-by-side, the Xs is slightly warmer. Both are using the exact same settings, True Tone and all that. Not sure that’s good or bad really, just something I noticed. I think I do like the X screen slightly better, but I’m not quite sure why. I do have a couple micro scratches on the X screen which you can’t see unless you look really hard when it’s off, and a very tiny deeper scratch you can see against white screens. Also a spot where it seems the oleophobic coating may have worn off (Apple tech said it’s not considered when replacing a screen), as well as tons of micro scratches along the stainless steel and one nick at the top. So cosmetically, I was looking forward to a shiny new phone.
Lastly, I’ve noticed some screen stutter with the Xs, which I have NEVER seen happen on the X. Sometimes it’s when opening or minimizing apps. Sometimes when zooming a photo in the Photos app. I cannot consistently replicate it though.
I did take a bunch of pictures yesterday with the Xs, which looked fantastic (especially low light), but I don’t really take a lot of pics generally. And I was already very impressed with the X camera, especially when I’d take the same pictures side-by-side with my sister’s 7+ and compare them. The X always blew the 7+ away. Haven’t directly compared the X and Xs camera though.
Now, like I said, I really want to like the Xs because it’s a “better” version of my X, but I feel like I’m missing something.
Now, I will say that going from a SS s0 watch to the SS s4 was a huge upgrade, and very noticeable. The phones are not giving me that same feeling.
Did anyone else go from X to Xs? What were your observations and justifications? I keep teetering back and forth between keeping it because it’s shiny and new, or returning it because my X was so good. I know upgrading every year, you won’t get as noticeable of a difference, but I always do it anyway. I think the only one I’ve skipped was the 4S. But I’ve still always been happy with the upgrades every year. This year I’m still on the fence, even after using it for a couple days, which is weird.
