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Redditor MonstersUGrad98 confirms that the XR uses the same iOS layout as Plus-sized iPhones, showing a two-column split view in apps like Messages and Mail.

Sorry but this is incorrect. For some unknown reason messages behaves like a plus phone with a sidebar in landscape but mail doesn’t. And this is even true for the XS Max. I have no idea why but I’ve confirmed this. The Apple person in the store was not even aware until I showed him.
 
IMG-0830.jpg

XR vs X

Just based off that side-by-side comparison, it really is amazing to see how vibrant and colorful the XR LCD display is compared to the X. I can’t really even tell the difference with this picture alone.
 
Sorry but this is incorrect. For some unknown reason messages behaves like a plus phone with a sidebar in landscape but mail doesn’t. And this is even true for the XS Max. I have no idea why but I’ve confirmed this. The Apple person in the store was not even aware until I showed him.
The mail app does show split view with the XS Max.

Open an email in landscape > then click the top left blue arrow showing the blue number circle. That will put mail in split view.

Messages also show in split view.
 
What I took from that...
- A lot of 6/7/8 sized phone users upset about the size. I'm not sure what they were expecting. The device sizes are clearly stated on the Apple page. Everybody owns a ruler.
- A rather concerning few photos showing the stark difference in video quality. I'd like to see more of that comparison as the photos were quite poor.
- One bloke reckons he's got big hands but if this phone is too big then I suggest otherwise.
- Bezels!
 
Longtime lurker and former SE owner here. Got my XR upgrade (from an 8) today, and wow. This is one helluva phone. First impression out of the box is appropriately premium and appropriately Apple.

The size is going to take some getting used to, for sure. I thought the 8 was a monster when I first got it, and the XR, in a relatively minimal case, feels like a plus-sized phone for sure. But the benefit is a screen that feels about twice as large as the one on the 8. I haven’t experienced OLED on a phone, though I have it on my watch. Wouldn’t say I’m missing it on the phone, though if I were going from an OLED to this screen I might disagree. Coming from an 8, though, this feels like a major improvement.

Face ID feels like magic. Seriously, it’s crazy to me that this even works.

I went with the coral option (in part because I was making the purchasing decision at 3 am on preorder day... stupid time zones) and am actually really happy with it—it’s not nearly as pink as I was worried it might be. Kind of melon-y, maybe. Really nice, though.

I am missing having an earphone indicator in the status bar—with AirPods it’s sometimes hard to tell whether they’ve connected and that was a handy indicator. Also haven’t found a way to get battery percentage instead of just a bar graph.I’m also not sure about the keyboard placement—seems like there’s some wasted space underneath.

Overall really pleased with this purchase. YMMV, but coming from an 8 or earlier I expect this will feel like a major upgrade.

Pull down control center. Headphones icon and battery percentage are both there.
 
LMAO at all the 1st World complaints in here. It’s a great device at an acceptable (for 2018) price. Go spend your $1,000+ for your .009876 thinner bezels. Spend all day looking at your displays at absurd angles. I wonder how many children in Apalacacola could eat for a week for $1,400. :apple:
I agree. Some people really have to study a long time before they can come up with deficiencies. My SO got a Coral 64GB XR today. No line to wait in, lots of configs to choose from. This is really an outstanding smartphone. I have a X and in comparison to that, the XR doesn't fall short at all. Sure, it's a price point product. But it's REALLY nice, and the display is terrific. And it's a very very fast device.

The only thing I wish it had is a variable aperture camera. There's no need for a second camera like my X has if it had that. And then it wouldn't have to rely on all this "computational photography" to get effects like depth of field. But that's not a XR problem, all smartphones have that.
 
Received mine this morning. It really is beautiful and well built. The white version is just perfect. Very solid device.

Unfortunately, I am very atune to screen issues, no matter how slight, and my unit had a slightly darker vertical band on the right side of the screen especially viewable on darker colors like dark gray. If it was $150 like the SE I bought in August I would have kept it, but for $800+ I couldn’t in good conscience. Returned it and I’ll give it a try once more when the sim free unlocked versions are available.

That said, the issue wasn’t that noticeable, and there were no dead pixels or dust under the glass, which is impressive for a device that size compared to my experiences with Apple in the past. Also no hairline scratches on the glass or nicks in the aluminum. Seems they did a really good job with quality control overall, which is a pleasant surprise.

