Watch: iPhone XS Max versus Samsung Galaxy Note 9 in audio test

Yep. The Max wins in this one. More dynamic-presence and clarity.

In the Anandtech article about the A12, there was a problem with the launch of Fortnite cold. From the article: "In the Graphics part of the 3DMark test, the iPhone XS showcases 41% better sustained performance over last year’s iPhone X. In this particular test, the OnePlus 6’s more generous thermals still allow the Snapdragon 845 to outperform the new chip. In terms of peak performance, I encountered some great issues in 3DMark: I was completely unable to complete a single run on either the iPhone XS or XS Max while the devices were cool. If the device is cool enough, the GPU will boost to such high performance states that it will actually crash. I was consistently able to reproduce this over and over again. I attempted to measure power during this test, and the platform had instantaneous average power of 7-8 watts, figures above this which I suspect weren’t recorded by my measurement methodology. For the GPU to crash, it means that the power delivery is failing to deliver the necessary transient currents during operation and we’ll see a voltage dip that corrupts the GPU. When iterating the test several times over a few attempts, in order to heat up the SoC until it decides to start off with a lower GPU frequency, it will successfully complete the test." Could you attempt to run Fortnite cold to see if you can repeat that. I would note that Anandtech was fan cooling the iPhone, something that would not be used in the real world. Edit; Posting problems with paragraphs.

The music video sounded "shrill" to me on both phones. But, I am 76 years old and probably do not hear as well as young folks. The iPhone did sound louder.

That’s not a difficult piece of music to reproduce. Try something with intricate instrument interplay, not electronic boops and beeps. Coins and Promises by Margaret Becker. I love my XS Max, but the bass passages that rattle the windows in my car while Maggie’s voice glistens, the phone doesn’t even attempt to reproduce. My clock radio does a better job.

or try The Walk by Steven Curtis Chapman on the Abbey Road Sessions album. The improv section at the end has such great stereo separation and imaging that I’ve had a passenger exclaim “It’s like I’m right on stage between them”, but on the phone there’s barely a left and a right.

Try those two pieces on a “real” music system, then on the two phones. If the Note even comes close to a real music system, I’ll buy one.

sweetheart777 said:

That’s not a difficult piece of music to reproduce. Try something with intricate instrument interplay, not electronic boops and beeps. Coins and Promises by Margaret Becker. I love my XS Max, but the bass passages that rattle the windows in my car while Maggie’s voice glistens, the phone doesn’t even attempt to reproduce. My clock radio does a better job.

or try The Walk by Steven Curtis Chapman on the Abbey Road Sessions album. The improv section at the end has such great stereo separation and imaging that I’ve had a passenger exclaim “It’s like I’m right on stage between them”, but on the phone there’s barely a left and a right.

Try those two pieces on a “real” music system, then on the two phones. If the Note even comes close to a real music system, I’ll buy one.

I haven't heard the Xs or Xs Max in person, but in general, while smartphone speakers have steadily improved, they are still by no means high fidelity speakers, and while you may hear 'that sounds really good for a smart phone,' you'll never hear 'that sounds as good as my stereo.'

I also wonder if comparing the phones at 75% volume may have done better than 100% in terms of clarity and distortion. 

Regardless, I personally find listening to a smart phone speaker any farther away than my lap to be a somewhat grating experience, so while I'm happy the speakers sound better, I'll still plan on having headphones or a real speaker if I actually want to listen to something.