Because the bezels are one mm thicker (two if you include both sides) and with the 6.1" screen, the width is pretty much identical to the XS Max. It is only a little shorter but also significantly thicker. I was originally in the market for a slightly bigger phone than the XS and a slightly smaller phone than the Max (the cheaper price was just icing on the cake). However because the width is essentially the same, you are better off just getting a Max if money wasn't a concern and you only wanted an "in between" size between the XS and the Max. If you're going to handle a bulky phone anyway, you might as well get the bigger screen on the Max since the width and weight are really similar to the XR.