[THE INVESTOR] US products evaluator Consumer Reports placed Samsung Electronics’ Galaxy Note 9 smartphone above the iPhone XS and XS Max by its archrival Apple, its latest ratings showed on Oct. 5.

According to Consumer Reports’ research, the iPhone XS and XS Max were placed in the second and third spot among the latest smartphones, with the Galaxy Note 9 taking the top spot.

“The most noticeable improvement is in battery life. Previous iPhones have typically lagged the competition in this area, but the new models have a lot more staying power, now rating among the industry‘s leaders,” Consumer Reports said of the new iPhones.

“They didn’t outscore the No. 1-rated Samsung Galaxy Note 9, but they managed to come close,” the agency added.

Its test showed the battery of the iPhone XS lasted 24.5 hours, and that of the iPhone XS Max came to 26 hours. The Galaxy Note 9 held a comparable figure of 29 hours.

By Song Seung-hyun and newswires (ssh@heraldcorp.com)