I got my wife's PRODUCT(RED) iPhone XR today. First of all, the phone is truly gorgeous, and IMO looks better than the XS and Max, and definitely better than my silver 7 Plus. The forehead and chin on the Plus models just seem so large these days, and the gain of vertical screen space on the XR is very welcome. The red colour with the matching red anodized aluminum is frickin' beautiful. I'd hazard to say it's the best looking iPhone Apple has ever made, at least as beautiful as my previous favourite, the iPhone 4. The only concern is the potential chipping of the anodization, esp. around the Lightning port, but wireless charging would minimize the risk of chipping.
I did not have time to test the camera. However, one thing I'd like is the wide angle portrait mode. One that annoys me about the Plus/XS/Max is that you always have to use 2X for portrait mode. I'd like to be able to choose 1X vs 2X.
Face ID is very fast, and seems faster than what I've seen on previous models, to the point where Face ID lag isn't a significant issue. Face ID on the X was a little bit of a disappointment, because of the speed, so the speed boost is very nice.
Yes, the screen bezels are wider on the XR than on the XS Max, but I don't notice that visually during actual usage. However, I do notice the bigger dimensions in the hand vs the XS, even though I'm coming from a 7 Plus. So, while the bezels don't bother me in terms of visual aesthetics, when holding it they do make the phone feel heftier than the screen size might suggest. Part of that is the increased thickness of the XR though.
I have confirmed that Zoomed Display mode is supported on the XR like the Max, something the XS and X don't have. Zoomed Display mode turns the XR into a bigger XS, for those of you who want bigger text and screen elements if you tend to hold your phone further away (say if you have presbyopia). However, the text size isn't quite as big as with the Plus or the Max in Zoomed Display mode.
The brightness is very good, and the colours are great. Overall the contrast is decent for an IPS LCD, but the blacks aren't anywhere near as good as the OLED blacks. That said, with my usage, I didn't really care, since the time to notice the blacks is in a dark environment, and I generally prefer to use my iPhone with ambient light, where the black levels are less critical. Honestly, despite the fact I own and love my LG C8 OLED TV, I would have no problem going without OLED blacks on my iPhone. It's just not a big deal to me on an iPhone.
I don't like True Tone. I have simply turned that off. And I'm glad 3D Touch is gone, since I never used it, and neither did my wife. I tried using it for 3 months, but just thought it was pointless. I know this is a controversial opinion, but I hope this is a sign that all 2019 models will forego 3D Touch. The possible adoption of the cover glass sensor technology next year for the OLEDs (like the XR this year) may mean bye, bye 3D Touch for the OLED models next year too.
Now about that text quality... Text quality was overall pretty decent, but not surprisingly given its 326 ppi, it just wasn't as good as on the Plus (7 Plus in my case) or the XS/Max. Small text was sometimes noticeably blurrier on the XR than the Plus both in Standard Display mode and in Zoomed Display mode. I mentioned earlier that the larger bezels don't bother me at all visually, but the somewhat blurrier small text did. It was something I repeatedly noticed when surfing Safari. However, it seemed to depend somewhat on which font was used, and as mentioned, it was dependent upon text size. For larger fonts it's not an issue. It's only an issue with the smallest fonts. I only tested English, but for example Chinese characters could be affected even more in this scenario.
Could I get used to the somewhat blurrier small text coming from a 7 Plus? Probably, but it would definitely be a compromise for me. OTOH, it's a non-issue for my wife, esp. since she's coming from a 6s (and for the last few weeks temporarily, an SE). Furthermore, I suspect it's a non-issue for the large majority of the population, but for those of us who have looked for and seen the text quality differences, the bottom line is that the XR is still a 326 ppi display and the limitations of 326 ppi are still visible. Apple says it's the best LCD they've ever made. In some ways it is, but I'd say the more accurate statement would be that it's the best 326 ppi LCD they've ever made.
We got the 128 GB model. 64 GB is just a little too tight for us, but 256 GB is overkill, which makes the XR 128 GB a way, way better value overall compared to the XS Max. (I'm not comparing against the XS, since in some ways the XS is a downgrade vs the XR.) I will keep my 128 GB 7 Plus for another year and reassess. Hopefully, the 2019 Max is either cheaper (possible, but I'm not counting on it) or else comes with an entry level of 128 GB (unlikely). However, the perfect XR replacement IMO would be a 401 ppi LCD version but I definitely don't see that happening. Too bad, because I'd buy a 401 ppi 2019 XR in a heartbeat.
