iPhone XS Max vs Samsung Galaxy Note 9 Gigabit LTE Speed Test

With the iPhone XS and iPhone XS Max, Apple finally jumped on the Gigabit LTE modem bandwagon. The new modem has led to the iPhone XS series offering up to 200 percent faster LTE data speeds than the iPhone X. However, how does the iPhone XS compare to a flagship Android like Galaxy Note 9? After all, the latter comes with an even faster 1.2Gbps LTE modem.

As a Gigabit LTE speed test conducted by BooredatWork YouTube channel on T-Mobile’s network shows, the iPhone XS Max managed to pull almost 44Mbps down and 35.4Mbps up in the first test. In comparison, the Galaxy Note 9 was a fair bit faster with download/upload speeds of 55.2 and 37.1Mbps. In the second and third round of the test, the iPhone XS Max managed to bridge the gap and even posted higher upload speeds than the Note 9.

Speed tests conducted around 2:30 pm in the afternoon when there is usually more congestion, the results were more mixed. In terms of upload speeds, the Galaxy Note 9 lost out in all three rounds up of the Gigabit LTE speed test with a maximum upload speed of 35.1Mbps. The iPhone XS Max, on the other hand, managed a peak upload speed of 40.9Mbps. In terms of download speeds, both phones were more evenly matched this time around, with the Note 9 and iPhone XS Max both winning one round each and the third ending in a tie.

The same story continues later in the day, with the Galaxy Note 9 beating the iPhone XS Max in LTE download speeds, with the latter giving it a tough competition in upload speeds.

Speed tests conducted late in the night (1:45 AM) led to both devices posting some impressive results. The iPhone XS Max managed a maximum download speed of 124Mbps, while the Galaxy Note 9 managed to get download speeds of up to 158Mbps. In terms of upload speeds, both phones were more or less evenly matched with a difference of only around 3-4Mbps between them.

In the end, it looks like while the Galaxy Note 9’s 1.2Gbps LTE modem does allow it to pull faster LTE speeds, the iPhone XS Max manages to do almost as well thanks to its Gigabit LTE modem. By switching to a Gigabit LTE modem in the iPhone XS series, Apple has managed to bridge the LTE performance difference gap between the iPhones and flagship Android devices out there by a significant margin.

Are you seeing faster LTE download/upload speeds on your iPhone XS or iPhone XS Max?

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iPhone XS Max vs Galaxy Note 9 Real-World Speed Test

It has been well over a week since the iPhone XS and iPhone XS Max went up for sale. We have already seen the devices compared to Samsung’s latest flagship handset, the Galaxy Note 9, in a speed test and drop test. But how do the two devices compare in a more intense real-world speed test?

Well, in the PhoneBuff style speed test between the iPhone XS Max and the Galaxy Note 9, the former absolutely destroyed Samsung’s latest flagship device in app loading times. Unlike other speed tests, the Phone Buff style is conducted using a specialized machine to ensure there’s no margin of error.

In total, both phones loaded 16 apps and games in the speed test which included rendering a 4K video and exporting an image from Snapseed.

In the first lap, the iPhone XS Max took 1 minute 49 seconds, while the Galaxy Note 9 was significantly slower at 2 minutes and 11 seconds. In the second round of the speed test, the iPhone XS Max took 43 seconds, while the Galaxy Note 9 fared better at 35 seconds as it managed to keep almost all the apps in its memory. This should not be surprising since the Note 9 comes with twice the amount of RAM as the iPhone XS Max here: 8GB vs 4GB.

Overall, the Galaxy Note 9 might offer a better multitasking experience than the iPhone XS Max but it surely cannot hold a candle against Apple’s latest iPhone in terms of app loading times.

How satisfied are you with the iPhone XS real-world performance? Do you think there’s room for its multitasking performance to improve?

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iPhone XS Max vs Galaxy Note 9 Drop Test Showdown: Which Flagship Is Easier to Break?

Apple claims that the iPhone XS and iPhone XS Max make use of the ‘most durable glass’ in a smartphone. We have already seen those claims put to test, with the iPhone XS Max faring far better than the iPhone X in a series of drop tests. However, how does the device compare to the Galaxy Note 9?

