There have been four times in the past when Apple has debuted a major new iPhone with a new hardware design, and then the next year has debuted an "s" model: the iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4S, iPhone 5s, and iPhone 6s. These "s" models contain new features, sometimes even new hardware features, but the main emphasis seems to be on deeply improving the prior year's model. Many lawyers have told me that they buy a new iPhone every two years and prefer to buy on the "s" year because that is when Apple really perfects each generation of iPhone. Yesterday, Apple debuted the new iPhone XS (pronounced "ten ess"), and it fits this model perfectly. The iPhone XS answers the question of what can we do if we take the basic hardware of the iPhone X, with that beautiful OLED edge-to-edge screen, and then deeply improve it.
One of the most notable ways that Apple has improved upon the iPhone X model is by releasing three different versions of the iPhone XS. The main model adds the typical types of improvements that we would expect for an "s" model. But Apple also introduced two other versions of the iPhone XS: one for people who want an even bigger screen called the iPhone XS Max, and one for people who to save some money but still get most of the good stuff called the iPhone XR. Add to this that many of the older iPhone models are still available for sale at cheaper prices, and there is truly an iPhone for everyone.
I'll start by discussing the improvements over the iPhone X that exist in both the main model and the larger Max model — and most of these improvements also exist in the cheaper iPhone XR model.
Performance
For a while now, Apple has been designing its own CPUs, allowing the company to create amazing processors which make the iPhone more powerful every year. For the 2018 iPhone, Apple has added the new A12 Bionic chip. As you would expect, this new CPU is faster and more energy efficient than prior models. But to give the A12 an additional boost, Apple added the Neural Engine, a part of the CPU dedicated to the task of machine learning.
Thanks to the Neural Engine, the iPhone XS can recognize patterns, make predictions, and learn from experience, and do all of this while performing five trillion operations per second. In other words, the iPhone is smarter and faster. The Neural Engine is especially useful for the camera (more on that below), but also allows the iPhone XS to perform more sophisticated computations. Augmented Reality should be significantly better on the iPhone XS.
Obviously this makes the iPhone better for CPU-intensive apps like sophisticated games. But even if you are just drafting an email to a client, surfing the web, or looking at photos, a faster iPhone is a more responsive iPhone, which always makes an iPhone more pleasant to use.
Speaking of making the iPhone faster, the iPhone XS also adds support for Gigabit-class LTE, a faster version of 4G as 5G is still being developed. My carrier, AT&T, currently has Gigabit LTE in 141 markets. Gigabit LTE should be about twice as fast as 4G, up to 400 Mbps. In the real world, I typically see LTE download speeds of around 150 Mbps where I live in New Orleans, whereas if I am close to the Wi-Fi router in my house I see wireless download speeds from my cable modem of around 330 Mbps. I'll be curious to see if Gigabit LTE is just as fast as Wi-Fi at my house — and significantly faster when I'm not close to the Wi-Fi router — after I upgrade to the iPhone XS.
Camera
It is truly amazing how far the camera on the iPhone has come in the last decade. Apple says that the newest iPhone has the best camera yet. It looks like there are only minor improvements in the camera hardware. Just like the iPhone X, the iPhone XS has two 12 megapixel cameras on the rear, one of which is a wide-angle f/1.8 lens and one of which is a telephone f/2.4 lens. I love having that telephoto lens on my iPhone X, and if you haven't used an iPhone with this feature before, you'll love it. There are so many times that I am taking a picture with my iPhone and I want to get closer — such as when I'm taking a picture of my daughter kicking the soccer ball when she is across a soccer field from me. For both pictures and video, that telephoto lens is a nice feature.
