Screen size
equal specsiPhone Air6.5"
iPhone XS Max6.5"
Quick verdict
iPhone Air leads the measured specs 15-2.
Measured wins
iPhone Air
15
spec wins
Overall winner
Ties
6
equal specs
iPhone XS Max
2
spec wins
Screen size
equal specsTechnology
iPhone Air
GSM / CDMA / HSPA / EVDO / LTE / 5G
iPhone XS Max
GSM / CDMA / HSPA / EVDO / LTE
2G bands
iPhone Air
GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900 , CDMA 800 / 1900
iPhone XS Max
GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900 , CDMA 800 / 1900
3G bands
iPhone Air
HSDPA 850 / 900 / 1700(AWS) / 1900 / 2100 , CDMA2000 1xEV-DO
iPhone XS Max
HSDPA 850 / 900 / 1700(AWS) / 1900 / 2100 , CDMA2000 1xEV-DO
4G bands
iPhone Air
Resolution
Refresh rate
Peak brightness
Pixel density
CPU speed
RAM
Storage
Main camera
Front camera
Battery
Wired charging
Weight
Thickness
IP rating
equal specsWi‑Fi
Bluetooth
USB
equal specs5G support
NFC
equal specs3.5mm jack
equal specsSD card
equal specsStereo speakers
1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 12, 13, 17, 18, 19, 20, 25, 26, 28, 30, 32, 34, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 48, 53, 66 - A3517, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 12, 13, 14, 17, 18, 19, 20, 25, 26, 28, 29, 30, 32, 34, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 48, 53, 66, 71 - A3260, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 12, 13, 17, 18, 19, 20, 25, 26, 28, 30, 32, 34, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 48, 66 - A3518
iPhone XS Max
1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 12, 13, 14, 17, 18, 19, 20, 25, 26, 28, 29, 30, 32, 34, 38, 39, 40, 41, 46, 66 - A2101, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 12, 13, 14, 17, 18, 19, 20, 25, 26, 29, 30, 32, 34, 38, 39, 40, 41, 46, 66, 71 - A1921, A2104
5G bands
iPhone Air
1, 2, 3, 5, 7, 8, 12, 20, 25, 26, 28, 30, 38, 40, 41, 48, 53, 66, 70, 75, 77, 78, 79 SA/NSA/Sub6 - A3517, 1, 2, 3, 5, 7, 8, 12, 14, 20, 25, 26, 28, 29, 30, 38, 40, 41, 48, 53, 66, 70, 71, 75, 77, 78, 79 SA/NSA/Sub6 - A3260, 1, 2, 3, 5, 7, 8, 12, 20, 25, 26, 28, 30, 38, 40, 41, 48, 66, 70, 75, 77, 78, 79 SA/NSA/Sub6 - A3518
iPhone XS Max
-
Speed
iPhone Air
HSPA, LTE, 5G, EV-DO Rev.A 3.1 Mbps
iPhone XS Max
HSPA 42.2/5.76 Mbps, LTE (4CA) Cat16 1024/150 Mbps, EV-DO Rev.A 3.1 Mbps
Announced
iPhone Air
2025, September 09
iPhone XS Max
2018, September 12. Released 2018, September 21
Status
iPhone Air
Available. Released 2025, September 19
iPhone XS Max
Discontinued
Dimensions
iPhone Air
156.2 x 74.7 x 5.6 mm (6.15 x 2.94 x 0.22 in)
iPhone XS Max
157.5 x 77.4 x 7.7 mm (6.20 x 3.05 x 0.30 in)
Weight
iPhone Air
165 g (5.82 oz)
iPhone XS Max
208 g (7.34 oz)
Build
iPhone Air
Glass front (Ceramic Shield 2), titanium frame (grade 5), glass back (Ceramic Shield)
iPhone XS Max
Glass front (Corning-made glass), glass back (Corning-made glass), stainless steel frame
SIM
iPhone Air
eSIM + eSIM (8 or more, max 2 at a time)
iPhone XS Max
· Nano-SIM + eSIM· Nano-SIM + Nano-SIM (China)
Other
iPhone Air
IP68 dust tight and water resistant (immersible up to 6m for 30 min) Apple Pay (Visa, MasterCard, AMEX certified)
iPhone XS Max
IP68 dust tight and water resistant (immersible up to 2m for 30 min) Apple Pay (Visa, MasterCard, AMEX certified)
Type
iPhone Air
LTPO Super Retina XDR OLED, 120Hz, HDR10, Dolby Vision, 1000 nits (typ), 1600 nits (HBM), 3000 nits (peak)
iPhone XS Max
Super Retina OLED, HDR10, Dolby Vision, 625 nits (HBM)
Size
iPhone Air
6.5 inches, 104.9 cm2 (~89.9% screen-to-body ratio)
iPhone XS Max
