iPhone XR vs. iPhone 11 Buyer's Guide

[techfreak23]

It’s funny how they now talk about battery life in terms of media consumption. They don’t mention anything about the talk time... lol

 

[thadoggfather]

It’s funny how they now talk about battery life in terms of media consumption. They don’t mention anything about the talk time... lol

Welcome to Wall-E world enjoy your stay

It’s only gonna get grosser and more immersive with time, tech takeover in our daily lives / being glued to a screen

 

[CrzyP]

I’m pretty sure support for Atmos requires a tweak in the hardware, given that it is spatial audio. The Xr supports wider stereo speakers while the 11/Pros support spatial.

If you could provide evidence to support, of course.

Sure. It’s on the iOS 13 page and has been there since before the iPhone 11 announcement.

Dolby Atmos playback
Enjoy a thrilling surround sound experience from content with Dolby Atmos, Dolby Digital, or Dolby Digital Plus soundtracks.11

Note 11. Supported on iPhone XR and later, 11‑inch iPad Pro, and 12.9‑inch iPad Pro (3rd generation).

https://www.apple.com/ios/ios-13/features/

It was also mentioned on a WWDC slide when iOS 13 was announced.

And here. https://9to5mac.com/2019/09/11/apple-tv-content-supports-dolby-vision-and-dolby-atmos/

 

[CarlJ]

It’s funny how they now talk about battery life in terms of media consumption. They don’t mention anything about the talk time... lol

Wait, you can talk on these things? How is that possible?

 

[thadoggfather]

Ya know... as infrequently as I talk on the phone in the overall scope of using it, and of those times am generally using my AirPods, one of the first things I check when I get a new phone is the earpiece quality. I love a crisp and loud earpiece.

 

[rdy0329]

Can’t believe they removed blue, probably one of the most frequent XR colors I’ve seen out in the wild. For weird light green and some lavender purple color? Huh?

Blue and Coral lives on with the XR, that might be the appeal for some (non-power) users.

 

[apolloa]

It’s a worthy update for sure, but I’ll keep my XR app I’ll next year, all they need to add is that OLED screen they are heavily rumoured to be doing, and if possible make it a bit lighter, or even smaller which has also been rumoured?

Next year I want to buy that iPhone that will last me years..

I gotta say though, the iPhone XR and 11 are absolutely the BEST of the iPhone bunch currently. Here in the UK Apple increased the price of the ‘Pro’ by 50 pounds! And reduced the iPhone 11 price by 20 pounds! So the price gap is now 320 pounds sterling!!... that’s nearly HALF the price of the iPhone 11 and is utterly obscene when the 11 can do 99.99% of the things the ‘Pro’ does.

 

[Coconut Bean]

1 hour more !== 30-40% gain of battery life , is my point with all other specs being relatively the same most of all the screen Like you said. If that were the case it would be multiple hours better not a single hour. So some part of the claim has to be false. Both can’t be true. Apple is overselling efficiency gains, or being absurdly conservative in their estimates of battery gains. I tend to go with the first

...But if you think about it further, if OLED In Pro is in fact 15% more efficient than XS, and same a13 processor is in fact 40% more efficient AND they made the battery bigger to top it all (not sure about this but throwing it in because I can’t imagine the added 15% Efficiency is all the reason for multiple hour shift more) 4 hours more makes More sense to me at face value and wouldn’t be as sketchy of a claim

All I am saying is that the processor has a relatively small powerdraw, screen and in some cases the modem Will be more power hungry. To complicate further how efficiency is measured is not explained. Is it powerdraw per clock cycle? Or how much less power it uses for some set of tasks. Are those at sustained peek performance or every day tasks?

I do agree with you that this is nothing more than marketing talk. No one actually now what this efficiency encapsules.

 

[phil_r_s]

I have an XR. The only thing I want on the 11 is night mode. Not enough to upgrade. Feels good for once to skip, actually.

You could just get Neural Cam from the AppStore. It does pretty much the same

 

[Cosmosent]

iPhone12,3 hit GeekBench today !

3759 MB (iOS 13.0)

Single-Core Score close to that of the earlier "iPhone12,1," but Multi-Core Score noticeably higher !

Slight differences in CPU clock rate between the two, but one with 13.0 & the other with 13.1.

Differences in iOS will produce slight differences in DRAM reporting.

If the NON-Pro iPhone 11 is the one from 9/2, then it could sell well !