I really liked the feel of the phone in the hand, it’s substantial but not heavy. Still not a fan of the notch, but I actually liked the bezels. One negative was that, in the short time I had it, when viewing videos that don’t take up the whole screen, any black surrounding the video noticeably contrasts with the pure black of the bezels, unlike on the X or XS with their OLED screen. I couldn’t stand the color shifting of the X’s OLED screen, so this device is much better in my opinion.
 
Received mine this morning. It really is beautiful and well built. The white version is just perfect. Very solid device.

Unfortunately, I am very atune to screen issues, no matter how slight, and my unit had a slightly darker vertical band on the right side of the screen especially viewable on darker colors like dark gray. If it was $150 like the SE I bought in August I would have kept it, but for $800+ I couldn’t in good conscience. Returned it and I’ll give it a try once more when the sim free unlocked versions are available.

That said, the issue wasn’t that noticeable, and there were no dead pixels or dust under the glass, which is impressive for a device that size compared to my experiences with Apple in the past. Also no hairline scratches on the glass or nicks in the aluminum. Seems they did a really good job with quality control overall, which is a pleasant surprise.

I really liked the feel of the phone in the hand, it’s substantial but not heavy. Still not a fan of the notch, but I actually liked the bezels. One negative was that, in the short time I had it, when viewing videos that don’t take up the whole screen, any black surrounding the video noticeably contrasts with the pure black of the bezels, unlike on the X or XS with their OLED screen. I couldn’t stand the color shifting of the X’s OLED screen, so this device is much better in my opinion.
If you buy the phone in full from Apple, you can use on any carrier. No need to wait for SIM free model.

All of the phones are the same starting with the X.
 
got a black iphone xr 128 gb today. First impressions when compared to xs that i returned today.
Iphone XR has better speeds and reception than iphone xs that i had. (I had 2 XSs and both had poor lte and wifi reception when compared to previous iphone 7 on Verizon).
Iphone XR lcd screen is not as sharp as oled XS screen but good enough for me.
Speakers on XR are a little louder than XS.
Camera on XR is fine for me.
Bezels on XR are bigger but it does not bug me.
I like the size of XR more than XS. Bigger but not too big but my hands are big.
 
Well, I'm a Note owner and am sort of a screen snob. That said, I think the XR's screen is really good. Text was sharp and I didn't notice much color shift (I was in a bright Apple store so I don't know if that makes a difference?). Also, the size is really nice. A lot can be done one-handed. It was smooth and responsive. The product Red and Blue were really sharp colors.

Congrats to Apple on a hit!
 
If you buy the phone in full from Apple, you can use on any carrier. No need to wait for SIM free model.

All of the phones are the same starting with the X.

Ah okay, I was under the impression that the true unlocked model was the sim free version. I have cricket, so I bought the AT&T model but was thinking if I switched to, say, Verizon sometime in the future it would not have worked. I wonder why Apple is not selling a sim free version of the XR at launch. They did with the XS and XS Max I think.
 
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It costs a little more than an 8 plus did because it has a larger, more complicated screen design and the more expensive FaceID array.

The 8+ had a dual camera setup, touch ID, force touch, and a higher resolution screen.

And the 8+ wasn't even last year's flagship phone, yet it was cheaper than the XR.
 
Yeah the ram is 3GB but it’s not reused components from the iPhone 8 Plus. It’s built into the new silicon. The 5c had a lot of components that seemingly came straight off the 5 production line.

Ya.... this is there new way of making a cheaper model. Just a much better cheaper model. It feels weird in hand and looks kinda toy-Ish from the front. Looks good from the back tho..
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Why not compare XR to XS? Not really any reason to compare this years and last years.
 
I bought the iPhone 8+ in September. My friend just took delivery of his iPhone XR today. We both chose Product Red.

They’re very similar looking indeed. On balance I probably prefer the dimensions of the XR, but the screen ratio of the 8+.

If you had the choice to do over again, @profmatt — would you go with the XR? I need to get my wife on a newer phone from her iPhone 6, and our choices are:

  • Hand her my iPhone 8 Plus 64GB and let her finish out the iPhone Upgrade Program loan + get a new iPhone Upgrade Program loan for a 128GB XR for me
  • Get her and I both (me upgrading using the iPhone Upgrade Program) on an iPhone XR 128GB

My needs? I’ve hit that 64GB ceiling for storage — I keep a lot of photos local to the phone so I can do edits / social media posts for a non-profit. The 2X optical zoom is great, but less nags about storage would be nice.

