For the past few years, I have been a naysayer on one feature of smartphones: their growing size.

在过去几年里，我一直不满意智能手机的尺寸越来越大。

My position was unusual given the increasing prevalence of larger screen devices. The world’s top phone makers¹ have all added more substantial glass screens to stretch from one edge of their smartphones to another, on the theory that people can better enjoy their apps and content on an ample display.

鉴于越来越多的人在用大屏幕设备，我的立场显得有些格格不入。全球最大的几家手机制造商纷纷采用更大的玻璃全面屏，他们的理论是，人们可以在一块够大的显示屏上更好地享受应用程序和内容。

Apple helped seal the deal last week when it announced that its new phones this year — the iPhone XR, XS and XS Max — would have screens that measured between 5.8 inches and 6.5 inches diagonally, compared with 4.7 inches and 5.5 inches two years ago. In fact, the 6.5-inch screen on the iPhone XS Max is Apple’s biggest ever. (The original iPhone in 2007 started with a 3.5-inch screen.)

苹果上周推出的本年度新款手机iPhone XR、XS和XS Max，也为这个趋势站台，它们的对角线尺寸介于5.8英寸（约合15厘米）至6.5英寸（约合17厘米）之间，而两年前的版本是4.7英寸（约合12厘米）至5.5英寸（约合14厘米）。事实上，显示屏达到6.5英寸的iPhone XS Max，是苹果有史以来最大的手机。（第一款iPhone于2007年推出，屏幕为3.5英寸[约合9厘米]）。

I have been troubled by this trend. These devices spend a lot of time in your pocket and your hand, and there are often compromises in portability and comfort when the screens balloon in size. For those reasons, I never liked the Plus phones, the line of iPhones that Apple introduced in 2014 with 5.5-inch screens. They felt impossible to use with one hand and far too bulky in a pocket.

这个趋势一直令我觉得困扰。这些设备有相当一部分时间是放在你的口袋里，或者手上，在屏幕变大的情况下，它势必会影响到便携性和舒适性。出于这些原因，我一直不喜欢Plus手机，这是苹果在2014年推出的5.5英寸屏幕的iPhone。它们单手握不住，放在口袋里太大。

So it’s humbling³ to come to you now with another confession⁴: The iPhone XS and the iPhone XS Max may be making me a convert to bigger smartphones.

所以，现在我要心怀谦卑地向你们坦白另一件事：iPhone XS和iPhone XS Max可能会让我转向更大的智能手机。

Last week, I began testing both new iPhone models. I had predicted that the larger display on the XS Max would be unwieldy in my pocket and make the phone cumbersome⁵ to hold with one hand while typing and reaching for buttons inside apps.

上周，我开始测试这两款新iPhone。我曾经预测，XS Max更大的显示屏不方便放在口袋里，而且在一只手拿着手机的时候打字或者伸手去够应用里的按钮，会很狼狈。

There were other things I figured I would dislike. The prices of Apple’s phones, for one, have shot up. The XS will start at $999 and the XS Max at $1,099 when both become available on Friday, compared with $699, $799 and $999 for new iPhones last year. The iPhone XR, which will be released on Oct. 19, is starting at $749.

还有其他的方面，我想我也不会太喜欢。比如，苹果手机的价格越来越贵。XS的售价从999美元起，XS Max从1099美元起，而去年的新款iPhone的起价分别为699美元、799美元和999美元。10月19日发布的iPhone XR起价749美元。

None of the new phones were making huge technological⁶ leaps from last year, either. The iPhone XS and XS Max have a dual-lens camera, while the XR has a single-lens camera. All three iPhones include Face ID, the feature for unlocking the phone using face recognition.

与去年的型号相比，今年的新款手机在技术上并没有出现巨大的飞跃。iPhone XS和XS Max搭载一个双镜头摄像头，而XR配备的是单镜头摄像头。所有三款iPhone都带有面部识别功能，也就是用脸给手机解锁。

Yet after running the 6.5-inch XS Max alongside the 5.8-inch XS through different situations and conditions for a week, I was surprised by my reaction. Far from being disappointed by the supersized devices, I was delighted.

然而，在不同的情境和条件下试用了6.5英寸的XS Max和5.8英寸的XS一周后，我对自己的反应感到吃惊。超大尺寸的设备完全没有让我失望，反而用得很高兴。

The trade-offs of the new jumbo model felt minor⁷. By eliminating the bezels, which are the screen’s borders, Apple did a terrific job of increasing screen size without adding bulk² or compromising the usability of the XS Max. I still think the smaller XS is a better fit for most people, but many would enjoy the XS Max.

