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iPhone XR If the iPhone XR is the “cheaper” iPhone X many customers have wanted, why are sales reportedly slow

MacLappy said:
I don’t know... arguably the bigger screen, louder volume, better stereo separation, makes for a better media consumption device. Even coming for a plus size iPhone it is quite noticeably, much less the standard iPhone version.

The new processor keeps frame rates high and temperature low while gaming. Gaming session last much longer due to the above mention efficient processor, huge battery and also sensible screen choice. It even runs Fortnite at 60 fps which makes the game incredible smooth and the graphics just gorgeous.

Not to mention, it’s ability to capture drastically better photos and videos. On top of all day battery life.

My question is how is this not significance better than an iPhone 7/8 for and I quote “content consumption, posting pictures and videos on social media, and gaming.”

No offence intended, just really trying to understand why you would feel that these tangible benefits don’t matter.
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No offense taken. Again, I am talking about the average users (family, friends, and associates) I know and what I'd feel comfortable recommending.

The speakers aren't a factor because they use headphones most of the time, especially when consuming media.

Music? No benefit between models.

Games? As far as I know and was able to search online, there are no game that runs on the iPhone X models that doesn't also run on the iPhone 7, but I'm not a gamer and I could be wrong. I downloaded Fortnite to my iPhone 6S Plus (Yea gods, the game file is big!), and with my admittedly limited 10 minutes of game play on cellular only (AU Japan), it seemed very smooth and responsive, but again, I'm a noob with the game. That said, I don't have any issues with Minecraft, Pokemon Go, Monument, Ingress or other games I've tried.

Videos and pictures? Regardless of the stats for the pictures and videos they are taking, they end up on Facebook, in Messages, on Line, etc. where no one cares about the picture quantity once it's above a certain level, which i believe has been met for years. The same could be said for when they are consuming videos and pictures. The XR, 7 and 8 all have the same ppi and brightness. You are correct with regard to the screen size, but is the larger screen on the XR worth the extra $300 if they go for a 7 or $150 if they go for the 8? If they are streaming full episodes of Netflix, yes. If they are watching Facebook and YouTube videos in spurts throughout the day? Probably not.

That said, you are right that if my average non-power using friends:
- spend above the average of 5 hours per day screen time on their iPhone
- their iPhone is their only consumption device
- battery life is a major consideration

then yes, they should go for the XR.
 
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jeremiah256 said:
No offense taken. Again, I am talking about the average users (family, friends, and associates) I know and what I'd feel comfortable recommending.

The speakers aren't a factor because they use headphones most of the time, especially when consuming media.

Music? No benefit between models.

Games? As far as I know and was able to search online, there are no game that runs on the iPhone X models that doesn't also run on the iPhone 7, but I'm not a gamer and I could be wrong. I downloaded Fortnite to my iPhone 6S Plus (Yea gods, the game file is big!), and with my admittedly limited 10 minutes of game play on cellular only (AU Japan), it seemed very smooth and responsive, but again, I'm a noob with the game. That said, I don't have any issues with Minecraft, Pokemon Go, Monument, Ingress or other games I've tried.

Videos and pictures? Regardless of the stats for the pictures and videos they are taking, they end up on Facebook, in Messages, on Line, etc. where no one cares about the picture quantity once it's above a certain level, which i believe has been met for years. The same could be said for when they are consuming videos and pictures. The XR, 7 and 8 all have the same ppi and brightness. You are correct with regard to the screen size, but is the larger screen on the XR worth the extra $300 if they go for a 7 or $150 if they go for the 8? If they are streaming full episodes of Netflix, yes. If they are watching Facebook and YouTube videos in spurts throughout the day? Probably not.

That said, you are right that if my average non-power using friends:
- spend above the average of 5 hours per day screen time on their iPhone
- their iPhone is their only consumption device
- battery life is a major consideration

then yes, they should go for the XR.
Click to expand...

I understand what you are saying now, thank you.
 
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Honestly, they should've marketed the XR as the new flagship and the XS as a "luxury" or "high end" one. There's nothing "budget" about the XR, yet i think that reputation has turned some people off. And the XS is too expensive for a lot of people.
 
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Even worse answer, the analysts are being paid to be wrong (more likely not being paid to be right) as evidenced by lack of editorial action when analysts are wrong 95% of the time.
 
PeytonT123 said:
Honestly, they should've marketed the XR as the new flagship and the XS as a "luxury" or "high end" one. There's nothing "budget" about the XR, yet i think that reputation has turned some people off. And the XS is too expensive for a lot of people.
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I think Apple is trying to subtly do this, but it's not going to be easy. With the Apple Watch, the public is fine with having a luxury path (Hermes) because the regular watches have the same capabilities and the regular bands are so nice. Making differentiations where the phone for the average Joe or Jane (XR=Regular) has less features than the luxury model (XS=Superior) would change the relationship customers have had with Apple and iPhones since 2007.

