The iPhone XS and iPhone XS Max are
smartphones
A smartphone is a mobile phone with advanced computing capabilities. It typically has a touchscreen interface, allowing users to access a wide range of applications and services, such as web browsing, email, and social media, as well as mult ...
designed, developed, and marketed by
Apple Inc
Apple Inc. is an American multinational corporation and technology company headquartered in Cupertino, California, in Silicon Valley. It is best known for its consumer electronics, software, and services. Founded in 1976 as Apple Computer ...
. Released as the twelfth-generation flagship models of the
iPhone
The iPhone is a line of smartphones developed and marketed by Apple that run iOS, the company's own mobile operating system. The first-generation iPhone was announced by then–Apple CEO and co-founder Steve Jobs on January 9, 2007, at ...
, they succeeded the
iPhone X
The iPhone X (Roman numerals, Roman numeral "X" pronounced "ten") is a smartphone that was developed and marketed by Apple Inc. It is part of the List of iPhone models, 11th generation of the iPhone. Available for pre-order from September 26, 2 ...
and were unveiled alongside the more affordable
iPhone XR
The iPhone XR is a smartphone developed and marketed by Apple Inc. It is part of the twelfth generation of the iPhone, alongside the higher-end iPhone XS/XS Max models. Pre-orders began on October 19, 2018, with the official release on Octo ...
on September 12, 2018, during a keynote address by Apple CEO
Tim Cook
Timothy Donald Cook (born November 1, 1960) is an American business executive who is the current chief executive officer of Apple Inc. Cook had previously been the company's chief operating officer under its co-founder Steve Jobs. Cook joined ...
at the
Steve Jobs Theater at
Apple Park
Apple Park, also known as Apple Campus 2, is the corporate headquarters of Apple Inc., located in Cupertino, California, United States. It was opened to employees in April 2017, while construction was still underway. It replaced Apple Campus as ...
. Pre-orders began on September 14, 2018, with general availability starting September 21, 2018. The iPhone XS and XS Max introduced improvements over their predecessor, including enhanced processing power,
dual-SIM functionality, improved water resistance, and stereo audio recording for video capture.
At
WWDC 2024
The Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) is an information technology conference held annually by Apple Inc. The conference is currently held at Apple Park in California. The event is used to showcase new software and technologies in the macO ...
, Apple announced that the iPhone XS, alongside the iPhone XR, would support
iOS 18
iOS 18 is the eighteenth and current major release of Apple's iOS operating system for the iPhone. It was announced on June 10, 2024, at the 2024 Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC). It was made publicly available on September 16, 2024, as ...
, making these devices the oldest iPhones compatible with the latest
iOS
Ios, Io or Nio (, ; ; locally Nios, Νιός) is a Greek island in the Cyclades group in the Aegean Sea. Ios is a hilly island with cliffs down to the sea on most sides. It is situated halfway between Naxos and Santorini. It is about long an ...
version at the time. This decision also makes the iPhone XS as one of the oldest supported smartphone ever, with seven years of updates.
Apple positioned the iPhone XS and XS Max as premium devices, targeting consumers seeking cutting-edge performance and advanced features, while simultaneously offering the iPhone XR, a lower-cost alternative, the same
Apple A12 Bionic chip, but has a LCD IPS panel display, and with a singular camera. Along with the
iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus, the iPhone XS and XS Max were discontinued on September 10, 2019, following the announcement of the 13th generation of iPhone; the
iPhone 11,
iPhone 11 Pro, and iPhone 11 Pro Max.
Design
The XS, which is visually near-identical to the iPhone X, has a better system-on-a-chip: the
A12 Bionic chip built with a
7 nm process. It has a 5.85 inch (149 mm)
OLED
An organic light-emitting diode (OLED), also known as organic electroluminescent (organic EL) diode, is a type of light-emitting diode (LED) in which the emissive electroluminescent layer is an organic compound film that emits light in respon ...
display (marketed as 5.8 inch) with a resolution of 2436 × 1125 pixels (2.7 megapixels) at 458 ppi, dual 12-megapixel rear cameras, and one 7-megapixel front-facing camera.
Hardware
The iPhone XS Max has the same hardware and cameras, but a larger 6.46 inch (164 mm) OLED display (marketed as 6.5 inch) with a resolution of 2688 × 1242 pixels (3.3 megapixels) at 458 ppi and a larger battery (3,174
mAh). The XS has a smaller battery than the X, dropping to 2,658 mAh from 2,716 mAh. The XS' battery is a new single-cell L-shaped battery, while the iPhone XS Max battery remains two cells like the iPhone X. Apple said that the iPhone XS lasts up to 30 minutes longer than iPhone X, while the iPhone XS Max lasts up to 1.5 hours longer than iPhone X.