这款巨无霸型号在设计上并没有做出太大的妥协。通过消除屏幕边框，苹果在增加屏幕尺寸而不增加体积或降低XS Max的可用性方面，做得很不错。我仍然认为较小的XS更适合大多数人，但很多人会喜欢XS Max。

Here’s how all the testing went down.

以下是所有的测评结果。

I began by testing the iPhone XS Max because why not start with the biggest device? I moved my SIM card and all my data from an older iPhone to the new gadget⁸ and took it with me to dinner parties, bars, meetings and the gym.

我从iPhone XS Max开始测试，为什么不从最大的设备开始呢？我把SIM卡和所有数据从旧的iPhone转到新设备上，带着它去参加晚宴、泡吧、开会和健身。

After three days, I was surprised by how good it felt to use the XS Max with one hand. A key factor was how Apple had managed to cram⁹ a bigger screen into a slightly smaller body. (The body of the Plus phones was 6.24 inches by 3.07 inches, while the XS Max’s body is 6.2 inches by 3.05 inches.)

三天后，单手使用XS Max的感觉之好令我惊讶。一个关键因素是苹果设法将更大的屏幕塞入略小的机身中。（Plus手机的机身为6.24英寸[约合15厘米]x 3.07英寸[约合8厘米]，而XS Max的机身为6.2英寸[约合15厘米] x 3.05英寸[约合8厘米]。）

These changes amounted to meaningful improvements in ergonomics and overall convenience. I was able to hold the XS Max in one hand and type messages easily. In contrast, my thumb could not reach keys on the sides of the older iPhone 8 Plus, like the shift key or the backspace key, because of the space taken up by the bezel.

这些变化在人体工程学和整体便利性方面是有意义的改进。我可以一手握住XS Max并轻松输入消息。相比之下，由于边框占据空间，我在单手使用旧款iPhone 8 Plus时，拇指无法触及侧边的按键，比如切换键或退格键。

And I found the jumbo-screen XS Max particularly beneficial in several instances. While driving, it was easier to read maps. The bigger screen made writing longer emails — a task that I usually do on a laptop — more pleasant. The display was also nice for reading recipes in the kitchen.

我发现XS Max的巨型屏幕在几个场景中特别有用。开车时查看地图更方便了。更大的屏幕适合撰写更长的电子邮件——这是我经常在笔记本电脑上要做的事。这个显示器也很适合在厨房里阅读食谱。

While browsing¹⁰ Instagram next to my partner, I said to her: “If you can use this thing with one hand, who would want the smaller phone if you only have to pay $100 more for this huge screen?”

在伴侣身边浏览Instagram时，我对她说：“如果你可以用一只手来使用这个东西，而且为了这个巨大的屏幕只需多花100美元，谁还会想要更小的手机呢？”

“But does it fit inside your pocket?” she asked.

“但它能放进你的口袋吗？”她问。

That brings me to the iPhone XS. After taking the larger XS Max everywhere with me for three days and feeling good about it, I switched to the iPhone XS — and immediately experienced a sense of relief.

这让我想到了iPhone XS。在随身带着大块头的XS Max过了三天并且感觉很不错之后，我转而使用iPhone XS——立刻就有了一种解脱感。

I found I simply preferred the XS’s smaller body for the very basic task of moving around. Having the smaller phone in my pocket felt less obtrusive¹¹ during dog walks, long hikes and gym sessions.

我发现自己更喜欢在四处溜达的时候，用XS较小的机身来完成基本任务。在遛狗、长途徒步旅行和健身课程中，把较小的手机放在口袋里，感觉不那么突兀了。

I also found the XS easier to use as a camera. While the XS and XS Max share identical camera systems, which produce excellent, clear photos with natural-looking colors in normal and lowlight conditions, the smaller phone worked better in a pinch because it was easier to pull out of a pocket and quickly stabilize¹² to take a clear shot.

我还发现用XS做相机更容易。虽然XS和XS Max拥有相同的相机系统，可以在正常和光线不好的条件下拍出出色、清晰的照片和自然的色彩，但小巧的手机在紧急情况下使用起来更方便，因为它更容易从口袋中拿出来，并且可以快速稳定下来，拍出一张清晰的照片。

As a self-diagnosed phone addict¹³ who is trying to cut down on screen time, I decided¹⁴ the XS also felt healthier for me. The XS Max screen was so good-looking that I wanted to keep reading articles and looking at photos on Instagram. When I used Apple’s new Screen Time feature to monitor my use of each device, I discovered that I spent an average of roughly five and a half hours a day on the XS Max, two hours more than on the XS.

