If 2017's A11 Bionic threw down the gauntlet to competing processors, then 2018's A12 Bionic processor, the heart of the Apple iPhone XS Max, has clearly picked it up, added a few shiny gems and is grinning while it ponders snapping its fingers.
The A12 Bionic is Apple's first processor built on a 7nm process with, as per Apple's claims, up to a 50% power usage boost over the A11 Fusion, along with up to a 15% increase in performance and 50% better GPU performance. Those are heady claims, and for the most part, the iPhone XS Max as tested backs them up. Here's how it compares using Geekbench 4's CPU test against a range of premium handsets.
Apple iPhone XS Max
Geekbench 4 CPU
Source: finder.com.au benchmark tests, September 2018
The A12 Fusion running the iPhone XS, iPhone XS Max and iPhone XR is the best processor at a benchmark level we've ever tested.
It's not quite the same story for graphics benchmarking, where the iPhone XS Max sits well, but not at the top of the premium smartphone space:
Apple iPhone XS Max
3DMark Slingshot Extreme
Source: finder.com.au benchmark tests September 2018
While Apple supports OpenGL, which is what the 3DMark Slingshot Extreme test evaluates, its own Metal API is fast becoming the preferred (at least by Apple) way to measure graphics performance. There's little doubt in my mind that this is where that 50% GPU boost figure is from. In any case, within the direct iOS hierarchy, the iPhone XS Max is still king.
A phone is more than just benchmarks, however. The iPhone XS Max is suitably slick in real-world use with actual iOS apps, but you absolutely should expect that.
There's plenty of headroom for developers to push the iPhone XS Max to its limits in the future, but right now you're doing the equivalent of buying a Bugatti Veyron and running it on city streets in peak hour.
What I'm struck by is that while it's clearly a powerful system in a class of its own, much of that power feels like it's rather untapped. An iPhone X (or 8 Plus) from 2017 is still a quick handset, and the observable differences with app launching or running between the two are largely negligible, if they're not outright invisible!
There's plenty of headroom for developers to push the iPhone XS Max to its limits in the future, but right now you're doing the equivalent of buying a Bugatti Veyron and running it on city streets in peak hour.
The iPhone XS Max and its 2018 siblings are Apple's first phones capable of gigabit LTE speeds, as long as you're in an area where that's supported.
You're most likely to get those speeds around the CBDs of Australia's capital cities, rather than in regional areas. iFixit's teardown suggests that Apple has indeed switched over to the Intel modem camp, and away from Qualcomm. That leaves some speed improvements out of its grasp, it seems, with competing handsets like the Huawei P20 Pro or Galaxy Note9 managing Category 18 1.2Gbps speed potentials.
The Apple iPhone XS Max ups the water resistance ratings for iPhones with IP68 water resistance, up from IP67 on previous models. Apple even went to the extent of claiming that it had tested the iPhone XS/Max in a variety of fluids, from water to milk and even beer at its iPhone XS launch event.
That's a fascinating admission to me, partly because IP-rated water resistance is meant to be in pure lab water only, but mostly because while it's upped the stated water resistance on this year's iPhones, there's no change in Apple's official Australian warranties. They state explicitly that it doesn't cover damage caused by "accident, abuse, misuse, fire, liquid contact, earthquake or other external cause".
So in other words, while Apple has more faith in the water resistance of its new phones, that faith doesn't actually extend to what happens if it gets wet and something actually goes wrong.
There could be a fascinating case pitting Australian consumer law against Apple given its statements about testing in beer there, but I'm not a lawyer, and I'm not about to put an iPhone XS Max in a keg to find out. You can go first on that score.
The iPhone XS Max has a 6.5-inch display with what Apple calls the "Super Retina" display. It's the highest density display Apple's ever put into a phone, with 458ppi, but the size of the iPhone XS Max screen means that stretches out to a resolution of only 2688 x 1242, below those of comparable Android flagships.
Apple does a lot of work on colour accuracy and display technologies, which is why the Apple iPhone XS Max boasts Dolby Vision and HDR10 compatibility despite that relatively low resolution. There's certainly not a major issue with overall display on the iPhone XS Max, and Apple does have a few inbuilt tweaks for easier keyboard operation and overall app reachability if you are using the iPhone XS Max single-handed.
At the same time, though, we've seen plenty of Android handsets that make use of much larger screens for proper split-screen multi-tasking.
That's not an impossibility in iOS because it's what the 2018 iPad and all iPad Pro models can manage, but despite the extra screen real estate, you can't do this on the iPhone XS Max. Likewise, there's no slide-out or edge type capability in iOS 12, so the nicely rounded sides of the iPhone XS Max aren't hiding any additional features either.
Apple's also shifted into the Dual SIM space with the new iPhone XS Max, although it's only in the Chinese market that it's shipping an iPhone with two actual SIM card slots. In Australia (and the rest of the word), you get a single regular nano-SIM, along with Apple's eSIM solution, something it's used previously on iPad tablets.
Dual SIM adds flexibility to your telco spend, but there's a huge catch for Australian iPhone buyers.
No Australian networks support Apple's eSIM, or for that matter, provide dual SIM phones. The latter issue is a long-held stance, with the carrier-provided model of any given smartphone – not just iPhones – coming in single-SIM if you get it from them.
eSIM is supported by Australian telcos on the Apple Watch Series 3 and Apple Watch Series 4 watches at an additional cost to your existing phone plan, but you can't sign up for eSIM services on an iPhone XS Max at all.
You may be able to use that eSIM for global roaming if you can find an international carrier willing to sign up tourists to an eSIM service, but for practical purposes, the Australian iPhone XS Max is a single SIM phone only.
you could import a Chinese iPhone XS Max or iPhone XR with proper dual SIM support, but you shouldn't.
If you're pondering it, you could import a Chinese iPhone XS Max or iPhone XR with proper dual SIM support, but you shouldn't. Chinese iPhones lack support for the 700Mhz frequencies used by Optus and Telstra for their higher-speed 4G networks. You'd gain in dual SIM support, but lose out in real-world speeds, which feels like a very poor trade-off for such a premium phone.
Apple's never offered storage expansion options on iOS devices beyond paying Apple more money – and in the case of the iPhone XS Max quite a lot more money – and while some Android makers, such as Oppo with the Find X, or Google with its Pixel 2 phones, have followed suit, it's still not something I'm in favour of because you end up having to spend a lot on a higher capacity phone or cloud storage.
