Broke Down and Bought the New iPhone

“I wasn’t going to upgrade”.

Famous last words of technophiles everywhere.

I broke down and bought the new iPhone Xs Max, 256 gb in gold because I have no self-control1 and I want to keep writing about this stuff2.

I already love this device. I skipped out on the original X because I thought T-Mobile was punking me on pre-order day when they said I could get it with $456 down. They weren’t kidding, but I got the 8 Plus anyway. That was, is, a gorgeous and still plenty capable device but I kept seeing screenshots of the X and the animoji’s and I became pretty envious almost immediately.

I made my bed, so I had to lie in it. But boy did I regret the sheets I put on that bed.

Figuring Out What to Buy

I originally wanted the Gold Xs with 256 gig capacity. When I ordered from T-Mobile, Apple was completely out of stock of that phone, not only in Gold but every other color. That had been the most popular model.

I decided to get the Max as I only had a set amount for the phone. I got the 256 gig Gold Xs Max.

The phone, as you can see, is gorgeous. This gold is classy, with the sides being stainless steel. This makes this gold look better than any previous gold iPhone3.

Faster?

I haven’t noticed it being any faster than my 8 Plus.

FaceID: Game Changer

FaceID is fast. It changes the game on how to authenticate actions on your devices. I still have a bit of muscle memory to change when it comes to logging into 1Password; I tend to reach down for the home button. It’s taking a bit of getting used to but not much.

Swipe Gestures

I had a bit of a head start with swipe gestures as I installed the iOS 12 beta on my iPad. I am familiar with all of them. It hasn’t taken too long to pick up how they work. This definitely feels like the future and how we’ll navigate all our devices for the foreseeable future.

Non-optimized Apps: There But Not Many

There are a lot of apps not optimized for the latest phones in the App Store but most of mine are optimized. The ones that aren’t should be getting an update soon.

       
My favorite reading app, Marvin, hasn't been updated in over a year. I'm hoping Kris, the developer, updates it soon. I'm not holding my breath.

Coming Soon: Reviews and instructions on Shortcuts and when I dig more into it, Scriptable.

AMOLED Screens Are Superior

I am coming from Samsung phones with the AMOLED phones they’ve had since the beginning. The iPhone screens when I switched were good but they weren’t Samsung good.

These Super AMOLED screens are better than screen technology Apple has used lately. The blacks are black and everything is just super crisp.

Homescreen?

Yup:

  1. Mom buys copious amounts of kitchenware, I buy tech. We all have our vices. 

  2. Because of the increasing prices and my freelancing budget, I am probably not upgrading next year. These phones are getting outrageously expensive, and no matter where I end up as far as employment, dropping $1800 on a phone is a bit much, even though I didn’t pay nearly as much this time around. 

  3. I wanted a gold iPhone 5s when I switched to iOS but T-Mobile didn’t have any in the store when I went. 

Sign up for my smart home Substack

I enjoy writing and want to do it more. Join me if you like smart home content.

Back to Top ↑