 

[Coconut Bean]

But I’m talking about xr vs 11 here,

I’m sorry but How many times must I explain the same thing ... it’s really not difficult guys

It appears * same * specs * same * screen and * same * everything else (barring a second camera module) - with only one hour more of battery life

All other things being constant, there’s a supposed 40 percent more power efficient processor in this updated iPhone compared to last years

So How does that HUGE figure equate to merely one hour and not a lot more? Did they shrink the battery size 30% too from xr? That’s the only way I can wrap my head around the little practical gains

Analogous to- I f you had two identical cars, except for one had a 40 percent more gas efficient engine dropped in, assuming same
Driving patterns, why would that more efficient one not get close to 40 percent improvement in practical gas use, rather than let’s say just a few mpg?

If screen uses half of the battery and chip uses the other half. A 40% better efficiency will be 20% increased battery life. In real life the chip uses less than 50% of the battery, thus it Will contribute with a little increase, nowhere near 40%, everything else the same.

 

[donth8]

nvm got beat to the punch

 

[ChrisMoBro]

Really? Why? The 8 plus is amazing

For the better camera and FaceID although I’m not 100% set on it

 

[ghanwani]

Yes. This is why I still have my 8+. I really wanted to go with the 11, but they did not bump the dpi to 401 like the 8+. To my eyes my 8+ at 401 dpi has a superior image. So, I'll most likely keep my 8+ until it dies. I'm one of those minority users who's eyes don't like OLED. So I'll be in a bind next year.

Why in a bind next year? 8+ should be good with iOS for another 3 versions (i.e. 13, 14, 15).

 

[Tinototem]

Is it only iPhone 11 Pro that gets enhanced face id?

 

[widestload]

Nice comparison. It’d be great to see the same for the 11Pro vs the XS too.

 

[ChrisMoBro]

I have an iPhone 8 Plus and XR in my home and can notice the difference. I much prefer the 8 Plus screen.

What about the cameras? I know the XR lacks the telephoto lens but in terms of dynamic range and quality do you notice much of a difference? Also, my wife has an Xs and the narrower screen puts me off. Do you notice that so much when comparing the XR to the 8 Plus?

 

[himanshumodi]

I don't think so. I don't think the pixels and lenses are all that much different. Might be the specific feature from apple is restricted to the new neural engine, but you can get apps with night mode for other iPhones. the Pixel has no better cameras either, all the night mode magic is software. I have an iPhone X and the iOS 13 beta - no night mode. But I can download apps if I wanted to use that.

The android solution (and if done through apps on iOS) is to hold the shutter open for longer duration to get a better lit photo. That might mean a photo gets ruined because of slight movements, both of the subject and the camera. I thought, with the night mode on 11 you take your photos the way you normally do and the lens+AI goobledygook of 11 brought out a better image. Kind of sucks if you have to hold still for 3 seconds while trying to take a night mode photo.

 

[Jedwardoo]

I'm tempted to finally upgrade my 8 Plus and I'm tempted by the iPhone 11 but will I notice the difference with the lower resolution screen?

It would be best to bring your iPhone 8+ and compare it side by side with the iPhone 11.

I feel you, I currently have the iPhone 8. I'm itching on getting the iPhone 11 now.
[doublepost=1568270068][/doublepost]

Is the Face ID actually going to be better on the 11 vs the XR? I wish it would pickup my face at an extra 6-12" further from the phone than it does on my XR.

What I understood is that Face ID improved on the angles rather than the distance. We'll have to see when it gets released, I hope the distance gets increased too.
[doublepost=1568270152][/doublepost]

No blue seems like a mistake. If they had a 512GB option this might be this years iPhone for me and the wife...

I'm so curious, the biggest iPhone storage I bought in my life is the 128GB.

What do you use in your iPhone that you need the 512GB storage?
[doublepost=1568270526][/doublepost]

I have an XR. The only thing I want on the 11 is night mode. Not enough to upgrade. Feels good for once to skip, actually.

You seem to be good until 2020 iPhones if you have the XR. It might even be possible to hold out until 2021 iPhones if ever it's not yet a super cycle next year.

 

[Jedwardoo]

*edit* just like with Google Night Sight, this isn’t for moving subjects, you have to hold still a few seconds using this app!

