 Recently, we released a video detailing my thoughts on the new iPhone XS and XS Max, and Apple's position as an innovator in general. And maybe it's a video I shouldn't have done, because I allowed myself to get emotional, rather than giving equal airtime to positive aspects of the iPhone experience, that might not mean as much to me, but clearly mean a lot to our community. So, with the goal in mind of creating a second video now, to balance out our first, we turned to you, and asked, what were the main reasons that you bought your iPhone? Why do you love it? And we compiled this list of 10 legitimate ways that iPhones still beat the competition, even if I still personally feel that their latest refresh is incremental, expensive, and boring. Thanks to LastPass for sponsoring this video. Their password manager now supports Face ID on the latest iPhones. Learn more at the end of the video. iPhone XS Max Review Reason number one is security and privacy, and this has become one of Apple's biggest talking points recently, and for good reason. Their long history as a company might not be perfect, but they've taken some very bold steps in the interest of protecting their customers, even refusing to comply with FBI requests to unlock their customers' phones. While Android is closing the gap here, in general, iPhones are more secure than Android devices. Where iPhones deliver consistent hardware-based security, like the Secure Enclave and the now infamous USB Restricted Mode, on Android, hardware-based security varies wildly between manufacturers, with some handsets even having been accused of phoning home and providing user information to third parties. As for the software, well, base Android is open source, which theoretically would give it a security advantage over Apple, because anyone could go in and examine the code for vulnerabilities. In practice, though, the Android that ships on almost any device that you can actually buy has been modified by the manufacturer, and those changes are typically not open source. Furthermore, the Google Play Store tends to have more malicious apps on it due to looser submission criteria, and even if it didn't, Android allows users to install apps outside of the Play Store, an attack vector that simply doesn't exist for iPhone users, and one that is actually currently in the process of becoming normalized by companies like Epic Games, so they won't have to pay Google a cut of their in-game purchase revenue. Reason number two is optimization. The smartphone market has matured to the point where Chinese brands that you've never heard of are making phones that legitimately aren't complete garbage, yet Apple's deep integration between the hardware and the OS continues to give them a lead in speed, stability, and just feeling smooth. Now Android fans will complain, Apple cheaped out on the specs of their phone, but the cold hard truth is that just because Apple's investment wasn't in more DRAM chips to solder to their main boards doesn't mean that they necessarily cheaped out. Software development costs real money, and it's not an accident that they get more out of 4 gigs of RAM than others are getting with 10, and one more thing, their CPUs are at times as much as a full generation ahead of the competition. Apple presses this advantage by offering reason number three, industry-leading device support. Apple's phones and tablets get updates both for features and security more quickly, more consistently, and for longer than just about any other mobile device on the market, and contrary to the general perception that exists that Apple acts with planned obsolescence in mind, forcing users to upgrade by slowing down their old devices, the last few updates have actually had a lot of users reporting that their old phone feels snappier after the update. The fact that iPhones are so well optimized and supported by Apple for years after release contributes then to number four, longevity. You can use your iPhone for four, five, maybe even six years if you stretch it. It was actually only recently that my iPad 2 finally stopped working with enough apps that I actually care about that I had to retire it. And the thing about this is that even if you won't use your device for five years, I mean, I suspect a lot of the people out there watching this channel swap their phones a little more frequently than that, you could, which is part of what helps customers justify the four digit price tags on these things. That and iPhones hold their value better. People are still selling iPhone 6s for $200. How much would you get today for your Galaxy S5? Here's a hint, probably less than this broken iPhone 6, and they both came out in 2014. Now, yes, Apple did slow down phones with old batteries without telling anyone. But considering that the longevity of the hardware is one of their main selling points, I get why they didn't want to go around shouting, hey, your old iPhone's battery sucks, and so that's why we had to slow it down a bit from the mountaintops. Number five, new apps often launch first on iPhone. And there are a lot of interesting reasons for this, including device penetration in the US, the propensity for iPhone users to spend money, and just plain old developer preference. But at the end of the day, none of those reasons really matter because when I buy a phone, it's ultimately about the experience I'm going to have. And Android users often have to wait longer, whether it's for the companion app for that Kickstarter you backed, a hot new social network like TBH, which managed to get big enough to be acquired and then eventually shut down by Facebook before it ever hit Android, or even a global phenomenon like Fortnite, which only arrived on Android in August, despite being available on iOS a full four months earlier. Bringing us to at least one important app that is never coming to Android, iMessage. iMessage is objectively way better than SMS. There's group chats, read receipts, stickers, and it works over Wi-Fi, so you can use it across your devices even without your SIM installed. All great stuff. And yes, you could use WhatsApp or Facebook Messenger or WeChat or just about any chat app that you want for that. An emoji is notwithstanding. But the fact is that iMessage, like FaceTime, is a default that everyone with an iPhone has, and that gives it tremendous power. I've actually heard Android users complain about missing out on events with their friends because the invite only happened to go out to the iMessage