6.5 inches, 102.9 cm2 (~84.4% screen-to-body ratio)
Resolution
iPhone Air
1260 x 2736 pixels, 19.5:9 ratio (~460 ppi density)
iPhone XS Max
1242 x 2688 pixels, 19.5:9 ratio (~458 ppi density)
Protection
iPhone Air
Ceramic Shield 2, Mohs level 5
iPhone XS Max
Scratch-resistant glass
Other
iPhone Air
Anti-reflective coating
iPhone XS Max
3D Touch
OS
iPhone Air
iOS 26, upgradable to iOS 26.2.1
iPhone XS Max
iOS 12, upgradable to iOS 18.7
Chipset
iPhone Air
Apple A19 Pro (3 nm)
iPhone XS Max
Apple A12 Bionic (7 nm)
CPU
iPhone Air
Hexa-core (2x4.26 GHz + 4xX.X GHz)
iPhone XS Max
Hexa-core (2x2.5 GHz Vortex + 4x1.6 GHz Tempest)
GPU
iPhone Air
Apple GPU (5-core graphics)
iPhone XS Max
Apple GPU (4-core graphics)
Card slot
iPhone Air
No
iPhone XS Max
No
Internal
iPhone Air
256GB 12GB RAM, 512GB 12GB RAM, 1TB 12GB RAM
iPhone XS Max
64GB 4GB RAM, 256GB 4GB RAM, 512GB 4GB RAM
Other
iPhone Air
NVMe
iPhone XS Max
NVMe
Single
iPhone Air
48 MP, f/1.6, 26mm (wide), 1/1.56", 1.0µm, dual pixel PDAF, sensor-shift OIS
iPhone XS Max
-
Features
iPhone Air
Dual-LED dual-tone flash, HDR (photo/panorama)
iPhone XS Max
Quad-LED dual-tone flash, HDR (photo/panorama)
Video
iPhone Air
4K@24/25/30/60fps, 1080p@25/30/60/120/240fps, HDR, Dolby Vision HDR (up to 60fps), stereo sound rec.
iPhone XS Max
4K@24/30/60fps, 1080p@30/60/120/240fps, HDR, stereo sound rec.
Dual
iPhone Air
-
iPhone XS Max
12 MP, f/1.8, 26mm (wide), 1/2.55", 1.4µm, dual pixel PDAF, OIS 12 MP, f/2.4, 52mm (telephoto), 1/3.4", 1.0µm, PDAF, OIS, 2x optical zoom
Single
iPhone Air
18 MP multi-aspect, f/1.9, 20mm (ultrawide), PDAF SL 3D, (depth/biometrics sensor)
iPhone XS Max
7 MP, f/2.2, 32mm (standard) SL 3D, (depth/biometrics sensor)
Features
iPhone Air
HDR, Dolby Vision HDR, 3D (spatial) audio, stereo sound rec.
iPhone XS Max
HDR
Video
iPhone Air
4K@24/25/30/60fps, 1080p@25/30/60/120fps, gyro-EIS
iPhone XS Max
1080p@30/60fps, gyro-EIS
Loudspeaker
iPhone Air
Yes
iPhone XS Max
Yes, with stereo speakers
3.5mm jack
iPhone Air
No
iPhone XS Max
No
WLAN
iPhone Air
Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/6e/7, tri-band, hotspot
iPhone XS Max
Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, dual-band, hotspot
Bluetooth
iPhone Air
6.0, A2DP, LE
iPhone XS Max
5.0, A2DP, LE
Positioning
iPhone Air
GPS, GALILEO, GLONASS, QZSS, BDS, NavIC
iPhone XS Max
GPS, GLONASS, GALILEO, QZSS
NFC
iPhone Air
Yes
iPhone XS Max
Yes
Radio
iPhone Air
No
iPhone XS Max
No
USB
iPhone Air
USB Type-C 2.0
iPhone XS Max
Lightning, USB 2.0
Sensors
iPhone Air
Face ID, accelerometer, gyro, proximity, compass, barometer
iPhone XS Max
Face ID, accelerometer, gyro, proximity, compass, barometer
Other
iPhone Air
Ultra Wideband (UWB) support (gen2 chip) Emergency SOS, Messages and Find My via satellite
iPhone XS Max
-
Type
iPhone Air
Li-Ion 3149 mAh
iPhone XS Max
Li-Ion 3174 mAh, non-removable (12.08 Wh)
Charging
iPhone Air
Wired, PD2.0, 50% in 30 min 20 wireless MagSafe/Qi2, 50% in 30 min (15W - China) 4.5W reverse wired
iPhone XS Max
15W wired, PD2.0, 50% in 30 min Wireless (Qi)
Colors
iPhone Air
Space Black, Cloud White, Light Gold, Sky Blue
iPhone XS Max
Space Gray, Silver, Gold
Models
iPhone Air
iPhone18,4, A3517, A3260, A3518, A3516
iPhone XS Max
A1921, A2101, A2102, A2104, iPhone11,6
SAR
iPhone Air
1.19 W/kg (head) 1.19 W/kg (body)
iPhone XS Max
1.16 W/kg (head) 1.17 W/kg (body)
SAR EU
iPhone Air
1.49 W/kg (head) 1.49 W/kg (body)
iPhone XS Max
0.99 W/kg (head) 0.99 W/kg (body)
Price
iPhone Air
$ 849.92 / C$ 1,899.00 / £ 727.00 / € 850.00
iPhone XS Max
About 210 EUR