Here’s a good Night Mode solution for $2.99, I bought it for my iPhone X and it works really well:

https://apps.apple.com/us/app/neuralcam-night-mode-camera/id1474856599

Quick test I did last night, standard Camera app vs NeuralCam:
View attachment 857465

Got any idea if this works well on the iPhone 8 camera too?
[doublepost=1568270817][/doublepost]

Yes. This is why I still have my 8+. I really wanted to go with the 11, but they did not bump the dpi to 401 like the 8+. To my eyes my 8+ at 401 dpi has a superior image. So, I'll most likely keep my 8+ until it dies. I'm one of those minority users who's eyes don't like OLED. So I'll be in a bind next year.

I thought I was alone or part of the minority here with OLED.
[doublepost=1568271237][/doublepost]

Installed and playing with it, its performance is great (like blown away Google version), but it asks you to hold still a few seconds (presumably while it grabs additional pictures to combine) - so not sure how it'll work in a moving mass - but for $2.99...

How long does it require you to stay still?

I do have shaky hands.

 

[Jedwardoo]

I never understood the power efficiency gains in relation to battery

So the 11 with a13 has 40 percent efficiency gains but only yields one hour more battery (and that’s the marketing claim, too) with same screen and resolution and all the rest except a dual camera? How does that make any mathematical sense?

Still xr gets excellent battery life and I’d expect no less of the 11

I have the same thoughts too. Why did the iPhone 11 Pros get more battery life if it's A13 chip is more power efficient when the regular iPhone 11 is more or less the same as the iPhone XR?

I just hope this was just marketing and we can see reviewers see the regular iPhone 11 have longer than 1-hour extra battery life than the iPhone XR.

 

[hagar]

Still on my 6S and can’t find a lot of reasons to upgrade to the 11 besides battery life, which has always been horrible on the 6S. I don’t understand why people would want to upgrade their previous gen iPhone. They offer barely anything new: still the same rows of app icons, just a bit faster and better pics.

 

[Jedwardoo]

I upgraded from the 8 plus to the XR and I noticed the lower res so I returned it for the XS. The OLED panels are stunning and very sharp! Id recommend you go with the pro.

I wonder if coming from the iPhone 8 instead of the 8+ to the iPhone 11 would be a better screen or worse like your experience?
[doublepost=1568271669][/doublepost]

Still on my 6S and can’t find a lot of reasons to upgrade to the 11 besides battery life, which has always been horrible on the 6S. I don’t understand why people would want to upgrade their previous gen iPhone. They offer barely anything new: still the same rows of app icons, just a bit faster and botter pics.

Did you have your battery changed on your 6S during that $30 battery replacement time?

 

[iGeek2019]

So - let me get this straight, they reduced the water resistance from the XR to 11?

iPhone XR is IP67 rated whilst the 11 gains IP68.

 

[Jedwardoo]

Color choice for 11 is horrendous. I don’t want another black or white and what’s remaining are pastel colors. Why Apple left a typical guy with no choice? Some dark blue or even midnight green color they have for 11 Pro would do for me. Why all colors that only seem to appeal for stereotypical teenage girls?

Sadly, it's pastel colors this year. You can also go for the black, white or red on the iPhone 11. I still wished they made the green to Olive green color or that military green color.
[doublepost=1568272214][/doublepost]

The iPhone 11 was "rumored" to get a DRAM increase.

Did that happen ???

NO ONE (Outside of Apple) knows !

Unless / Until that can be confirmed, "Buyer Beware" !

The XR was UNDER-powered, because it's 2.8 GB of DRAM made it act like it ONLY had 1.8 GB or so !

I used a XR as my main NON-Dev iPhone for the past year.

I just check'd the Geekbench search results, & there is still ONLY that ONE from Sept 2nd, which is suspect.

DRAM & NAND costs are down 50% relative to last year, so Apple "should have" bump'd the DRAM up to "at least" match what was in the XS & XS Max !

As it currently stands, the Geekbench-reported DRAM numbers for the 2019 iPhones should start appearing on Sept 20th.

If Cook was smart, & that's a BIG IF, he would have get those numbers out now !

BTW, NOT a fan of Cook, Schiller, OR Williams, because for two years in a row, first with the X, & then with the XR, they did NOT have enough (combined) wisdom to put a sufficient amount of DRAM into their best selling iPhone, two years in a row !

Will they make the same mistake three years in a row ???

We'll ALL soon know the answer to that !

Apple has done well for one reason & one reason ONLY, lack of competition from another U.S. smartphone company !

It seems the iPhone 11 series has 4GB RAM across the board. We'll just have to wait if it really is once people have it in their hands to double check.