iPhone XR Reviews Roundup: Best LCD Display Yet, Decent Single-Lens Camera, Excellent Performance and Battery Life

[pilot1226]

Love the design... no thanks on that screen though.

Guys, guys.

COME ON.

It is a handheld computer. $750 is a steal. I went with the XS because... IT IS A COMPUTER IN MY POCKET.

 

[Royksöpp]

People throw around the word budget like this is a $399 phone. It's base model is $749 + Tax. That is in no way a "budget" phone.

 

[chooyoshi]

Seriously, we need a smaller hand-friendly version of this design.

Buy a Xperia xz2 compact or pixel 3 5.5

 

[smoking monkey]

The Xr has an A12, same camera as the XS, an all new form factor, 6.1 inch screen, and cutting edge facial recognition.

To say it’s a downgrade from the 6S is comical. The only “downgrade” is the ppi from the plus models, which will be imperceptible and the new LCD will have better contrast, brightness, color reproduction, dynamic range, etc.

Agree. It seems like a great upgrade to the XR from a 6 or 7 and 8 plus.
I do think there are kind of 3 valid downgrade worries if going from a +phone to the XR
1. The pixel density. I put my 6s+ and my wife's 6 side by side with the same video playing and the + was better. BUT had I not had them side by side I'd have not worried about it. So definitely don't put the XR next to your mate's XS or Max. It will only make you sad. I wouldn't even put it next to a +phone to be honest. Best not to think about it.

Next two are more important.

2. Loss of 2 x zoom lens on 7 and 8 plus phones. If you take a lot of photos this could be a problem.

3. The actual XR screen is narrower than a +phone by 3.5 mm. That may not sound like a big deal, but I think plus users will take some getting used to a narrower screen. Especially considering that watching TV shows or older movies will actually show smaller on screen versus a plus. The keyboard will also be narrower.
*Text will be smaller or show less when in portrait mode. *When in Landscape mode you won't see as much up and down, but you'll see more left to right. (*I assume. please correct me if wrong).

I honestly believe that Number 3 will be the biggest problem for plus users in my books. And recommend anybody moving from a plus to the XR to check the XR out in person before purchasing for this reason.

Personally I want the Max, but the connectivity issues are scaring me off ATM.

 

[chooyoshi]

That's partially true. Most other smartphone manufacturers are playing a different game (low-end market). The only other players in Apple's game are Samsung and Google (maybe LG) and while they make great phones, only Apple has huge profits (Samsung does well too but their smartphone profits are dwarfed by Apple's). So yes, Apple is out of the game because right now, no other company can really compete.

Don't forget Huawei! They still have 96% of the world to conquer

 

[jdoyle]

Agree. It seems like a great upgrade to the XR from a 6 or 7 and 8 plus.
I do think there are kind of 3 valid downgrade worries if going from a +phone to the XR
1. The pixel density. I put my 6s+ and my wife's 6 side by side with the same video playing and the + was better. BUT had I not had them side by side I'd have not worried about it. So definitely don't put the XR next to your mate's XS or Max. It will only make you sad. I wouldn't even put it next to a +phone to be honest. Best not to think about it.

Next two are more important.

2. Loss of 2 x zoom lens on 7 and 8 plus phones. If you take a lot of photos this could be a problem.

3. The actual XR screen is narrower than a +phone by 3.5 mm. That may not sound like a big deal, but I think plus users will take some getting used to a narrower screen. Especially considering that watching TV shows or older movies will actually show smaller on screen versus a plus. The keyboard will also be narrower.
*Text will be smaller or show less when in portrait mode. *When in Landscape mode you won't see as much up and down, but you'll see more left to right. (*I assume. please correct me if wrong).

I honestly believe that Number 3 will be the biggest problem for plus users in my books. And recommend anybody moving from a plus to the XR to check the XR out in person before purchasing for this reason.

Personally I want the Max, but the connectivity issues are scaring me off ATM.