In the drop test conducted by YouTube PhoneBuff, both phones performed the same — poorly. This is despite the iPhone XS Max coming with what Apple claims the ‘most durable smartphone glass.’

The shattered glass panel on the iPhone XS Max did have fewer shatter points when compared to the Galaxy Note 9. In a side drop test, the chassis of both phones absorbed the impact of the drop very well, though they did show the impact from the drop. When dropped face down, the front glass on both devices cracked. However, just like the rear glass panel, the Note 9’s front panel had spider web cracks throughout its display, while the crack on the iPhone XS Max was limited to the original point of impact.

In the end, it looks like despite Apple’s claims of the iPhone XS Max coming with the most durable smartphone glass, it will still crack pretty easily when dropped from a notable height.

When compared to the Galaxy Note 9 though, the iPhone XS Max performed far better as the glass panels despite cracking survived the drops better. Phone Buff did crown the Galaxy Note 9 as the winner of the drop test though as in the last test where the devices were dropped repeatedly, the Note 9 was able to last 10 continuous drops vs 3 drops of the iPhone XS Max.

Have you dropped your iPhone XS or iPhone XS Max yet? If yes, did the glass panels survive the impact? Or did they shatter easily? Drop a comment and let us know!

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How to Permanently Delete Voice Memos from iPhone in iOS 12

Voice Memos is one of the few apps in iOS 12 that was completely redesigned. And it’s not just a flashy new UI. There are a couple of awesome new features added behind the scenes. Other than the ability to change the audio format, you can even tell iOS to automatically delete voice memos after a set period of time.

Voice Memos now has the same system for permanently deleting recordings that Photos app does. When you delete a recording for Voice Memos, it isn’t actually deleted. It shows up in the Recently Deleted folder. If you’re the kind who mistakenly deletes old memos, this feature will be really helpful for you.

But for the rest of us, this is just an additional step. Thankfully, there’s a way to automatically delete Voice Memos that you’ve marked to be deleted.

How to Permanently Delete Voice Memos on iPhone and iPad

Step 1: Swipe left on the Voice Memo and tap on the Delete button.

Step 2: Now the memo will end up in the Recently Deleted folder. So tap on it from the app’s home screen.

Step 3: Now swipe left on the note again and tap on the Erase button. You have no permanently deleted Voice Memos.

Step 4: In case you want to recover a recording, tap on the Edit button from Recently Deleted view and select the recording. Then tap on Recover.

That’s a bit tedious, right? So let’s automate this process.

How to Automatically Delete Voice Memos

This feature shows up as a setting item for Voice Memos. So we’ll have to go to the Settings app.

Read more: Here Are the 20 New iOS 12 Settings You Should Know About

Step 1: Open the Settings app and look for the Voice Memos option.

Step 2: Tap on Clear Deleted.

Step 3: Here, you’ll see options like 7 Days, 30 Days, Never and Immediately. If you want your notes to be deleted permanently, always, tap on the Immediately option.

Step 4: The best option for most of us will be the 7 Days option. This way, you can go back and retrieve an old recording that you deleted by mistake.

Will iOS 12 Make You Switch to Voice Memos?

Now that Voice Memos app is redesigned and you can even choose the audio quality, is it enough to go back to it? Or will you keep using a third party voice recorder? Share with us in the comments below.

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iPhone XS and iPhone XS Max Owners Complaining About Their Devices Are Not Charging Automatically When Plugged in

A number of iPhone XS and iPhone XS Max owners are complaining about their device not charging automaticallyy when connected to a power source.

The issue also seems to affect older iPhones and iPads running iOS 12, though widely iPhone XS owners seem to be affected by it the most.

Users have to ensure that the display of their device is turned on and then plug in Lightning cable again to start charging their devices. YouTuber Unbox Therapy has also posted a video about the same highlighting how certain iPhone XS units will not charge until their display is turned on.

When one plugs in their iPhone or iPad to charge, the display will automatically light up and the device will start charging. However, affected iPhone XS or older iPhone units will not start charging and their display will not light up automatically either. Users will have to wake up the display on their own and then replug the cable for the device to start charging again.