My wife’s needs? She has an older phone and needs to be upgraded (after dealing with the iPhone 6 64GB battery replacement). She could care less about a hand-me-down, but I know she’d probably rail against the changes in UX — i.e. Face ID vs. Touch ID (which she hates), no home button, etc. I thought if we both got the XR I could help guide her as I learned.
[doublepost=1540606342][/doublepost]I have a question about the new XR models — they now only have the A1920 (???) model number for all carriers. I have previously gone into my local Apple Store and requested the multi-band Qualcomm model that works on Verizon AND GSM networks. I use T-Mobile but prefer to be able to switch if I want. Apple Store peeps always helped and got me the “unlocked” version and helped me avoid a T-Mobile locked phone.

Now that they have the one model — if you tell them it’s for a T-Mobile account, is it locked? It will have the Intel modem that’s multi-platform (i.e. CDMA and GSM), but will it be locked until I pay for it in full?
 
Kind of. My experience with the XS is that it's very noticeably thicker, heavier and taller than the 6/7/8. And the ergonomics are totally different since you need to reach the very top and bottom of the edge-to-edge screen. It takes some getting used to, and honestly it's substantially harder to use one-handed.
It’s less than 1mm thicker. You’re imagining it.
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I wish people would learn. Getting people to provide an insightful review on a product they just got is pointless. It'll obviously be full of praise because they're hyped. User reviews are way more useful ~3 months later, when they've had a chance to actually use it and not just tow the "Omg its so shiny" line.

The product could be great or it could be naff. An end user review 24 hours after the release isn't going to tell anyone anything though.
Goes both ways. The people complaining about weight and size will get used to it and maybe even prefer the larger screen long term.
 
If you get one of the XRs at the Apple Store, it will have the Intel modem that works across US carriers. Is the phone locked to the one you choose? I used to go in looking for the unlocked CDMA/GSM phone so I could leave T-Mobile if I liked. Had no issue getting that Qualcomm SKU before instead of the Intel SKU that T-Mobile used on the iPhone 8, hence my question.
 
The mail app does show split view with the XS Max.

Open an email in landscape > then click the top left blue arrow showing the blue number circle. That will put mail in split view.

Messages also show in split view.


I don’t think it’s the same as a plus. When you do that in mail overlays the sidebar but doesn’t have a split view. And by default it behaves like a 6,7,8 smaller screen. But messages does behave like a plus. Really odd.
 
When to the Apple Store today to check out the XR and I must say they are nice. Also, the portrait mode quality is way better than my X. I might actually break my promise and get one just for kicks. I would have to get rid of my 6s though. Don’t have a need for three phones.
 
To what degree these hgh scores are due to the low screen resolution? I am not sure Android users are going to like this trade-off.

geekbench is literally an off screen benchmark screen resolution has nothing to do with any of the process geekbench runs
 
“It's a bit too big, but I think I'll get used to it. FaceID is amazing, speed is amazing, screen is amazing, camera is amazing. It's all amazing. Battery life is excellent too. Now I just have to not drop it!” - Orion Edwards (@borland) October 26, 2018

Psh. I said the same thing about the XS Max. Now, wouldn’t go back.
 
Lol, this is like Tesla releasing the Model S and 6 weeks later the Model 3. Sure it has an affordable price and some colours to entice an emotional response, however it deep down you know you want the premium model ;):p:D

Seriously other than colour, LCD and limited portrait options and less RAM, this years internals have been talked about 6 weeks ago.

I have a red translucent case on my Gold XS, it resembles the (Product) RED model, really looks nice.
 
First, it's not $250 more, the more comparable iPhone here is the XSMax so that would be $350 more.

So that is about 40%+ more. That's not a small difference. Add in the extra $100 for Apple Care now you are at a $450 dollar difference.

It is a great deal for the screen size, speed, camera, etc...and it has literally everything the Xs have other then the OLED, stainless steel (which honestly doesn't matter when you have a case) and 3D Touch which most don't care about.

If you like to have at least 128 GB it’s even 500€ more as you would need XS max 256
 
Since 64 gb is too small, the options for me were:

128 gb XR $800
256 gb XS $1150
256 gb XS Max $1250

Add in the $50 difference on AppleCare also and it’s $400-$500 difference. Can I afford that? Yeah, no problem. But the differences aren’t things I value especially when I can use that $500 on enjoying life. That covers multiple flights throughout Europe.
 
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