PERFORMANCE: Overall the Apple iPhone XS Max was excellent. It struck an exceptional balance of quickness, battery life, and camera quality. Ease of use on the iPhone XS Max was excellent. The touchscreen's use of menus, web browser, camera, buttons, and unlocking the phone were top notch. You should be able to comfortably hold the phone and use its buttons and touchscreen easily. Performance of the iPhone XS Max was excellent. The maximum upload and download speeds and tested processor performance were very fast. You should be able to accomplish most tasks with no delays. Call quality and convenience on the iPhone XS Max were not the best but they were very good. Sound while on a call was very good in a quiet room and with background noise. Your sound quality will vary due to many factors including background noise, if you are moving between cell towers, the quality of the phone on the other end of the call, and the quality of the cell tower and antenna.
DURABILITY: Overall, the durability of the iPhone XS Max was Good. The phone scored an Excellent in our scratch resistance test. This phone failed our tumble test. The tumble test results are as follows: After 50 drops in the tumbler, our experts rated it as Good. The phone's display had some scratches and showed green stripes so it would need to be repaired. It was still in working condition. Be very careful with this smartphone. The screen is delicate. After 100 drops in the tumbler, our experts rated it Poor. Some test samples showed more pronounced green stripes and another sample had cracked glass on the front and back. For this phone, a quality protective case is something you should buy along with the phone.This phone passed our rain test where a gentle rain falls on the phone for 5 minutes. This phone passed its water intrusion test submerged at its rated depth and time.
PORTABILITY/BATTERY: The 6.5-inch screen on the iPhone XS Max comes in a body measuring 6.2-inches tall, 3.1-inches wide, 0.4-inches thick, and weighs 7.4 ounces. Those measurements mean the phone is wider and heavier than most. At 29.5 hours, it has an above average battery lifespan. Its battery is not removable but the phone does support wireless charging.
CAMERA: The main rear camera on the Apple iPhone XS Max measures 12-megapixels. The camera has optical image stabilization to improve your chances of taking better handheld photos under low-light conditions. Overall the camera performance was very good. The main camera is among our top performers for shooting stills. Images are evaluated on high quality LCD displays. The test photos are taken in a brightly lit studio and in a controlled studio simulating sunlight. In the viewing tests the images were rated very good overall. These images are among the best results for color quality, exposure level, sharpness, and image noise. The iPhone XS Max comes with a 7-megapixel selfie cam. Overall the selfie camera quality was very good.
DISPLAY: Overall the display quality was excellent. The display resolution was high enough, close to or greater than 300dpi, so you see a smooth, crisp display. If the display does have a higher resolution, most people will not be able to tell the difference. Readability outdoors is a combination of brightness, measured in candelas per square meter, and reflectivity. The readability rating was excellent. The maximum brightness level measured 1 meter from the screen was a very high 515cd/m² and reflective glare was minimal.