Apple said that the devices have faster
Face ID
Face ID is a Biometrics, biometric authentication facial recognition system, facial-recognition system designed and developed by Apple Inc. for the iPhone and iPad Pro. The system can be used for unlocking a device, making Apple Pay, payments, ac ...
technology than the iPhone X. It was also announced in June 2019 at
WWDC
The Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) is an information technology conference held annually by Apple Inc. The conference is currently held at Apple Park in California. The event is used to showcase new software and technologies in the macO ...
that Face ID on iPhone XS, iPhone XS Max, iPhone XR and iPhone X would be made up to 30% faster with iOS 13, which was released on September 19, 2019.
The XS and XS Max are rated
IP68 for dust and water resistance under IEC standard 60529, with Apple specifying a maximum depth of 2 meters and up to 30 minutes of submersion in water. This is an improvement over the
IP67
The IP code or International Protection code indicates how well a device is protected against water and dust. It is defined by the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) under the international standard IEC 60529 which classifies ...
water resistance of the
iPhone 8
The iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus are smartphones developed and marketed by Apple Inc. They are the eleventh generation of the iPhone. The iPhone 8 was released on September 22, 2017, succeeding the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus, respectively.
T ...
and
X. Apple has performed tests in various
liquid
Liquid is a state of matter with a definite volume but no fixed shape. Liquids adapt to the shape of their container and are nearly incompressible, maintaining their volume even under pressure. The density of a liquid is usually close to th ...
s including
chlorinated water,
salt water,
tea
Tea is an aromatic beverage prepared by pouring hot or boiling water over cured or fresh leaves of '' Camellia sinensis'', an evergreen shrub native to East Asia which probably originated in the borderlands of south-western China and nor ...
,
wine
Wine is an alcoholic drink made from Fermentation in winemaking, fermented fruit. Yeast in winemaking, Yeast consumes the sugar in the fruit and converts it to ethanol and carbon dioxide, releasing heat in the process. Wine is most often made f ...
,
beer
Beer is an alcoholic beverage produced by the brewing and fermentation of starches from cereal grain—most commonly malted barley, although wheat, maize (corn), rice, and oats are also used. The grain is mashed to convert starch in the ...
and
juices
Juice is a drink made from the extraction or pressing of the natural liquid contained in fruit and vegetables. It can also refer to liquids that are flavored with concentrate or other biological food sources, such as meat or seafood, ...
.
The XS and XS Max support
dual SIM
Some mobile phones support use of two SIM cards, described as dual SIM operation. When a second SIM card is installed, the phone may allow users to switch between two separate mobile network services manually, have hardware support for keeping bo ...
s through a
nano-SIM
file:SIM-Karte von Telefónica O2 Europe - Standard und Micro.jpg, A typical SIM card (mini-SIM with micro-SIM cutout)A SIM card or SIM (subscriber identity module) is an integrated circuit (IC) intended to securely store an international mobile s ...
and an
eSIM
An eSIM (embedded SIM) is a form of SIM card that is embedded directly into a device as software installed onto a eUICC chip. First released in March 2016, eSIM is a global specification by the GSMA that enables remote SIM provisioning; end ...
. In mainland China, Hong Kong, and Macau, however, the XS Max comes with a dual nano-SIM tray (and no eSIM). The XS does not have a dual nano-SIM tray, so the eSIM functionality is enabled for use in
Hong Kong
Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...
and Macau, but not in mainland China.
SoC
XS and XS Max use A12 Bionic SoC, which consists of 6-core CPU (2x Vortex + 4x Tempest), 4-core GPU, and 8-core Neural Engine.
Software
The iPhone XS and XS Max originally shipped with iOS 12. Apple provided support for iOS 13, iOS 14, iOS 15, iOS 16, iOS 17, and iOS 18, making it the longest supported in iPhone history.
Wireless charging
The wireless charging coil material was switched to copper to reduce charging time and power loss.
Rear camera upgrades
The iPhone XS, XS Max and XR are the first iPhones able to record
stereo audio
Stereophonic sound, commonly shortened to stereo, is a method of sound reproduction that recreates a multi-directional, 3-dimensional audible perspective. This is usually achieved by using two independent audio channels through a configurat ...
for videos.
Starting with the iPhone 2018 lineup (iPhone XS, iPhone XS Max and iPhone XR), these cameras were updated to a 12MP (1/2.55") sensor size with a 1.4 μm pixel size, the same sensor and pixel size as the primary cameras of the
Samsung Galaxy S10
The Samsung Galaxy S10 is a line of Android-based smartphones manufactured, released and marketed by Samsung Electronics as part of the Samsung Galaxy S series. The Galaxy S10 series is the tenth generation of the Galaxy S series, its flagship lin ...
,
Samsung Galaxy S9 Samsung Galaxy S8 Samsung Galaxy S7,
Pixel 2
The Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL are a pair of Android (operating system), Android smartphones designed, developed, and marketed by Google as part of the Google Pixel product line. They collectively serve as the successors to the Pixel (1st generation) ...
,
Pixel 3a and Pixel 3a XL,
Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL, and the
Moto X4.