I have a 6S Plus 128GB ( recently replaced under warranty. It's running iOS 12 and basically does everything I want and feels fast ) I am keen to check out the XR on Friday but the screen width worries me. I love the dimensions of the plus screen size. I have larger hands and can type so comfortably with two hands on the keyboard. I am not keen on the taller and narrower form factor of these new phones. Another factor for me is the fact that landscape mode is also not supported even on the XS Max. This is really annoying. And flip Mail app into landscape mode on all these phones ( even the XS Max) It behaves like it is on the smaller 6,7,8 screens. No sidebar. This is also an annoyance and I have no idea why Apple dont make better use of the bigger screens. So after trying it I may even go for an 8 Plus. ( call me old fashioned) The screen is squared off nicely and 1080p and has true tone. My wife recently upgraded from a 7 to an 8Plus and I can see the difference with the True Tone display over my Iphone 6SPlus.

It's the most confusing range of iPhones to choose from when upgrading ever......

 

[Brien]

Just read Gruber’s review at daring fireball. Really enjoyed his breakdown on the differences between the XR and XS.

Actually what’s very interesting is how the XR uses the wide angle camera (it’s only camera lens) for portrait shots. It ends up getting much better portrait shots in very low light compared to the XS (as it’s using the telephoto lens which has a much smaller sensor).

Essentially what I was expecting. Excellent option for anyone not needing the additional luxuries of the XS (SS, OLED, 3x retina as opposed to 2X4, retina and telephoto camera sensor).

Which makes me wonder why Apple doesn’t let XS users use either camera for portrait mode. Would be nice.

 

[PickUrPoison]

Which makes me wonder why Apple doesn’t let XS users use either camera for portrait mode. Would be nice.

Could come in a later update I suppose, but simply not a priority for the 12.0 release. We used to call it “below the line”. You order the features based on priority, then decide which are the must-ship features. Then you literally draw a line at that dividing point. Anything above the line is targeted for the release and gets (hopefully sufficient) resources assigned. Anything below the line is deferred until a future release.

 

[jonnysods]

Thinking that the phones will have to be my next phone next year. Unless prices are decent on XS unlocked models once their replacement are released.

 

[lionkin]

I wish 128gb storage option was available for XS.

 

[majkom]

I have a 6S Plus 128GB ( recently replaced under warranty. It's running iOS 12 and basically does everything I want and feels fast ) I am keen to check out the XR on Friday but the screen width worries me. I love the dimensions of the plus screen size. I have larger hands and can type so comfortably with two hands on the keyboard. I am not keen on the taller and narrower form factor of these new phones. Another factor for me is the fact that landscape mode is also not supported even on the XS Max. This is really annoying. And flip Mail app into landscape mode on all these phones ( even the XS Max) It behaves like it is on the smaller 6,7,8 screens. No sidebar. This is also an annoyance and I have no idea why Apple dont make better use of the bigger screens. So after trying it I may even go for an 8 Plus. ( call me old fashioned) The screen is squared off nicely and 1080p and has true tone. My wife recently upgraded from a 7 to an 8Plus and I can see the difference with the True Tone display over my Iphone 6SPlus.

It's the most confusing range of iPhones to choose from when upgrading ever......

lol, what is confusing on 3 iphone models? like, choosign phone from 3 options is no nuclear science right

 

[dangerly]

XR is too big, i'd rather spend some more and buy the XS

 

[Ramchi]

I have a 6S Plus 128GB ( recently replaced under warranty. It's running iOS 12 and basically does everything I want and feels fast ) I am keen to check out the XR on Friday but the screen width worries me. I love the dimensions of the plus screen size. I have larger hands and can type so comfortably with two hands on the keyboard. I am not keen on the taller and narrower form factor of these new phones. Another factor for me is the fact that landscape mode is also not supported even on the XS Max. This is really annoying. And flip Mail app into landscape mode on all these phones ( even the XS Max) It behaves like it is on the smaller 6,7,8 screens. No sidebar. This is also an annoyance and I have no idea why Apple dont make better use of the bigger screens. So after trying it I may even go for an 8 Plus. ( call me old fashioned) The screen is squared off nicely and 1080p and has true tone. My wife recently upgraded from a 7 to an 8Plus and I can see the difference with the True Tone display over my Iphone 6SPlus.

It's the most confusing range of iPhones to choose from when upgrading ever......

Definitely confusing though not just for the mentioned reasons but to throw $750 upwards is not going to be easy with comparisons !