Michael Grothaus

Apple has more phablets than you can shake a stick at!

Apple has introduced its flagship smartphones for 2018 and the biggest and best on is the iPhone XS Max. It’s an absolute BEAST of a phone with an edge-to-edge display that reaches 6.5in. That’s the biggest ever in an iPhone.

The XS Max succeed the Plus series in previous models. But Apple is still keeping those Plus models around at cheaper prices–including the two-year-old iPhone 7 Plus. But just how does it compare to the new XS Max? Let’s take a look.

iPhone XS Max vs iPhone 7 Plus: Specs

Here are the specs for the iPhone XS Max:

  • Display: 6.5-inch OLED display with a 2688x1242-pixel resolution at 458ppi
  • Dimensions: 157.5mm x 77.4mm x 7.7mm
  • Weight: 208 grams
  • Storage: 64, 256, or 512GB
  • Processors: A12 Bionic
  • Front camera: 7 MP photos and 1080p HD video. 
  • Rear camera: Dual lens 12MP wide-angle and telephoto cameras, Dual optical image stabilisation, Optical zoom, 4K video
  • Battery: Up to 13.5 hours battery life mixed usage.
  • Other: Face ID, NFC, Wireless charging, 3D Touch, IP68 waterproof
  • Color options: Silver, Space Gray, and Gold

And here’s the specs for the iPhone 7 Plus:

  • Display: 5.5in Retina HD LCD display with 1920x1080 resolution at 401ppi
  • Dimensions: 158.2mm x 77.9 mm x 7.3 mm
  • Weight: 188 grams
  • Storage: 32 or 128GB
  • Processors: A10 Fusion chip
  • Front camera: 7 MP
  • Rear camera: 12 MP Dual Lens telephoto and wide-angle, optical image stabilisation
  • Battery: Up to 12.5 hours battery life mixed usage.
  • Other: Touch ID, NFC, 3D Touch, IP67 waterproof
  • Color options: Silver, Space Gray, Gold, and Rose Gold

iPhone XS Max vs iPhone 7 Plus: Display & Design

The largest difference between these two giant phones is in their display and design. The resolution of the iPhone XSMax’s screen is a breathtaking 2688x1242-pixels at 458ppi edge-to-edge OLED. Compare that to the iPhone 7 Plus’ 5.5in display with a 1920x1080-pixel resolution at 401ppi. But the iPhone XS Max’s display is even more impressive considering it’s edge-to-edge. Further, because it’s edge-to-edge the iPhone XS Max can actually fit a larger usable display into a footprint a bit smaller than the iPhone 7 Plus.

Another big difference in design is that the iPhone XS Max lacks a Home button. The iPhone 7 Plus still has the Home button we all know and love. This means the iPhone 7 Plus also still has Touch ID. The iPhone XS Max lacks Touch ID and replaces it with Apple’s Face ID facial recognition system. The rest of the features of each phone’s display and design are relatively the same: both have 3D Touch displays, and NFC.

And while both phones are waterproof, the iPhone XS Max is rated IP68, which means it can stay submerged for 30 minutes up to two meters deep. The iPhone 7 Plus is rated IP67, which means it can stay submerged for 30 minutes up to one meter deep.

One more thing on design–while both models come in Silver, Space Gray, and Gold, only the iPhone 7 Plus comes in Rose Gold–still a stunning color.

iPhone XS Max vs iPhone 7 Plus: Battery, Storage, and CPU

The iPhone XS Max has just a slightly larger battery than the iPhone 7 Plus. But it doesn’t make that much of a difference as far as usability is concerned between both devices. One of the major differences in the power department, however, is that the iPhone XS Max features wireless charging–something the iPhone 7 Plus does not have. Here’s how the battery life compares between the two in Talk Time, Standby Time, Internet Use, Video Playback, and Audio Playback:

  • Talk time: iPhone XS Max – 25 hours. iPhone 7 Plus – 21 hours.
  • Internet use: iPhone XS Max – Up to 13 hours. iPhone 7 Plus – Up to 13 hours.
  • Video playback: iPhone XS Max – Up to 15 hours. iPhone 7 Plus – Up to 14 hours.
  • Audio playback: iPhone XS Max – Up to 65 hours. iPhone 7 Plus – Up to 60 hours.

As for storage, the XS Max offers three sizes: 64, 256, or 512GB. The iPhone 7 Plus only comes in 32 or 128GB. As far as the CPU is concerned, the new XS Max has a better processor than the iPhone 7 Plus. The XS Max features the A12 Bionic chipset–and upgrade over the 8 Plus’ A11 Bionic. The new A12 is a 7nm chip with 6 cores. The GPU now has 4 cores. Finally, the Neural engine now has 8 cores for machine learning and is almost 10x faster. Apps launch almost twice as fast on the XS and Machine Learning runs nine times faster on 1/10th the energy. In other words, the A12 Bionic absolutely flies.

iPhone XS Max vs iPhone 7 Plus: Camera

Where cameras are concerned, the iPhone XS Max and iPhone 7 Plus are fairly identical. Both feature a 12MP wide-angle and telephoto dual lens rear camera that offers optical image stabilisation and optical zoom. However, the iPhone XS Max features dual optical image stabilisation, whereas the iPhone 7 Plus only considers single optical image stabilisation.

Both also feature the same front camera, a 7 MP sensor that also records 1080p HD video. However, the iPhone XS Max’s front camera has a few more tricks. It can use Apple’s new Portrait mode, Portrait Lighting, and Animoji features of iOS. The iPhone 7 Plus’s camera doesn’t have access to those. An, of course,e the iPhone XS Max’s front camera is a TrueDepth camera for Face ID support.

iPhone XS Max vs iPhone 7 Plus: Cost & Verdict

Unlocked the 5.5in iPhone 7 Plus will cost £569 (32GB) and £669 (128GB). The 6.5in iPhone XS Max will cost cost £1099 (64GB), £1249 (256GB), or £1449 (512GB). Needless to say, that is a HUGE price difference. But the differences in tech are also immense.

That premium for the iPhone XS Max does get you a massive amount of more stuff including a bigger display and a sexy new design, wireless charging, an insanely faster processor, more storage, an OLED display, and Face ID. If that appeals to you, the answer of which to buy is clear.