Gadgetory

I get it you're wondering how or even why I'm using an iPhone let alone reviewing it I come from a long history with Android as my daily driver but let me make one thing clear I don't have any allegiances to any one operating system just because I've made a career of talking about one particular operating system doesn't mean I'm closed-minded I've actually used iPhones in the past and I have said on multiple occasions that it is a perfectly fine ecosystem it's got quirks but it's undeniably accessible and useful for just about anyone what really matters is what you need from your phone but no matter where you lie on the spectrum you owe it to yourself to give the new iPhones a proper look this is PocketNow and I'm Joshua Vergara what's going on everybody and this is my review of the iPhone 10's max brought to you by Wix I have the Max Edition because I'm a glutton for monetary punishment okay jokes aside I thought it would be a good idea to get the version that is the most different from previous generations especially compared to the iPhone 10 and compared to its non s predecessor the phone retains much of the originals look and feel I have the gold Edition that might be closer to rose gold than anything else because this backing evokes more of a peach or pink shade rather than the rich shine that is better found on the sides and keeping with the 10 there is no home button no fingerprint reader no headphone jack and that notch is up top speaking of which it's definitely all face ID now for biometrics with no foreseeable return of the fingerprint reader thankfully it is fast enough to be reliable even if putting on a hat confused it a couple of times so it's an iPhone 10 blown up to a bigger size for the most part that means good things for people who want even more scream 6.5 inches on this AMOLED screen is cut a little bit by that notch but even if you're not a fan of the extra bits up top you have to admit that this is a lot of screen it also means that the phone might not be the easiest to handle for some people let's face it gone are the days of the small flagship phone I'm still stubborn enough to try and balance the phone on my pinkie and when using the phone in my right hand it's just a chore to reach the other side either to hit the back button or to swipe to go backward reach ability is still here and easily trigger now by swiping down on the bottom bar and I've had to lean on that more than I've expected watching all forms of media is great on this big screen even when the notch slightly cuts into the content never actually gets in the way though so I can essentially look past it YouTube Netflix HBO even Instagram feeds look pretty great on this display that is just shy of quad-hd resolution I have played a lot of mobile games new and old on this phone already to the latest release by Nintendo for example drag Elia Lost is a colorful and vivid game that shines through and thank goodness it's easy to play with one hand fast I have to admit iOS is fast on this phone I've always known that iOS is Spartan made but having used this phone exclusively as my daily driver since the phone was released I can feel the optimization of Apple's operating system getting better thanks to the Bionic 812 this seven nanometer process is making its mark on the performance aspect and thus moving around the operating system is an absolute breeze even if to me it's not the most exciting part of this phone after all once you get past the operating system it's all about the apps right the App Store has been my second home lately because there is an unfortunate truth about the app gap between iOS and Android simply put there are some apps on iOS that never make it to Android and sometimes you really wish they did I have yet to find an experience that is so exclusive to iOS though that I would get a pen v on an Android phone but I have to mention that while many iOS apps are a high point of the experience that this Google guy appreciates how all of the familiar applications I've been faithfully brought to the iPhone I just couldn't get away from Google Calendar and Google Maps in particular and then there are the cameras not too much has changed on the external side when it comes to the rear cameras instead there's the inclusion of smart HDR which works to make sure every shot is well exposed due to multi frame processing still you get dual 12 megapixel cameras with a normal focal length and then a telephoto two times ooh Apple continues to do well in the automatic shooting Department these new iPhones even shoot when you're not hitting the shutter buttons so when you do hit the trigger there's no lag this enhancement is definitely palpable compared to the galaxy note 9 that takes a little longer to release the shutter in some cases the iPhone is quite literally a snap it is also the same auto camera that most people can rely on those seeking more control can download one of the many camera apps in the App Store but at least in the main app you can just hit the button and smart HDR will try to make the shot as good as possible that will mean different things to different people though a couple things are obvious Apple doesn't go too too far with the saturation on its photos and smart HDR can roughly translate to less contrast it does some real work on the shadows and if you're trying to capture a more contrasted scene you might have to remember to turn off the HDR portrait mode returns with the portrait lighting effects coming out of beta but how they turn out is up to your personal tastes the lines are still a bit of a hit or miss situation and aside from contour lighting I don't really see many of these effects being used in a practical daily sense what has been added is a depth slider that can customize the bouquet blur effect it works well enough as long as your subject is defined when shooting but it is trying very hard to emulate a real aperture effect cranking the perceived aperture setting could make more