Some users have reported that turning off USB Restricted Mode has helped solve the issue for them.

Since the issue seems to affect older iPhones and iPads as well, its likely being caused due to a bug in iOS 12. Now that this bug has gotten the media attention, Apple will likely work on rolling out a fix for it as soon as possible.

Are you facing a similar issue on your iPhone XS, older iPhone, or iPad after updating to iOS 12? Drop a comment and let us know!

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iPhone XS and iPhone XS Max Owners Complaining About Their Devices Are Not Charging Automatically When Plugged in

A number of iPhone XS and iPhone XS Max owners are complaining about their device not charging automaticallyy when connected to a power source.

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What Do You Think of Spotify’s New Policy of Asking Family Plan Users to Prove They Live at the Same Address?

In a move that’s bound to stir some controversy, Spotify has sent out emails to some of its premium family plan customers to confirm their home address using GPS data. The mail says that failure to do so might lead to the user losing access to the plan.

Spotify rules make it mandatory for at least two out of five members in a family plan to live at the same address. However, it is common for friends and families living across different parts of a city, country or even different countries to have a single Spotify family plan. Spotify presumably wants to curb down such a practice which is why it has sent out emails to some of its customers to confirm their home address using their GPS co-ordinates.

@Spotify Why do you need my GPS location to continue offering me a "Premium discount"? I pay for the family plan and it should not matter where my family lives. Will you cancel my account if my family gets too far from each other? #wtf #fail pic.twitter.com/HauQtHXSUA

— suck (@unaligned) September 18, 2018

The music stream company makes it clear that it is only asking for the GPS data of its users to allow them to offer its streaming services at a Premium discount. It will only use their “GPS data to verify” their location “and nothing else.”

For now, Spotify seems to have only sent out such emails to its subscribers in Germany who are pretty miffed with it. The company has also issued a statement to Quartz on this whole issue:

“Spotify is currently testing improvements to the user experience of Premium for Family with small user groups in select markets. We are always testing new products and experiences at Spotify, but have no further news to share regarding this particular feature test at this time.”

Spotify move likely stems from the fact that many people end up creating a family plan and adding their friends or families living in other parts of the world where the music subscription service is either more expensive or not available. This is something that many Netflix users also do since the streaming service does not offer a family plan but it does allow for users to have multiple profiles in one account.

Nonetheless, Spotify’s move here of asking its customers to confirm their home location using GPS data might be a bit too far-fetched and irk a lot of its users.

What do you think about this change from Spotify? Are you okay with it? Or will you cancel your subscription to it if you receive a similar mail? Drop a comment and let us know!

[Via QZ]

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What Do You Think of Spotify’s New Policy of Asking Family Plan Users to Prove They Live at the Same Address?

In a move that’s bound to stir some controversy, Spotify has sent out emails to some of its premium family plan customers to confirm their home address using GPS data. The mail says that failure to do so might lead to the user losing access to the plan.
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Source: New feed

The iPhone XS and iPhone XS Max Gestures You Should Master

If you’re upgrading from an iPhone with a Home button to an iPhone XS or iPhone XS Max, then you need to break years of muscle memory and get used to all the gestures, as it lacks the Home button. But don’t worry, we’re here to help you out with some tips and tricks to speed up the process of learning all the iPhone XS and iPhone XS Max gestures.

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Apple Watch Series 4 Performance Compared to Older Apple Watches

With the Apple Watch Series 4, Apple has debuted its new dual-core S4 chip which it claims provides up to 50 percent performance improvements when compared to the S3 chip inside the Apple Watch Series 3. Unlike iPhones, Apple Watch are slow as they are far more limited in terms of thermal and power consumption.

However, if the speed test conducted by MacRumors is anything to go by, Apple has made steady and impressive performance improvements with every new Apple Watch that it has launched so far.

The original Apple Watch Series 0 took a staggering 5 minutes and 8 seconds to boot while the Apple Watch Series 4 took 51 seconds to boot up. The Series 1 took an equally long 3 minutes 19 seconds to boot into watchOS 5.

