iPhone XS vs iPhone 11 Pro: Identical from the front, but not when you look inside

If you look at them from the front, the iPhone XS vs iPhone 11 Pro look like the same exact phone. But if we take a peek inside both devices, we’ll see that the 11 Pro has a few hidden tricks that justify the higher cost.

iPhone XS vs 11 Pro: Expect more speed and photography muscle from the iPhone 11 Pro

First, let’s compare the processors inside the iPhone 11 Pro vs XS. Thanks to the upgraded A13 Bionic chip inside the iPhone 11 Pro, you can expect the iPhone 11 Pro to be at least 30% faster than the XS during standard operation. And that chip doesn’t only make the 11 Pro faster, it also gives it improved computational photography. When comparing the iPhone 11 Pro vs XS from a photography or video perspective, it’s like night and day. Images on the iPhone 11 Pro will have more detail in daylight, nighttime, and have more zoom adjustability thanks to the additional third lens. When the iPhone 11 Pro was released, I thought it looked ugly, but at this point, the look has grown on me. I’ve grown tired of hating it. As a matter of fact, I wish my smartphone had cameras as impressive as the ones on the iPhone 11 Pro.

iPhone XS vs 11 Pro: The iPhone 11 Pro brings more battery life, but at a cost

Despite having the same screen size of 5.8”, the iPhone 11 Pro manages to fit a higher capacity battery inside: 3046mAh vs the 2658mAh in the XS. For this reason, the Pro is 0.02 inches thicker. Yeah, I know, that really doesn’t sound like much, but call me picky, I definitely feel that extra thickness when holding both of the devices side-by-side. Tests on the web claim that you can expect 4-5 additional hours of battery life from the iPhone 11 Pro vs XS. We think a big part of this bump can also be attributed to the more energy-efficient A13 Bionic chip.

iPhone 11 Pro vs XS: Our final thoughts

That’s basically it for our iPhone 11 Pro vs XS comparison. We learned that the iPhone 11 Pro gives us substantially better photography, battery life, and processor speed. But at the end of the day, the iPhone XS is still a great phone. And if you can find a refurbished iPhone XS at a great price, it can still be a great choice, despite the iPhone 11 Pro being in a league of its own in this comparison.