New iPhone XS Max
iPhone XS Max replaces my iPhone 6S Plus
Last month I upgraded my iPhone 6s Plus to the iPhone XS Max. I had the opportunity to upgrade last year but decided to wait a year because I didn't really see any "must have" features in the iPhone X. At the time, I knew that the camera was better, but it didn't seem worth upgrading.
After using the new phone for a week I am very happy to upgrade. Its a pretty powerful device and I am looking forward to using it.
iPhone 6s Plus Usage: 2 years, 11 months, 5 days (1,070 days.) It cost $399 on contract, which means that it cost me about .37 a day. Check out some of my posts on the iPhone 6s Plus.
I still have the iPhone 6s Plus and will use it every once in a while.
Homescreen Screenshot
iPhone 6s Plus vs the iPhone XS Max
Click on image for a larger version.
Whenever I get a new phone, the first thing I do is take a screenshot of the main screen after it loads up. I didn't realize how much bigger the iPhone XS Max screen was to my iPhone 6s Plus.
Overall Phone Screen Size:
- iPhone Plus 1242 x 2208
- iPhone XS Max 1242 x 2688
Five Great Features of the iPhone XS Max
- Better Quality Photos - Better low light pictures and much brighter pictures. Portrait mode is very cool!
- Better Quality Videos - Nice to take smoother videos without much distractions because of the camera shake.
- Better Battery life - My iPhone 6s Plus barely held on to a charge all day.
- Larger Disk Space - I went with the bigger 256k space because I often ran out of space on my iPhone 6s, especially during vacations. Since this device takes better quality 4k video, I would expect space to fill up fast.
- Wireless Charging - Its really neat to be able to put down the device on a pad charger and have it charge. My iPhone 6s Plus was having charging issues if I didn't put the cable in right.
Replaces my Olympus XZ-2 Camera
This iPhone will replace my Olympus ZX-2 - which I spent a great deal of time researching back in 2015. I'll still bring the camera on vacation. But for the most part, the iPhone XS Max will be my primary camera.
You can read about all the different cameras that I considered looking at back in 2015 on my Olympus XZ-2 iHS page. I'll update the page with how it compares to the iPhone XS Max.
Two Things Need to get Use to
- No more "Home" button - Getting back to the Home page is a bit of a learning curve. I am sure in a few weeks it will feel natural.
- Unlocking via Face mode - Doesn't work well when I have the phone on the desk and I want to respond to messages. I have to pick up the photo to get to respond to instant messages. Whereas on the iPhone 6s Plus, I would simply touch the home button. When I have the phone in my jacket, I find myself having to figure out how to hold it right when I take it out. When before, I could just touch the home button to know how to hold it right side.
iPhone Case
I don't have an iPhone case yet. I plan to get one at some point. I just need a good case that lets me hold the phone right.