5 Best Apple iPhones
Updated Nov 2024
Lovers of the iconic Apple iPhone, stop! Read our expert lowdown for the pick of the five best products to suit your needs and budget.
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Best of the Best
SUMMARY
PROS
CONS
The brilliant XS delivers compactly on all premium performance features. No less of a performance star than the XS Max, just smaller screened and easier to handle. It is a matter of personal choice, but we think this is the perfectly formed Apple iPhone.
Lightweight and comfortable fit. 5.8 screen with super retina multi-touch display. A12 Bionic chip, 12MP wide angled telephoto Smart HDR cameras. Qi wireless charging, 30 minutes extra battery life than iPhone X.
It is still an expensive outlay, that doesn’t include a fast charging cable or headphone dongle.
Best Value
SUMMARY
PROS
CONS
The XR model seems to have gotten a good balance between premier features and at a reasonable price, with overall high performing capabilities and efficiency. It is a little clunky, doesn’t include OLED display or dual lens feature, still technologically impressive and powerful.
Larger 6.1 inch LCD display. A12 bionic chip 12MP camera and includes Face ID. Wireless Qi charging option. Battery life is up to 1.5 hours longer than the 8 plus.
Capacity is up to 256 GB as in comparison to 512GB for the XS and XS Max. Does not include a super retina display, HDR playback or 3 D touch.
SUMMARY
PROS
CONS
The Apple iPhone X was the flagship model for 2017 and it is true that the newer X series models go further, faster. Nevertheless this is a still a premium phone that is lightweight, beautifully designed and powerful.
Superb 5.8 inch OLED screen. A11 Bionic processor and up to 256 GB of storage. Top notch True Depth camera. Qi wireless charging and Bluetooth 5 technology.
We are not keen on the notch cut out at the top of the screen that feels clumsy. Battery life is still poor for the price tag.
SUMMARY
PROS
CONS
This flagship phablet is powerful, fast and super high spec, with a large screen and vivid display. Sleek edge to edge design delivers cutting edge performance. Perfect for games and movies. If you don’t mind that it is a little clumsy for smaller hands and very expensive, then go for it!
Powered by impressive A12 Bionic processor with glorious 6.5 inch OLED screen. Improved battery life with Qi wireless charging option. HDR boosted for topnotch 12 MP dual camera performance. Includes Face ID.
It is clunky for one handed use. The kit does not include a fast-charge cable or headphone jack. It is really highly priced.
SUMMARY
PROS
CONS
Apple purists may say that this phablet model is already dated, but we say that it is still a really great product with a larger 5.5 inch screen than the Apple iPhone 8, better battery life and a high performing A11 Bionic chip all wrapped up in sleek rear glass surface.
Great screen and display with powerful dual camera and excellent stereo speakers. Speedy and wireless charging. Still has the “Home” button. More affordable model.
Does not offer mobile HDR or OLED screen. Not a new or innovative design and no OIS on secondary camera.
How We Decided
We purchase every product we review with our own funds — we never accept anything from product manufacturers.
New Apple iPhones - Our Expert Advice
- Let’s take the hype out of buying an Apple phone and break down the really important pointers to make the smart purchase right for you.
- Apple iPhone XS
- If you have the budget we would recommend the flagship Apple iPhone XS. It is beautifully designed, lighter, and more compact than the phablet iPhone XS Max and its OLED screen is a winner. It’s a perfect Apple Phone for business or pleasure and, if you need it, you can lay out for up to 512GB in storage.
- Apple iPhone XR
- A less expensive, but still high performing model, is the Apple iPhone XR. This delivers on a 6.1 inch LCD display that is great, for all but the most demanding visuals. As with other members of the X series, it offers wireless charging, A12 Bionic processing power plus up to 256GB in storage.
- Apple iPhone 8 Plus
- If you are looking for a phablet, but just can’t dish out the cash for the XS Max, then try out the Apple iPhone 8 Plus for size with its attractive 5.5’’ LCD screen. It misses out on some of the latest features of the new Apple phones but still packs a punch for less.
iPhone Features
- Screen & Display- Important features to look out for are screen size, Super Retina HD display, 3D touch, fingerprint resistant, HDR display and Multi-touch technology. iPhone XS Max offers up a super, supersized experience – a 6.6 inch screen perfect for playing games and watching movies
- Performance- Apple processors are benchmark for speed and efficiency. The A12 Bionic processor powers the new XS, XS Max and XR models. The chip boasts a “next-generation Neural Engine,” which has 8 cores, and can process 5 trillion operations per second.
- Device Storage- Your iPhone comes with a set storage capacity ranging up to 512GB on the latest models. The music you buy, the apps you download, the photos you take, and all of the other content that you enjoy on your device uses its storage.
- Battery life- Battery life is not a winning feature of an Apple phone but some improvements have been made. On average, the Apple iPhone XS should last for 20 hours, the Apple iPhone XS Max for 25 hours, as should the iPhone XR.
- Camera- The Apple iPhone camera is one of the best smartphone cameras around for point and shoot. If you want to raise the bar then check for dual front and rear cameras that offer 12 MP, Smart HDR and the A12 processor technology for amazing results. We believe that the iPhone XS has the camera of your dreams.
- Price- The newer the models and larger storage capacity can make the price seriously eye watering. A compromise is to get either get a model with slightly less cutting edge features or compromise on storage capacity. We think that the Apple iPhone XR is pretty good value for money.