group chat. And as a techie, how difficult it is to convince iOS users to install third-party chat apps might make my brain hurt a little bit. But here again, the reason iMessage is important doesn't matter. It's all about the user experience and people prefer it. Because why would you want to switch when it works so well with your other Apple devices? You can reply to messages from your MacBook and secure code autofill. Super cool. It'll just grab that two-factor SMS from your phone and plop it down directly in your browser. Because that's right, number seven is the ecosystem. Your photos, messages, and browsing history are synced between your iPhone and MacBook. You've got universal copy paste. You can send files with AirDrop instead of trying to figure out if your friend's phone has NFC at all. And if it does, where exactly the stupid antennas align. And even I was blown away by how legitimately pretty damn magical the pairing process is for the AirPods, which are an accessory. And accessories are reason number eight. That segue wasn't that bad, right? The thing about having a large number of people out there using the same device is that there's money to be made making everything from cases to gimbals to even personal massager. Okay, not all of the iPhone accessories make a ton of sense. But the point is when it comes to accessories, iPhones do give you more choice. Number nine is the hardware mute button, believe it or not. This is one of the few features that has stuck around since the very first iPhone and curiously hasn't been copied en masse by other phone manufacturers. OnePlus, who does include a similar three-position switch on their phones, is actually kind of the odd one out there with... And the weird thing is that it's not even because they can't find a place to put another button. They just want it to like summon Bixby or whatever. The especially funny thing here is that while most people assume that Apple has the mute switch patented or something, we actually couldn't find any evidence for that. So hit us up in the comments if you know something that we don't know here. Bringing us finally to number ten, setup. Now both iOS and Android, through your Apple ID and your Google account respectively, allow you to transfer your apps and photos from your old device to your new one. But when it comes to the smoothness of the experience, only some Android migrations manage to retain system settings and app icon placements. Like when you go from a Samsung to a Samsung. Apple does all this stuff by default. And for enterprise, zero-touch deployments with Apple take the cake again. Apple's business manager helps companies automate device deployment, delegate administrative privileges, and purchase apps in bulk so that it's easy to manage user licenses. Now that last one might not be a big deal for you, the individual employee, but this is about reasons to own an iPhone, and so it could be a big reason that you are stuck with an iPhone for work, even if you'd prefer something else. So the final component of this video then, is just me wanting to set the record straight once and for all. I don't hate Apple's devices, and I don't specifically hate the iPhone. I have been frustrated with some of the decisions that they've made recently, notably the inclusion of a display notch and the removal of the headphone jack, particularly because the rest of the industry is such a bunch of mindless copycats. So whenever Apple goes and does something that I disagree with, I can pretty much count on everyone else doing the same thing within a product cycle or two. I also wasn't excited for the iPhone XS and the XS Max in general, and I guess that's where I really ran into trouble. I think I let myself get too involved emotionally, and while I do stand behind the vast majority of what I said, and I even left out some big frustrations that I realized as I was sitting here about to shoot this video, including... Like, of course, Face ID doesn't work though. Missed opportunity. How is this not a fingerprint sensor? Touch ID is awesome! I loved Touch ID, people are like, Alain is your such an Apple hater. I got heaped praise on Touch ID! How does this not have an always-on display? This is the good video. Right, sorry, this is the video about what's good. Missing the eSIM capabilities of the iPhone XS was one glaring omission that I really feel bad about, and so I just want people to understand that my criticisms came from a place of love. Maybe not love for Apple in general, or the iPhone in particular, but of tech. I'm rooting for Apple. I want to see them continue to do great things, and I really hope that the iPhone XS2 knocks my socks off and makes phones exciting again, because I think that's one thing that the fan droids out there, and the sheeple, can agree on. Phones have gotten a bit boring lately, and we really need something to come in and shake up the market. So thanks again to LastPass for sponsoring this video. I've been using LastPass for years now. LastPass is a password manager that relieves the troubles of remembering your passwords, and reduces anxiety about getting locked out of your accounts, and the hassle of waiting around for password reset emails. You'll never need to write down, remember, or reset a password again. LastPass allows you to keep track of them so that you can stay sane and secure. And the best part is that it's cross-platform. It works on desktop, it works on mobile sites, it works for apps, and it works on iOS and Android. Whenever you open up an app or a website, LastPass will fill in your username and password, making logging in simple. And this was such an amazingly pleasant surprise. I actually can't believe I didn't include it in my original review. LastPass now supports Face ID with the iPhone X, XR, and XS, as well as, of course, the XS Max. So all you have to do to unlock your LastPass vault is use your Face instead of having to type your master password. It's freaking awesome, and you can click the link below to learn more about LastPass. So thanks for watching, guys. If this video sucked, well, you know what to do. But if it was awesome, get subscribed, hit the like button, or check out the link to where to buy the stuff we featured in the video description. Also down there is our merch store, which has cool shirts. Oh, this one's not in there, but they're like this one, like designed by Lloyd, some of them. So those are down there, and our community forum, which you should totally join.