BTW, I put a Spigen tempered glass screen protector on it, and it's a perfect fit. The Spigen I got also comes with an installation guide frame, which makes the process completely foolproof. It's great.
I did not have time to test the camera. However, one thing I'd like is the wide angle portrait mode. One that annoys me about the Plus/XS/Max is that you always have to use 2X for portrait mode. I'd like to be able to choose 1X vs 2X.
Face ID is very fast, and seems faster than what I've seen on previous models, to the point where Face ID lag isn't a significant issue. Face ID on the X was a little bit of a disappointment, because of the speed, so the speed boost is very nice.
Yes, the screen bezels are wider on the XR than on the XS Max, but I don't notice that visually during actual usage. However, I do notice the bigger dimensions in the hand vs the XS, even though I'm coming from a 7 Plus. So, while the bezels don't bother me in terms of visual aesthetics, when holding it they do make the phone feel heftier than the screen size might suggest. Part of that is the increased thickness of the XR though.
I have confirmed that Zoomed Display mode is supported on the XR like the Max, something the XS and X don't have. Zoomed Display mode turns the XR into a bigger XS, for those of you who want bigger text and screen elements if you tend to hold your phone further away (say if you have presbyopia). However, the text size isn't quite as big as with the Plus or the Max in Zoomed Display mode.
The brightness is very good, and the colours are great. Overall the contrast is decent for an IPS LCD, but the blacks aren't anywhere near as good as the OLED blacks. That said, with my usage, I didn't really care, since the time to notice the blacks is in a dark environment, and I generally prefer to use my iPhone with ambient light, where the black levels are less critical. Honestly, despite the fact I own and love my LG C8 OLED TV, I would have no problem going without OLED blacks on my iPhone. It's just not a big deal to me on an iPhone.
I don't like True Tone. I have simply turned that off. And I'm glad 3D Touch is gone, since I never used it, and neither did my wife. I tried using it for 3 months, but just thought it was pointless. I know this is a controversial opinion, but I hope this is a sign that all 2019 models will forego 3D Touch. The possible adoption of the cover glass sensor technology next year for the OLEDs (like the XR this year) may mean bye, bye 3D Touch for the OLED models next year too.
Now about that text quality... Text quality was overall pretty decent, but not surprisingly given its 326 ppi, it just wasn't as good as on the Plus (7 Plus in my case) or the XS/Max. Small text was sometimes noticeably blurrier on the XR than the Plus both in Standard Display mode and in Zoomed Display mode. I mentioned earlier that the larger bezels don't bother me at all visually, but the somewhat blurrier small text did. It was something I repeatedly noticed when surfing Safari. However, it seemed to depend somewhat on which font was used, and as mentioned, it was dependent upon text size. For larger fonts it's not an issue. It's only an issue with the smallest fonts. I only tested English, but for example Chinese characters could be affected even more in this scenario.
Could I get used to the somewhat blurrier small text coming from a 7 Plus? Probably, but it would definitely be a compromise for me. OTOH, it's a non-issue for my wife, esp. since she's coming from a 6s (and for the last few weeks temporarily, an SE). Furthermore, I suspect it's a non-issue for the large majority of the population, but for those of us who have looked for and seen the text quality differences, the bottom line is that the XR is still a 326 ppi display and the limitations of 326 ppi are still visible. Apple says it's the best LCD they've ever made. In some ways it is, but I'd say the more accurate statement would be that it's the best 326 ppi LCD they've ever made.
We got the 128 GB model. 64 GB is just a little too tight for us, but 256 GB is overkill, which makes the XR 128 GB a way, way better value overall compared to the XS Max. (I'm not comparing against the XS, since in some ways the XS is a downgrade vs the XR.) I will keep my 128 GB 7 Plus for another year and reassess. Hopefully, the 2019 Max is either cheaper (possible, but I'm not counting on it) or else comes with an entry level of 128 GB (unlikely). However, the perfect XR replacement IMO would be a 401 ppi LCD version but I definitely don't see that happening. Too bad, because I'd buy a 401 ppi 2019 XR in a heartbeat.
BTW, I put a Spigen tempered glass screen protector on it, and it's a perfect fit. The Spigen I got also comes with an installation guide frame, which makes the process completely foolproof. It's great.
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