iPhone XR My own personal Xr story

[The-Real-Deal82]

I like the XR, it has more than enough features and capabilities to compete against the XS in the average consumers eyes. The only drawback for me, was the Lack of 3D Touch. (And yes, that is a crucial feature for my uses in the iOS experience.)

That and the lack of telephoto lens on the XR were the deal breakers for me. If haptic feedback could replicate ‘peek and pop’ with icons, safari and email then I could look past the lack of 3DTouch. The screen quality of the XR appears as good as anything Apple are offering right now to me. It’s a nice phone.

 

[thadoggfather]

That and the lack of telephoto lens on the XR were the deal breakers for me. If haptic feedback could replicate ‘peek and pop’ with icons, safari and email then I could look past the lack of 3DTouch. The screen quality of the XR appears as good as anything Apple are offering right now to me. It’s a nice phone.

Not sure how often this is the case but Marques brownlee said a lot of times 2x is actually just digital from the first lens because it’s a faster lens and intelligently decides that’s cleaner than a slower aperture telephoto

It had me wondering by the end

 

[valinda]

For those who have the X, XS, XS Max, it doesn’t make sense to me to switch to the XR, unless your in your 14 day return period. Your going to lose money. You can’t sell your phone for the same money as you bought it for.

 

[mjschabow]

Personally feel XR is an upgrade of X, but to each his own.

I just can’t go away from Amoled screens. They’re too nice. And 3D Touch. I use it all the time.

 

[akash.nu]

That and the lack of telephoto lens on the XR were the deal breakers for me. If haptic feedback could replicate ‘peek and pop’ with icons, safari and email then I could look past the lack of 3DTouch. The screen quality of the XR appears as good as anything Apple are offering right now to me. It’s a nice phone.

Do you really use the telephoto lens that often?

 

[NJHitmen]

Personally feel XR is an upgrade of X, but to each his own.

Personally I agree, but it's certainly debatable. I can see it either way; depends on the user's priorities. If that individual places a high priority on OLED, the telephoto lens, and/or 3D touch - then the XR is certainly no upgrade. But if that person values having the latest processor, best main camera (with Smart HDR), and ridiculous battery life - then, yes, clearly X -> XR is a significant upgrade.

Of course the XR will appear like a nice display (which it is for a lower end LCD) but use a high quality OLED for an extended time and you will see a difference.

lol, no. The XR doesn't have a "lower end LCD". Have you seen it? I think maybe you've fallen into the trap of focusing strictly on specs. True, pixel density of 326ppi isn't anywhere near class-leading. But the XR's LCD excels at every other measure - just like every LCD Apple has put out over the past several years. Color accuracy, for example, is about as good as it gets. Take a look at cheap phones and you'll see truly some lower-end LCDs.

 

[The-Real-Deal82]

Do you really use the telephoto lens that often?

Yeah an awful lot especially when I product test as it’s often too risky to be close to a product. That extra zoom has been incredibly handy since I purchased the 8+. I use it a lot when taking snaps of the kids too.

 

[Aneres11]

Not sure how often this is the case but Marques brownlee said a lot of times 2x is actually just digital from the first lens because it’s a faster lens and intelligently decides that’s cleaner than a slower aperture telephoto

It had me wondering by the end

I also saw that and was really surprised.
But then it made sense to me, as when I owned both my XS Max and XR together (before selling the XS Max), I took a couple of sample photos indoors of the dog and used the optical zoom on the max (2x) and digital of the XR.
I could not see the difference at all. Like at all.

But he said it’s more to do with lower light, which this was - and then it made sense.
If you use it outdoors in daylight, the difference will probably be easier to spot.

Another compelling reason to consider the XR though!

 

[Sparkymoto]

Personally I agree, but it's certainly debatable. I can see it either way; depends on the user's priorities. If that individual places a high priority on OLED, the telephoto lens, and/or 3D touch - then the XR is certainly no upgrade. But if that person values having the latest processor, best main camera (with Smart HDR), and ridiculous battery life - then, yes, clearly X -> XR is a significant upgrade.



lol, no. The XR doesn't have a "lower end LCD". Have you seen it? I think maybe you've fallen into the trap of focusing strictly on specs. True, pixel density of 326ppi isn't anywhere near class-leading. But the XR's LCD excels at every other measure - just like every LCD Apple has put out over the past several years. Color accuracy, for example, is about as good as it gets. Take a look at cheap phones and you'll see truly some lower-end LCDs.

