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iPhone XS Hands On: XS Max Feels 'Shockingly' Light, Killer Features are Depth of Field Slider in Photos and Dual SIM

IMHO, most of the early reviewers who are disappointed in the new iPhone Xs are very much underestimating the capabilities added with the increase in speed and computing power. The HomeCourt app that was demo'd floored me. The A12 Bionic is a freaking beast and with phone sensors (I say that again, phone sensors), it basically turns your iPhone into a Microsoft Kinect.
 
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JCCL said:
4S, 5S and 6S all used to have major new features, or at the very least the performance upgrades were quite significant (Siri, Touch ID, 3D touch). Plus performance from the 4 to 4S was also night and day, 5S was the first to move to the 64 bit architecture, while the 6S again was a huge upgrade performance wise from the 6 (especially the plus). This one doesn't have any of that. Of course performance with iOS 12 is already quite fast but still, nothing on this phones to make you really itch to have them.
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I’m guessing the performance upgrade will be significant with the A12... what 500 Billion calculations per second upgrading to 6 Trillion? That’s quite a boost...

Coachingguy
 
coachingguy said:
I’m guessing the performance upgrade will be significant with the A12... what 500 Billion calculations per second upgrading to 6 Trillion? That’s quite a boost...

Coachingguy
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That’s for the neural engine or whatever is called. Which is useful for Augmented reality, etc

For most common usage, the difference will be quite negligible. The high power cpu cores only received like a 15% boost.
 
Hieveryone said:
“Shockingly” light? Somehow I doubt that lol but even if it is my pockets will probably revolt
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Even if it somehow was a few grams it still is physically is too big to fit comfortably in my pocket. I guess if you wear baggy jeans or giant cargo pockets its ok.
 
All of it today was Apple's typical HYPE , Magical. etc. The Max is .11 oz. heavier than an iPhone 8 plus AND only .02" narrower so.... NO Thanks! Swiping gesture phones add extra steps to do the same thing! iOS12 on my Product Red 8+ will be sufficient for a while...
 
RoobyRoobyRoo said:
You know this is basically what happens every "S" year, right? Refinements and improvements on the previous year's features. This is how Apple has done it for a long time, with few exceptions.

I don't understand how so many people are surprised or upset about the lack of new features.
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Does it though? Compared to what the 6s brought over the 6, this Xs is barely bringing anything over the X

As an X owner Im fine with that...I have zero reason to upgrade or consider any new iPhone this year. My wallet breathes a sigh of relief
 
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Peperino said:
It sounds like you are a complete useless that has nothing to do but to criticize people who have a valid point. How is it that an iPhone cost more than a computer and almost twice as an iPad?
Tim Cook greed is to rip of customer to the Max (like the iPhone). If not see the crappy overpriced, underperforming Macbook so called "Pro" which is a complete failure.

Look how many people are complaining about the prices and how many likes I got, and look how many likes you get...I guess more people agree with me than with you...

If someone needs to go back to school and learn how to type and get a life is you.
In the meantime, Cook is laughing all the way to the bank...
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Oh goodness, it's bad enough your arguments aren't even very strong, but now you're arguing about who has more Internet points.
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TallManNY said:
I think all the other S versions had bigger upgrades though. I believe Touch ID, Hey Siri, 3D Touch were all S versions. There is always a big processor jump and this was no exception. But the A chip is already so powerful for a device that is mainly given only light low intensity work, that speed seems unnecessary.
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Touch ID was a big feature, but I wouldn't consider Hey Siri or 3D Touch as big (plus I think Hey Siri came out with iOS 8/iPhone 6, but at the time could only be used while plugged in. I think the 6S brought the ability to use Hey Siri without being plugged in). We already got big new features last year with Face ID, the OLED screen, etc. Those are bigger features than even a non-S year normally gives us. I think it's reasonable for this year to be much more conservative and work on refining what's already there.
 
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Nothing for me. My X is fine. If there had been a big camera upgrade I probably would have bought. But nothing. Hopefully next year there is a big upgrade to the camera.