In the past, if Richie Rich wanted a visibly more expensive iPhone than the average Joe, he had to practically glue precious gems to it because an iPhone was an iPhone. We were all equal under the eyes of Jobs (hallowed be his name). If the XR is, as you suggest, the new flagship or normal iPhone, then spec-wise, LCD vs OLED, single vs dual-cameras, some people, fairly or not, are going to perceive this as breaking a trust.

To be fair, I'm guessing if there is a backlash against Apple, it's mostly confined to Western nations and even then, from those who have been in the Apple ecosystem since the iPhone 6 or longer.
 
PeytonT123 said:
Honestly, they should've marketed the XR as the new flagship and the XS as a "luxury" or "high end" one. There's nothing "budget" about the XR, yet i think that reputation has turned some people off. And the XS is too expensive for a lot of people.
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What’s interesting, is before the XR launched, there was only XS marketing (Obviously), now that the XR launched in October, I have not seen any XS marketing at all, even through the holidays, it has been all about the XR. The XS really for what it’s worth, is overpriced, considering the XR has a lot of the same core features that the XS does. Both are great phones, but the XR is the better value, and I can say that being a Max owner.
 
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Relentless Power said:
What’s interesting, is before the XR launched, there was only XS marketing (Obviously), now that the XR launched in October, I have not seen any XS marketing at all, even through the holidays, it has been all about the XR. The XS really for what it’s worth, is overpriced, considering the XR has a lot of the same core features that the XS does. Both are great phones, but the XR is the better value, and I can say that being a Max owner.
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The consumer is paying about $250 for oled, dual cameras, 3dt essentially. If you are on your phone as some studies suggest and you use and know those features, the $250 may be a no brainer. Of course, not every consumer will think about that in those terms.
 
Actually the iPhone X became much cheaper here in Europe than the iPhone Xr . You can get a brand new one lately for around the €640 euro's. And for that price it's the better value compared to the 828p LCD phone which is almost €100 euro more expensively.
 
I7guy said:
The consumer is paying about $250 for oled, dual cameras, 3dt essentially. If you are on your phone as some studies suggest and you use and know those features, the $250 may be a no brainer. Of course, not every consumer will think about that in those terms.
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It’s not just £250 more though as the combined cost is what people see. You can get 3DTouch and dual cameras on an 8+ for £400 less than the Max and subjectively I would say OLED is not ‘that’ much better than LCD. The cost seems more of a price you pay for saying you’ve got the most expensive phone. In terms on functionality pretty much all the iPhones Apple currently sell are the same. It comes down to how much the consumer is willing to spend for the same thing and the feel good factor the individual might get from doing so.
 
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I7guy said:
The consumer is paying about $250 for oled, dual cameras, 3dt essentially. If you are on your phone as some studies suggest and you use and know those features, the $250 may be a no brainer. Of course, not every consumer will think about that in those terms.
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I’m willing to believe most consumers have no idea how to fully manipulate 3D Touch to appreciate it or even understand what OLED is. I agree the dual camera is nice in various situations, but for $250.00 more? I don’t see the added value here when two of the three features you listed are not even marketed by Apple, but the telephoto camera being the main advantage.

Also, I’m generally curious for the average consumer who did purchase the XS, would they have purchased the XS if the XR had launched on the same date September? (As opposed to having it’s own launch) My guess is most consumers would opt for the XR, not only because it’s cheaper, but highly competitive in most of the features the XS offers.

I’m not disparaging against the XS, because I do think it’s a nice phone (As a XS Max owner) , but the XR long-term is ‘just the better value’ when you consider the similarities for the price point.
 
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Me personally I wouldn’t buy the XR. I have had the X since last year, and I use 3D Touch a lot, the dual cameras, and love the OLED screen. I don’t upgrade yearly anymore, so the price of the X series phones do not bother me and the extra price is worth it to me. I have played around with the XR and XS Max in the Apple Store several times and I just can’t bring myself to use an LCD screen for my phone anymore, unless Apple stops using them in iPhones. For a consumer not hung up on specs, I would say the XR is a great phone for them, but not for me, and I express that to people who have asked me if they should buy the XR.
 
Relentless Power said:
I’m willing to believe most consumers have no idea how to fully manipulate 3D Touch to appreciate it or even understand what OLED is. I agree the dual camera is nice in various situations, but for $250.00 more? I don’t see the added value here when two of the three features you listed are not even marketed by Apple, but the telephoto camera being the main advantage.

Also, I’m generally curious for the average consumer who did purchase the XS, would they have purchased the XS if the XR had launched on the same date September? (As opposed to having it’s own launch) My guess is most consumers would opt for the XR, not only because it’s cheaper, but highly competitive in most of the features the XS offers.