Software
The iPhone XS and XS Max shipped with
iOS 12
iOS 12 is the iOS version history, twelfth major release of the iOS mobile operating system developed by Apple Inc., Apple. Aesthetically similar to its predecessor, iOS 11, it focuses more on performance than on new features, quality improvemen ...
on launch, and supports all major versions of the operating system up to
iOS 18
iOS 18 is the eighteenth and current major release of Apple's iOS operating system for the iPhone. It was announced on June 10, 2024, at the 2024 Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC). It was made publicly available on September 16, 2024, as ...
. The iPhone XS and XS Max, alongside the
iPhone XR
The iPhone XR is a smartphone developed and marketed by Apple Inc. It is part of the twelfth generation of the iPhone, alongside the higher-end iPhone XS/XS Max models. Pre-orders began on October 19, 2018, with the official release on Octo ...
, will not receive
iOS 26
iOS 26 is the nineteenth and the next major release of Apple's iOS operating system for the iPhone. It was announced on June 9, 2025, at Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC), and is expected to be released in September.
It is the di ...
due to hardware limitations.
Reception and issues
Reception and connectivity issues
The iPhone XS received generally positive reviews from critics after release. iPhone XS and XS Max users initially had issues with
LTE
LTE may refer to:
Science and technology
* LTE (telecommunication) (Long-Term Evolution), a mobile telephony standard
** LTE Advanced, an enhancement
** LTE Advanced Pro, a further enhancement
* Compaq LTE, a line of laptop computers
* Leukotrie ...
,
Wi-Fi
Wi-Fi () is a family of wireless network protocols based on the IEEE 802.11 family of standards, which are commonly used for Wireless LAN, local area networking of devices and Internet access, allowing nearby digital devices to exchange data by ...
reception and Bluetooth connections. Some experts claimed that a faulty antenna was to blame, and in response to many consumer complaints about iPhone XS/XS Max connectivity problems, Apple contacted users for help with their investigation. To resolve some problems with the XS/XS Max, Apple pushed the
iOS 12.0.1 update on October 8, 2018, which, along with addressing the Chargegate issue, fixed a connectivity issue where
Bluetooth
Bluetooth is a short-range wireless technology standard that is used for exchanging data between fixed and mobile devices over short distances and building personal area networks (PANs). In the most widely used mode, transmission power is li ...
could become temporarily unavailable on the XS/XS Max.
Chargegate
Users reported that the iPhone XS and XS Max would sometimes fail to charge by
Lightning
Lightning is a natural phenomenon consisting of electrostatic discharges occurring through the atmosphere between two electrically charged regions. One or both regions are within the atmosphere, with the second region sometimes occurring on ...
cable if it had been off for a while, and would only begin to charge if the screen was turned on. This was caused by a software bug with Apple's "Disable
USB
Universal Serial Bus (USB) is an industry standard, developed by USB Implementers Forum (USB-IF), for digital data transmission and power delivery between many types of electronics. It specifies the architecture, in particular the physical ...
accessories when locked" setting, a feature intended to prevent unknown devices from accessing a user's content. The press dubbed the issue "Chargegate". This and a Bluetooth connectivity problem were fixed by
iOS 12.0.1, released on October 8, 2018.
Camera issues (Beautygate)
Customers also reported seeing unrealistic smoothness on their skin when taking a selfie with an automatic filter, an effect associated with the XS and XS Max's new Smart HDR camera feature. This technology combines multiple photos of varying exposures to increase dynamic range on the iPhones' photos, but can also reduce facial imperfections and highlights in selfies. Some, who speculated this was the result of a hidden "beauty mode" (an actual feature in some smartphones), dubbed the issue "Beautygate". There was a general dispute in the community as to whether the camera actual "intended" to "perfect" faces or if they just appeared that way as result of a better-quality camera.
Apple said that these results were due to the Smart HDR algorithm incorrectly selecting the blurrier long exposure as its base frame instead of the sharpest short exposure. The issue was resolved with the release of iOS 12.1 on October 30, 2018.
The iPhone XS' camera was criticized for not featuring a night mode. iOS 13 did not include night mode which was kept exclusive to the then-new iPhone 11. However, third-party apps brought similar Night Mode to older iPhones.
See also
*
Comparison of smartphones
This is a comparison of the various internal components and features of many smartphones.
Hardware and OS
2020s
2025
2024
2023
2022
2021
2020
2010s
2019
2018
2017
2016
2015
2014
2013
2012
...
*
History of iPhone
*
iPhone XR
The iPhone XR is a smartphone developed and marketed by Apple Inc. It is part of the twelfth generation of the iPhone, alongside the higher-end iPhone XS/XS Max models. Pre-orders began on October 19, 2018, with the official release on Octo ...
*
List of iPhone models
The iPhone, developed by Apple Inc., is a line of smartphones that combine a mobile phone, digital camera, personal computer, and music player into one device. Introduced by then-CEO Steve Jobs on January 9, 2007, the iPhone revolutionized the ...
*
Timeline of iPhone models
Notes
References
External links
* – official site
{{Apple Inc. hardware
*10S
Computer-related introductions in 2018
Mobile phones introduced in 2018
Mobile phones with multiple rear cameras
Mobile phones with 4K video recording
Mobile phones with pressure-sensitive touch screen
Discontinued flagship smartphones