Want an iPhone XS? You may get the best of one soon without spending a penny

published 15 September 2018

The new iPhone XS from Apple might look great but you'll soon get its best bits without having to shell out for a brand new iPhone.

Apple has gone the way of the "S" upgrade this year meaning an incremental change rather than a huge jump forward in tech developments. As a result the iPhone XS is very, very similar to the iPhone X. Sure you can now go large with the iPhone XS Max option for a 6.5-inch OLED screen, or go cheap with the iPhone XR, but really they're all very similar to the iPhone X that's been out for a year already.

When iOS 12 lands early next week your current iPhone will get all the latest features without you needing to spend on an upgrade. The great thing about iOS 12 is that it's all about improving performance. The result is a far faster phone that will make it feel like you've upgraded to new hardware, without actually needing to change your handset. This applies to any iPhone that currently has iOS 11, so from an iPhone 5S to newer.

The other huge boost from iOS 12 is to battery life. As a result your phone will last longer than ever. Since this is the big upgrade most people want to see, this is a huge bonus considering it's being dished out for free.

So if you can't afford or aren't sure about an iPhone upgrade and have a relatively new model, it might be worth waiting for iOS 12 which could breath new life into your soon-to-be not-so-old iPhone.

Luke is a former freelance writer for T3 with over two decades of experience covering tech, science and health. Among many others Luke wrote about health tech, software and apps, VPNs, TV, audio, smart home, antivirus, broadband, smartphones, cars and plenty more. In his free time, Luke used to climb mountains, swim outside and contort his body into silly positions while breathing as calmly as possible.