Apple · iPhone

iPhone XS Max

Released September 2018

The iPhone XS Max is Apple's first 6.5-inch iPhone, from 2018, with the XS's A12 Bionic chip, dual 12-megapixel cameras, IP68 water resistance and Dual SIM with eSIM in a larger body with a bigger battery, suited to anyone comparing older big-screen iPhones before upgrading.

Model history · 5 models, 2014–2018

Screen: 6.5″
Display: OLED, 60 Hz
Chip: A12 Bionic
Memory: 4 GB
Storage: 64 GB – 512 GB
Main camera: 12 MP
Zoom: 2×
Battery: 3,179 mAh
Weight: 208 g

What reviewers say

Reviewers agree the XS Max's large display is excellent for films and games, with a better camera and good battery life. All three criticise the very high price, and all found the size or weight hard to handle for some; Trusted Reviews also felt iOS made little use of the big screen and missed a fast charger in the box.

From techradar.com, cnet.com and trustedreviews.com

Specifications

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Display

Screen size: 6.5″
Resolution: 2688 × 1242
Sharpness: 456 pixels per inch
Panel: OLED
Refresh rate: 60 Hz
Peak brightness: 625 nits
Display type: Super Retina HD display; 6.5-inch (diagonal) all-screen OLED Multi-Touch display with rounded corners; 6.46 inches measured as a standard rectangle
Pixel density: 458 ppi
Brightness detail: 625 cd/m² max brightness (typical)
Screen protection: Fingerprint-resistant oleophobic coating
Display features: HDR display; True Tone; wide colour display (P3); 3D Touch; 1,000,000:1 contrast ratio (typical)

Performance

Chip: A12 Bionic
Memory: 4 GB
Storage: 64 GB, 256 GB, 512 GB
CPU: Six-core (2x 2.5 GHz Vortex + 4x 1.6 GHz Tempest) (GSMArena); 4 GB of Micron LPDDR4X RAM (iFixit)
GPU: Apple-designed four-core GPU (GSMArena)
AI engine: Next-generation Neural Engine (8-core)

Cameras

Main camera: 12 MP
Ultra wide camera: None
Telephoto camera: 12 MP
Optical zoom: 2×
Front camera: 7 MP
Main camera: 12MP wide-angle, ƒ/1.8 aperture, optical image stabilisation, six-element lens, quad-LED True Tone flash with Slow Sync
Telephoto camera: 12MP telephoto, ƒ/2.4 aperture, optical image stabilisation, 2x optical zoom
Front camera: 7MP TrueDepth camera, ƒ/2.2 aperture, Retina Flash
Zoom: 2x optical zoom; digital zoom up to 10x (photos) and 6x (video)
Video recording: 4K at 24, 30 or 60 fps; 1080p at 30 or 60 fps; 720p at 30 fps; extended dynamic range up to 30 fps; optical image stabilisation for video; slo-mo 1080p at 120 or 240 fps; stereo recording
Front video: 1080p HD at 30 or 60 fps; extended dynamic range at 30 fps
Camera features: Smart HDR; Portrait mode with advanced bokeh and Depth Control; Portrait Lighting with five effects; Animoji and Memoji; Live Photos; panorama (up to 63MP); HEIF and JPEG

Battery and charging

Battery: 3,179 mAh
Video playback (maker's claim): Up to 15 hours
Wireless charging: Yes (wattage not published)
Battery life detail: Lasts up to 1.5 hours longer than iPhone X; talk time up to 25 hours; internet use up to 13 hours; wireless video playback up to 15 hours; wireless audio playback up to 65 hours; 3.80 V, 12.08 Wh, 3,179 mAh (iFixit)
Wired charging: Up to 50% in 30 minutes with an 18W adapter or higher (available separately)
Wireless charging: Works with Qi chargers

Design

Type: Standard
Weight: 208 g
Thickness: 7.7 mm
Height × width: 157.5 × 77.4 mm
Water and dust resistance: IP68
Materials: Glass front and back with a surgical-grade stainless steel band
Colours: Gold, Space Grey, Silver
Buttons: Volume up/down; ring/silent; side button
Water resistance detail: IP68 (maximum depth of 2 metres up to 30 minutes) under IEC standard 60529
Biometrics: Face ID, enabled by the TrueDepth camera
Sensors: Face ID; barometer; three-axis gyro; accelerometer; proximity sensor; ambient light sensor
Speakers: Wider stereo playback

Software

Operating system: iOS
Software at launch: iOS 12

Connectivity

Mobile network: Gigabit-class LTE with 4x4 MIMO and LAA; model A1921: FDD-LTE (bands 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 12, 13, 14, 17, 18, 19, 20, 25, 26, 29, 30, 32, 66, 71), TD-LTE (bands 34, 38, 39, 40, 41, 46); VoLTE; Wi-Fi calling
SIM: Dual SIM (nano-SIM and eSIM)
Wi-Fi: Wi-Fi 802.11ac with 2x2 MIMO
Bluetooth: Bluetooth 5.0
NFC: NFC with reader mode; Express Cards with power reserve
USB: Lightning connector; video mirroring and video out up to 1080p through the Lightning Digital AV Adapter and Lightning to VGA Adapter (sold separately)
Positioning: Assisted GPS, GLONASS, Galileo and QZSS; digital compass; Wi-Fi; cellular; iBeacon microlocation

Storage options

Storage
64 GB
256 GB
512 GB

Pros and cons

Pros

6.5-inch Super Retina HD OLED display at 458 ppi
Up to 15 hours of video playback and 25 hours of talk time, against 14 and 20 hours for the XS
Dual SIM (nano-SIM and eSIM) and Gigabit-class LTE

Cons

208 g, against 177 g for the iPhone XS
No headphone jack

Closest rivals

Model	Screen	Display	Chip	Memory	Storage	Main camera	Zoom	Battery	Weight	Released
AppleiPhone 11 Pro Max	6.5″	OLED, 60 Hz	A13 Bionic	4 GB	64 GB – 512 GB	12 MP	2×	3,969 mAh	226 g	Sept 2019
AppleiPhone XS	5.8″	OLED, 60 Hz	A12 Bionic	4 GB	64 GB – 512 GB	12 MP	2×	2,659 mAh	177 g	Sept 2018
SonyXperia 1	6.5″	OLED	Snapdragon 855	6 GB	128 GB	12 MP	2×	3,330 mAh	178 g	May 2019

Previous model: iPhone 8 Plus. Newer model: iPhone 11 Pro Max.

Sources

Photo: cdsassets.apple.com

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