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iPhone XS iPhone Xs speaker/sound quality - anyone noticing this?

Yes, I’ve noticed this too.

My iPhone X seems to sound better than my iPhone XS. The XS sounds rather tinny at max volume. The only thing I realized with the X was how the earpiece overpowered the bottom speaker.
 
Apple store ran a sound diagnostics but my phone passed - they said they could replace the speaker which involves taking off the display, and I said no I'll just return the phone. I got a new iPhone Xs and its much better. I think there is still a little room for improvement, which should come over time from Apple via software updates, but my new phone is much better.
 
rhaezorblue said:
Apple store ran a sound diagnostics but my phone passed - they said they could replace the speaker which involves taking off the display, and I said no I'll just return the phone. I got a new iPhone Xs and its much better. I think there is still a little room for improvement, which should come over time from Apple via software updates, but my new phone is much better.
Click to expand...


So better to wait for the software update. It is not convenient for me to change it because it works well. Only in the call I hear the problem but it is not very annoying. If you tell me that your new one sounds better but can still improve, it means that all phones have this little problem that needs to be solved probably with an update. I do not change mine because I do not want to risk getting worse. Thanks for the information.
 
My Max's earpiece speaker crackled a bunch during phone calls. I ended up returning it after a week because of its other issues like the yellow screen and the weaker signal in low reception areas
 
I think at least part of the problem is the two speakers are not exactly in sync. So the result of one speaker being a fraction of a second behind, is a weird echo effect.
 
Has anyone tried going into settings>cellular>cellular data options>enable LTE> and tell it data only instead of voice & data? I change mine to data only and it made the quality of my phone sound normal.
 
rhaezorblue said:
I think at least part of the problem is the two speakers are not exactly in sync. So the result of one speaker being a fraction of a second behind, is a weird echo effect.
Click to expand...
[doublepost=1540720460][/doublepost]I have the same issue with the phone speaker ! The annoing sound is only at phone calls! I recent bought another xs, after my first Xs had the same issue with the speaker ! So my second xs has a better speaker but not perfect!
 
I do also have exact the same issue on my XS. Has anyone talked to Apple Support and knows if they are aware of this?
 
montego05 said:
I do also have exact the same issue on my XS. Has anyone talked to Apple Support and knows if they are aware of this?
Click to expand...
You should talk to apple! I just did this but I haven’t resolve the issue! They told me to update to 12.0.1 and to restor the iPhone. I did what they said but no positive results!! The annoying phone call issue is still there!
 
Well, I did. They sent me to an authorized reseller who did a "hardware sound check" which my phone passed. Apart from that test they did not really care about my problem. They said, that they cannot do anything for me and I need to contact Apple again. Apple wants me now to send them my phone so that I won't have a phone for at least 7 days. Going to an Apple store is also not really an option since the next store is more than 100 km away...
 
I had bought an iPhone XS max and iPhone XS during launch day because i was undecided between both. Ended up keeping iPhone XS Max. Speaker wise the XS was crinkly and cringey at 100% volume... XS Max held up much better at 100% volume. Also I found the battery life better on iPhone XS Max (duh but then again these phones i keep for 3 years easily so i want the most bang for the $).
 
Totally notice the same, but only on calls. I have tried 2 phones and also a few in store.
Seems like the ear speaker cannot handle lower frequencies without "clipping" or rattling.
Listening to any media for me usually sounds good.
 
palooka23 said:
Totally notice the same, but only on calls. I have tried 2 phones and also a few in store.
Seems like the ear speaker cannot handle lower frequencies without "clipping" or rattling.
Listening to any media for me usually sounds good.
Click to expand...


1) Ok, I rebooted and the sound is better for music and videos... Much louder than the 6s, like it should be. I was expecting maybe it would go louder and I'd be completely blown away, coming from a 2014 Iphone 6s, but it DOES sound much better. Just thought it might go louder....

2) The earpiece speaker when you're making a phone call and the phone is on your ear, not on speakerphone... It seems sound quality isn't quite as crisp as before. Like there's a lot less treble, slighty mono sounding (the other persons voice). I called numerous people. I know the earpiece speaker is upgraded over the 6s and is now doing many other functions, but I can tell. It's almost like there's more bass but the treble was taken away some.

Anyone else notice this? I did also see the the cutout rectangle for the earpiece on the XS is much smaller than the 6s actually too.
 
rhaezorblue said:
Old phone - iPhone 8 Plus
New phone - iPhone XS

I've lived with the iPhone 8 Plus for a year and it has very good speakers/sound quality. Frequently I listen to spoken word podcasts (ie not music), newcasts, Youtube TV etc.

One thing that I've noticed after having the XS for several days is frequently when listening to speech, I pick up a "tinny" quality to the speaker output. I've noticed this in several apps.

Apple music sounds good on it, but of course the volume is usually louder so its harder to tell.

Anyone else hearing this with their Xs?
Click to expand...
Yes, I had this issue on one of the multiple iPhones I exchanged. The speaker was actually rattling a little, and tinny, as you put it.
 
PumpkingKing said:
Yes, I had this issue on one of the multiple iPhones I exchanged. The speaker was actually rattling a little, and tinny, as you put it.
Click to expand...

Yea! Well, I guess I feel a little better knowing another does the same thing. Why were you returning yours all those times? For that reason, or something else???

Also see these related to this SAME issue!

https://discussions.apple.com/thread/8578594

https://discussions.apple.com/thread/8355455

https://discussions.apple.com/thread/8632993

ALSO, please check if yours does this!

It's another scrolling stutter, but in a different areas... I have new iphone Xs and this is an issue with Ios 12+

Go into a long text message thread you have that has a bunch of images in it. Pic a big one.... Click the name of the person, then click info , then you'll be in the images for that text thread. As soon as you start scrolling down, it goes nuts and brings you always to the BOTTOM of all the images, and then you have to scroll back up and it takes forever! THis is a big in ios 12. My friends has an iphone 6 and updated, and same thing.

Here's a video: iPhone XS iOS 12.1 Clicking info in messages to view images glitch - YouTube

And here's post on it on apples forums.
 
I had this problem on a new XS. Lower pitched voices like the guy on Headspace or the Conan O'Brien podcast have a pretty severe buzzing/tinny/robotic tone to them.
I took it in to Apple. My phone failed one test and they replaced the display and speaker. It took about 2 hours.

My wife also has the same problem on her XS Max but when she took it in, it passed all tests. The tech even got a display model to compare, but it's really noisy in the Apple Store and he claimed he couldn't hear the problem so they refused to do anything about it.

FWIW I definitely agree it's a problem. These things are getting *really* expensive, and when it comes down to it, they really only do two things: record/transmit audio/visual, and play audio/visual. When the sound quality is *noticeably* different when you put it next to an older phone, they really should do something about it.
 
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