I have hard time deciding X or XR

[bj097]

Sorry all I have hard time deciding X or XR even after thinking and researching for a few days.

Here in my country the price of X 64GB and XR 128GB are pretty close. XR 64GB is only very little bit cheaper. They are my only consideration

What I like about X is its obviously better screen that its color looks so beautiful. And dual camera as well.

My friend advises me to get X but what keeps me thinking about XR is

- battery battery life on XR
- better CPU
- stereo voice reording

Here I have two questions
1. A11 and A12. Will A12 have a better future proof? I will want to use my phone
as long as possible, maybe another 4 or 5 years. I know that every iOS update will
slow down the overall experience a little bit and finally, after a few years, your device will be very slow and lagged because your hardware can't catch up with the new update. So does XR have a better future proof than X ?

2. Stereo voice recording. From time to time I need to making some short recording, mainly indoor. Does Stereo voice recording on XR make an obvious listening difference with mono voice recording on X?

These two questions are critical for my considerations. Thank you so much

 

[casperes1996]

If you ask me, the biggest factor is actually 3D Touch. If that means something to you, get the X. If not the XR. That's my personal opinion. But to answer your questions;

1) The A12 will obviously perform better than the A11. This of course also translates to better performance in a few years. The difference isn't as substantial as the differences used to be between SoC generations though. Progress has slowed down, and iOS has also matured a lot, meaning each generation of phone also lasts longer. How substantial the long term implications of A12 v A11 will be is impossible to say at this time, but I don't think it'll be too much, unless the neural engine becomes a lot more vital in future iOS.

2)
I'd say it makes a reasonably noticable impact.

I'd like to also state that the XR has an excellent display. A lot oof people disqualify it for being an LCD and not an OLED, but both technologies have upsides and downsides, and the XR probably has the best mobile LCD panel, period. Anandtech actually reviewed it today and showed a DeltaE2000 of something like 1.3 if I recall correctly. That's like profesional monitor level color accuracy. It is also an RGB grid rather than Pentile on the OLED so when you look at resolution data that's important to keep in mind. The XR still has retina level sharpness with @2X scaling.

 

[bj097]

If you ask me, the biggest factor is actually 3D Touch. If that means something to you, get the X. If not the XR. That's my personal opinion. But to answer your questions;

1) The A12 will obviously perform better than the A11. This of course also translates to better performance in a few years. The difference isn't as substantial as the differences used to be between SoC generations though. Progress has slowed down, and iOS has also matured a lot, meaning each generation of phone also lasts longer. How substantial the long term implications of A12 v A11 will be is impossible to say at this time, but I don't think it'll be too much, unless the neural engine becomes a lot more vital in future iOS.

2)
I'd say it makes a reasonably noticable impact.

I'd like to also state that the XR has an excellent display. A lot oof people disqualify it for being an LCD and not an OLED, but both technologies have upsides and downsides, and the XR probably has the best mobile LCD panel, period. Anandtech actually reviewed it today and showed a DeltaE2000 of something like 1.3 if I recall correctly. That's like profesional monitor level color accuracy. It is also an RGB grid rather than Pentile on the OLED so when you look at resolution data that's important to keep in mind. The XR still has retina level sharpness with @2X scaling.

Thanks for the details.

I have a last question. Is OLED on X or LCD on XR better for eye health? I already have myopia and I don't want to get worse

 

[casperes1996]

I have a last question. Is OLED on X or LCD on XR better for eye health? I already have myopia and I don't want to get worse

I don't think I'm qualified to talk about that. But I see no reason why there'd really be a difference when it comes to eye health.

The good news for you is that as you grow older, I believe I've read, you become more and more far-sighted, so that should cancel out the myopia... My dad doesn't even wear glasses anymore as a result of that... At least I hope I didn't get that the wrong way around...

 

[bj097]

I don't think I'm qualified to talk about that. But I see no reason why there'd really be a difference when it comes to eye health.

The good news for you is that as you grow older, I believe I've read, you become more and more far-sighted, so that should cancel out the myopia... My dad doesn't even wear glasses anymore as a result of that... At least I hope I didn't get that the wrong way around...