The main thing that is new for the iPhone XS in terms of taking pictures is that the CPU features an improved image signal processor which does a heck of a lot more As Apple noted yesterday, what really makes the iPhone camera better is the computational photography. The new the iPhone XS performs up to a trillion operations on every photo you take. For example, the iPhone XS adds a feature that Apple calls Smart HDR, an improved version of HDR photography. Apple VP Phil Schiller describes it this way:
So let's say you're taking a picture and the camera recognizes you're shooting a subject and the subject is moving. You go to press down on the shutter and you get a picture instantly. It's called zero shutter lag. What the A12 Bionic is actually doing is shooting a four-frame buffer so it can capture that critical moment. But the A12 Bionic is doing even more than that. It's also capturing secondary inter-frames at the same time. And those inter-frames are shot at a different exposure level to bring out highlight details. And it's doing more than that. It's shooting a long exposure so it can get better shadow detail as well. And when you're taking that picture it's analyzing all of those, finding out how to match up the best parts of each and merge them into one perfect photo. That's Smart HDR. It is a breakthrough, and it makes taking photos easier than ever to get beautiful results.
Apple also showed off a cool new feature when taking Portrait Mode photos — photos in which the subject of your picture is in focus but the background is blurred, similar to the bokeh effect you get with a high-end SLR camera. There is now a slider to adjust the amount of blurring in the background, so you can decide if you want to see some of the background details, or if you want your subject to really stand out.
Although I normally think of using the camera to take pictures, the front-facing camera is also critical for Face ID. Apple says that thanks to the advanced A12 Bionic CPU, Face ID is faster and works better on the iPhone XS. It would be great if this was a noticeable improvement, and I can't wait to find out for myself.
Dual SIM
If you travel internationally with your iPhone, it is sometimes useful to get a different SIM card when you are in another country so that you can avoid expensive roaming charges. The iPhone XS has a traditional SIM card but also supports a second eSIM. When carriers support it — and Apple announced that many are on board — you'll be able to use two SIMs at the same time, and the iPhone will intelligently switch between them depending upon the circumstances. Thus, you should be able to use a cheaper data plan in another country while still receiving phone calls when people call your normal phone number.
More waterproof
I'm sure that Apple would prefer that you not dunk your iPhone into the ocean. But over time the iPhone has become more resistant to water, and this year the improvement is enough for Apple to increase the IP Code from IP67 to IP68. The first number refers to how dust-proof the device is, and the iPhone X was already at 6, which is the highest. But the increase from 7 to 8 is a noticeable increase in liquid ingress protection, to use the technical words. With 7, a device can go up to 1 meter deep for up to 30 minutes. With the 8 rating, Apple says that the iPhone XS can go up to 2 meters deep for up to 30 minutes.
Apple isn't advertising the iPhone XS as something you are going to use on your next snorkeling trip as an underwater camera. Having said that, there are plenty of IP68 cameras being sold on Amazon which specifically advertise themselves as being waterproof and designed for underwater photography. In part, this is because there is a wide range of ingress protection which all falls under IP68, but I suspect that if you wanted to be daring and take an underwater picture with an iPhone XS, you may not damage your phone at all.
More importantly, if you accidentally drop your iPhone XS in liquid, there is a good chance that you can just let the phone dry out and then it will be fine. Yesterday, Apple VP Phil Schiller said that the iPhone XS was tested in many liquids, including orange juice, tea, wine, and even beer.
iPhone XS Max
Before the iPhone X, I felt like I had an impossible desire. I wanted a larger screen, but I didn't want the iPhone to be any larger so that I could continue to use it without stretching my hand too much. The solution, as the iPhone X showed us, was to reduce the bezels so that you get more screen space than a Plus model inside of hardware that is the same size as a non-Plus model.
But there are some folks out there who don't mind the larger size of the Plus model, and for those folks, Apple has created the iPhone XS Max. The iPhone XS Max is about the same size as an iPhone 8 Plus, but because of the edge-to-edge design, you get a larger screen. While the iPhone XS has a 5.8" screen, the iPhone XS Max has a 6.5" screen. That's not that far off from an iPad mini, which has a 7.9" screen. While the iPhone XS has a 2436-by-1125-pixel resolution, the iPhone XS Max has a 2688-by-1242-pixel resolution. (Both are at 458 ppi.)
In terms of physical size, the iPhone XS is 5.65" x 2.79" while the iPhone XS Max is 6.20" x 3.05".
