Screens of the 2018 iPhones
If your app has already adopted safe area insets, there’s not much you will need to do to update your app for iPhone XS, iPhone XS Max, and iPhone XR. Learn how to set a collection view’s section inset reference to the safe area with no code changes. Hear about an API change unique to iPhone XS Max, iPhone XR. Make sure your full-screen app is scaled correctly by using the proper number of points and the correct resolution. Defend against some common pitfalls to ensure your app provides its full feature-set to all of your customers while maintaining best practices that will save you time and effort in the future.
The 6.5" iPhone XS Max is to the 5.5" plus size iPhones as the 5.8" iPhone X (and XS) is to the 4.7" iPhones: almost the same physical body size but with an edge-to-edge OLED screen using 3 pixels per point. The iPhone XS Max has the same screen width in points as the plus size iPhones but is correspondingly taller to account for the 9:19.5 aspect ratio. The iPhone XS Max has a screen size of 414×896 points (1242×2688 pixels).
The 6.1" iPhone XR is effectively a 2x version of the iPhone XS Max with the same pixel density as the iPhone 6/6s/7/8 models. The iPhone XR has a screen size of 414×896 points (828×1792 pixels).
How do the iPhone XS Max and iPhone XR display apps on their larger screens? Just like last year with the iPhone X, that depends on which version of Xcode the apps were built with.
So [with the iPhone 6 Plus] they decided to triple the points instead of double them, resulting in 2208x1242 with a PPI of 461. Then they realized that the tech wasn’t really ready for a PPI that high, but they did find a supplier who was working on making 1080p screens at 5.5 inches. Since the target was 1472x828 anyway, 1920x1080 was deemed close enough to 2208x1242, so they told the phone to render all the software at 2208x1242, then scale it down a little to 1080p. We’ve been living with this kludge on all the Plus phones ever since, and it’s a major reason the 6 Plus bogged down a lot faster than the 6 did.
[…]
Apple doesn’t actually like densities higher than 326 PPI, they just keep having problems that keep it from being a good idea. None of those problems cropped up when making the XR, so 326 PPI it is. Also, the XR is a Plus phone in practically all but name, just like the XS Max, but in a cheaper way.
Previously: September 2018 Apple Event.
Update (2018-09-24): Max Seelemann:
iPhone XR’s notch is 33pt. iPhone XS’ and XS Max’s notch is 30pt. Someone help me please.
We have added the new iPhone Xs, iPhone Xs Max and iPhone Xr to the guide below.
Update (2018-09-26): Philip Amour:
Apple forgot to tell us that the iPhone XS Max Home Screen icons are upscaled from 180x180px (60x60 pt) to 192x192 px (64x64 pt). Also there’s no way to provide an iOS 12 64x64 pt icon assets.
Update (2018-09-28): Erica Griffin:
“For the iPhone XS Max there is an increasing Color Shift towards Blue for Increasing Viewing Angles” Yes, Displaymate recognizes the shift too with #iphoneXSmax. There are variations within this shift that I can see with my 3 phones. Don’t quote Displaymate at me for perfection.
Got my iPhone XS and I’m seeing noticeable color shifts in the display as I change the angle I hold the phone. Probably a swing of 700 kelivin. Is this degree of shift normal for OLED?
