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Meet Apple’s new iPhone XS, XS Max, and XR

Meet Apple’s new iPhone XS, XS Max, and XR
Jeremy Milliner

Jeremy Milliner

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Today Apple came down with announcements for their brand new iPhones: The XS, XS Max, and XR, the first two of which will be hitting the market for pre-order starting on September 14, and shipping a week later. To start off, one of the biggest universal changes from previous models is that none of the new three iPhones will feature the home button in front, instead favoring Face ID.

price ranges

Both the XS and the XS Max will have a Super Retina OLED (organic light-emitting diode) display, the new most durable protection against dust and liquids = up to a rating of ip68 (even protects against beer!), and the new powerhouse processing A12 Bionic chip. The display for the XS is already large at 5.8 inches with 2.7 million pixels, but the XS Max takes the cake at 6.5″ with a staggering 3 million. Both models have a larger display than the iPhone 8 Plus.

bigger screens

We all know a big measuring stick for Apple is how powerful their cameras are, and how high-quality their picture resolution can be, along with any features that can be later tweaked through filters and adjustable options. Both the XS and XS Max have a 7MP front-facing camera with a 12MP dual main camera that takes the highest-quality pictures a mobile device has ever achieved, most notably the new depth segmentation map with which you can take truly breathtaking photos in portrait mode. The new Smart HDR sensor reduces blur on action shots and senses and enhances lighting based on subject and facial mapping.

beautiful HD portraits

Get ready for a slew of new super HD selfies.

New powerful camera

The XS  has a state of the art 6-element lens along with the new ground-breaking 12MP telephoto camera, which together give both a crystal clear picture as well as an adjustable depth of field, which can even be shifted in post.

One key feature that Apple users have been craving has also at last been addressed: Dual-sim functionality. With this, you can keep two phone numbers and use two different plans. With the new iPhone you can set up a primary and a secondary number so that you’ll finally know which is being contacted without question. This is especially handy if you want one number for business and another different one for your personal life.

If you haven’t seen the presentation yet, check it out right here:

As for battery life, we were pleasantly surprised to hear that the new phones actually improve battery life rather than draining it faster due to more powerful processing speed and more refined features. The XS has an extra 30 minutes of battery life and the XS Max goes up to an extra hour to an hour and a half, meaning you can go just that much longer before needing to charge.

less frequent charging is always welcome

Of all the new models, though, we were most excited about the new XR, which is basically a less expensive and smaller version of the iPhone 8 Plus. The XR boasts the same A12 Bionic chip, and incredible 12MP wide-angle camera that the XS and XS Max have, and can last up to 90 minutes longer than its iPhone 8 Plus predecessor. It also has a larger display, at 6.1″ with the new beautiful Liquid Retina LCD – 1.4 million pixels with 326 ppi. (That’s a bigger display than the iPhone 8 Plus, too).

XR skins

While the XR comes in a variety of colors (see above picture), the XS and XS Max come in three colors (gold, silver, and space gray) and three different storage sizes: 64, 256, or a huge 512 GB. Both are available for pre-order starting on 9/14, with the XS costing $999 and the XS Max costing $1,099.

The XR starts with 64 GB as well, and will hit the market a month later, starting with pre-order on 10/19, shipping 10/26. The XR, though, will only cost $749, being the most affordable option so far.

Apple made it very clear in their presentation that they are hoping to reach a larger audience with their products, both with their new phones and with the upcoming Apple Watch.

Will you be getting the new iPhone? If so, which model grabbed your interest? Let us know in the comments below!

Jeremy Milliner

Jeremy Milliner

Jeremy is an avid gamer, writer, musician, and instructor. He has been teaching for over 15 years, with his primary focus on music, and has written all manner of gaming articles, reviews, FAQs, walkthroughs, strategy guides, and even the odd screenplay or two. He has run the gamut of tech reviews, game guides, lifestyle content, and more. His focus as a writer is to give fair feedback of products, highlighting their strengths and weaknesses in a clear, concise, and entertaining manner.

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