iPhone XR Max user testing XR

[1rottenapple]

Ok so I have had a xs max since launch day. I decided what the heck why not buy an XR for a week to test drive it. My credit card needs to exercise anyway so I got one November 4. It’s red, and what a beautiful color. I wish the max came in this color to be honest. Red > Gold max.

I was impressed by screen of the XR. YES YOU READ THAT CORRECTLY. I watch several YouTubers freaking out about the XR when it was announced and especially that click-bait-king Lou from unboxing therapy equating xr screen to the 4s screen, you would think the XR was a 1988 Honda Civic or something. Remember the iPad Pro has a lower ppi than the XR and you don’t hear people complaining about the iPad Pro. Well going to Target I was super impressed when comparing the XR the max; the screen is really good! The expectations were so low that it kinda blew my mind! It’s a great lcd screen!

The screen images appear like it’s right up to the glass similar to the xs max. The screen area for websites are the same!!! I was comparing the verge website and cnn and other articles and when viewing the same page the paragraphs one covers is similar to the other! Of course the size of letters is smaller on the xr. This is font setting to smallest setting in the display.

Now after spending time with the xr in my opinion it’s a small decrease in quality. None iPhone maniacs would be totally fine with this. Heck I would be totally fine if I never got the max. There is a small dimming when viewing off angle on the XR. Somewhat noticeable now that I pointed this out but I don’t think most people won’t notice.

Size wise, I can text one handed easily!!!! That kinda blew me away. I haven’t done that in 4 years lol. Well I text on the plus and max but not for long cause it hurts my hand. The XR... it feels natural.

Battery is similar. I can’t really tell.

I sometimes feels like the XR is a little slower, maybe it’s a ram issue or my Wifi issue but I feel it’s slower to load some websites.

Things I noticed, the speaker is inferior. It’s less loud than the max. The max speaker is louder, & clearer! I noticed that easily and missed the sound quality of the max. It made me appreciate the max more. I use my max a lot with having no tv in my room and I play videos a lot.

The black bezel are not a big deal. I can’t really tell. It’s like the notch. Once you use it you don’t really feel it affect the phone. It’s like having a case on your phone. I don’t notice the thin bezels on my max because I have a case on it. Of course when I take off the case, the max thin bezels are noticeable.

I notice I consume less content on the XR. The large slab of glass which is the max begs to be watched but the XR screen is smaller. I feel like an iPad is a good partner to this. I don’t have an iPad.

3D Touch. I kinda miss it! For example when you have a text on the lock screen if you want to respond you would need to slide left, hit view. Then respond. With 3D Touch just hard press and that it. I also use short cuts on certain apps. Like my banking app, I force touch the icon to add a transaction. And also peaking a website. I use that feature and with the XR that’s not possible. I suppose apple needs to add support for these 3D Touch interactions with a long press and I would be happy with this part of the XR.

Now, the verdict.

I miss my max lol. So I kept going back to the max when I had it with me with the XR so while at work I decided to leave the max in my office and will use the XR tonight. And maybe for another night to see if it’s worth keeping. I’ll return the XR Wednesday (it’s monday).

I think if I never got the Max I would be ok with this. For the past 4 yrs I’ve used a plus model so it’s weird having a small phone and to be quiet honest I’m used to big phones. I like the large screen, the louder/clearer/fuller sounding speakers are great!

 

[Shanghaichica]

Nice write up. It’s good that you got the chance to try out the Xr to see if the max was really the phone for you.

I was wondering about the screen size on the max and how it compares to the plus models.

 

[1rottenapple]

Nice write up. It’s good that you got the chance to try out the Xr to see if the max was really the phone for you.

I was wondering about the screen size on the max and how it compares to the plus models.

Yes I’m impressed. The expectations were kinda low with how people were blasting this device but it’s impressive.

Regarding the plus vs max. Imagine your plus. Now imagine your plus with no top or bottoms chin. That’s the max. It’s a slate of glass covering almost the same area as a plus. It’s impressive.

 

[Yogosans14]

As someone coming from a iPhone 8+ I’m not impressed by the display or thickness of the device. I can def see blurriness and pixels and that’s why I’m switching to the XS.

The XR is perfect for someone coming from a regular 6/7/8 but not from the plus iPhones. The screen is noticeably less sharp.

 

[chanerz]

^^^ I agree

 

[Shanghaichica]

Yes I’m impressed. The expectations were kinda low with how people were blasting this device but it’s impressive.

Regarding the plus vs max. Imagine your plus. Now imagine your plus with no top or bottoms chin. That’s the max. It’s a slate of glass covering almost the same area as a plus. It’s impressive.

Sorry I actually meant the size of the Xr compared to the plus models. I have the max myself and used to have the plus models.

 

[chanerz]

Nice one

 

[NJHitmen]

Good post, thanks for the comparison.

I think if I never got the Max I would be ok with this. For the past 4 yrs I’ve used a plus model so it’s weird having a small phone and to be quiet honest I’m used to big phones. I like the large screen, the louder/clearer/fuller sounding speakers are great!

