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iPhone XR Any one have any thoughts on why Apple chose to go with the iPhone 8 resolution for the XR?

S

shenfrey

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May 23, 2010
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I mean, the phone is bigger than the 8 plus so I find it fairly odd that it doesn’t support at least 1080p. I have two possible reasons for this. Potentially to keep the cost down? Or to make the iPhone XR 2 look like a bigger upgrade.

But maybe there are other practical reasons, anyone have any ideas?
 
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They probably had extra resources for 720p type of screens. Same reason they’re still using lightning ports. They’re probably trying to get rid of excess inventory in the warehouse before committing to a change.
 
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Practical reason is Apple designed the XR to compete with Chinese smartphones.

The XR was designed for the Chinese market. Huawei, Oppo, and Vivo launched a couple of 6" phones with 300 PPI last year and this year. They were very successful and it's pretty clear Apple went after that model.
 
The resolution between the 8 and XR is not the same. 8 is 750 x 1334 while the XR is 828 x 1792, but they both have the same PPI (pixels per inch) of 326. My guess is it was cheaper and less taxing on the battery/processor and yes maybe next year's XR refresh (if there is one) will have a resolution bump as a marketing differentiator.
 
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shenfrey said:
I mean, the phone is bigger than the 8 plus so I find it fairly odd that it doesn’t support at least 1080p. I have two possible reasons for this. Potentially to keep the cost down? Or to make the iPhone XR 2 look like a bigger upgrade.

But maybe there are other practical reasons, anyone have any ideas?
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Erm... because the XR has absolutely cutting edge first of its kind technology and this was probably the most comfortable resolution they made it work with? Plus their is absolutely NOTHING wrong with the same resolution as the iPhone 7...

Tell me, have you posted this same question over in the iPad Pro forum in here? If not why not?
 
They had the production line set up for the iPhone 7/8, so they can just cut the sheets of screen to a slightly larger size? I'm guessing as it's more costly to also round the corners and bend the screen back at the bottom for the chinless design, the budget didn't allow for more expensive, higher PPI panels? 401ppi is still pretty cutting edge for LCD, and with the plus iPhones I expect they benefitted from the standard aspect and resolution, making it a more off the shelf order than the fully custom one for the XR.
 
shenfrey said:
I mean, the phone is bigger than the 8 plus so I find it fairly odd that it doesn’t support at least 1080p. I have two possible reasons for this. Potentially to keep the cost down? Or to make the iPhone XR 2 look like a bigger upgrade.

But maybe there are other practical reasons, anyone have any ideas?
Click to expand...
Convincing sheep is not hard.
 
shenfrey said:
I mean, the phone is bigger than the 8 plus so I find it fairly odd that it doesn’t support at least 1080p. I have two possible reasons for this. Potentially to keep the cost down? Or to make the iPhone XR 2 look like a bigger upgrade.

But maybe there are other practical reasons, anyone have any ideas?
Click to expand...

Apple likes to ration certain features, being the iPhone is updated annually. Personally, I don’t think the consumer cares either way between a 828 Display and 1080 P. All they see is the new form factor, Face ID and six new colors.
 
Relentless Power said:
Apple likes to ration certain features, being the iPhone is updated annually. Personally, I don’t think the consumer cares either way between a 828 Display and 1080 P. All they see is the new form factor, Face ID and six new colors.
Click to expand...

Also, I suppose it’s difficult to really tell the difference
 
IMO cost is the biggest factor and that's the biggest drawback to seeing the XR in person is the screen isn't good but I think and forgive my love of saying IMO but bringing out the XR on the same year as the XS and XS MAX with a far superior screen just hurt apple because people immediately began comparing the two.

Android is android and the S8 has a nice screen but many people don't like android like that, if APPLE would have maybe brought out the XR last year that would probably make a difference.

ALso I don't know how important portrait mode is or 3d touch but that may also play a small factor into it but the biggest is looking at the screen and comparing it to even a older Samsung phone the screen looks pretty dim.

Apple could have killed it with the XR maybe a few years back when people wanted a cheap iphone with a big screen with newer features.
 
Cost for sure. Looking at the XR screen in person its not bad at all. People coming from the regular 6/7/8 will find its good. But once you see the high res OLED screen its a clear downgrade.
 
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Apple went with the 828p display on the XR for a very simple reason: Upselling the iPhone XS/XS max. If the XR had a 1080p display, then whatever little difference there is in text clarity bewtween the XR and XS, would've gone away. With both the LCD and OLED, having the same brightness and color calibration, it would have become impossible for apple to sell the OLED models solely on the basis of contrast ratio (which is also apparent in dark environments). XR would completely cannibalize the sales of the more expensive models.

This is also the reason why XR's successor will also not have a 1080p display.
 
AKS3003 said:
Apple went with the 828p display on the XR for a very simple reason: Upselling the iPhone XS/XS max. If the XR had a 1080p display, then whatever little difference there is in text clarity bewtween the XR and XS, would've gone away. With both the LCD and OLED, having the same brightness and color calibration, it would have become impossible for apple to sell the OLED models solely on the basis of contrast ratio (which is also apparent in dark environments). XR would completely cannibalize the sales of the more expensive models.

This is also the reason why XR's successor will also not have a 1080p display.
Click to expand...

There are still other differences though.

No 3D Touch
No Object detection in portrait mode
No Telephoto camera lens
No OLED Display
Inferior water resistance

I don’t think they needed to reduce the resolution size in order to sell more iPhone XS and XS Max devices. But it’s all about cost and savings I guess.
 
se1000 said:
Because Apple didn't want yet another PPI variant and the 6+/6s+/7+/8+ already is an oddball. This way they can just do a 2x render and keep a matching 326 PPI. Their only other alternative would have been to make the Xr screen the same physical size as the Xs Max (too big).

https://www.paintcodeapp.com/news/ultimate-guide-to-iphone-resolutions
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I’m sure cost and margins come into play, but I’d argue this ^ is the biggest reason.

Also, I don’t see this changing in the XR update next year (or whatever it will be called). I imagine @3x rendering/displays will be reserved for the XS models.
 
profets said:
I’m sure cost and margins come into play, but I’d argue this ^ is the biggest reason.

Also, I don’t see this changing in the XR update next year (or whatever it will be called). I imagine @3x rendering/displays will be reserved for the XS models.
Click to expand...

I think it depends what will be the standard in 2019. If everybody offers 3x displays for their better phones Apple cannot offer 2x anymore....
 
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