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Vermifuge

macrumors 68020
Mar 7, 2009
2,067
1,589
I have a Max and used to have a 7+. I suggest keeping your 8+ another year. It has a great camera and it’s plenty fast. The Max’s screen is longer but not wider than the + phones. Therefore, in landscape orientation, most photos and videos are the same size on both devices.

The max is wider than a Plus... not by any significant amount but it is wider.

I am referencing the screen here.

You had a 7 Plus, which was actually slightly smaller and lighter than the 8 plus. In either case though, the XS Max is not as tall, and not as wide. It does have approximately 0.2 mm more depth than the 8 plus though, and weighs about 6 grams more.

here you are describing the physical dimensions of the device. you are correct. But above we are discoing the SCREEN not the device's physical size in the hand.

I think maybe you just didn’t scroll down far enough to see more than the screen measurements. What I referenced was Apple’s own website. Also, just as a side note, the diagrams you provided actually back me up. It’s ok, it’s all a mess of information, but I guess this is what I get for playing the correction game on a forum, huh?

Take a look at the top of the image you posted, where it says “product width”.

8 Plus Width: 78.10
XS Max Width: 77.42

By the way, where’d you get those diagrams? They are very detailed and actually more specific than what Apple has posted, by 0.02 mm!

No, wrong again the number we are discussing is the "Display active area" And I Got these from Apples developer site.

8 Plus Display Active Area: 68.36
XS Max Display Active Area: 69.61

You are messing the device from end to end including the bezel and enclosure. "It’s ok, it’s all a mess of information"
 

neteng101

macrumors 65816
Jan 7, 2009
1,148
163
I view it this way - there's a generational gap and the XS/Max/XR is the now and future, started by the X. If you lump iPhones into larger generational changes, you'd end up with roughly this...
  • 3.5/4-inch iPhones - 1st generation
  • 4.7/5.5-inch iPhones - starting with 6/6+ and this is really the TouchID generation too, plus ApplePay
  • 5.8/6.1/6.5-inch iPhones - starting with the X, this is the notched + FaceID generation
It changes how you interact with the Phone, thus it is a paradigm shifting difference. Other changes might seem incremental, but the UI changes and TouchID -> FaceID is the now and near future iPhone.
 

Jetcat3

macrumors 6502a
May 3, 2015
741
514
I have a Max and used to have a 7+. I suggest keeping your 8+ another year. It has a great camera and it’s plenty fast. The Max’s screen is longer but not wider than the + phones. Therefore, in landscape orientation, most photos and videos are the same size on both devices. Sure, OLED is better than LCD, but iPhone LCDs are excellent and side by side the Max’s display isn’t night and day better than the 8+ display. Upgrading from the 8+ to the Max is a lot of money to spend for an incremental camera upgrade.

No offense intended, but in my opinion an 8 Plus side-by-side against the XS Max presents a staggering difference. I played several videos and the difference was just shocking! The color, contrast, brightness and black levels make for a much more immersive experience on the XS Max. It made me never wanna watch a video on an IPS LCD ever again. Let alone when you could watch an 18:9 or 21:9 video on the XS Max. Just my two cents.
 
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OBirder

macrumors 6502
May 13, 2015
429
419
Massive thread on this topic and those affected by Pulse Width Modulation:

I see two topics regarding readability:

a) the physical size of text on the screen:

- I went with the 8+ instead of the X, since especially in the width there was more room and text on e.g. webpages was physically larger.

- Now with XS Max it has the largest physical text size since many Apps or webpages are mainly scaled to the larger display. Some of course complain, since they want Apps to be “optimized” by keeping the smaller text and just show more.

- I would like to see this as an option


B) OLED Display

To me and a large population it’s much better and easier to read. The sharpness of each character is much different to me. I do understand that quite a few unfortunate people are impacted by PWM.


At the end of the day every user has to decide for themselves.

For myself, it’s much better in many areas and I just canceled my wireless plan for my iPad (Air 2). That by itself will cover the cost difference in monthly payments on the IUP.
 

sdwaltz

macrumors 65816
Apr 29, 2015
1,059
1,647
Indiana
I had an 8 Plus and fully intended on NOT buying an XS Max. Then, I walked into Best Buy for something else entirely, saw an XS Max, and walked out with the XS Max. The X didn't do it for me, but the XS Max sure did.

You're not going to see a difference in speed for everyday tasks. The camera is better, but not "blows-the-8 Plus-out-of-the-water" better. I certainly didn't need a new phone, but the screen looked so fantastic that I couldn't pass it up. So far I'm much more satisfied with Face ID than I thought I would be, and the gestures took all of 5 minutes to get the hang of.

TL;DR: not a meaningful upgrade over the 8 Plus by any stretch, but the screen is fantastic if you have money burning a hole in your pocket.
 
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SoYoung

macrumors 65816
Jul 3, 2015
1,449
839
I don't know if it was mentioned, but is the screen of the max bigger or equal of the plus models when watching videos that are not zoomed? (watching on the original 16 9 size)
 

DNichter

macrumors G3
Apr 27, 2015
9,385
11,183
Philadelphia, PA
In specs alone, you won't see a ton of difference, but the gesture interface and no bezel design provides a much better experience for me. I like using the X series phones much more than any of the legacy designs. No wrong answer though as they all run iOS.
 

The.Glorious.Son

macrumors 68000
Sep 28, 2015
1,683
3,590
Chicago, IL
I find the appearance of the Max to look more modern and I really began to appreciate the extra real estate, especially in portrait mode. There were times I appreciated the benefits of OLED, but wouldn't call it a game changer for me. In perfect lit situations, at times I preferred photos taken on my 8 plus but always on smart HDR of the Max is a big leap in my opinion and it really shined in lower light. I am in the camp who prefers Touch ID, but I don't hate Face ID. It is just that given a choice, I have to enter my passcode using Face ID much more (and I did all of the tweaks offered). Speed wise, I didn't notice much difference. I did not have the connectivity issues others have had, nor did I have the yellowing screen. I found the Max to be an absolute joy to use and the best iPhone (in my opinion) offered. Sadly, I am affected by the eye strain and headaches and after two weeks, had to return it. This will be my first time since inception of the iPhone, using the same phone two years in a row. I am happy with my 8 Plus. I would MUCH prefer to have the best, and the leading tech. But sometimes, things that you cannot control dictate otherwise. I have no interest in the XR so I will see what happens in 09/19. I will try the next version of the Max although I expect the screens to be the same as the current lineup. I am getting an Apple 4 four to lessen the blow a bit.
 
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