I’m not disparaging against the XS, because I do think it’s a nice phone (As a XS Max owner) , but the XR long-term is ‘just the better value’ when you consider the similarities for the price point.
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You may have a point in the marketing of the differences between the xr and Xs is an issue. The max can be marketed on size, but how do you explain the inherent cost of $250 more of an Xs over an xr?
StaceyMJ86 said:
Me personally I wouldn’t buy the XR. I have had the X since last year, and I use 3D Touch a lot, the dual cameras, and love the OLED screen. I don’t upgrade yearly anymore, so the price of the X series phones do not bother me and the extra price is worth it to me. I have played around with the XR and XS Max in the Apple Store several times and I just can’t bring myself to use an LCD screen for my phone anymore, unless Apple stops using them in iPhones. For a consumer not hung up on specs, I would say the XR is a great phone for them, but not for me, and I express that to people who have asked me if they should buy the XR.
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I agree with all you wrote, however Apple made it easy for me with the max. Didn’t have to pick one tech over the other. The xr is a very nice phone and I spend a bit of time with it. In the end it came down to size.
 
It's not one thing, it's a combination of everything:

Average Users
  • iPhone XR has poor marketing. Despite being 85% of an iPhone XS, the colors and marketing makes average users think its a budget iPhone 5C. Average people don't want a budget iPhone.
  • Average users don't want to spend over $1000+ for an XS/Max either.
  • Average users' old iPhone 6S and up are good enough now to hold onto for 3+ years. None of these upgrades seem like good options, so they'll just stick with what they have until their phone gets too slow.
  • Average users upgrade to iPhone 8/8 Plus instead
Tech Enthusiasts
  • Tech enthusiasts already spent $1000+ for iPhone X last year, not gonna upgrade again so soon.
  • 6S/7 Plus users don't want to spend $1100/1250 for XS Max
  • 6S/7 Plus users don't want to "downgrade" to XS smaller size
  • 6S/7 Plus users don't want to "downgrade" to less than 1080p/3D-Touchless XR either
  • 6S/7 Plus is still fast, keep for another year
EDIT: They screwed up with their pricing structure. Realistically, it should be something like: XR $650-700, XS $800, Max $900. With that pricing, the XR will sell like hotcakes as they originally expected. And the tech enthusiasts will be more persuaded to upgrade to the XS/Max.
 
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PeytonT123 said:
Honestly, they should've marketed the XR as the new flagship and the XS as a "luxury" or "high end" one. There's nothing "budget" about the XR, yet i think that reputation has turned some people off. And the XS is too expensive for a lot of people.
Click to expand...
Simple fix. Lower the price of the XR to 600 and then they could call it a budget phone.
 
dazz87 said:
Simple fix. Lower the price of the XR to 600 and then they could call it a budget phone.
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I'm missing the part where Apple has at any point called the iPhone XR "budget". It's not marketed or priced as such

It's just that people don't want to be seen with anything less than the "premium" iPhone. it got me in the past when I went for the Plus and it almost got me this time, but I'm not spending $1000+ on a phone. So **** what people think.
 
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AppleHaterLover said:
I'm missing the part where Apple has at any point called the iPhone XR "budget". It's not marketed or priced as such

It's just that people don't want to be seen with anything less than the "premium" iPhone. it got me in the past when I went for the Plus and it almost got me this time, but I'm not spending $1000+ on a phone. So **** what people think.
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Sorry but 800 bucks is considered a “premium” phone
 
Hieveryone said:
I would like to start a discussion.

I think when the iPhone X came out a lot of people said it’s too much money.

A lot of people said they’d like to see a “cheaper” iPhone X.

Well isn’t the iPhone XR just that?

To the average man, it looks like an iPhone X, but is priced cheaper.

What’s the “catch”?

Well, they decided to take out stuff most people might not notice or miss.

For example, a beautiful lcd screen might be just fine rather than OLED.

That saves costs.

Another example is put an extraordinary camera, but make it a single lens. Most people taking pictures will likely still love their photos.

Another feature, 3D touch, which is underused by many, just re-implement it.

I mean on every front I would think the XR would be that “cheaper” iPhone X customers have been wanting.

I just don’t understand why analysts are saying sales are slow.

Please discuss.
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Why have you singled out the XR? When the XS has reportedly also had its production cut at least twice.
You’ve believed what people have literally ‘guessed’, and Apples stock has crashed 30% I believe, now the customers of those analysts can buy cheaper stock.
 
PeytonT123 said:
Honestly, they should've marketed the XR as the new flagship and the XS as a "luxury" or "high end" one. There's nothing "budget" about the XR, yet i think that reputation has turned some people off. And the XS is too expensive for a lot of people.
Click to expand...

I think maybe that marketing did in fact have something to do with it.

I mean, I personally do not want to spend
dazz87 said:
Sorry but 800 bucks is considered a “premium” phone
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I think problem in terms of stigma for the iphone xr is the iphone xs. If the iphone xr was the only iphone available at its current price point then it would be the highest model available. But the fact that a MORE expensive iphone is available, the iphone xs, i think that’s what knocks the iphone xr down in some peoples minds.
 
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To answer OP's original question, the reason that I haven't purchased one (and I suspect the reason that many others have not [other than waiting longer to upgrade in general]) is that IT'S TOO BIG. The X/XS is already borderline too big in my opinion.
 
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