Apple iPhone XS vs iPhone X: What’s the rumoured difference? | Apple

Apple‘s next iPhone, or iPhones, are expected to be announced sometime in early September. It is thought we will see a successor to the iPhone X, as well as a larger iPhone X Plus model and possibly a third cheaper model too.

How might the iPhone XS, also known as the iPhone XI, iPhone 11, or iPhone X2 as it has also been called, compare to the current iPhone X though? We have put the rumoured specifications of the 2018 model up against the iPhone X to see what differences and similarities we might be able to expect.

Apple iPhone XS vs iPhone X: Design

• Similar design expected
• IP67 water and dust resistance expected
• New iPhone X rumoured to offer improvements for transmissions

The Apple iPhone X features a stainless steel core with a glass front and back, allowing for wireless charging. There is a vertically aligned dual camera on the rear and a notch at the top of the display on the front, but no Touch ID.

The X comes in Space Grey and Silver colour options, measures 143.6 x 70.9 x 7.7mm and weighs 174g. It is also IP67 water and dust resistant.

Rumour has it the iPhone X’s successor will continue to offer a stainless steel core with a glass rear and front, but there will be improvements for Wi-Fi and cellular transmissions and a gold colour has been reported too.

It’s been claimed the notch at the top of the display may reduce slightly but the design is expected to stay similar to 2017’s model. We expect to see similar dimensions if this is the case, along with IP67 water and dust resistance again.

Apple iPhone XS vs iPhone X: Display

• 5.8-inch and 6.5-inch expected
• OLED panel expected on both
• Same resolution expected

The Apple iPhone X has a 5.8-inch Super Retina HD display, which translates to a resolution of 2436 x 1125 pixels and a pixel density of 458ppi.

It’s an OLED panel that has a 19.5:9 aspect ratio and it features True Tone technology, meaning it adapts to its surroundings, as well as 3D Touch, which provides various options and shortcuts based on the force with which you press.

The iPhone XS is rumoured to retain the 5.8-inch size, as well as OLED technology. It is also expected that the 2018 iPhone X will feature the same resolution as its predecessor for a pixel density of 458ppi, as well as include the True Tone and 3D Touch technologies.

There are also reports of an iPhone XS Plus which is thought to becoming with a 6.5-inch display. It’s been claimed its pixel density will sit somewhere between 480 and 500ppi, which would die sharper than the current iPhone X but not in Quad HD territory like many Android flagship smartphones.

Apple iPhone XS vs iPhone X: Hardware

• New chip in the next iPhone X
• Same storage capacities at least
• Increase in battery life predicted for next model

The Apple iPhone X comes with the A11 Bionic chip with 64-bit architecture, a neural engine and an embedded M11 motion coprocessor. There are two storage options of 64GB and 256GB, neither of which offer microSD support for storage expansion.

In terms of other hardware, the iPhone X has Bluetooth 5.0, 802.11ac Wi‑Fi with MIMO and there is no headphone jack, only Lightning. Battery life is said to deliver up to 21-hours talk time and wireless charging and fast charge are both supported.

The iPhone XS will come with a new chip, as is always the case, but whether this will be the A11X or the A12 remains to be seen for now. Storage options are likely to stay the same, or start at 128GB, but we don’t expect to see less than 64GB, nor do we expect microSD support.

Rumour has it, the next iPhone X will support gigabit LTE data transmission speeds and 4×4 MIMO standards, and it has been predicted battery life will increase by 25 per cent, thanks to a new two-cell battery. Faster charging tech is also rumoured.

Apple iPhone XS vs iPhone X: Camera

• Dual rear camera on both likely 
• Improvements over iPhone X expected on new model
• More features likely on new iPhone X

The Apple iPhone X comes with a vertically-aligned dual-rear camera, as we mentioned previously. This is made up of two 12-megapixel sensors, one wide-angle with an aperture of f/1.8 and one telephoto with an aperture of f/2.4.

It offers a range of features including optical and digital zoom, dual optical image stabilisation and portrait mode, along with 4K video recording. The front camera is a 7-megapixel sensor with an aperture of f/2.2 and features like Animoji and portrait mode.

The next iPhone X is expected to continue to offer a dual rear camera, though whether there will be an increase in megapixels is not yet clear. There haven’t been many specific reports relating to the iPhone XS camera, but we’d expect some improvements over the iPhone X, even if it’s just a few additional features.

The TrueDepth camera found on the front of the iPhone X is likely to come to the new model too, meaning Animoji is also likely, but there will no doubt be a couple of improvements here too.

Apple iPhone XS vs iPhone X: Software

• iOS 12 will eventually be on both
• Same software experience 

The Apple iPhone X runs on iOS 11, but it will see an update to iOS 12 when it arrives in September.

The iPhone XS will arrive on iOS 12, bringing all the new features this software build brings with it, including enhancements to Photos, Siri and ARKit to name but a few. The software experience between the old X and the new X will therefore be the same.

You can read all the iPhone XS and XS Plus rumours in our separate feature and we will update this feature if any significant leaks appear.