You also get extra battery life with the iPhone XS Max. Apple says that the iPhone XS provides about 30 minutes more battery life than the iPhone X, while the iPhone XS Max provides about 90 minutes more battery life than the iPhone X.
iPhones with a Plus-size screen have been around for a while now, so I suspect that you already know whether or not you are someone who minds the larger hardware size. If the larger size isn't too big for your pocket or purse, then spending an extra $100 for the iPhone XS Max might be perfect for you.
iPhone XR
If you like the idea of the iPhone XS but you don't want to spend $999 and up for the iPhone XS or $1099 and up for the iPhone XS Max, you'll want to consider the iPhone XR. Apple didn't say what the "R" stands for, but I presume the idea is that it is one step below "S" and that sounds about right. The iPhone XR has almost all of the new features that I mentioned above, plus almost all of the features which have made the iPhone X so great. However, the starting price is $250 less than the iPhone XS: $749.
Here is what you lose by saving that $250 over the iPhone XS:
- Display. Instead of the beautiful high-resolution OLED display with its rich colors and deep blacks, you get an LCD screen, which is the type of screen that Apple used to always offer before the iPhone X. Apple says that the LCD screen in the iPhone XR is particularly good, but it still won't look as good as an OLED screen. And while the iPhone XS can show HDR video, much like newer high-end TVs, the iPhone XR cannot.
- 3D Touch. You cannot push harder on the screen to bring up different options. As a workaround, Apple says that in some situations you can tap and hold down on the screen for a certain amount of time to trigger the same options — not unlike the way it works on an iPad — and Apple even adds some haptic feedback to reinforce that you are using the substitute for true 3D Touch.
- Size. The iPhone XR is actually slightly larger than the iPhone XS with a 6.1" screen, but it is definitely smaller than the iPhone XS Max with its 6.5" screen.
- Camera. You only get one camera on the back, so you don't get the telephoto lens.
- Less waterproof. The IP rating is IP67, similar to the iPhone X.
- LTE. You just get regular LTE, not Gigabit-class LTE.
Having said that, it is not all compromises with the iPhone XR. You also get one feature that you don't get with the iPhone XS (or the iPhone XS Max): more colors. While the iPhone XS comes in silver, space gray, or gold, the iPhone XR comes in blue, white, black, yellow, coral, and red. And I understand from folks who saw the new iPhone XR in person yesterday that the colors are quite vibrant. Keep in mind that if you are going to keep your iPhone in a case the whole time, you might not notice the color very much.
Conclusion
The new 2018 iPhones look to be great for any lawyer, or anyone else who is looking to get work done with an iPhone. With the large, edge-to-edge screen, you can see even more of your documents, your email, etc., and the faster speed allows your iPhone to help you get your work done without getting in the way. And thanks to the three different models, you can now decide whether you want to pay $250 less to give up a few features that might not even matter to you, or pay $100 more for an even larger screen. With all models offered in 64 GB, 256 GB or 512 GB capacities, you can decide how much space you want. (The 256 GB model is $150 more than the base price 64 GB model, and the 512 GB model is $350 more than the 64 GB model.) And since I presume that you will also use your iPhone for non-work purposes, such as taking pictures of the kids, playing games, or using the latest Augmented Reality app, the new 2018 models are even better at those tasks.
If you currently use an iPhone X, you probably won't want to upgrade unless you enjoy having the latest and greatest. But if you currently use an older iPhone, then you'll love using the iPhone X form factor, and as a bonus for waiting an extra year for the "s" model, you can get an iPhone which is significantly improved over the iPhone X with more options on size and price.
What am I going to get? My current iPhone X typically has about 150 GB in use, so I know that the 64 GB model is not enough for me, and the 256 GB sounds just right. I don't like a larger phone, but I do want that amazing OLED display. Thus, I plan to get the iPhone XS in the 256 GB capacity, probably in space gray.
Apple starts taking orders tomorrow, September 14th, and devices will begin shipping on September 21st, for the iPhone XS and iPhone XS Max models. If you want the iPhone XR, you can order starting October 19, and devices ship a week later.