Thanks

Neglecting the human cost, software development cost and other business running cost of Apple Inc, considering only the costs of the iphone electronic and physical components, is iPhone X 64GB or iPhone XR 128GB of higher value?

 

[bj097]

Hi all I've finally decided to get XR 128GB instead of X after long consideration. Below is my points, I don't know if I am right (I often make wrong decision). All opposite arguments are welcome and appreciated.

My point
1. Color on XR is not as sharp and great as X but it's still a LCD screen of decent quality by Apple and we shouldn't see any big difference with our human eyes.

2. Although we can't feel much difference between A11 and A12 but A12 on XR should be a better future proof especially for people like me who will not upgrade my iPhone for another couple of years. Having a newer chip should at least withstand a
few more iOS updates before the device becoming slow in the future.

3. Although XR doesn't have a dual camera, I only mostly take photos indoor with near objects. The extra camera on X shouldn't be often useful for me.

4. eSIM on XR, future proof. Express cards with
backup battery, future proof.

5. Stereo voice recording on XR, a feature that should be useful for me because from time to time, I take introductory videos for my products and stereo
sound should be heard better.

 

[casperes1996]

1. Color on XR is not as sharp and great as X but it's still a LCD screen of decent quality by Apple and we shouldn't see any big difference with our human eyes.

I'd like to just remark that it is way beyond decent quality. It is a great LCD panel; In fact probably the best of its size class. It doesn't have the same depth to the blacks as the OLED panel, but its colors are accurate in both P3 and sRGB with a contrast ratio of around 1440:1 (without dynamic control boosts), an even backlight and even a higher maximum brightness than the OLEDs, all at lower power consumption. Unlike the OLED there's also absolutely no risk of burn-in, and no ghosting when displaying an image containing full black and motion.

2. Although we can't feel much difference between A11 and A12 but A12 on XR should be a better future proof especially for people like me who will not upgrade my iPhone for another couple of years. Having a newer chip should at least withstand a
few more iOS updates before the device becoming slow in the future.

Again I'll add that in practice, the XR is actually even faster than the XS. That is, the A12 chip is the same, but the lower resolution of the XR means that less power is required to run the phone's display, and thus there's more GPU headroom for the device. This again translates into longer battery life, more consistent frame times, and perhaps better future proofing - whilst it's unlikely Apple would support the XR with more versions of iOS than the XS, the XR would run smoother on that latest version than the XS and perform better in games and whatnot. Assuming the games run at native resolution and don't employ scaling with an internal render resolution.

3. Although XR doesn't have a dual camera, I only mostly take photos indoor with near objects. The extra camera on X shouldn't be often useful for me.

In that case, yeah, not too much benefit to the extra lens, aside from its improved ability to measure distance.

Overall, I think you probably made the right decision.

 

[bj097]

I'd like to just remark that it is way beyond decent quality. It is a great LCD panel; In fact probably the best of its size class. It doesn't have the same depth to the blacks as the OLED panel, but its colors are accurate in both P3 and sRGB with a contrast ratio of around 1440:1 (without dynamic control boosts), an even backlight and even a higher maximum brightness than the OLEDs, all at lower power consumption. Unlike the OLED there's also absolutely no risk of burn-in, and no ghosting when displaying an image containing full black and motion.



Again I'll add that in practice, the XR is actually even faster than the XS. That is, the A12 chip is the same, but the lower resolution of the XR means that less power is required to run the phone's display, and thus there's more GPU headroom for the device. This again translates into longer battery life, more consistent frame times, and perhaps better future proofing - whilst it's unlikely Apple would support the XR with more versions of iOS than the XS, the XR would run smoother on that latest version than the XS and perform better in games and whatnot. Assuming the games run at native resolution and don't employ scaling with an internal render resolution.



In that case, yeah, not too much benefit to the extra lens, aside from its improved ability to measure distance.

Overall, I think you probably made the right decision.

It's really hard to decide between this two devices that's probably the reason why Apple has stopped selling iPhone X on their official sites. iPhone X should definitely look cooler with their OLED screen but can its battery on iPhone X last a day with its beautiful screen? Some said the the advantage of the low resolution LCD on XR is that it's also low power consumption which means the battery will last very long time without having the need of portable power bank (I really hate this). Difficult decision when their price is the same here after iPhone X is discounted.

