iPhone XR Receives FCC Approval Ahead of October 19 Pre-Orders

[EugW]

I'm sure I'm pretty unique in this...but I just upgraded my iPhone 5 to a brand new, top of the line iPhone 7 which arrived yesterday. At a third to half the cost of the new crop of iPhones, coming from such an ancient model (the 5), I am stunned by how great this new (to me) phone is. Four years from now I'll probably buy a new XR and be suitably stunned with it's speed etc. But for me and the way I use my phone, the 7 is just amazing. My checkbook has similar feelings of joy too!

The 7 performs great with iOS 12. I'm impressed at just how well my 7 Plus does with iOS 12. It feels brand new.

I think the 32 GB model of the iPhone 7 is too small for a lot of people though. The next step up is 128 GB for $549 vs. XR at $799. Which do I think is the better value? It depends on your needs and usage, but at that price point I prefer the XR for $250 more. But I hear ya on the cost. The 128 GB XR costs 70% more than the 128 GB 7.

 

[Nick05]

For $250 more the XS vs XR in a nutshell gives:

1. OLED
2. Gigabit LTE
3. Better rear camera (addition of dedicated telephoto)
4. Smaller size

Folks need to ask themselves if that is worth it to them.

For me ... I keep my phones for 2+ years ... so for 30 cents a day ... the above is worth it to me.

Having an OLED TV ... getting another a LCD phone for the next 2 years or OLED for the next 2 years. Sign me up for the XS - easy choice.

I agree with you for the most part. Each person needs to decide for themselves what features they value the most and if they are worth the extra cost. I liked the idea of OLED for the screen, though the LCD screens never disappointed me. The smaller size was a big factor. The camera was not a huge factor as I use an actual camera for image quality, but as I thought about it, I realized that almost every photo I take with the phone is using the digital zoom, so being able to use the second lens maintaining better image quality was a bonus. I wasnt sure whether to upgrade at all since I really liked my iPhone 8. The deciding factor was the iPhone X like gestures added to the iPad which I use a lot. Have a similar user experience was really the deciding factor on the upgrade and also the reason i went with the 8 instead of the X last year.

You must live somewhere to take advantage of the Gigabit LTE for it to make your top 4. Here in the southeast US, I am happy if I can get more than 20Mbps speeds.

 

[loveandhavefun]

Nobody is talking about it because reviewers haven't received sample devices.

Most iPhone buyers are not spec buyers.

The XR seems to be a side note. Not much anticipation for it at all.

I think the screen is the most important part! The iPad Pro, iPhone xs and macbook pro and iMac screens are great and this is a bad screen for a high high price. Even the 5c had the same quality screen and components as it's counterparts the 5c was even cheaper to buy than this and didn't sell too well even with all the colours. Not a good sign for this cheapo high priced XR

 

[m0sher]

Man there’s a lot of people going to be jumping on the XR with Apple finally putting out an affordable budget phone. A lot of folk were holding off spending a $1000 on a premium phone, don’t mind some missing feature if the price is right.

Can the XR be the Pixel 3 killer ?

 

[martin2345uk]

The XR seems to be a side note. Not much anticipation for it at all.

I think the screen is the most important part! The iPad Pro, iPhone xs and macbook pro and iMac screens are great and this is a bad screen for a high high price. Even the 5c had the same quality screen and components as it's counterparts the 5c was even cheaper to buy than this and didn't sell too well even with all the colours. Not a good sign for this cheapo high priced XR

The XR has a higher pixel density than the iPad Pro?

Anyway no one really knows how it will sell, it will be very interesting to see...

 

[Whathappened]

The REAL new iPhone..
[doublepost=1538079394][/doublepost]

The XR has a higher pixel density than the iPad Pro?

Anyway no one really knows how it will sell, it will be very interesting to see...

Are you kidding? It will sell like crazy. Apple is now making some money of those who cannot wait or are stupidly rich and at the same time needs that month to produce millions of XRs.

