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Practically since the introduction of last year's iPhone X, there has been speculation about whether Apple in a year it will bring to the world its little brother in the size of the “Plus” iPhone. These speculations are notonec about a month ago actually fulfilled and I'm sitting here with this giant next to me and wondering how to evaluate it in a review after a few days of use. However, since it's already clear to me that the following lines will definitely not be short, let's save ourselves the introductory formalities and get down to the actual review.

Packing

New to you this year too iPhone will arrive in a classic white box with the words on the sides iPhone, the logo of a bitten apple, a sticker with the phone's specifications on the bottom, and a cover with a live iPhone wallpaper. But the image on the cover is quite interesting this year. While last year Apple he chose abstract multi-colored wallpaper that depicted the cutout, this year he covered it in space black. When looking at the box, many an iPhone owner may wonder whether Apple a little bit behind the display cutout nestWho knows, maybe its very concealment is a sign that we will soon be completely rid of it. 

But let's go back to the packaging itself for a moment. After tearing off the foil and opening the top lid, we immediately come into contact with the manuals, which also include a SIM needle and two stickers with the logo. Applu. Below them we will find the iPhone, which also hides headphones, a charger and a meter underneath Lightning cable. Unlike previous years, this year we said goodbye to the 3,5 mm adapter jack/ Lightningwhich Apple since the iPhone 7 was included in the package. Many of us may also be disappointed by the absence of a new fast charger, which would definitely suit it. However, putting bonuses in the box is in style AppUnfortunately, there is no lu. 

Design - year known elegance

If you liked the design of last year's iPhone X, you'll love its bigger brother this year. It's actually just a bigger version of it, which differs from last year's model in more ways than just size. maxThe phone is finished with a minimally inconspicuous antenna strip running along the bottom of the phone. Unfortunately, this disrupts the symmetry of the bottom holes on both sides. Lightningu. While you can find 7 of them on one side, the other side offers only four. While this doesn't matter in terms of functionality, as the speaker is hidden on only one - the seven-hole - side of the phone, it will probably make a fussy eater's eyes tear up. 

If I were to evaluate the appearance of the phone as a whole, I would only find words of praise for it. The steel combined with glass really gives a very luxurious impression, which further enhances its size. Of course, I don't mean to say that the smaller iPhone The XS doesn't look luxurious - quite the opposite. But when you have it in your hand iPhone XS Max, you simply perceive its “luxury aura” a little more. But this can be caused not only by the design but also by its weight, which is 208 grams. This is often really uncomfortable and can be an obstacle to buying for many customers. In contrast to its smaller brother or older models, you simply feel the phone in your pocket or bag much more. 

In addition, glass has one more advantage – compared to aluminum, the phone slips from your hands significantly less. In addition, in my opinion, he chose this year's iPhones Apple slightly different processing compared to last year, thanks to which unsightly smudges are not captured on the phone as we were used to with the "eights" or the iPhone X. I used the phone practically only without a case and I dare say that even after x hours in my hands it looked still like new - i.e. without the need for any polishing. 

Greatness - winning and losing

There is no doubt that he has iPhone XS Max definitely has something to offer. With great performance combined with a perfect display, it's perhaps too much for a mobile phone. But don't get me wrong - XS Max definitely deserves attention because it is truly perfect. However, as already stated in the first impressions shortly after unboxing the phone, when you have an XS Max in your hand, you perceive it completely differently than a regular phone. Suddenly, huge possibilities for its use open up to you. Whether we are talking about video editing, photo editing or similar activities, thanks to the 6,5” display you are able to handle them “just” on the phone much better than ever before. MacBook or iPad, you will be able to after purchasing the XS Max actually leave it in your bag or on your desk unnoticed much more often. The cliché “bigger display = more productivity” is true with the XS Max namely, to know it intimately. 

