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iPhone XR After owning an XR for 4 months, I don’t understand why Apple made the phone so big

puma1552 said:
Sorry, why again do you absolutely HAVE to limit yourself to phones that have two sim slots?

You can just swap sims like the rest of humanity if the phone that does offer 2 sim slots is not to your liking. Sure, it might not be as convenient as having two sim slots, but it seems like the tradeoffs for phones with two sim slots (too big/heavy, crappy internet) are problems that will exist 100% of the time you use the 2 sim slot phone, while swapping a sim is a momentary inconvenience on a phone you actually like to use the other 99% of the time. Honestly, seems like you've just manufactured a problem that doesn't need to exist.
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All my friends and family text me on my phone number. I also receive important phone calls from time to time.

I cannot take my T-Mobile sim card out of my phone for any duration for the above reason.

Thus, the only way to get faster than 2G data and receive texts and phone calls from my USA number is dual sim.

When I purchased the XR, the iPhone XS and XS Max didn't even support eSIMs yet. And I just found out that TMobile eSIM only works with prepaid and I'm on postpaid so eSIMS are a no go for me. Luckily I was in Hong Kong at the time and snatched the China version which had dual physical sims.

My only other choice was the China version of the XS Max but that was 47% more expensive and is even heavier.

One option I considered was Project Fi which gave you 4G LTE data in most countries but I'd have to switch to Android which I didn't want to because my ecosystem was Apple.
 
senttoschool said:
I said virtually - so I'm not wrong. Each physical generation (iPhone 2G to iPhone 4 to iPhone 5 to iPhone 6) of the iPhone decreased in thickness with the exception of the X which increased in thickness. However, even though the X increased in thickness, it was a small increase and most people didn't care.

The XR increased in thickness by nearly 14% from the body of iPhone 8. That, to me, is simply an idiotic design choice.
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The 7 increased in thickness as did the 8 over that as well
 
puma1552 said:
How's the Xr from a pocketability standpoint?
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It’s a problem. I love the phone, but when I don’t have winter coat on I have to carry it in a humungous belt case. It fits in my jeans front pocket, but I fear bending it if I sit. That’s OK in winter when I always wear a jumper. Not sure what I’m going to do in summer. I carried my 6 in cargo pockets, but it ended up with multiple tiny hairline cracks that I think were caused by bending doing that.
 
senttoschool said:
I upgraded from a 6S to an XR because I needed the dual sim feature as I travel a lot and at the cheaper price.

After using it for 4 months, I still don’t understand why Apple made the XR the way it is.

First, you’d think that the bigger screen means better video viewing. Nope. Videos don’t support the XR’s weird resolution so you’ll just end up with black bars on the left and right side.

The bigger screen really doesn’t add that much to the experience.

Second, the phone is thicker than all the iphones before it except for the first generation or two. This makes the phone really hard to hold - combined with its big size. Reviewers have said the same thing. Somehow the XS Max is easier to hold than the XR even though the XR is smaller.

Third, The phone is heavy. It’s heavy enough that it hurts my pinky when holding it in vertical position. I’ve never had a phone that was uncomfortable to hold until the XR.

Apple made the XR thick and heavy without a good reason. It would have been far better if they made it the same size as the iPhone 6 physically but without the home button.
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Could not agree more to every one of your observations. I really wanted a 6" screen size but the XR is incredibly uncomfortable for me to hold and use. Almost as bad as the 8Plus I'm trying to get away from. I don't understand why the current line of iPhones are so darn heavy?

I dabbled into the Android ecosystem last year and tried an LG V30. That was the perfect size and weight for a 6" screen and was what I was hoping the XR was going to be like but sadly, that is not the case.

Guess its the X or XS for me until Apple can come up with something better.
 
It's large because it has forgone the R&D that went with the XS and XS Max to bring down the cost. Open it up and it's a frankenmonster of 8 Plus internal layout and a thicker liquid retina display. (no two-layered logic board).

Of course it won't translate well to thickness and weight but I'm getting the best battery life of any iPhone out there and beats carrying around a charger or a powerbank. To me, that's still a win. XR beats XS Max in battery life FYI.
 
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senttoschool said:
With all the advancement in tech, they couldn’t make the phone as thin or thinner than predecessors. That’s a fail.
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Wrong. Thinner doesn’t equate to an advancement.