 

[Matthew.H]

The XR seems to be a side note. Not much anticipation for it at all.

I think the screen is the most important part! The iPad Pro, iPhone xs and macbook pro and iMac screens are great and this is a bad screen for a high high price. Even the 5c had the same quality screen and components as it's counterparts the 5c was even cheaper to buy than this and didn't sell too well even with all the colours. Not a good sign for this cheapo high priced XR

The flaw with the 5C though was it used the same internals as the 5 and was in a cheap plastic housing which looked and felt cheap for the price, also the 5S being 64 bit with the 5C being stuck at 32 bit likely didn't help either.

The screen on the XR won't be as good as the OLED models but will very likely still be a great LCD as Apple's usually are. Also the XR also has mostly the same internals as the OLED models whilst being up to $350 less expensive which will be a major draw for some customers and still has a premium feel due to the aluminium frame.

 

[EugW]

The XR seems to be a side note. Not much anticipation for it at all.

If the XR isn't Apple's #1 selling iPhone come Xmas, I'll be utterly shocked.

I think the screen is the most important part! The iPad Pro, iPhone xs and macbook pro and iMac screens are great and this is a bad screen for a high high price. Even the 5c had the same quality screen and components as it's counterparts the 5c was even cheaper to buy than this and didn't sell too well even with all the colours. Not a good sign for this cheapo high priced XR

I guess I should point out that the iPhone XR has a MUCH higher pixel density than the iPad Pro, MacBook Pro, and iMac.

 

[The Oak]

I agree with you for the most part. Each person needs to decide for themselves what features they value the most and if they are worth the extra cost.
...
You must live somewhere to take advantage of the Gigabit LTE for it to make your top 4. Here in the southeast US, I am happy if I can get more than 20Mbps speeds.

In southern Idaho ... I am getting 30% to 300% faster download speeds over my iPhone 7 (Verizon) ... depending on where I am of course.

But even if you don't have it in your area now ... when it does get turned on ... it will breathe new life into the XS.

Edit:

This may also just be the 4x4 XS LTE radio that is speeding things up too ... it really only goes up from here.

 

[Aloft085]

I might be weird here, but I think at least the silver version would look better with a white front, notch included.

Go home, you’ve had enough to drink.

 

[PickUrPoison]

IMO, the XS Max is better than the XR hands down, but at a high price. I'm not interested in the XS at all though. It seems I'm not the only one. Initial supply chain analyses suggest the XS Max is outselling the XS by a very wide margin.

Very likely due to pent up demand for the Plus size phone, including X users who settled for the smaller phone last year but are now upgrading to the Max.

I wouldn’t be surprised to see the mix ending up at something like 60/40 in favor of the Max, or maybe 2/3 XS Max to 1/3 XS, after the initial demand for the Max is burned off. But we’ll never really know.

 

[mschmalenbach]

Well it seems like a few people on this thread are trying to justify buying the cheaper XR model. No, it’s not better than the XS or XS Max.

Yes, FOR ME, the XR is better. My current 128 Gb 6S Plus is utterly fine over wifi, but I need good-better mobile phone reception, longer battery life, and that's about it - and paying above $850 for a better screen and 4x4 MIMO is not of value TO ME.

If my current iPhone wasn't so bent I'd have had the rapidly failing battery replaced by Apple for $29... rather than spending $850 on a new phone...

 

[apolloa]

I’ll be checking this out in person before deciding what to upgrade my 6S to. I need to feel it in the hand and see just how much I can use it one handed, but it doesn’t seem to have the same issues with signal strength as the XS does! Also coming with a 128GB option that doesn’t cost 1200 pounds helps!

I do wonder too, if the people who keep moaning about the screen resolution and PPI complain the same about the current iPad Pro’s? You know considering they are a noticeable lower resolution of over what the XR is....... at 264PPI... I won’t be at all surprised to see the new iPad Pros use the exact same screen tech as the XR, but I bet no one moans about it..