I think it's funny that the XR could be considered a "small" phone. I mean, I get it...relative to the Max or Plus, it is. But what a long way we've come since the days of 3.5" displays. Imagine if the XR had been released alongside the 4. We would have been flabbergasted at its enormity.

 

[DaveyVigs]

Sorry I actually meant the size of the Xr compared to the plus models. I have the max myself and used to have the plus models.

I had the 6+ and 7+ and didn’t notice that much difference between them and the XR in terms of resolution. XR feels more grippy and thicker than my old 7+ which was slippery. A few things I miss are 3D Touch and all aluminum even though it was slippery. I had to return my 64GB blue XR and will probably go with a white 128GB in a few days.

Oh here is a good phone size compassion I use frequently. You would only need to calibrate on a desktop but from desktop or the desktop view on a phone you can do side by side comparisons.

https://www.phonearena.com/phones/size/Apple-iPhone-8-Plus,Apple-iPhone-XR/phones/10411,10765

 

[Broadus]

Ok so I have had a xs max since launch day. I decided what the heck why not buy an XR for a week to test drive it. My credit card needs to exercise anyway so I got one November 4. It’s red, and what a beautiful color. I wish the max came in this color to be honest. Red > Gold max.

I was impressed by screen of the XR. YES YOU READ THAT CORRECTLY. I watch several YouTubers freaking out about the XR when it was announced and especially that click-bait-king Lou from unboxing therapy equating xr screen to the 4s screen, you would think the XR was a 1988 Honda Civic or something. Remember the iPad Pro has a lower ppi than the XR and you don’t hear people complaining about the iPad Pro. Well going to Target I was super impressed when comparing the XR the max; the screen is really good! The expectations were so low that it kinda blew my mind! It’s a great lcd screen!

The screen images appear like it’s right up to the glass similar to the xs max. The screen area for websites are the same!!! I was comparing the verge website and cnn and other articles and when viewing the same page the paragraphs one covers is similar to the other! Of course the size of letters is smaller on the xr. This is font setting to smallest setting in the display.

Now after spending time with the xr in my opinion it’s a small decrease in quality. None iPhone maniacs would be totally fine with this. Heck I would be totally fine if I never got the max. There is a small dimming when viewing off angle on the XR. Somewhat noticeable now that I pointed this out but I don’t think most people won’t notice.

Size wise, I can text one handed easily!!!! That kinda blew me away. I haven’t done that in 4 years lol. Well I text on the plus and max but not for long cause it hurts my hand. The XR... it feels natural.

Battery is similar. I can’t really tell.

I sometimes feels like the XR is a little slower, maybe it’s a ram issue or my Wifi issue but I feel it’s slower to load some websites.

Things I noticed, the speaker is inferior. It’s less loud than the max. The max speaker is louder, & clearer! I noticed that easily and missed the sound quality of the max. It made me appreciate the max more. I use my max a lot with having no tv in my room and I play videos a lot.

The black bezel are not a big deal. I can’t really tell. It’s like the notch. Once you use it you don’t really feel it affect the phone. It’s like having a case on your phone. I don’t notice the thin bezels on my max because I have a case on it. Of course when I take off the case, the max thin bezels are noticeable.

I notice I consume less content on the XR. The large slab of glass which is the max begs to be watched but the XR screen is smaller. I feel like an iPad is a good partner to this. I don’t have an iPad.

3D Touch. I kinda miss it! For example when you have a text on the lock screen if you want to respond you would need to slide left, hit view. Then respond. With 3D Touch just hard press and that it. I also use short cuts on certain apps. Like my banking app, I force touch the icon to add a transaction. And also peaking a website. I use that feature and with the XR that’s not possible. I suppose apple needs to add support for these 3D Touch interactions with a long press and I would be happy with this part of the XR.

Now, the verdict.

I miss my max lol. So I kept going back to the max when I had it with me with the XR so while at work I decided to leave the max in my office and will use the XR tonight. And maybe for another night to see if it’s worth keeping. I’ll return the XR Wednesday (it’s monday).

I think if I never got the Max I would be ok with this. For the past 4 yrs I’ve used a plus model so it’s weird having a small phone and to be quiet honest I’m used to big phones. I like the large screen, the louder/clearer/fuller sounding speakers are great!

Thanks for a fair comparison/review. As far as screen goes, what you write is what I observed in comparing my XR with a Max on display at Costco. I compared the two a long time trying to find a reason to return the XR. I couldn't really find one.

Concerning the speakers, I wonder the reason for the difference. Are the speakers different, or is there a difference in audio software? I've not listened to the speakers of a XS Max, but I was pretty impressed with the XR speakers. Still, I usually use headphones.

 

[1rottenapple]

Good post, thanks for the comparison.



I think it's funny that the XR could be considered a "small" phone. I mean, I get it...relative to the Max or Plus, it is. But what a long way we've come since the days of 3.5" displays. Imagine if the XR had been released alongside the 4. We would have been flabbergasted at its enormity.

You would think it’s not a small phone but I guess it’s relative to the person. I think it’s small compared to my max.

The volume and sound quality between the max and it’s cousin the xr was what surprising.