Another concern is the size of XR. Is it too big? My palm is really, not so small, not so big, and should be a small-sized palm as an adult male, many of my friends commented. After wearing the phone case for XR, I think it will be even bigger and thicker....

Dual SIM for XR is an attractive feature for me because I yes, I need two SIM, I have two contact number!

Should I get a more "practical" machine that suits my actual need or should I get a more beautiful machine that makes me feel good every day with it

Difficult decision

 

[MariaG1985]

I have the xr and i HATE it with the fire of 1000 suns hate hate hate it. First world problems over here. I switched from a galaxy note. If the battery in the note were not so hard to change id chuck this xr into a black hole.

 

[sparksd]

I have the xr and i HATE it with the fire of 1000 suns hate hate hate it. First world problems over here. I switched from a galaxy note. If the battery in the note were not so hard to change id chuck this xr into a black hole.

I recently switched from a Galaxy S7 Edge and a Galaxy Note 4 and really like the XS Max. I've been an Android power user since Android day one and I'll probably never buy another Android phone.

 

[casperes1996]

I have the xr and i HATE it with the fire of 1000 suns hate hate hate it. First world problems over here. I switched from a galaxy note. If the battery in the note were not so hard to change id chuck this xr into a black hole.

I don't think I'm capable of such hate, letalone for a phone

 

[sparksd]

I don't think I'm capable of such hate, letalone for a phone

This guy is a newbie with two posts, the one above and a similar one on the iPhone forum, posted minutes apart, and hasn't been back since making them. Draw your own conclusions ...

 

[NJHitmen]

3. Although XR doesn't have a dual camera, I only mostly take photos indoor with near objects. The extra camera on X shouldn't be often useful for me.

Just an observation regarding this point: the X does indeed offer zoom and (non-human) portrait mode capabilities that the XR can't match. However, the wide-angle lens on the XR is superior to the main camera on the X. It has a significantly larger sensor which lets in more light. Plus, the A12 allows the XR to perform Smart HDR processing. And Smart HDR makes a real difference. Check out the photos in John Gruber's review of the XS: https://daringfireball.net/2018/09/the_iphones_xs. Specifically, the shots of his face taken with both the X and XS. The XR is using the same main camera as the XS, so you can expect the same type of performance.

 

[nieks]

No, you are wrong in "The XR is using the same main camera the XS, so you can expect the same type of performance". For regular photos, that may be true. For portrait: not so much.

The XR uses software for portraits, while the X and XS use double lenses. This leads to the X and XS being able to take portrait photos of non-human subjects, while the XR can only take portrait photos if the subject has a human face.

The extra camera is not only useful in zoom situations, but as well in measure, AR, and Portrait.

However, the XR uses Smart HDR, and thus produces a better end result in regular photos.

 

[NJHitmen]

No, you are wrong in "The XR is using the same main camera the XS, so you can expect the same type of performance". For regular photos, that may be true. For portrait: not so much.

The XR uses software for portraits, while the X and XS use double lenses. This leads to the X and XS being able to take portrait photos of non-human subjects, while the XR can only take portrait photos if the subject has a human face.

The extra camera is not only useful in zoom situations, but as well in measure, AR, and Portrait.

However, the XR uses Smart HDR, and thus produces a better end result in regular photos.

Not sure why you clipped that one comment out of my post, but perhaps I wasn't clear: I was referring strictly to the performance of the main cameras (XS vs XR) - which are 100% identical. Both use Smart HDR. Any shot taken on the XS, with that main lens only, should match the same shot taken with the XR. Of course portrait mode is a different ballgame, because then you're adding in the image from the telephoto lens (on the XS), and comparing it to a software-generated shot from the XR. Those won't look the same. Results from the XS should be superior.

As an aside - you can take certain portrait shots on the XR that the XS won't let you shoot at all. Specifically, of a human face in lower-light scenarios. And in those situations, a software-generated portrait is better than no portrait at all (in theory - I haven't personally seen this in practice).