Phone Sizedbeta
Blog

iPhone XS Max and XS side by side

iPhone XS Max vs XS vs X - Size, Screen and Bezel Comparison

Which one should you get, the Apple iPhone XS Max, XS or the iPhone X? This decision might be confusing for some, I can understand that. In fact, the iPhone XS and iPhone XS Max are very much identical in terms of their hardware specs with the most noticeable differences are related to the battery size (3400 vs 2800 mAh), dimensions, screen size, weight and of course the price.

The great thing about the iPhone XS Max is its massive 6.5" (diagonal) all-screen OLED display. The iPhone XS in comparison features a 5.8" display. The resolutions are also different, the Max screen is 2688-by-1242 pixel resolution, and the XS is 2436-by-1125 pixel resolution. However, both have the same 458 ppi pixel density.

The iPhone X has the same screen size has the iPhone XS, and in fact, the iPhone XS has the same exact design and dimensions as the iPhone X.

A bigger screen has many advantages, especially when we are looking at a very high-quality high-res display, not a low pixel-density one like many of the low-end offering. This means that almost everything you do on the phone will feel better playing games, watching videos, viewing photos, browsing the Internet, reading emails, editing videos, typing note (larger keys for the keyboard), etc.

I personally excited about playing games on such a large display. It won't be like my iPad 9.7-inch, but it definitely will feel more like a tablet experience than a small phone's one. For some experience, I personally prefer a tablet, for example, when playing augmented reality games, I just enjoy having a large window into the mixed reality world than experiencing it from a relatively small phone's screen.

The Apple iPhone XS Max doesn't suppose to replace any tablet, it's a smartphone for all intents and purposes, but let's admit it, if you buy the XS Max, you probably won't need your 7-inch tablet anymore, wouldn't you?

I like having a large display because I found it hard to read text on a small screen. My eyes are not as they are used to be. I found myself zooming-in many times to enlarge the text when browsing the web.

Let's take a look at the specs of both the iPhone X, iPhone XS, and iPhone XS Max. The iPhone XS and iPhone X are 8.4% (6.5mm / 0.26in) narrower , 8.8% (13.9mm / 0.55in) shorter and 2.5% (0.2mm / 0.01in) thinner than the iPhone XS Max. The most significant difference is with the height, of course, a 13.9mm is quite significant, making the iPhone XS more compact and probably easier to put in small pockets than its bigger brother, the XS Max, same goes with the iPhone X.

On the other hand, the iPhone XS Max' gorgeous 6.5-inch Super Retina HD display will provide you with an unparalleled viewing experience. Although the iPhone XS Max has the largest display among all iPhones as of the time of writing, it's not the largest display among all smartphones. For example, we have the Honor 8X Max with a 7.12-inch display, the Honor Note 10 with 6.95-inch display, the Mix Max 3 (6.9"), Vivo NEX S (6.59"), Vivo NEX A (6.59"), Honor 8X (6.50 (6.5"), Xiaomi Mi Max 2 (6.44"), Oppo Find X (6.42"), Vivo X23 (6.41" and Vivo V11 (6.41") among others. You can find out about the 2017-2018 Android smartphones with the largest displays in our chart section.

In terms of bezels, let's look at this image.

iPhone XS and XS bezel thickness

I did the comparison in a photo editing software over a screenshot I took in the comparison on this website. Based on my analysis, the bezels thickness is about the same on both phones. It's nice that the XS Max doesn't have thicker bezels, it's all about having a larger display, which I like. However, the iPhone XS and XS Max don't have the slimmest bezels, the Galaxy Note 9 has much thinner bezels.

For your interest, if you are interested in phones with slim side bezels, you might take a look at the Huawei Mate 8, Vivo NEX A, Xiaomi Mi Mix, Nubia Z9 Classic, Sharp Aquos Crystal, Huawei P10 or ZTE Nubia Z18 - all have super slim side bezels, among the slimmest side bezels in the industry.

Overall, there isn't really nothing to complain here. If you want an iPhone with a huge display, you know have this option. If you weren't satisfied with the iPhone X screen size and wanted something larger, like for playing Fortnite, the iPhone XS Max is a good pick.

You can check out the same comparison I did in this link and get a more visual feel of the size and design looks between those three phones, the iPhone XS, XS Max, and iPhone X, good luck!