Use a high end Android with an lcd like LG G7 and you'll see a difference. I think many of you are high on the Apple kool aide haha and don't really have a lot of experience with other phones. To compare the XR with the x is so halarious I almost spit my coffee out. Like I said, you have to USE a phone, for a long time. Not just look side by side in the Apple store. Most of you won't get it, because you won't use anything but iPhones. Oh well

 

[akash.nu]

Yeah an awful lot especially when I product test as it’s often too risky to be close to a product. That extra zoom has been incredibly handy since I purchased the 8+. I use it a lot when taking snaps of the kids too.

Rather than using the zoom, doesn’t an extra lens attachment work better for closeup shots?!

Do you mean you use the portrait mode a lot for your kids pictures?

 

[NJHitmen]

Use a high end Android with an lcd like LG G7 and you'll see a difference. I think many of you are high on the Apple kool aide haha and don't really have a lot of experience with other phones. To compare the XR with the x is so halarious I almost spit my coffee out. Like I said, you have to USE a phone, for a long time. Not just look side by side in the Apple store. Most of you won't get it, because you won't use anything but iPhones. Oh well

Eh, X vs XR isn't that hilarious. Both have pros and cons. If you've fully committed to OLED, then maybe it's a silly comparison. All other things being equal, I would prefer OLED, yes - but imo it isn't really a major difference. There are other things I really like about the XR, like the battery life. Overall (and considering price) I think it's kind of a wash.

Re: iPhone koolaid - I have spent quite a bit of time using several different Samsung models over the years (up to and including the Note 9), so I have at least some non-Apple experience. But, honestly, I haven't spent any time with a G7, so I can't refute that claim. Maybe you're right. In general, I haven't used very many non-Apple phone LCDs, so I'll have to investigate your assertion that Apple doesn't use high-quality LCDs relative to the competition (at least, I think that's your belief). Haven't heard this before. There are a lot of reviews/comparisons online, so it shouldn't be hard to draw some conclusions.

I agree that you do have to actually use a phone before truly understanding its strengths/weaknesses. Have you ever actually used the XR?

 

[Nikhil72]

I love the XR size but decided to stick with my max because the oled still stands out to me but mainly because I shoot a lot of city and architecture shots with the second lens, which allows me to bypass people, street power lines, and other things on the ground and get elements higher up and/or far away. As pointed out, the zoom lens isn’t used for indoor or low light shots but for daytime scenery, it’s night and day vs digital zoom on the XR in terms of retained detail and clarity. That being said, the XR is a fantastic device for most consumers and choices are nice.

 

[The-Real-Deal82]

Rather than using the zoom, doesn’t an extra lens attachment work better for closeup shots?!

Do you mean you use the portrait mode a lot for your kids pictures?

An actual camera would be better but I’m finding good use with what I am using. The telephoto zoom has ended up being rather useful.

I do use portrait mode for close ups with the kids but the zoom is handy when getting candid shots of them when playing. You don’t have to get quite so close so they don’t get too shy.

 

[Katvonc]

I got the Xr launch day. It is my seventh iPhone model. I LOVE this phone. I don’t miss the home button at all. I thought it was huge but now I can’t go smaller. I have small hands and it’s just not a problem. It’s a bit heavy but used to that now. The notch and bezels are a non issue. The screen is amazing. I use my camera but I also have a nice Samsung for zooming so also a non issue. My most favorite feature is Face ID. Opening the phone and Getting into apps is crazy fast. I’m not a techie just a happy apple snob. Have my iPhone, Apple Watch, IPad and Mac laptop. What more do I need?!

 

[scubatopy]

An actual camera would be better but I’m finding good use with what I am using. The telephoto zoom has ended up being rather useful.

I do use portrait mode for close ups with the kids but the zoom is handy when getting candid shots of them when playing. You don’t have to get quite so close so they don’t get too shy.

I have a Reflex with powerful telephoto for nice pics, but it weights more than 2 lbs and it is not that handy in most cases, so a good camera on the phone is the option you need when it's really important. Therefore I think optical zoom is the most relevant lack on my XR. Is anyone of you aware of the below add-on and whether this may be effective? Is it worth it? Thanks a lot.

https://www.theverge.com/circuitbre...camera-telephoto-lens-58mm-mobile-photography
https://www.sandmarc.com/products/telephoto-lens-edition-iphone-xr

 

[Mackinjosh]

I love the XR but one thing I've noticed while having it right next to an 8+ is how quickly the colors shift on the XR when you move it slightly off angle compared to the 8+'s LCD. I noticed the same "issue" with the new iPad Pros compared to the older ones.