我自认是手机瘾君子，并且试图减少使用手机的时间，我认为XS对我来说也更健康。XS Max的屏幕非常好看，以至于我想一直用它阅读文章，在Instagram上看图片。当我用Apple新的“屏幕时间”功能来监控自己对每台设备的使用状况时，发现我在XS Max上平均每天花费大约五个半小时，比XS多两个小时。

So where does that leave us? I concluded I no longer had any real objection to the bigger size of the iPhone XS Max, but felt that the smaller XS was still a better mobile phone because it was just as capable but more portable and pocketable.

那么我们该怎么选呢？我的结论是，我不再对iPhone XS Max的大尺寸有任何实际的反对意见，但我依然认为，较小的XS是一款更好的手机，因为它的能力同样强大，但更方便携带，可以放在口袋里。

That means if you are a more casual technology user who wants a superb smartphone that is comfortable to carry, I recommend you go for the XS. If you plan to treat your phone as a primary computer, go for the XS Max.

这意味着，如果你是一个更为休闲的科技用户，想要一款携带方便、性能卓越的智能手机，我建议你选择XS。如果你打算将手机当做主电脑使用，那就选XS Max吧。

One flaw frustrated¹⁵ me in both iPhones: the poor design of Reachability, the software feature that was designed to make larger phone screens easier to use with one hand. On past iPhones, Reachability let people tap the home button twice to lower the top of the screen and reach for the buttons up there. Now there is no home button, so the new way to trigger Reachability is to swipe down from the bottom of the screen.

两个iPhone都有一个缺陷，令我感到沮丧：单手操作模式(Reachability)的设计很差，这个软件功能旨在让单手更容易使用更大的手机屏幕。在过去的iPhone上，单手操作模式允许人们点击home按钮两次以降低屏幕顶部，并触摸那里的按钮。现在没有了home按键，因此触发单手操作模式的新方法是从屏幕底部向下滑动。

That’s problematic because when you swipe from the bottom, it’s easy to unintentionally hit a button on the bottom of an app, like the search tab inside Instagram or the video tab inside Facebook. There is a clear opportunity here for Apple to use the iPhone’s pressure sensitivity, called 3D Touch, to let you press hard on the bottom of the screen to trigger Reachability. But for now, we are stuck with swiping down.

这是有问题的，因为当从底部滑动时，很容易无意中点击到应用程序底部的按钮，例如Instagram的搜索标签或Facebook的视频标签。很明显，苹果可以用上iPhone被称为3D Touch的压力敏感度功能，让用户用力按压屏幕底部以触发单手操作系统。但目前我们还是得使用向下滑动。

Apple said the Reachability swipe gesture was designed as a quick action to let people easily reach for the top of the screen.

苹果表示，单手操作系统的滑动手势旨在让人们轻松触及屏幕顶部。

What about the iPhone XR?

iPhone XR怎么样？

So who should get the entry-level iPhone XR? Apple did not provide a review unit for the XR because it will be released next month, so I can’t say with authority.

那么谁应该购买入门级的iPhone XR呢？苹果没有为XR提供测评样机，因为它将在下个月发售，所以我的话不具备权威性。

But I suspect it will largely come down to whether you can live with a single-lens camera, which doesn’t do as good a job taking those D.S.L.R.-like photos with a blurred-out background and a sharpened foreground. The XS is about $250 more than the XR, but after shooting photos like the one below, I’m sold on dual-lens cameras.

但我怀疑这在很大程度上取决于你是否愿意接受单镜头相机，这在拍摄那些具有模糊背景和锐化前景的单反式照片时，效果不是那么好。XS比XR大约贵上250美元，但在拍了下面的照片之后，我被双镜头相机折服了。

For years, Apple customers have gotten in the habit of buying a new iPhone sight unseen. But now that there are several sizes for different prices, I encourage you to try before you buy. It may not hurt to wait for the XR’s release next month so you can test all three in a store. Play with the cameras and pay close attention to how each phone feels in one hand and inside your pocket.

多年来，苹果的消费者已经养成了事前不看就购买新iPhone的习惯。但现在有了不同价格的几种尺寸，我鼓励你在购买之前先试一下。等到XR下个月发布又不会有什么坏处，届时你就可以在店里对所有三款手机进行测试。玩一玩相机，并且留意每款手机用单手手持和放在口袋里的感觉。

It’s important that you find the right fit: Since you have to pay so much for your next iPhone, you will probably live with it for a long time. And who knows? You might assume you will dislike a bigger screen and then change your mind — just as I did.

最重要的是找到适合自己的：因为你要为这部iPhone花那么多的钱，你可能会使用很长时间。谁知道呢？你可能原本会觉得自己不喜欢更大的屏幕，然后又改变主意——就像我一样。