Hi guys, it's KJ the MiTechGuy here.
I'm back home for MIT's winter period and CES is right around the corner so I'm pretty
excited to push out a lot of content over the next month.
The iPhone XS Max is a phone that I find difficult to recommend sometimes, but still happens
to be the phone that has my sim card in it.
In fact, it has been my daily driver for the majority of the past three months.
In this video, I won't focus much on the specs, but instead I'll go over the good, the bad,
and everything in between of using the iPhone XS Max as my daily driver.
Let's get right into it.
My timeline of smartphone daily drivers has gone like this: In order, I used the iPhone
4, iPhone 5, Samsung Galaxy S4, Note 4, Note 7, S7 Edge *(Note 7 recall)*, S8+, *started
YouTube* Note 8, Pixel 2 XL, S9+, OnePlus 6, Note 9, and finally the iPhone XS Max.
If you noticed, the last iPhone that I really used as a daily driver for a significant amount
of time was the iPhone 5, so I've been an Android guy for quite some time now.
Let me tell you what got me to switch for the time being.
I can't review any Apple product without mentioning the Apple Ecosystem.
It is why time and time again, people are drawn to Apple products seemingly disregarding
the absurd prices at times.
But I understand those people.
I own an iPad Pro, MacBook Pro, and iMac Pro, and especially as a student, it is impossible
to express how much it has helped to have my lecture notes, homework assignments, photos,
and Safari tabs synced between all of my devices through iCloud.
Considering additional Apple exclusives like Memoji and AirDrop, being in the ecosystem
is a very pleasant experience.
I can even send and receive phone calls, facetimes, and iMessages from all of the devices.
The Apple Ecosystem has been a great thing for quite some time now, but it still had
not been so great that I had to switch.
With the iPhone XS Max, the phone itself is actually what had drawn me in, not the ecosystem.
When I first picked up the phone, I noticed how solid the phone felt.
Whether it was the gold stainless steal sides or how well the phone fit in my hand, it just
looks and feels like I a very premium device.
And what I was missing last year was a device with a bigger form factor.
The iPhone X was intriguing, but it just felt too small for me.
Now the XS Max has its impressive 6.5 inch Super AMOLED display that is easily one of
the best displays on any smartphone this year in terms of clarity and colors.
Text looks crisp and all colors look great in whatever media you're consuming.
It even gets plenty bright enough for outdoor use, as well as very dim for night time use.
Pair this premium design with the A12 Bionic, which is still the fastest chip on any smartphone,
and you get a phone that made me take a hard look at it.
The A12 Bionic, along with Apple's optimization and a decent 4 GB of RAM, makes everything
so fluid on this phone.
From navigating between apps to scrolling through menus and social media, I'm hard pressed
to find a smoother user experience on any other device.
FaceID has also been great.
It’s something that I miss when I go to other devices.
With FaceID, I usually forget that the phone is even locked, and it just unlocks by the
time I swipe up to unlock.
FaceID even works in apps and webpages, which always helps me quickly log in.
The efficiency in the processors also helps the phone with its battery life.
I am a heavy user with my smartphones, and since using this phone every day since launch,
I've probably felt inclined to charge it only one or two times while I was still awake.
Every other instance, it has made it through the day just fine, leaving me with usually
upwards of 20% battery left.
The biggest surprise I had with this phone, was actually with its camera.
The 12 megapixel cameras on the back of this phone have competed with the best of the best
smartphone cameras this year.
In my opinion, it is the clear cut 2nd best smartphone camera I have ever tested, and
this is only because of how well the Pixel 3s process images.
If you want to see for yourself how the iPhone XS Max's camera competes with other top smartphone
camera systems, make sure to check out the camera comparisons I have out with the Note
9, Pixel 3 XL, and even last year's iPhone X.
All in all, the iPhone XS Max captures solid video with decent stereo audio, and also has
probably the best HDR capabilities of any phone thanks to its new Super HDR feature.
With the XS Max's camera system, you'll be satisfied with the images shot in any lighting
condition, both indoors and outdoors.
The first blatantly bad thing about the iPhone XS Max is its price.
It just costs too much money.
Since it doesn't have expandable storage, if you want any more than 64 GB here in the
U.S., you'd have to spend at least $1250.
The price even goes all the way up to almost $1500.
That is just insane when there are phones like the OnePlus 6T that can do 90% of what
the iPhone XS Max can for less than half the cost.
Top this off with the fact that Apple doesn't even include a headphone dongle or fast charger
in the box, just makes the price seem borderline insulting.
Up until the latest update a couple of weeks ago, my XS Max would go unresponsive maybe
once a week for about a minute or so.
And with a product this expensive, hiccups like that are inexcusable, especially when
they are there the first two or three months after release.
Lastly, iOS is growing more and more outdated every year there isn't a major overhaul.
iOS has been long overdue for major changes, and it’s a shame that no matter how good
the chipsets and optimization is, we can't really use the phone to its full potential
because of how limiting iOS is.
So the phone itself initially got me intrigued enough to give it a chance as my daily driver.
But it was in fact the Apple ecosystem and the other little things that made me enjoy
the experience enough to continue to use it as my main phone.
Little things like having the content of notifications hidden until it recognizes your face, or being
able to quickly activate reachability to use the phone with one hand make the user experience
feel seamless.
Then there are features like an integrated visual voicemail system that automatically
transcribes the audio for you or being able to confirm Apple Pay purchases on your computer
from your phone that I didn't know I'd ever need or want.
Then there's my ability to pair the phone with by far the most advanced smartwatch on
the market right now in the Apple Watch Series 4, that make I think the most productive smartphone
to smartwatch pairing possible.
Top this all off with the peace of mind that you'll be able to take your phone in to an
Apple Store for any sort of assistance, and you get a device that is not only a smartphone,
but also part of an overall pleasant and premium experience.
So yeah, I still don't think that the iPhone XS Max is the perfect phone by any means,
it does have its flaws.
It has a terrific camera system, the fastest chipset, and a premium design.
But it's also very expensive and has a limited operating system that can't take advantage
of the power onboard.
So there are still many instances where I will not recommend someone get the iPhone
XS Max.
However, to say that the iPhone XS Max is an overpriced piece of junk is just false.
With a XS Max, you still get one of the best cameras, best screens, stereo speakers, iP68
water and dust resistance, wireless charging, and Apple Pay.
You're getting a very premium device to be a part of a premium Apple Ecosystem, and to
many people who have experienced the convenience of the Apple Ecosystem, the phone is well
worth the price.
That's all I had to talk about today.
I am back home for the next month so I will be pushing out a lot more content for you
guys.
Subscribe and have that notification bell clicked to see all of the cool videos I have
planned.
Also, if you haven't already, make sure you follow my social media accounts because I
really want to revamp those in 2019.
As always, thanks for watching, and I will see you in the next video.