 

[jeffdanger]

Great photos. I picked up an XR to replace my 7 plus and really like it. Apple has so few problems "just works" as most people say and they tend to get boring cause there's never anything to fix or figure out on them. Love my XR.

 

[OLDGUYWITHAHIFI]

You can't really form an opinion from just looking at the phones. Of course the XR will appear like a nice display (which it is for a lower end LCD) but use a high quality OLED for an extended time and you will see a difference. The LG G7 has an amazing LCD screen Imo

After an extended period what difference will I see to convince me the OLED is superior?

I spent about 15 minutes with each at the same time looking at web pages, text, photos and videos. The differences to me were minor. Slight color differences, but neither was superior to the other in my view. You emphasize "lower end LCD". Are you only considering the specs to form this opinion?

Actually I have read many have had adverse affects looking at an OLED for too long.

 

[doboy]

I just can’t go away from Amoled screens. They’re too nice. And 3D Touch. I use it all the time.

That’s perfectly valid because I too love 3D Touch, but can live without it. As for OLED, I can live without it on a phone, but not my OLED TV
[doublepost=1542565518][/doublepost]

Personally I agree, but it's certainly debatable. I can see it either way; depends on the user's priorities. If that individual places a high priority on OLED, the telephoto lens, and/or 3D touch - then the XR is certainly no upgrade. But if that person values having the latest processor, best main camera (with Smart HDR), and ridiculous battery life - then, yes, clearly X -> XR is a significant upgrade.

Don’t forget the price difference especially if you need 128 GB minimum.

 

[LizKat]

I agree it would be cool if apple offered all phones in more colors. They would sell a ton of them. The XR is a great device. I had one until my wife wanted it. I needed up getting a gold XS since I have never had gold and wanted to try something different. The XR has excellent battery life for sure. It’s actually amazing. Enjoy your new tech.

I happen to prefer the size of the SE but have to admit I dropped by to see the new phones and the red XR was pretty tempting. I'm hanging onto my SE for now but I can see myself caving in for an XR eventually. Surprises me since I'd sworn I'd go back to a flip phone after the SE croaks. Well done, Apple: wearing me down again a day at a time.

 

[Ralfi]

Did anyone have an issue with the iPhone 8 screen?...

“The XR's screen has an 828 x 1792 resolution for a pixel density of 326 pixels per inch, while the iPhone 8 has a resolution of 750 x 1334 but matches the iPhone XR's pixel density.”

...If not, then you should also appreciate what Apple have done with the XR display.

I spent about 15 minutes with each at the same time looking at web pages, text, photos and videos.

& that’s all the testing you need to do. No more comparing to OLED needed.

 

[doboy]

I love the XR but one thing I've noticed while having it right next to an 8+ is how quickly the colors shift on the XR when you move it slightly off angle compared to the 8+'s LCD. I noticed the same "issue" with the new iPad Pros compared to the older ones.

I personally don’t find it too bad, at least preferable to color shift on OLED.

 

[Broadus]

Thanks so much. I really appreciate that. I think most people who replied competed missed the point of the thread but I feel you did not. This was never about bashing phone models.

It’s inevitable. Somehow, it seems folks feel the need to enter the conversation to inform XR owners that they don’t know what they’re talking about. And then there will be pushback and away we go.

Frankly, Apple doesn’t make an inferior phone, and the iOS/MacOS integration is unmatched by anything else. That’s just the way things stand right now and have for several years.

 

[chrismichael83]

Nope. Had the Max for about a month total, but don’t really miss it. Felt like a chump paying all that money for something that wasn’t that much better than XR.

Yes felt the same. I did not want the tiny XS and tried the XS MAX but again, was going to use that phone for at least 2-3 years so I got the 256gb but then I thought. Um this phone is legit 1200 for what? The XR does everything the MAX can sans the telephoto lens, 3D touch and an OLED.

 

[rich32gb5s]

I’ve just purchased a new 64gb X . £70 ( or $ equivalent in the states ) cheaper than a new 64gb XR. I’d say I’ve done ok even if the XR is a good phone.