On the other hand, it is the size that can be limiting for many people. With iPhonem XS Max Most of us, ordinary mortals with standard-sized hands, can forget about using the phone with one hand. Because of the weight and size, which do not allow you to have a completely secure grip in one hand, you will learn to use the phone completely differently than you are used to with smaller iPhones. Forget about writing messages with one hand or similar pastimes. As soon as you pull out iPhone XS Max out of your pocket, both hands are busy. Otherwise, not only will it be harder to control your phone (even in Range mode), but you will also increase the likelihood of dropping it, which would hurt you and especially your wallet terribly. On the other hand, iPad miniwhich is due to the arrival MaxYou don't hold a person who is apparently sentenced to death in one hand either. Well, certainly not comfortably. 

Display – stunning, although not fully utilized

If I were to rate the Super itself Retina The display and its processing, I can't think of any other words than superlatives. Beautiful vivid colors, perfect black, sharpness of every object, very high brightness and very good viewing angles - that's exactly how the display of the new product could be characterized in a few points. Apple again, he opted for rounded corners and an aspect ratio of 19,5:9, while the upper side is broken up by the black cut-out hated by many. It is the same size as the iPhone X and XS, but thanks to the larger display, the corners next to it are noticeably more spacious. Not even that Apple unfortunately, it did not lead to a slight modification of the status bar, which still lacks a battery percentage indicator. It would now fit into the right corner of the iPhone without any problem, Apple However, he goes his own way and there is nothing similar in our country. Maxe did not share, which is a shame in my opinion, both on the XS model and on the XS Max I miss the battery percentage. And yet, so little was enough – not to play with the size of some elements. 

I see the redesign of some apps in landscape mode specifically for the iPhone XS display as a great feature. Max, which makes it much more comfortable to work with them. However, I won't forgive a slight prod here either. Applu, which I have already repeated several times in previous articles. Although we areoneThey have a huge display, but due to the lack of more sophisticated multitasking, such as that found on iPads, we cannot fully utilize its potential. While with the smaller 5,8” model, I understand that Applu did not want to add the ability to work in two windows, in XS Max I really can't get my head around it. Wouldn't it be great if we could load our favorite website in the top half of the screen and discuss the articles with a friend on the other half? Messengeror via FaceTime? According to AppWell, probably not. 

But if we ignore the lack of multitasking, we have to accept that even a year after the introduction of the bezel-less iPhone, we will still see App Store comes with a lot of third-party apps that aren't customized for it. So if the black bars along the bottom and top of an uncustomized app are bothering you, iPhoneIf you have an iPhone X or XS, know that you will enjoy them much more intensely on the XS thanks to the larger display. However, the aforementioned YouTube viewing, which was also written about in the first impressions, may also freeze. On the iPhone display with a 19,5:9 ratio, you simply will not enjoy a 16:9 video, which is currently the vast majority, as you would like. Either you will play it again with black frames around it, or you will stretch it, saying goodbye to part of it, which is again partly due to the cutout. 

iphone on bench side view

Face ID

Apple if in keynote boasted, among other things, that thanks to the improved algorithm, it should be Face ID on new ones iPhonech much faster. I would very much like to confirm this to you here, but unfortunately I cannot. But not because it would be Face ID new iPhones are slow or unreliable, but simply because even Face ID on the iPhone X it worked very quickly. When testing on the editorial “top ten”, my XS and the iPhone XS Max I didn't notice any speed differences. Everything is really very fast and you can get to the phone in no time. So in this respect there is no AppThere is definitely nothing to criticize. He brought technology that simply works, in all circumstances. 

Sound - it absorbs you and won't let go 

The speakers have also been improved and now play really impressively. I'm not saying that they were as bad as last year's models, they just didn't have the same punch that you can now feel from the ones in the XS. Max. They handle bass, treble and midrange very well. The sound from them is overall very lively and not “tinny” as is the case with the competition. In addition, if you turn up the speakers to maximum, you will have a hard time even hearing the person next to you. A medium-sized room is iPhonem XS Max It instantly transforms into a dance club or opera house, putting you right in the front row. You'll also appreciate the perfect sound when playing games or watching movies, as it draws you into the action much better than ever before. 

