Hands-On With Apple's New 6.5-Inch iPhone XS Max

It's officially iPhone launch day, which means iPhone XS and iPhone XS Max models are in Apple retail stores and have been delivered to customers all around the world. The first pre-orders began arriving this morning in the United States and millions of customers now have the new devices.

We got our hands on one of the new iPhone XS Max models this morning to check out that huge new screen, the new 6.5-inch size, the camera improvements, and the faster internals.


The iPhone XS Max's display measures in at 6.5-inches, and it features the biggest screen that Apple's ever introduced. Size wise, the iPhone XS Max is a good bit larger than the iPhone X and XS, but it's smaller in size than the iPhone 8 Plus despite the bigger display. It's bigger than the iPhone X, and smaller than the latest Galaxy phone.

Though large, the iPhone XS Max feels surprisingly light in the hand, perhaps due to its thin 7.7mm body and clever weight distribution by Apple. The bigger display looks incredible, as should be no surprise, and it's amazing for watching videos, looking at photos, or playing video games.

Face ID is slightly faster in the iPhone XS Max thanks to the improved A12 Bionic chip and neural engine, and the camera, though using the same 12-megapixel dual-lens system as the iPhone X, has some internal improvements that produce noticeably better photos.

We'll be doing a much deeper dive into the camera and comparing it with the iPhone X camera so stay tuned for that, but suffice it to say the iPhone XS Max camera is a solid upgrade over the camera in the iPhone X.

The A12 processor is 15 percent faster than the A11, which isn't super noticeable, but it does result in much better battery life. iPhone XS Max lasts an hour and a half longer than the iPhone X.

Many Apple retail stores had iPhone XS and XS Max stock available for walk-in purchases this morning, and stock should be replenished regularly. Orders placed today on the website won't ship out until October, though, so the store is your best bet if you didn't pre-order.

Pricing on the iPhone XS starts at $999 and pricing on the iPhone XS Max starts at $1,099.

Related Forum: iPhone

Popular Stories

iphone 17 models

No iPhone 18 Launch This Year, Reports Suggest

Thursday January 1, 2026 8:43 am PST by
Apple is not expected to release a standard iPhone 18 model this year, according to a growing number of reports that suggest the company is planning a significant change to its long-standing annual iPhone launch cycle. Despite the immense success of the iPhone 17 in 2025, the iPhone 18 is not expected to arrive until the spring of 2027, leaving the iPhone 17 in the lineup as the latest...
apple intelligence black

Report: Apple's AI Strategy Could Finally Pay Off in 2026

Tuesday December 30, 2025 9:01 am PST by
Apple's restrained artificial intelligence strategy may pay off in 2026 amid the arrival of a revamped Siri and concerns around the AI market "bubble" bursting, The Information argues. The speculative report notes that Apple has taken a restrained approach with AI innovations compared with peers such as OpenAI, Google, and Meta, which are investing hundreds of billions of dollars in data...
apple fitness 2026 1

Apple Teases 'Something Big' Coming Soon to Apple Fitness+

Tuesday December 30, 2025 2:11 pm PST by
The Apple Fitness+ Instagram account today teased that the service has "big plans" for 2026. In a video, several Apple Fitness+ trainers are shown holding up newspapers with headlines related to Apple Fitness+. What's Apple Fitness+ Planning for the New Year? Something Big is Coming to Apple Fitness+ The Countdown Begins. Apple Fitness+ 2026 is Almost Here 2026 Plans Still Under ...
iphone 17 pro dark blue 1

iPhone 17 Pro and Pro Max Users Report Static Speaker Noise While Charging

Tuesday December 30, 2025 10:39 am PST by
iPhone 17 Pro and Pro Max owners are having trouble with the speakers of their devices, and have complained about a static or hissing noise that occurs when the iPhone is charging. There are multiple discussions about the issue on Reddit, the MacRumors forums, and Apple's Support Community, where affected users say there is a noticeable static noise "like an old radio." Some people report...
maxresdefault

Hands-On With a Rough iPhone Fold Mockup

Monday December 29, 2025 10:55 am PST by
Apple is rumored to be introducing a foldable iPhone in September 2026, and since it will bring the biggest form factor change since the iPhone was introduced in 2007, curiosity about the design is high. A 3D designer created an iPhone Fold design based on rumors, and we printed it out to see how it compares to Apple's current iPhones. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more ...
maxresdefault

Where's the New Apple TV?

Monday December 22, 2025 11:30 am PST by
Apple hasn't updated the Apple TV 4K since 2022, and 2025 was supposed to be the year that we got a refresh. There were rumors suggesting Apple would release the new Apple TV before the end of 2025, but it looks like that's not going to happen now. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said several times across 2024 and 2025 that Apple would...
Mac Pro Feature Blue

What's Happening With the Mac Pro?

Wednesday December 31, 2025 9:59 am PST by
Apple hasn't updated the Mac Pro since 2023, and according to recent rumors, there's no update coming in the near future. In fact, Apple might be finished with the Mac Pro. Bloomberg recently said that the Mac Pro is "on the back burner" and has been "largely written off" by Apple. Apple apparently views the more compact Mac Studio as the ideal high-end pro-level desktop, and it has almost...
macbook air march 2020

Apple Says Final Intel MacBook Air and Apple Watch Series 5 Now 'Vintage'

Wednesday December 31, 2025 8:39 am PST by
Apple today added the final 13-inch MacBook Air powered by Intel processors, the Apple Watch Series 5, and additional products to its vintage products list. The iPhone 11 Pro was also added to the list after the iPhone 11 Pro Max was added back in September. The full list of products added to Apple's vintage and obsolete list today: MacBook Air (Retina, 13-inch, 2020) iPhone 8 Plus 128GB ...

Top Rated Comments

BootsWalking Avatar
95 months ago
Cliff notes: It's bigger.
Score: 29 Votes (Like | Disagree)
CarpalMac Avatar
95 months ago
Feels a lot like mobile device design has seriously plateaued. Now the remaining model sizes have gone "full screen" which was the last big thing Apple had left to do, be interesting to see where the iPhone goes over the next couple of years. I suspect just having an even speedier CPU and slightly better camera is not going to cut it. Not at this now astronomic price bracket.

Others are talking about foldable devices but I am not convinced that will work out as well as I hope they will. AR, not convinced by that either.

Guess it explains why the watch is seeing greater development steps being taken and the big shift to services too.
Score: 28 Votes (Like | Disagree)
rmoliv Avatar
95 months ago
The Xs Max takes ages to charge. Apple should definitely have included a fast charger in the box.
Score: 24 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Crow_Servo Avatar
95 months ago
Say only people who cant afford the Xs
Why say something like that? Talk about a toxic comment. Let’s shame people for having less money. Go ahead and flame me too. I can afford any phone I want, but I’m not going to shame others for not having the funds.
Score: 21 Votes (Like | Disagree)
44267547 Avatar
95 months ago
The Xs Max takes ages to charge. Apple should definitely have included a fast charger in the box.
This is Just my method, but I always use my 10W iPad charger. It’s sufficient for my needs.
Score: 19 Votes (Like | Disagree)
happyslayer Avatar
95 months ago
Just got mine all setup and I am really liking it so far. I had a 7plus before I got last year’s X. And I missed the large form factor. Definitely love the bigger screen with its bigger text and icons and all that, especially since I turned the magic age of 48 this year and now seem to need reading glasses for many things. The larger font is a definite plus for me.
Score: 13 Votes (Like | Disagree)