The XR packs an advanced LCD that is thicker than previous generations due to the curved panel and its integration with Face ID. You also have QI wireless charging, a huge battery, glass thick enough to survive, “life,” and an aluminium band that has a relocated lightning port and sim tray that was influenced by the internal component’ design. It’s also lighter than either XS model.

The XR, at the end of the day, is also a budget model. The engineering is based off of lower cost to manurfacture. It’s not a luxury device like the XS lineup.

It’s really strange to have such a knock against dual physical SIM capability. How did you get along without two SIMs in a 6S, and then layer all of these expectations on a product you bought with your own free will?

Did you know that every time you take your phone in to the Genius Bar, they’ll have to order you the exact model if it ever needs replacement, which could take up to a week? Did you also know that if you purchased AppleCare+ in China that the phone isn’t covered in the US?

Sounds like you like digging holes to get trapped in down the road.

It seems like you should’ve gone for the XS if you wanted a smaller phone. I’m still laughing at your comment... “Apple made it thick and heavy without a good reason.” You should be a comedian!

Also, since your requirement for dual-SIMs were a flamboyant fantasy that dissolved once you found that your carrier doesn’t yet support post-paid eSIM capability, why don’t you switch carriers?

So many confusing things about this situation. Very odd.
 
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Mac'nCheese said:
Who knows if a new smaller phone would br successful.
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Probably for a smaller demographic, but yes, I think there is a place for a smaller iPhone in this world, the SE was evidence of that for almost three years. And it’s Not because Apple should just do it for the sake of appeasing to their customer base, but having diversity for different iPhone sizes, allows for more customers to have options without being pushed to a ‘one size only’ with larger iPhones.
 
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Honestly I find the plus size iPhones quite uncomfortable to hold without a case, so I can see it being thicker as a positive if you don't wish to use one. As for the footprint, well, people want big screened phones. Maybe eventually we will see a smaller variant launch, though I'm not sure the current design could accommodate a smaller version while retaining the notch.
 
People want big phones. The main complaint about the X was that it is "too small".


Apple probably thought that there are more people who want bigger phone than those who want smaller phone. That is why they made the XR 6.1 inch.


People want to watch YouTube, Netflix, browse the Web, use Facebook, Instagram on big screens...
 
kildraik said:
Wrong. Thinner doesn’t equate to an advancement.

The XR packs an advanced LCD that is thicker than previous generations due to the curved panel and its integration with Face ID. You also have QI wireless charging, a huge battery, glass thick enough to survive, “life,” and an aluminium band that has a relocated lightning port and sim tray that was influenced by the internal component’ design. It’s also lighter than either XS model.

The XR, at the end of the day, is also a budget model. The engineering is based off of lower cost to manurfacture. It’s not a luxury device like the XS lineup.

It’s really strange to have such a knock against dual physical SIM capability. How did you get along without two SIMs in a 6S, and then layer all of these expectations on a product you bought with your own free will?

Did you know that every time you take your phone in to the Genius Bar, they’ll have to order you the exact model if it ever needs replacement, which could take up to a week? Did you also know that if you purchased AppleCare+ in China that the phone isn’t covered in the US?

Sounds like you like digging holes to get trapped in down the road.

It seems like you should’ve gone for the XS if you wanted a smaller phone. I’m still laughing at your comment... “Apple made it thick and heavy without a good reason.” You should be a comedian!

Also, since your requirement for dual-SIMs were a flamboyant fantasy that dissolved once you found that your carrier doesn’t yet support post-paid eSIM capability, why don’t you switch carriers?

So many confusing things about this situation. Very odd.
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Wow, a very strange reply.

Yes, the XR packs a lot of modern tech. My whole point was that Apple made a decision to pack all the tech instead of making the phone smaller, weigh less, and thinner.

It’s really strange to have such a knock against dual physical SIM capability. How did you get along without two SIMs in a 6S, and then layer all of these expectations on a product you bought with your own free will?
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I don't have a knock against dual physical SIM. I actually require dual physical SIMs. I'm not sure why you think I have a knock against it.

To answer your question, I got along miserably without dual physical SIMs - hence why I was so eager to purchase the XR when it was came out. I still prefer the XR to the iPhone 6S in every day life because it has dual sims and my life is better now.