I really hate these gigantic iPhones.
 
glenohumeral said:
DoF adjustments were already available in Focos App.....not sure if it's a "big" feature
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Sure it is. Now you don't need another app. Anything native is always preferred over using a 3rd party app. I'm still waiting for DoF in video. The killer feature.
 
JCCL said:
That’s for the neural engine or whatever is called. Which is useful for Augmented reality, etc

For most common usage, the difference will be quite negligible. The high power cpu cores only received like a 15% boost.
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If one believes the presentation, the neural engine is involved in virtually every user-facing iOS interface, and the "feel" is much faster. I suspect we'll know in a couple of weeks, once testers get the phones in their hands.

One note, though: a few years ago, there was a knock-down, drag-out fight between Apple and Samsung fanbois over which CPU was faster.... and it turned out to make very little difference outside of games, where the graphics engines made much more obvious contributions to performance. If CPU performance made that much difference, you can be sure the A12 would have had more CPU cores and fewer graphics and/or neural ones.
 
Rogifan said:
I’m curious what feature people wanted that isn’t there. The smartphone is a mature product. Aside from chip technology and camera improvements what else is there really. 4K on a small screen like this is just spec whoring and foldable screens seem like a gimmick.
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I don't know either. But I think it is fair if people say they want something that you, me and they can't think of. Apple is the company with the $5 billion R&D budget for iPhone. They want Apple to amaze them. The bokah being a bit better on the occasional portrait picture is very tough to believe will be amazing.
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RoobyRoobyRoo said:
Oh goodness, it's bad enough your arguments aren't even very strong, but now you're arguing about who has more Internet points.
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Touch ID was a big feature, but I wouldn't consider Hey Siri or 3D Touch as big (plus I think Hey Siri came out with iOS 8/iPhone 6, but at the time could only be used while plugged in. I think the 6S brought the ability to use Hey Siri without being plugged in). We already got big new features last year with Face ID, the OLED screen, etc. Those are bigger features than even a non-S year normally gives us. I think it's reasonable for this year to be much more conservative and work on refining what's already there.
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Hmm, maybe 6 got that feature when plugged in, but that is useless for a phone. But I know 6S got the He Siri feature and I'd say it was a pretty big one.

I think the CPU upgrade is the big story here. Massive performance gains out of the gate with the 7nm architecture. This thing is going to have beastly benchmarks. I kind of feel they know the specs are wasted on the phone, but they need more performance for the VR/AR goggles. I'm pretty sure Apple knows no one is going to play those games holding their phones in front of them. But they keep putting the games in the keynotes for a reason. It has to be the goggles.
 
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roncron said:
Shockingly light?

iPhone Xs Max - 7.34oz, 208g

iPhone 8 Plus - 7.13oz, 202g

iPhone 7 Plus - 6.63oz, 188g

I think the euphoria over shiny new iPhones has clouded people's senses. Let's see what they think of the weight after they've spent a week with the device.
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That’s how much large form phones weigh now...

Note 9 - 7.09oz, 201g
Note 8 - 6.9oz, 195g

If weight is a concern, stick with the smaller devices...

S9 - 5.75oz, 163g
iPhone X - 6.14oz, 174g
 
sunman42 said:
If one believes the presentation, the neural engine is involved in virtually every user-facing iOS interface, and the "feel" is much faster. I suspect we'll know in a couple of weeks, once testers get the phones in their hands.

One note, though: a few years ago, there was a knock-down, drag-out fight between Apple and Samsung fanbois over which CPU was faster.... and it turned out to make very little difference outside of games, where the graphics engines made much more obvious contributions to performance. If CPU performance made that much difference, you can be sure the A12 would have had more CPU cores and fewer graphics and/or neural ones.
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The GPU Should have a greater impact as it improves 50%. Still that is shy of precious upgrades where it was 3-4 times the performance.

The neural engine however should make a difference in Face ID, Animoji, etc
 
Yeah I think the top seller will be the Xr, while the Max will be second. The 5.8 XS will lag behind due as no compelling upgrades from the X, as well as consumers will not see enough reason to shell out the extra cash from the XR.
 
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