In other tasks, like using Siri to ask questions, the Series 4 and Series 3 Apple Watch performed almost the same. However, the Series 0 and Series 1 watches took a lot of time to show up results for certain questions.

Even in app loading times, the Apple Watch Series 4 was the fastest, with the Series 3 following close behind. The Series 2 also performed relatively well despite its age. However, the Apple Watch Series 0 and Series 1 took extremely long time to open almost all apps making them borderline unusable.

Overall, the Apple Watch Series 4 the fastest of the bunch, though the performance difference between the Series 4 and Series 3 was only a few milliseconds at best. When compared to Series 2, Series 1, or Series 0 though, the difference in performance was massive, to say the least.

If you are an Apple Watch Series 0/1/2 owner, you should really consider upgrading to a newer version of the wearable for the improved performance alone. Given the small performance difference between the Apple Watch Series 3 and Series 4 though, you can upgrade to the Series 3 if you don’t mind the smaller display, thicker chassis, and other new Series 4 exclusive features. It will also end up burning a far smaller hole in your wallet when compared to the Apple Watch Series 4.

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Apple Watch Series 4 Performance Compared to Older Apple Watches

With the Apple Watch Series 4, Apple has debuted its new dual-core S4 chip which it claims provides up to 50 percent performance improvements when compared to the S3 chip inside the Apple Watch Series 3. Unlike iPhones, Apple Watch are slow as they are far more limited in terms of thermal and power consumption.
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Facebook Uses Your 2FA Phone Number for Targeted Advertising

Being stalked from one website to another by persistent advertising is a real issue, but some companies, like Apple, have made strides to try and reduce its impact.

But targeted advertising isn’t going anywhere anytime soon, especially if Facebook has any say in the matter. The company has recently confirmed that it does indeed go to some pretty great lengths to provide information to advertisers, with this latest effort definitely one of the social networking giant’s worst.

A couple of days ago, Gizmodo ran a piece that outlined how Facebook uses the phone number some users added to take advantage of two factor authentication as a way to target those same individuals with ads. This is an extension of how Facebook already handles phone numbers saved to the platform’s profiles.

How it works normally is if you add your phone number to your Facebook profile, and then add your phone number to some online retailer’s online presence, those two sources can match and be used to target advertisements as you peruse the web. Facebook has said in the past that it doesn’t use security details in this way, but that is definitely not true, as the company has changed its tune in a statement to TechCrunch:

“We use the information people provide to offer a better, more personalized experience on Facebook, including ads. We are clear about how we use the information we collect, including the contact information that people upload or add to their own accounts. You can manage and delete the contact information you’ve uploaded at any time.”

A spokesman also told us that users can opt out of this ad-based repurposing of their security digits by not using phone number based 2FA. (Albeit, the company only added the ability to do non-mobile phone based 2FA back in May, so anyone before then was all outta luck.)”

Our Take

So, Facebook uses your security details in an effort to lock down even more advertising efforts. Crazy to think that’s a thing, because it’s hard to imagine that even Facebook would do something like this. But here we are in 2018 and this is our reality now. The fact that Facebook says if users don’t want to get targeted advertising they need to remove their phone number from 2FA security efforts is bananas.

[via Gizmodo; TechCrunch]

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U.S. Judge Declines to Block iPhone Imports in Ongoing Legal Battle Between Apple and Qualcomm

It has been over a year since Qualcomm initially sought an import ban on some iPhone models, but it turns out that won’t be coming to pass.

As Reuters reports on Friday, a United States trade Judge has declined to block iPhone imports into the United States. Specifically, the judge declined to block the importation of iPhones with Intel chips inside:

“A U.S. trade judge on Friday declined to block the importation of Apple Inc (AAPL.O) iPhones with chips from Intel Corp (INTC.O), handing a major defeat to Qualcomm Inc (QCOM.O) in its high-stakes legal dispute with the iPhone maker.”

