Hey what is up guys, CKUHD here and this is the iPhone XS Max in 2021.
So I've had my iPhone XS Max for about 2 to 3 weeks now and just before I get into this
review, I am absolutely loving the XS Max for a phone that's 2 years old, your not missing
out on much. Right now in 2021 you can get iPhone XS Max for round about £300 to £500
depending on where you look. The difference in price is in the range of storage from 64,
256 to 512GB of storage, which in this video, I explained why its important to choose the
right storage option to better future proof your device.
The build of the iPhone XS Max is solid and is one of apple's cleanest designs, I have
mine in Silver and looks amazing, This phones held up pretty well, front and back gorilla
glass 5 which most phones apart from this years latest iPhones still have, meaning that
it will be scratch and drop resistant in most cases, But would still put on a case and screen
protector just for better protection. If your one of those people who like to embrace the
design and don't want to carry a case then you should get one of the coloured iPhones
as silver is one of the barest type stainless steel meaning that you would notice more scratches
than the gold or black version of the XS Max but still a solid device in 2021 even though
your gonna get a load of smudges basically everywhere on this device.
The iPhone XS max is a really comfortable device to hold, thanks to it's curves edges
which even though is a small detail it helps to hold the device in a comfortable position
and with a bit more grip although, holding the device isn't really an issue but reaching
into corners is just a little bit hard but with reachability it does help out a lot more
than I though. Honestly just feels like an extremely premium device even in 2021.
Now I haven't forgotten about those with smaller hands, the XS Max is quite a big device with
it's 6.5 inch display which really is a massive display so I would suggest you look into buying
the iPhone XS, first of all because of the smaller display and second, it really is just
a smaller version of the XS Max, no differences in specs with the same A12 Bionic Chip and
the same camera set up, just with a smaller battery, The iPhone X on the other hand may
look compelling at a much lower price but you are missing out on performance with the
much older A11 Bionic chip.
So let's talk about that massive display of the iPhone XS Max. The display is 6.5 inches
and yes the notch is there but I've seemed not to mind it as there are ways to hide it
for example watching YouTube videos, by pinching in or out on the video you can go from the
original aspect ration to full screen and vice versa but to be honest the notch has
been there for a couple of years now and is something that's normal to see. Like does
anyone remember back when the first Gen AirPods were released and got a fair amount of dislike
for how they looked but now you see them pretty much anywhere.
Now apart from it being 6.5 inches, it's a Super Retina OLED display which gives you
deeper blacks and a much better viewing experience with support for Dolby Vision and HDR10. So
when watching films they look crisp and exactly how it was intended to look, on a high quality
display and viewing angles are absolutely amazing and easily beats the displays on the
iPhone 7 and 8 and is on par with the latest iPhone’s so your not missing out on much
there. And the iPhone XS Max is the last X generation to support true 3D Touch after
being replaced by Haptic Touch.
Brightness on this display is something you shouldn't even have to think about, it can
get plenty bright in bright conditions and can get pretty dark as-well. You've got True
Tone to adjust the colour of the display in different lighting conditions, which a lot
of people don't like but I actually do. Makes me not feel like i'm straining my eyes or
making them feel dry and also the option for dark mode which is also supported in a lot
of apps such as Instagram and twitter.
Speakers on the XS Max actually surprised me, Now coming from a device which just had
one speaker at the bottom, your getting true stereo sound from both the earpiece and the
bottom firing speaker but no headphone jack unfortunatly so using AirPods or Bluetooth
would be an option unless you would like to get the lighting to headphone jack adapter
which is a bit pricy for what it is.
So right now this iPhone XS Max is running iOS 14.6 the latest version of iOS right now
and should you buy this in 2021 with this version of iOS and the answer to that is 100%.
Apple is really well known for keeping support of their older iPhone's and their latest ones
as well, even the old iPhone SE and 6s is still being supported software wise, being
nearly 6 since released, so the iPhone XS Max, just 2 years old would be supported for
many many more years before its starts to be unsupported or ware down but that's the
advantage to android devices.
With iOS you'll still be able to support apps in the long run with the App Store but better
yet, more and more features and improvements to iOS. So that something you might want to
consider if you choose to get and android. iOS 14, is smooth on the XS Max even though
the display is just 60 frames per second, its fast and responsive apps are really fast
even with the A12 Bionic chip which is has two high-performance cores which are 15% faster
and 50% more energy-efficient than the Apple A11 Bionic in the iPhone 8, 8 Plus and X and
just to remind you is the same processor in the iPhone XS, the 2020 Version of the iPad
and can power the 2021 Apple TV 4K which is just powerful and up to date in 2021 so your
not missing out on any huge performance boost with the latest iPhones.
And with iOS 15 coming out soon, announced at Apple's World Wide Developers Conference
which to check out all the newest additions to iOS 15, check out my recent video coverage.
Recently people found out that many of the newest features to be released in iOS 15 won't
come to older devices as they need to have the A12 Bionic chip and newer which means
that the iPhone XS Max will support these features such as Live Text and here's a quick
demo of the feature. Now back to the review.
I quickly just want to cover on storage which I mentioned a while ago, so you can get this
in 64, 256 and 512 Gigabytes and I have my iPhone in 64 and yes there is plenty of storage
but if I could go back in time to when I purchased this device I would have told myself to stay
away from the 64 gigabytes option if you know that your going to be using this, the camera
a lot. As a YouTuber, I use my iPhone for recording and is a great advice to any other
people who want to start out on this platform. The Issue is that you can run out of storage
from continuously recording in 4K 60 which I do right now or take a lot of photos which
I'll be getting onto next, so just be weary of that.
Okay so lets talk about the camera, I'm gonna use my Echo dot and keyboard for a camera
example, focus is incredible and you never miss focus on the cameras and with HDR, it
gives photos a certain level of pop to photos with colours and darker areas, making photo's
look great and vibrant. Portrait mode also get a bit better with edge detection and especially
around glasses which was a good improvement from the iPhone X the older model. Video recording
at 4K 60 just really looks smooth and is definitely a great option as a camera if you don't want
to fork out with a DSLR camera in 2021 and yeah even though having two camera's instead
of three on the newer iPhones, I would definitely pick this over android phones which could
have 6 camera and not even look as good when viewing.
Battery life is impressive and has a smaller 3174mAh battery compared to the bigger 3969mAh
on the iPhone 11 Pro Max but easily gets me through the day on a single charge and maybe
sometimes runs into the next day depending on my usage, for example if im playing games
then definatly gonna need to change up once or twice during the day but light use like
recording, scrolling though twitter or Instagram and watching videos, you can get though the
day with some battery left. Quick mention for those who want to check my battery capacity
is at 100% which is solid.
Now, the iPhone XS Max, the question actually is who should be upgrading to this device
but clearly you won't be downgrading from a newer model or newer android device unless
your just coming into the apple eco system. But for anyone with an older device, let's
say the iPhone 6,7,8 or 8 Plus then you should consider the XS Max and especially if you've
been waiting for an upgrade and can get it for a good price and just for the design of
the XS Max, you've got the 2 camera's, a 12 megapixel main and secondary 12 megapixel
2X tele-photo camera which can take amazing photos and look even better on the 6.5 inch
HDR display, iOS will still be getting upgrades and this phone will still be supported and
battery life is really good even in 2021. So let me know down below in the comments
which device you have, Are you considering the iPhone XS Max and if you already have
the XS Max, how's it holding up for you?
Thank you guys for watching this video and a sub to the channel would be delightful,
make sure you like the video of you found it helpful and I will see you guys in the
next one.