 

[EugW]

I’ll be checking this out in person before deciding what to upgrade my 6S to. I need to feel it in the hand and see just how much I can use it one handed, but it doesn’t seem to have the same issues with signal strength as the XS does! Also coming with a 128GB option that doesn’t cost 1200 pounds helps!

The XR for most people will usually mean 2-handed usage methinks. However, for my wife that's not an issue. She uses two hands even for the 6s. So, I will order it for her sight unseen.

I do wonder too, if the people who keep moaning about the screen resolution and PPI complain the same about the current iPad Pro’s? You know considering they are a noticeable lower resolution of over what the XR is....... at 264PPI... I won’t be at all surprised to see the new iPad Pros use the exact same screen tech as the XR, but I bet no one moans about it..

The iPad Pro will most likely continue to use a sub-300 ppi screen. No real need for 326 ppi on an iPad.

 

[apolloa]

The XR for most people will usually mean 2-handed usage methinks. However, for my wife that's not an issue. She uses two hands even for the 6s. So, I will order it for her sight unseen.


The iPad Pro will most likely continue to use a sub-300 ppi screen. No real need for 326 ppi on an iPad.

I’m not so sure on that 2 handed use, it’s a fair bit shorter then the Plus and narrower too. Will need to try one but it may be easier to shuffle around for one handed use.
As for the iPad remake, I think you miss read my point, which was people should just stop going on and on and on and on moaning about the XR PPI when it’s HIGHER then the iPad Pro. And will probably be higher than the new ones, and that’s in a screen less then half the size on the diaganol.
[doublepost=1538084864][/doublepost]

The XR seems to be a side note. Not much anticipation for it at all.

I think the screen is the most important part! The iPad Pro, iPhone xs and macbook pro and iMac screens are great and this is a bad screen for a high high price. Even the 5c had the same quality screen and components as it's counterparts the 5c was even cheaper to buy than this and didn't sell too well even with all the colours. Not a good sign for this cheapo high priced XR

Your argument is flawed and actually a bit hypocritical, I mean you DO know the PPI of the iPad Pros is 264 right? On a much bigger screen... yet you rate that low PPI on the iPads as great, but a smaller screen with higher PPI will be a ‘bad screen for a high price’.

http://www.apple.com/uk/ipad-pro/specs/

So I’m curious, as you can’t surely be talking about the PPI, or screen technology, or True Tone, or colour gamet, as the XRs is better or th same as the iPad Pros, what are you basing your assumption on? Pro Motion Technology? Cause that’s the only difference, yet not even the XS or XS Max have that feature so again that too would be a flawed argument really.

 

[EugW]

I’m not so sure on that 2 handed use, it’s a fair bit shorter then the Plus and narrower too. Will need to try one but it may be easier to shuffle around for one handed use.

Well, the screen of the XR is MUCH longer than the Plus. The screen on the Plus is 4.8". The screen on the XR is 5.5".

And for me, I already have a very hard time using the Plus one-handed.

 

[apolloa]

Well, the screen of the XR is MUCH longer than the Plus. The screen on the Plus is 4.8". The screen on the XR is 5.5".

And for me, I already have a very hard time using the Plus one-handed.

I was referring to physical size, where the XR is smaller then the PLUS, and the screen is 6.1”? In fact I think you need to edit your post lol?

 

[44267547]

The OLED screen uses PWM which causes serious issues for everyday use for me and many other other people. I didn't even know I was sensitive to this, but using the XS gives me a headache. Hoping the LCD fixes that for me. OLED is so pointless.

Reference the Bolded, I’m not following your argument here. How is OLED pointless? Could I make the same argument that LCD is pointless just because I don’t prefer LCD panels? My point is, OLED is vastly different from LCD, and a lot of ways it’s improved, theu are brighter, they don’t consume as much power as LCD and they have a larger field of viewing as they produce their own light, etc. so, OLED is certainly _not_ pointless.