Back then, Qualcomm requested the U.S. International Trade Commission to block the import of specific iPhone models, including the iPhone 7, iPhone 7 Plus, iPhone 8, iPhone 8 Plus, and the iPhone X for AT&T’s and T-Mobile’s networks. Qualcomm’s argument was a patent infringement case, where Qualcomm said Apple infringed on multiple patents.

For what it’s worth, the judge did determine that Apple did infringe on a patent related to power management technology, a ban on importation of those aforementioned models would not happen citing “public interest factors”.

Things had gone pretty quiet between Apple and Qualcomm until very recently. Qualcomm has accused Apple of providing source code to Intel, which is one of Qualcomm’s primary competitors. However, even with that out there, Qualcomm’s CEO has high expectations that the market will prevail, and Apple will begin working with the company again soon.

[via Reuters]

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Apple’s Newest Ad, ‘Growth Spurt’, Features Photography With the iPhone XS Max

Whether or not Apple staggered the launch of the iPhone XS and iPhone XR on purpose in an effort to capitalize on the separation of launch dates, Apple is surely not going to slow down on marketing the newest flagship iPhones anytime soon.

Leading into the weekend, Apple has shared a new ad for the iPhone XS and iPhone XS Max, this one entitled “Growth Spurt”. This particular ad has a special place in this writer’s heart because it stars, however briefly, an awesome corgi. Otherwise, the rest of the ad sees real life things, like the aforementioned adorable pup, a fish, a cookie, Mario from Super Mario Run, a toddler, and other items getting larger after they have been photographed with the iPhone XS Max.

This video, as noted on Friday by AdWeek, features the song “Catch My Breath” by Confidence Man and was directed by John Hillcoat. It measures in at about a minute in length and you can watch it below.

Apple has published a few different videos starring their latest flagship smartphones, including “Everything to Know in :54” about the iPhone XS and XS Max. This latest ad will likely see Apple getting a bit more creative with their ads, as we have come to expect from the company over the years.

[via AdWeek]

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Facebook Reveals ‘Almost 50 Million’ Accounts Affected by Security Issue

This week, Facebook suffered a major breach, which left millions of accounts vulnerable to an outside, malicious attack.

On Friday, Facebook officially announced that hackers accessed the Facebook network on Tuesday. According to the post “nearly 50 million” accounts are affected by the illegal intrusion. The company also revealed that the hackers were able to gain access via the platform’s “View As” code. That particular feature allows Facebook users to see how their Facebook profile appears to folks who look at it.

The hackers gained Facebook’s access tokens, which are individual codes that allow Facebook users to remain logged in.

“On the afternoon of Tuesday, September 25, our engineering team discovered a security issue affecting almost 50 million accounts. We’re taking this incredibly seriously and wanted to let everyone know what’s happened and the immediate action we’ve taken to protect people’s security.

Our investigation is still in its early stages. But it’s clear that attackers exploited a vulnerability in Facebook’s code that impacted “View As”, a feature that lets people see what their own profile looks like to someone else. This allowed them to steal Facebook access tokens which they could then use to take over people’s accounts. Access tokens are the equivalent of digital keys that keep people logged in to Facebook so they don’t need to re-enter their password every time they use the app.”

At this point, Facebook says that it has informed law enforcement of the situation and has already patched the vulnerability. Facebook does not make it clear if the accounts in question have had any personal information stolen or otherwise obtained, or how those accounts might be misused in the future.

The social network has reset the access tokens to the nearly 50 million accounts that were affected by the breach. The company also confirmed it took precautions with an additional 40 million accounts that were accessed with the View As feature within the last year.

Finally, Facebook says that no one needs to change their passwords.

[via Facebook]

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Google Reportedly Paying Apple $9 Billion to Remain Default iOS Search Option

It’s widely known that Google pays Apple a certain amount of money on a semi-regular basis to make sure that it remains the default search engine option on iOS devices.

It has been said in the past that iOS devices equal about 50 percent of Google’s search revenue on mobile devices, so it’s imperative to the company to keep that spot on Apple’s devices. Before the end of 2017 it was reported that Apple was getting upwards of $3 billion from Google to secure that spot. But now, more than a year later from that report, it sounds like the company may be paying a lot more to Apple.

