Apple iPhone XS vs iPhone 15 Plus

Source: Date:

Apple iPhone XS vs iPhone 15 Plus

57 out of 100
Apple iPhone XS
VS
79 out of 100
Apple iPhone 15 Plus

Here we compared two flagship smartphones: the 5.8-inch Apple iPhone XS (with Apple A12 Bionic) that was released on September 12, 2018, against the Apple iPhone 15 Plus, which is powered by Apple A16 Bionic and came out 61 months after. On this page, you will find tests, full specs, strengths, and weaknesses of each of the devices.

Key differences

An overview of the main advantages of each smartphone
Reasons to consider the Apple iPhone XS
  • Better grip in hands – the body is 6.9 mm narrower
  • Weighs 24 grams less
Reasons to consider the Apple iPhone 15 Plus
  • 2.3x better performance in AnTuTu Benchmark (1387K versus 600K)
  • Comes with 1725 mAh larger battery capacity: 4383 vs 2658 mAh
  • Has a 0.9 inch larger screen size
  • Modern USB Type-C port
  • Newer Bluetooth version (v5.3)
  • Uses a faster type of memory: LPDDR5
  • Compatible with Wi-Fi 6 wireless networks
  • Has 50% more RAM: 6GB versus 4GB
  • Has an ultra-wide angle camera lens
  • Thinner bezels – 5.1% more screen real estate
  • The front-facing camera can record video at 4K

Review

Evaluation of Apple iPhone XS and iPhone 15 Plus crucial features
Display
Screen quality, color accuracy, brightness
Camera
Photo and video recording quality
Performance
CPU and memory performance (apps, system)
Gaming
Capabilities for playing modern games
Battery
Battery life, charging type and speed
Connectivity
Networks, ports, data transmission
Scores with a red asterisk ( * ) are approximate and may change in the future as we gather more data.
NanoReview Score
Final comparison evaluation

Value for money

Tests and specifications

Comparison table of technical specifications and tests

Display

Type OLED OLED
Size 5.8 inches 6.7 inches
Resolution 1125 x 2436 pixels 1290 x 2796 pixels
Aspect ratio 19.5:9 19.5:9
PPI 458 ppi 460 ppi
Refresh rate 60 Hz 60 Hz
Adaptive refresh rate No No
Max rated brightness 625 nits 2000 nits
Max rated brightness in HDR - 1600 nits
HDR support Yes, Dolby Vision Yes, Dolby Vision
Screen protection Tempered glass Ceramic Shield
Screen-to-body ratio 82.9% 88%
Display features - DCI-P3 - DCI-P3
Display tests
RGB color space 98.8% -
PWM 240 Hz -
Response time 4.4 ms -
Contrast ∞ Infinity -
Peak brightness test (auto)

Design and build

Height 143.6 mm (5.65 inches) 160.9 mm (6.33 inches)
Width 70.9 mm (2.79 inches) 77.8 mm (3.06 inches)
Thickness 7.7 mm (0.3 inches) 7.8 mm (0.31 inches)
Weight 177 g (6.24 oz) 201 g (7.09 oz)
Waterproof IP68 IP68
Rear material Glass Glass
Frame material Metal Metal
Colors Silver, Gold, Gray Black, Blue, Green, Pink, Yellow
Fingerprint scanner No No
Screen-to-body ratio

Performance

Tests of Apple iPhone XS and Apple iPhone 15 Plus in the benchmarks
SoC
Chipset Apple A12 Bionic Apple A16 Bionic
Max clock 2490 MHz 3460 MHz
CPU cores 6 (2 + 4) 6 (2 + 4)
Architecture - 4 cores at 1.6 GHz: Tempest
- 2 cores at 2.49 GHz: Vortex
- 4 cores at 2.02 GHz: Sawtooth
- 2 cores at 3.46 GHz: Everest
Lithography process 7 nanometers 4 nanometers
Graphics Apple A12 GPU Apple A16 GPU
GPU shading units 256 640
GPU clock 1100 MHz 1398 MHz
FLOPS ~576 GFLOPS ~1789.4 GFLOPS

Benchmarks

Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)
AnTuTu Benchmark 10
1387349
CPU 151927 377751
GPU 141208 481103
Memory 104587 203657
UX 200467 312208
Total score 600311 1387349
3DMark Wild Life Performance
Max surface temperature 44.8 °C -
Stability 63% -
Graphics test 34 FPS -
Graphics score 5700 -

Memory

RAM
RAM size 4 GB 6 GB
Memory type LPDDR4X LPDDR5
Memory clock 2133 MHz -
Channels 2 4
Storage
Storage size 64, 256, 512 GB 128, 256, 512 GB
Storage type NVMe NVMe
Memory card No No