Camera - love at first sight

If something on your iPhone XS bothers you Max What will captivate you right away is definitely its camera. Just like last year's iPhone X, it has two 12 MPx modules with an aperture of f/1,8 for the wide-angle lens and f/2,4 for the telephoto lens. Both lenses are of course optically stabilized, so you don't have to worry about your photos or videos captured in motion being "shaken". The better quality of the images is largely due to the larger sensor, which has grown to 1,4μm compared to 1,22μm for the iPhone X. Thanks to its enlargement, the phone is able to capture much better photos even in poor lighting conditions or darkness, which is also confirmed by the photos in the galleries below this paragraph. 

However, it's not just the larger sensor that has significantly improved the quality of the photos. The photos are also greatly influenced by Smart HDR, which is a software function that, in simple terms, composes the resulting photo from several images, or rather their best parts, captured at the same time. In practice, you can tell this by the fact that while with older iPhones you would find a lot of bright or dark areas in a certain photo, thanks to Smart HDR will the same photo be taken on iPhone XS will look much more natural and will be spared all imperfections. We must not forget the improvement in video recording, which is better in poor lighting conditions compared to the larger sensor. iPhonem X better quality. We can then look forward to the possibility of recording in 4K at 60 fps again. 

Examples of photos in ideal or slightly worse light:

Examples of photos in poor light and darkness:

Sample photos under artificial light:

Selfie lovers will also be pleased with the high-quality front camera, which boasts 7 MPx with an aperture of f/2,2. The camera again supports portrait mode, thanks to which you can take pictures of yourself almost like with a SLR camera. I XS Max However, it suffers from excessive selfie smoothing, which makes people look prettier in the photo than in real life. Personally, I think this is nothing excessive and a minor software fix would solve the problem very easily. 

If you have any questions about the cameras on the new iPhone XS and XS Max, Max You'll definitely love the ability to blur the background of your already taken portrait photos. This is implemented directly into the editing, where you can adjust it via a slider with haptic feedback. Thanks to this, you'll never have to nestI don't think you would be unhappy with the blurring of the background in a portrait. It's all in your hands. 

An example of a possible blurring of the background after taking a photo:

Charging

It was clear right after the news was introduced that it would be iPhone XS Max As for battery life, it's a real king, and I can confirm that. It's really difficult to drain it, and even with intensive all-day use, I had a huge problem with it. If you use the phone more sparingly, you can easily get through two days of use. By the word "sparingly", however, I don't just mean a cursory check of the time every two hours, but occasional browsing of social networks and the Internet, calls, messages or emails. The new giant can handle all of that with due grace. 

However, when it comes to charging the iPhone, here the song is already a little sadder. With the included 5 W adapter, you can charge your phone at a snail's pace in 3,5 hours. If you don't want to undergo these tortures, you can reach for a fast charger with which you can reach 50% in 30 minutes and 100% in 1,75 hours. The third charging option is a wireless pad, with which you can get to 100% in 3 hours.

Although the charging times are quite sad, there is no point in hanging your head. How many of you charge your phone other than overnight? I bet not very much. This type of user, of which I am one, can use slow charging because it doesn't really matter if the phone is 100% charged at 2 in the morning or at 5 in the morning. In short, what is important for us is that it is at 100% when we wake up % and that's it. 

holding iphone bottom view stone wall

Summary - Choose wisely 

So who after our testing iPhone XS Max Recommend? Definitely to everyone who loves a huge display, knows what to do with it, and is at the same time resigned to the fact that they may be limited by the size and weight of the phone at certain times. MaxIn my opinion, it will be appreciated mainly by owners of older “Plus” models who have developed their know-how on how to use the “Plus” over the last few years. People who need to be really productive will also love it, as they will get their hands on a smallanca device that allows for a huge number of actions. The third group that could follow the iPhone XS Max reach, then there are people who are not afraid to experiment and are simply bored with their current phone usage. It is precisely these people who could really be interested in the control, which differs from smaller models precisely in the need to use both hands. However, if the 4,7” size suits you, you should consider buying the iPhone XS Max say goodbye and go to its smaller brother. You might be quite disappointed by the size after just a few hours of unboxing. Even I was convinced a few weeks ago that I would switch from the 4,7” iPhone 6 to Maxe, which I did not want to do.onec didn't decide and bought a 5,8" iPhone XS. And it was working on this review that finally confirmed to me how lucky a step it was for me personally. 

xs max preview

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