Business Insider is reporting information shared by analyst Rod Hall that states Google is now paying $9 billion this year to retain its default situation on iOS devices. What’s more, Hall actually thinks that number will increase by next year, and Google could be paying Apple for those default rights to the tune of $12 billion. Hall also echoes those earlier reports, saying ““Apple is one of the biggest channels of traffic acquisition for Google”, so it sounds like Google will continue to pay what it needs to in an effort to make sure nothing changes in that regard.

Nothing is official, so we don’t know for sure that Google is paying $9 billion to secure these default rights on iOS devices. However, if that is indeed the case, the price for the spot has indeed been going up year to year. $12 billion is quite a steep price tag, to say the least.

[via Business Insider]

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How to Get iPhone XS Depth Effect Control On iPhone X, iPhone 8 Plus, and iPhone 7 Plus

The iPhone XS and iPhone XR have a brand new feature. After you click a Portrait Mode photo, you can go into the Edit menu and change the intensity of the bokeh. Basically, you can change the background blur (make it softer or more pronounced) after you’ve already clicked the photo. Apple is touting this as one of the best new features in iPhone XS. But you can get it on iPhone X, iPhone 8 Plus and even the iPhone 7 Plus using a third party app.

The new depth effect sensor in iPhone XS blurs photos different parts of the background at a different rate. So the effect you get is similar to that on DSLR. This is not the same as what phones like Pixel 2 do.

Since the app in question requires depth data to work, it will not work on iPhones with a single camera at the rear like the iPhone 6, iPhone 7, or the iPhone 8.

How to Edit Background Blur in Photos on iPhone X, iPhone 8 Plus, and iPhone 7 Plus

The app in question is called Focos and we’re big fans of the app. The app made it to our best iPhone X apps roundup and our best Camera apps roundup as well. And for good reason. Focos solved one of the most frustrating things about clicking photos in Portrait mode. iPhone would almost always mess up the blur in the resulting image (even though it looked fine in the live view).

Portrait mode has trouble dealing with ears, glasses and smooth edges. Focos allows you to not only edit the intensity of the blur effect but to change the focus point itself. So you can go into a photo and choose to focus on a subject that’s farther away and Focos will adjust the depth effect accordingly. The app is shockingly good at what it does. And you can get the basic functionality for free.

Here’s how it works. After you install the app, just open it. You’ll see the camera view on the top and below, you’ll find a grid of your Portrait Mode images. Tap on an image and it will open up in edit view.

You’ll see a slider below the image. Just slide it to the left to decrease the blur intensity and to the right to increase it. And that’s it, you’ve just changed the background blur! The app uses depth data from the photo itself so even if you increase the blur all the way, the edges won’t be blurred a lot.

Focos lets you change the aperture size (the blur intensity) from f/20 to f/1.4 (iPhone XS, on the other hand, has the range of f/16 to f/1.4). Tap on the Shape option and you can even change the shape of the blur effect. You can view the bokeh effect in 3 and even manually change the front and back bokeh limits. There’s a tool to edit lighting in 3D space as well.

That’s what you can do in the free app, and for most users, that’s more than enough.

But if you want to access more features like specialized lenses and highlights, you can pay $0.99/month to unlock app features.

Download: Focos

What’s Your iPhone Photography Workflow?

Do you use a third party app for clicking photos on your iPhone? Do you use Snapseed or Darkroom to edit photos? Share with us in the comments below.

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Apple Wins Appeal Over Patent Infringement Against University of Wisconsin

Some of the cases Apple is involved with, especially related to patent infringement, take years to complete. And that’s the case with this particular one.

Back in 2015, Apple was ordered to pay millions of dollars to the University of Wisconsin, as the university was able to plead its case that Apple’s A-series chips (the A7 and A8, specifically in this case) infringed on a method of boosting the efficiency of integrated circuits. Apple, of course, appealed, and things have been a bit topsy-turvy ever since.

The bill Apple was facing was originally set at $862 million. After that, a subsequent judge considered the valuation of that determination and reduced the payout from Apple’s end, down to $234 million. The determination was that Apple’s infringement of the patents was ruled inadvertent. However, most recently, it was determined that Apple continued to infringe on the patents after taht ruling and therefore Apple was ruled to pay $506 million.