of the scene blurred out than you would like now as a vlogger video recording is actually a highlight of this phone even if some manual controls would have been more than appreciated what I can say is that the slow-motion mode in particular includes 120 frames per second recording which I love many phones are moving to 240 outright for slo-mo and that introduces a lot of flicker from incandescent lighting it's great to have the option between both I also notice that the focus doesn't jump around a ton while shooting and the auto exposure is smooth enough to not be jarring when it's changing however the white balance can go a bit crazy depending on your scene taking the step to lock the focus and exposure can go a long way with video finally the front-facing camera yes there seems to be some smoothening going on when taking portrait mode shots which some people will like and others will hate I think it's basically coming down to whether or not you like the beauty modes that can be found in Android phones really this move doesn't come off as really all that strange to me considering half the world loves their beauty modes and their beauty apps but here in the West we tend to prioritize detail over airbrushing so I get where the reactions are coming from ok so so far this outlines the mostly positive experience I've had with the iPhone Tenace max but not everything that shines is gold let's talk about the price yes this is the expensive version of this year's iPhones and that will be a hard pill for some to swallow it's not overpriced because of the phone itself though if the overall experience is to be measured it is a top-tier smartphone and definitely the best that Apple has ever made but what you get with the phone is simply not enough take audio for example you get ear pods in the case but no adapter for your existing probably been headphones and if you want to get what is considered the quintessential Apple audio experience you'll have to shell out even more money for the wireless air pots battery life is perfectly fun with the 10s Macs in fact I have been able to get pretty much all of my days through without having to break out the power bank and wireless charging is easy to lean on but you get a regular charger and cable in the box with the fast charger bits requiring even more money compare this to other smart phones that come with arguably better in box headphones and many of that come with fast chargers not to mention any other accessories that make the iPhone unboxing experience now feel much more sterile and emptier than it used to if we're going to pay the most to get the best Apple seems to believe that the phone alone justifies it and honestly that's the hard part figuring out if the somewhat larger battery in the largest screen are worth the premium our own brand and minimun outlined it in his video the screen is not used to its full potential outside of media consumption there are no multitasking options or dual windows that take advantage of all that real estate and even ios itself feels a little blown up just to fit the space and finally I just have to mention one final thing about iOS it is a perfectly capable operating system but I can't help but feel that it's just a little bit boring I get it it is accessible to literally all users and I myself am in a privileged position and that I can use and thus compare both iOS and Android but the feeling I can't quite shake about iOS on the daily is that the way I use this phone is the way that many many other people maybe even everyone else uses it I have tried to get some customization in there in the ways that I could but maybe one day we'll get a version of this operating system that puts a bit more personalization power in the hands of the user this collaboration between JV and pocket now has a back about pocketnow.com where you can get a ton of news and commentary via the written word it's been around for a long time and much of that work could have been made easier by the tools found at wicks if you're looking to make your own website easy drag and drop tools and hundreds of templates from the geniuses over at waiks make it easy you don't even have to have any coding experience just bring your creativity and Wix will help you do the rest find out more about Wix the powerful website builder and host in the links in the description down below and so there you have it a phone that is as easy to love as it is to hate because it is one of the speediest most reliable easiest smartphone experiences you can have while simultaneously asking even more of you and maybe your wallet if you find yourself wanting more if you have the iPhone 10 you might not find enough to really pull that $1,100 minimum out of your pocket if you are using an earlier iPhone their new line is a compelling prospect and finally if you're coming from any other phone this is the competition and it is fierce in multiple ways I ought line in a video on my own channel the types of users this phone might be for so you can check that out over at youtube.com slash Joshua Vergara we have more on the iPhone 10s and 10's Mac's coming in in the following days so stay tuned for that and subscribe to both of our channels so that you can keep up with all that is on its way so as always thank you very much for watching and I really appreciate all of you being as open-minded with me in this review as I have been with my experience of the iPhone there's really not a whole lot for me to complain about with this phone there just a couple of things I can't really shake but that doesn't change the fact that this is a really premium device both in price but also in experience keep it tuned to pocket now and also check out my channel as well you can find both of those links available right now and in the description down below so you can keep up with everything iPhone and even more because there's a lot coming in the coming weeks so you have a lot to look forward to and I will see you on the next one