Well, it’s been almost a month since I got my iPhone XS Max. You can read my initial impressions from that first weekend here. 

Or check my review  

Now that I’ve had it a month, I thought it would be a great time to check back in with the device.

Size

A month in, and I’m still loving the size of the phone. While I was scared in the store, it hasn’t felt too large of a device to hold or to pocket. I currently use the Apple Silicon Case on my Max, and while it does add some bulk, it really isn’t too much.

I wish that I was brave enough to go without a case on my phone, but the cost of repair is too much for me to risk it. The phone is such a beautiful phone. While I do like some of the looks of other phones like the Pixel, I think the iPhone is just in a category of it’s own. The materials just make it feel premium, special even.

The larger screen has been a boon for work. While the iPhone X was no slouch, the extra space on the Max has made it feel more comfortable when watching movies, reading, and writing. I know it doesn’t make too much of a difference, but that extra space really does just let you see more of what you’re doing, and makes movie feel larger.

Since I upgraded, I find myself doing more on my iPhone and less on my iPad. It’s not from new device syndrome either. Most of the time, the iPhone is quicker to get out and do something on than busting out the iPad. When I want to jot out a quick post, I’ll most likely do it on the iPhone if I’m not at my computer too.

Camera

I haven’t been anywhere that necessitated me taking pictures. My wife has gone on a trip, and her pictures are outrageous though.

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

The few pictures I have taken, and the ones that I’ve been sent, blow my mind. The clarity, color, and detail of these pictures still surprises me. If there was any reason to upgrade from the iPhone X this would be it.

The changes to Portrait Mode are truly impressive. For a phone to be able to process the images the way it does and allow you to change the blur post capture is amazing. It’s fun to sit there on the scroll wheel and change the blur on the background. The phone has the ability to separate the background and the foreground; it’s so good that sometimes that you can see the individual hairs between the dog and the blurred background in the picture of my dog. On the other hand though, it might cut your head off. It has been improving since they introduced it though, but its not perfect.

I’m currently running the iOS 12.1 beta where you can change the amount of blur when you’re actually taking the picture. It’s hidden in the top row of options, next to the filter options. Once you take the photo, you can still edit it in post, but it’s nice to see the photo before you take it and how it will look with the blur you prefer. You can also make sure that you aren’t cutting off any heads in the picture.

The videos this thing takes are great as well. I haven’t had too many videos taken, but check out my post about the video settings to see how Apple has improved that as well.

Software

For the most part, I love iOS 12. It was way faster on my iPhone X before I upgraded to the Max.

Being on the Max, with the extra processing power, everything flies. Apps load fast, the keyboard pops up quickly, and the camera springs up

Apple has done so much in the way of starting up and upgrading to a new phone. The first transfer over was actually pretty flawless, until the second day. Because of reasons too long to explain, I have a different iTunes account than I do icloud account. I’m not sure if it was because I hadn’t logged in to my iTunes account on the same cloud account or what, but it kept asking me for my password every 5 minutes.

I signed out and signed into icloud using my iTunes account log on and then signed back in to my normal cloud account and everything worked… Except siri couldn’t access my music. Then every time I tried to access my Apple Music, it would ask me for my password.

I wiped the phone cleaned and started over. I signed in with my iTunes account first and then my normal iCloud account and this time everything seemed to work fine. I haven’t had any of these issues since then.

I have had a few other issues. A couple of times now when someone texts me after I drive, they get the do not disturb while driving message even though I’m not driving. This never happened to me on my iPhone X with iOS 12.

Checking control center, its still on and turning it off doesn’t stop it from sending the text. I’ve had to restart my phone twice because it has done this.

I’ve also had issues where Siri silences my music or podcast. If I’m listening to something and then I engage Siri or I get a message from Siri, the music never reutrns, but the track keeps moving. I have to rewind it to get something to make the sound again. This has happened twice so far, and there doesn’t seem to go be a common reason for it.

Final view

I really love my iPhone XS Max.

There are a couple of things that I think need to be worked out, but it is all software and rarely happens. I think it will be worked out though.

The pictures are amazing and the video are stunning. I can’t wait to actually film something with it. (Hopefully this happen this summer)

My favorite iPhones have been the 3g (my first one), the 4, 5s, 6s Plus, and the X. It’s still early, but I think the XS Max might be up there too, but time will tell.

What do you think? Are you liking it?

Make sure you like, follow, and share on Facebook and Twitter.