Software

Operating system iOS 12 (Can be upgraded to iOS 17) iOS 17
OS size 11.8 GB -

Battery

Capacity 2658 mAh 4383 mAh
Max charge power 15 W 20 W
Battery type Li-Ion Li-Ion
Replaceable No No
Wireless charging Yes, Qi (10 W) Yes (7.5 W)
Reverse charging No Yes
Fast charging Yes (50% in 60 min) Yes (50% in 30 min)
Full charging time 2:40 hr -
Battery life tests
Web browsing 07:30 hr -
Watching video 09:19 hr -
Gaming 04:43 hr -
Standby 80 hr -
General battery life

Camera

Specs and camera test of smartphones
Main camera
Matrix 12 megapixels 48 megapixels
Image resolution 4032 x 3024 8000 x 6000
Zoom Optical, 2x Optical, 2x
Flash Quad LED Dual LED
Stabilization Optical Optical
8K video recording No No
4K video recording Up to 60FPS Up to 60FPS
1080p video recording Up to 60FPS Up to 60FPS
Slow motion 240 FPS (1080p) 240 FPS (1080p)
Angle of widest lens - 120°
Lenses 2 (12 MP + 12 MP) 2 (48 MP + 12 MP)
Wide (main) lens - 12 MP
- Aperture: f/1.8
- Focal length: 26 mm
- Pixel size: 1.4 micron
- Sensor: 1/2.55", Apple iSight X (CMOS)
- Phase autofocus (Dual Pixel)
- Optical stabilization
- 48 MP
- Aperture: f/1.6
- Focal length: 26 mm
- Phase autofocus (Dual Pixel)
- Optical stabilization
Telephoto lens - 12 MP
- Aperture: f/2.4
- Focal length: 52 mm
- Pixel size: 1 micron
- Sensor: 1/3.4" (CMOS)
- Phase autofocus
- Optical stabilization
-
Ultra-wide lens - - 12 MP
- Aperture: f/2.4
- Focal length: 13 mm
- Phase autofocus (Dual Pixel)
Camera features - Bokeh mode
- Pro mode
- RAW support
- Bokeh mode
- Pro mode
Selfie camera
Megapixels 7 megapixels 12 megapixels
Image resolution 3088 x 2316 4032 x 3024
Aperture f/2.2 f/1.9
Focal length 32 mm 23 mm
Pixel size 1.12 microns -
Sensor type CMOS CMOS
Sensor size - 1/3.6"
Video resolution 1080p (Full HD) at 30 FPS 2160p (4K) at 60 FPS

Connectivity

Wi-Fi standard Wi-Fi 5 (802.11 a/b/g/n/ac) Wi-Fi 6 (802.11 b/g/n/ac/ax)
Wi-Fi features - Dual Band
- Wi-Fi MiMO
- Wi-Fi Direct
- Wi-Fi Hotspot
- Wi-Fi Display
- Dual Band
- Wi-Fi MiMO
- Wi-Fi Direct
- Wi-Fi Hotspot
- Wi-Fi Display
Bluetooth version 5 5.3
Bluetooth features SPP, PBAP/PAB, PAN, OPP, MAP, LE, HSP, HID, HFP, HDP, GAP, GAVDP, DIP, AVRCP, A2DP LE
USB type No USB Type-C
USB version 2 2
USB features - Charging
- USB-Storage mode
- OTG
- Charging
- USB-Storage mode
- OTG
GPS GPS, GLONASS, Beidou, Galileo GPS, GLONASS, Beidou, Galileo, QZSS
NFC * Yes Yes
Infrared port No No
Network
Number of SIM * 1 1
Type of SIM card Nano Nano
eSIM support * Yes Yes
Hybrid slot No No
LTE Cat * 16 18
5G support No Yes

Sound

Speakers Stereo Stereo
Headphone audio jack No No
FM radio No No
Dolby Atmos Yes Yes
Speakers test
Max loudness

Other

Category Flagship Flagship
Announced September 2018 September 2023
Release date September 2018 September 2023
SAR (head) 0.99 W/kg -
SAR (body) 0.99 W/kg -
Sensors - Barometer
- Proximity sensor
- Gyroscope
- Accelerometer
- Ambient light sensor
- Compass
- Face recognition sensor
- Barometer
- Proximity sensor
- Gyroscope
- Accelerometer
- Ambient light sensor
- Compass
- Face recognition sensor
Bundled charger - Not included
* Disclaimer! NFC, GSM network support, and some other specs can be different depending on the country.

Conclusion

After analyzing all the data, we think that the Apple iPhone 15 Plus is definitely a better buy.

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