SpecEagle
SpecEagle review · Apple

iPhone XS Max review: The first big-screen iPhone — 6.5″ OLED in 2018.

SpecEagle Editorial·Sep 2018·$1,099
Overall
73/100
Class rank
#72 of 138
Tier
Flagship
Buy?
At the right price
The verdict, up front

The original phablet OLED — historic but ageing.

iPhone XS Max kicked off the big-screen iPhone trend. With iOS support ended, only collectors should consider one.

01Display

83/100

83/100 puts it above the 80-point average for flagship phones of 2018.

TypeSuper Retina HD OLED, 60 Hz
Size6.5 inches
Resolution2,688 × 1,242 px (458 ppi)

02Camera

78/100

78/100 puts it above the 75-point average for flagship phones of 2018.

Main12 MP, f/1.8, OIS
Telephoto12 MP, f/2.4, 2× optical
Selfie7 MP, f/2.2

03Performance

76/100

76/100 — right at the average for flagship phones of 2018.

ChipsetApple A12 Bionic (7 nm)
RAM4 GB
Storage64 / 256 / 512 GB

04Battery

72/100

72/100 — right at the average for flagship phones of 2018.

Capacity3,174 mAh
Wired~15 W Lightning
Wireless7.5 W Qi

05Build

86/100

At 86/100 this is one of the strongest build showings among flagship phones of 2018 — 7 points above the cohort average.

06Value

60/100

60/100 trails the 65-point cohort average for flagship phones of 2018.

What works
  • Biggest OLED screen at launch.
  • Strong A12 chip.
  • Stainless premium build.
  • Camera still respectable.
What doesn't
  • Heavy at 208 g.
  • No 5G.
  • Software cut off at iOS 16.
  • Slow charging.
Cross-shop it against
Galaxy Note 10+
$1099 · score 90/100

How this review is built: every section score, spec row and comparison on this page comes from SpecEagle's tracked catalogue — scores weight measured specs against the 138-phone cohort of flagship devices released around the same time. We don't publish invented lab anecdotes. Spot an error? .