 

[EugW]

I was referring to physical size, where the XR is smaller then the PLUS, and the screen is 6.1”? In fact I think you need to edit your post lol?

No, we are both correct. The XR is smaller than the Plus overall, but the screen on the XR is much longer than the Plus' screen.

XR length: 5.94"
XR screen length: 5.5"

Plus length: 6.24"
Plus screen length: 4.8"

I'm saying the XR screen is about 15% longer than the Plus screen, which would make for very difficult one-handed use for a lot of people.

 

[H818H]

this page says iPhone xr will only support 3/5 photo lighting modes on the front camera: https://www.apple.com/uk/iphone/compare/

this video shows iPhone xr supporting all five photo lighting modes on the front camera (at 1:36):

this looks like proof apple plans to disable the modes through software and deny their use to XR customers - there is no hardware impediment to the camera modes running on the xr

thoughts?

 

[apolloa]

No, we are both correct. The XR is smaller than the Plus overall, but the screen on the XR is much longer than the Plus' screen.

XR length: 5.94"
XR screen length: 5.5"

Plus length: 6.24"
Plus screen length: 4.8"

I'm saying the XR screen is about 15% longer than the Plus screen, which would make for very difficult one-handed use for a lot of people.

Oh I see what you mean, you need to explain that and say length as my brain just thinks diagonal.. we will see though, I think being a smaller device will help it. No ones knows until they try.

 

[EugW]

this apple page says iPhone XR will only support 3/5 photo lighting modes: https://www.apple.com/uk/iphone/compare/

this video shows iPhone XR supporting all five photo lighting modes at (1:36):

this looks like proof apple plans to disable the modes through software and deny their use to XR customers - there is no hardware impediment to the camera modes running on the xr

thoughts?

Wow, great pickup. Interesting. Yeah, it sounds like they will artificially limit the portrait mode support. Personally I don't really care though, since the only one I'm really interested in is Natural.

 

[tallii4]

One thing about the XR — why doesn’t Apple offer the front bezel in white as they did previously? I understand they may not want the notch to contrast with the screen, but I would think the surrounding bezel could be.

I’m gonna miss my white bezels on my future Apple devices if they continue with this approach.

Granted they are probably trying to perpetuate this illusion of edge-to-edge, which it is not, but I’d rather have the white bezel, no matter how slim ... especially on the white model. That always bothered me about the 5c too. And now it’s true for all of the new iPhones.

I totally agree. Since getting an X last year I can't tell you how often I lose my phone as soon as I get home now. Constantly getting set on dark surfaces. I miss my contrast. Thank god for Apple Watch's ping option.
[doublepost=1538088343][/doublepost]

Anyone else think they delayed the XR just to encourage people who can't wait to buy the higher-margin XS?

Not anymore than they would've been pushing people to buy an 8 last year when they actually wanted an X.
[doublepost=1538088548][/doublepost]

A better question is ‘ why are you even here’!

 

[H.E. Pennypacker]

Xr will be a hit no question but I prefer thr best screen possible on my mobile devices. Not a lot to improve upon with new phones. Going from an A11 to an A12 is probably not even noticeable, so for me the screen is the most important.

 

[Derek87]

i believe the XR will sell well. the price tag is the same area as the 8/8plus.

i'm in the minority of customers who really wanted a smaller phone. the major reason i went with the XS with its $250 premium is the larger size of the XR. the XS is essentially the same size as my iPhone 6/7 and while i cannot completely one hand it due to the corner-to-corner screen to cover, it's usable one handed most of the time.

i of course am glad to have the dual camera on the rear and OLED display. but if they had made the XR with a 5.8" screen (it might have had to have been 5.6-5.7" with larger bezels), i would have likely waited and bought the XR next month.

all that being said: i'm enjoying my XS. with what i paid for it, i hope it will be a 4 year phone for me. (my 7 performed great with ios12 and it was only the camera upgrade that pushed me to upgrade my phone after only 2 years)