Also, since your requirement for dual-SIMs were a flamboyant fantasy that dissolved once you found that your carrier doesn’t yet support post-paid eSIM capability, why don’t you switch carriers?
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eSIMS weren't supported for any carrier until I believe December - 3 months after the release of the XR. I wasn't going to wait 3 months when I could just purchase the XR and get dual sim capability right away.

Also, having the dual physical SIMS made it so that I have the option of switching out of T-Mobile and into a carrier that doesn't have eSIM.

As to your question on why I don't switch out of T-Mobile and into a carrier that supports full eSIM, here's why:

1. My XR is dual physical SIM capable so I don't care if T-Mobile supports eSIM
2. If you remember, Apple didn't release support for eSIMS right away and they had to depend on carriers adding support for it. The right choice for me at the time was to just grab the more flexible dual physical sim phone.
2. Yes, if my XR didn't have dual physical SIMs, I could conceivability switch away from T-Mobile.

So many confusing things about this situation. Very odd.
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If you're confused, I'll spell out the logic clearly here:

1. Had iPhone 6S and T-Mobile and needed to travel a lot.
2. Relied on T-Mobile's free 128kbs 2G international roaming which is slow as crap.
2. Couldn't just switch to a local SIM because I relied on text messages and phone calls to my USA T-Mobile number
3. Was super excited when Apple announced dual sim support in new iPhones. Had my eye on XR because it was cheapest and smallest phone that supported dual physical SIMs.
4. XR's China version had dual physical sim support which meant I didn't have to wait for Apple and my carrier to support eSIM
5. Purchased China version of XR in Hong Kong on release date
6. Used it for many months and hated how big, heavy, and thick it is.
7. Finally decided to post my frustrations online here about my experience on how poor ergonomics of the XR is
8. I still wouldn't go back to the iPhone 6S because having dual physical sims is still better for my life than a bigger phone

What would you have done differently?
 
I had the Xr for 3 weeks and it was large and heavy BUT for me the insane battery life was worth the size, it was the best thing about that phone imho, one day I had like 12 hours of screen on time and was still at 40% (using a messaging app all day) my 7 would have had 2 full charges to get that time in that app.
 
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senttoschool said:
decided to post my frustrations online here about my experience on how poor ergonomics of the XR
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Not trying to single your post out here intentionally and I gather I’m being technical, but you’re using the term ergonomics out of context. That’s not what that means, what ergonomics means is that the phone is designed for everybody to hold/use regardless, rather it be comfortable for you, is based on _your_ hand size, it’s not that the phone was designed poorly, when Apple sells millions of units across the world, that doesn’t translate to the ergonomics being poor if the XR, it means that your preference of the phone size isn't necessarily adjustable to your own hand due XYZ reasons.
 
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tatsuki said:
I had the Xr for 3 weeks and it was large and heavy BUT for me the insane battery life was worth the size, it was the best thing about that phone imho, one day I had like 12 hours of screen on time and was still at 40% (using a messaging app all day) my 7 would have had 2 full charges to get that time in that app.
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If there was one phone I could suggest that Apple made in terms of battery longevity, undoubtedly would be the XR. And I wouldn’t say that necessarily just because I think the XR is the ‘best looking phone’, but in today’s world of efficiency when smart phones require more battery life due to media, 4K video, software updates, general usage for calls/notifications, it’s crucial to have a strong battery, and the XR is far more tempting to consider for the battery life alone as you indicated.
 
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Even $70 TracFone burner phones are 5" now.

I don't think any company is racing to make tiny phones anymore.
 
I'm confused by people who say the XR is heavier / harder to hold than the XS Max. I own an XS Max, but every time I handle an XR in the store, I sometimes which my XS Max was that size.
 
Having owned a XR for over a month now, I’ve got so used to it that it feels small.

I only realise how big the screen is when I pick up my wife’s iPhone 7.
 
I upgraded from a 5 to an Xr.

Took me a little while to adjust but now I would never go back.

I just got used size and weight . Might be a a little bit thicker but worth it for the lcd and battery life.
 
Two days without charging the XR, that is the best of this phone.

The 8 and the charger weights more.

It depend on your needs, you have options, the 8 is a solid phone also in 2019.
 
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