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iPhone XS Max Review - Is it worth it?

2018-10-25 · Tech review, setup or bag tour · Ali · recording, 12:20 · watch on YouTube

Topic: Tools, apps and tech (also: Money and investing) · mode: Review and recommendation · tags: His own numbers, Family

Ali calls the iPhone XS Max the best iPhone ever but thinks upgrading to it from his iPhone 7 Plus was not worth its £1,250, judged by his three-part test for gadgets: does it make him happier, remove a salient negative from his life, or let him do or make something new.

What is said

The parts of the video and what is said in each (★ — how much it matters to the video).

00:00:00 — The conclusion first: a fantastic phone, but is it worth £1,200

  • ★★★ Ali calls the iPhone XS Max a fantastic phone, the best iPhone ever made and a joy to use. — 00:00:00
  • ★★★ Ali does not think the jump from the iPhone 7 Plus to the iPhone XS Max is worth its 1,200 pounds, though he says such things can never really be judged objectively. — 00:00:29

00:00:56 — What he likes: the size, Face ID, no home button, the screen and the camera

  • ★★ Ali likes the iPhone XS Max's size, pretty much identical to the plus-sized iPhone 7 Plus he was used to. — 00:00:56
  • ★★ Ali likes that the iPhone XS Max has no home button: swiping up from the bottom feels a very natural way to use a phone, and he thinks dropping the physical button a good direction for Apple. — 00:00:56 · Apple
  • ★★ Ali has no real interest in spec and benchmark reviews of iPhones, because since about the iPhone 5 speed has never really been an issue. — 00:01:25 · iPhone
  • ★★ Ali finds the iPhone XS Max screen nice, but after a few days back on his iPhone 7 Plus it felt pretty much the same: the difference shows only side by side. — 00:01:47

00:02:16 — What he does not like: Face ID hiding notifications

  • ★★ Ali found the iPhone XS Max camera and portrait mode only slightly better than the iPhone 7 Plus's, and for uploading to Instagram or Facebook the 7 Plus quality is pretty much as good. — 00:02:16 · Instagram, Facebook
  • ★★ Ali finds Face ID on the iPhone XS Max cool, but a bit annoying when it occasionally fails to work. — 00:02:16
  • ★★ The most annoying thing about the iPhone XS Max for Ali: with the phone on the table at work, he cannot read a notification's contents until he lifts it to his face to unlock it with Face ID, and almost misses Touch ID. — 00:02:16

00:03:31 — Is it worth it: does it make me happier, does it remove salient negatives

  • ★★ Having the iPhone XS Max does not make Ali any happier than his iPhone 7 Plus did: his life was a 10 out of 10 before and still is. — 00:03:31
  • ★★ Ali says, from a psychology blog and further reading, that research shows the happiness gained by spending money comes from removing negatives rather than adding positives. (hedged) — 00:04:08
  • ★★ Ali describes the money-happiness curve: beyond a certain personal or household income, further increases in money do not make people as happy as they once did, while for people struggling financially more money removes money as a worry. — 00:04:37
  • ★★ If Ali hated spending 10 minutes ironing a shirt every morning, paying about 15 pounds a week to have five shirts professionally washed and ironed would make him happier, because it removes a negative. (hypothetical) — 00:04:37
  • ★★ Buying the new DJI Mavic 2 Pro drone would not make Ali any happier, because his current DJI Mavic Pro is not a negative in his life. — 00:05:23

00:05:48 — The iPhone XS Max battery removes one negative

  • ★★ Ali's iPhone 7 Plus charge lasted about half a day, so he always carried a charger and was annoyed when it ran out; the iPhone XS Max battery lasts pretty much all day. — 00:05:48
  • ★★ Ali does not think a phone battery that lasts all day is worth 1,200 pounds: he could instead buy an extra charger or always carry a power bank. — 00:06:17

00:06:46 — Does it let me do or make anything: a camera, a guitar

  • ★★ Someone upgrading from a really slow phone such as an iPhone 5C should get the best iPhone, Ali says: it will last ages, and a fast phone instead of a slow one is likely to make them happier. — 00:06:46 · iPhone
  • ★★ A purchase can make you happier by opening a new avenue of life, Ali says: a first proper camera can start a photography or video-editing hobby, and a guitar lets you learn a fun, social skill. — 00:07:16
  • ★★ Ali calls the camera he bought in his fourth year of medical school one of the best purchases he has ever made, because its photos created so many memories that are a joy to look back on. — 00:07:16

00:07:56 — More Instagram posts, and the overall verdict

  • ★★ The only new thing the iPhone XS Max has let Ali do is that it has encouraged him to post on Instagram a bit more. — 00:07:56 · Instagram
  • ★★ Posting more on Instagram builds memories Ali can share with his grandma and family in Pakistan, and, as a YouTuber, builds his personal brand for later benefits. — 00:08:25 · Instagram, Ali Abdaal's grandmother, Pakistan
  • ★★ Ali did not need to spend 1,200 pounds to post more on Instagram: watching a Gary Vaynerchuk video telling him to post more would probably have had the same effect. (hedged) — 00:08:50 · Gary Vaynerchuk, Instagram
  • ★★★ Ali judges whether a gadget is worth it with three questions: does it make him any happier, does it remove any salient negatives from his life, and does it let him do or make something more creative or interesting. — 00:09:19
  • ★★ Ali paid 1,250 pounds for the 256 GB iPhone XS Max. — 00:09:19

00:09:48 — Why he bought it: tech videos and his mum's old phone; the opportunity cost

  • ★★ One reason Ali bought the iPhone XS Max: he now considers himself a tech YouTuber and knew he could make a video about it. — 00:09:48
  • ★★ Ali is still planning a video about what is on his iPhone. — 00:09:48 · iPhone
  • ★★ Ali was not planning to buy the iPhone XS Max until his mother's iPhone 5C broke down and she complained how slow it was. — 00:09:48 · Ali Abdaal's mother

  • ★★★ Ali says new devices almost never make people happier, and that being happier is arguably the only thing that really matters when buying a gadget. — 00:10:17

    “new devices almost never make us happier as people”

  • ★★ Buying the iPhone XS Max let Ali give his iPhone 7 Plus to his mother, who loves taking phone photos but whose eyesight is now a bit bad, so a big screen and a nice camera might suit her. — 00:10:17 · Ali Abdaal's mother

  • ★★ Ali weighs the opportunity cost of his iPhone XS Max: the £1,250 could have bought lots of malaria nets for children in Africa and potentially saved a life. (hedged) — 00:10:47

00:11:23 — Asks for feedback on the review format; MKBHD and Jonathan Morrison

  • ★ Ali, who had not done a proper tech review on YouTube before, asks viewers to say whether they liked the format or what he could do differently. — 00:11:23
  • ★★ Ali wants tech videos to become more of a thing on his channel: he really enjoys technology and could talk about tech all day. — 00:11:23
  • ★★ Ali admires the tech videos of MKBHD and Jonathan Morrison, with their amazing buttery B-roll, but does not want to become another MKBHD copycat. — 00:11:52

Threads in this video

Where the stories that moved here went next

Mentioned

Central: iPhone XS Max

Also: People: Ali Abdaal's grandmother · Ali Abdaal's mother · Gary Vaynerchuk · Jonathan Morrison · Marques Brownlee

Organizations: Apple · Facebook · Instagram

Concepts: Opportunity cost · personal brand

Places: Pakistan

Products: DJI Mavic 2 Pro · DJI Mavic Pro · Face ID · iPhone · iPhone 5C · iPhone 7 Plus

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