Apple, still appealing, was determined to get that amount of money reduced or vacated altogether. Apple argued that the judgements were “fraught with error”.

Now, Reuters is reporting that Apple has “persuaded” a federal appeals court to throw out the $234 million decision against the company:

“Apple Inc persuaded a federal appeals court on Friday to throw out a $234 million damages award in favor of the University of Wisconsin’s patent licensing arm for infringing the school’s patent on computer processing technology.

The U.S. Federal Circuit Court of Appeals in Washington, D.C. said no reasonable juror could have found that Apple’s processors infringed the patent, based on evidence presented during the liability phase of the 2015 trial.”

So, a win for Apple! Only took three years!

[via Reuters]

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iPhone XS Undergoes Durability Test – Scratch, Burn and Bend Tested

We have already seen the iPhone XS Max being torn down, drop tested, and compared to other flagship Android devices out there. Now, let’s see just how durable the phone is. Apple has come a long way since its #bendgate days of the iPhone 6 Plus, with the iPhone XS Max featuring a stainless steel chassis and the most durable smartphone glass ever.

As a durability test done by YouTuber JerryRigEverything shows, the iPhone XS Max has the same hardness level on the Mohs scale as previous iPhones. This also means that it scratches at around the same hardness as older iPhones. Here’s hoping the durable glass shows its worth when one drops their $1,000 smartphone. As for the stainless chassis, it is extremely durable, though there should be no surprise in this regard.

Despite Apple claiming that it uses a sapphire crystal lens on the iPhone XS rear camera setup, the camera lens scratches at a Mohs hardness level 7 similar to the iPhone 8 and iPhone X. This means that Apple is not using a pure sapphire crystal lens on the iPhone XS and iPhone XS Max, something which it has been doing since the iPhone 6 days.

In the burn test, the iPhone XS Max display survived for over a minute which is definitely impressive.

Finally, in the ultimate bend test, the iPhone XS Max despite its sheer size and heft did not bend all thanks to its premium and strong stainless steel chassis.

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How to Talk to Siri without Pressing the Digital Crown on Apple Watch

Once you upgrade to watchOS 5 on your Apple Watch, your life is going to get a lot more seamless. For example, Siri is actually really quick and surprisingly reliable on the Series 3 Apple Watch. And just for the Series 3 users, there’s a new feature called Raise to Speak for Siri.

You can now talk to Siri without pressing and holding the Digital Crown. It seems like a small change but the real-life difference is staggering. And its way more reliable than using the Hey Siri phrase.

Read more: watchOS 5: All the New and Hidden watchOS 5 Features

First, Let’s Check if Raise to Speak is Enabled

Before we begin, let’s make sure that Raise to Speak feature for Siri is enabled on your Apple Watch. After updating to watchOS 5, you’ll see a notification about the feature. If you pressed Continue from the notification, the feature would be activated. Still, let’s make sure of it.

On your Apple Watch, press the Digital Crown to go to the App Launcher. From here, select Settings -> General -> Siri. Make sure that Raise to Speak is turned on. While you’re here, you can check out the new feature at the bottom of the page that lets you independently control Siri’s voice feedback volume.

The Art of Raise to Speak for Siri

Now all you really have to do is raise your arm and start talking. But there’s an art to it. To get this feature to work reliably all the time, you need to raise your wrist way up then you’re used to. Way higher than if you’d be checking the time.

For this feature to be bang on, your Apple Watch needs to be less than 6 inches from your face. If you can do a jerkier motion to make sure the screen comes on, then that’s even better!

But once your wrist is close enough, just start speaking. Directly speak the command, There’s no need for Hey Siri. In a split second. Apple Watch will realize what’s happening and will throw the Siri waveform on the screen. Next, your speech will be transcribed and will show up on the screen. Another second and Siri would have taken the appropriate action already!

Your Experience

In my testing, I found the Raise to Speak feature to be reliable most of the time. And I experienced way fewer failures. But your mileage may vary depending. So please do let us know your experience in the comments below.

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