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Honest question - what about the XR Camera makes it superior than the X?

Smart HDR processing. Implemented by taking fast sequential frames at different exposures, and running them through an algorithm to balance highlights and shadows. Not for all situations, but really good for high contrast scenes.

But at the expense of giving up the 2X telephoto. For me that’s a decent trade.
 
Smart HDR processing. Implemented by taking fast sequential frames at different exposures, and running them through an algorithm to balance highlights and shadows. Not for all situations, but really good for high contrast scenes.

But at the expense of giving up the 2X telephoto. For me that’s a decent trade.

Ah ok, I didn't realize they improved upon the HDR tech in the X.

Thanks :)
 
This is bad news.

I was expecting the new Intel 7660 Modem across all three new 2019 iPhone. And they will be separated with top 2 model getting 4x4 Antenna while XR replacement gets 2x2. That means S gets 1.6Gbps , while R gets 600 / 800Mbps. Which is not bad the XR would still have an improvement over previous 450Mbps speed.

But having XR with 4x4 suggest.... it might have the old Intel 7560 Modem.... 4x4 gets the same 1Gbps as current XS, but 7560 is an 3GPP Rel13 modem, comparing to Rel 14 in 7660. ( Rel 15 is 5G ) Not to mention the amount of antenna problem from current XS, I would have thought sticking to 2x2 would be a better option.
 
I just don't see much of a need for 4x4 MIMO in the U.S. right now. The few speed tests I've read about didn't seem all that compelling. The 4x4 handsets basically provided close to the same throughput that LTE networks used to have back when the early adopters were the only people using LTE and everyone else was still using 3G handsets. I have yet to see a single speed test in the U.S. that comes anywhere close to the theoretical 'gigabit class' marketing Apple is claiming.
4x4 MIMO is widely deployed on AT&T, Verizon, and T-Mobile. My highest speed test (Ookla) on my X in my area was around 150 Mbps. With my XS, my peak speed is now 254 Mbps.
 
The improvements will be subtle. Especially if you're in a strong signal and low multipath environment already.

Where MIMO will shine is when you are in a high multipath environment (lots of obstructions, tall buildings, and other RF signal reflective surfaces - each causing different time-delayed versions of your signal at different signal strengths hitting your phone simultaneously, causing destructive interference - NYC, for example) with marginal signal strength. It can make all the difference in the world.

Theoretically true but going from the X to Xs has been a nightmare. Horrible signal and signal/call keeps dropping. Apple has screwed up the implementation - there is a huge thread on this forum and many others on this. Loyal fanboy but won't be fooled again

I for one hope Apple get crushed in their next few quarterly reports with their price gouging.

-Budget iPhones more expensive than flagships a couple of years ago.
-"Entry level" Mac minis that cost as much as VR gaming rig or just a couple of hundred shy of an iMac.
-$500 Price hikes on MBP for no reason.
-99 Cent "Free trial" for Apple music.

Likewise. After being screwed with their horrible Xs antenna - I hope this becomes true in time to come.
 
Will it also improve the call quality and signal? I still drop several calls a week. I know a lot of that is the cell tower placement, but I'm sure the iphone antenna plays a part too.
It should, especially in an urban area with a lot of obstructions like buildings. Personally, I wouldn’t get any phone that doesn’t have it and it’s a shame that Apple didn’t include it with the Xr. Their penny pinching gets to me sometimes.
 
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The Xr is Bad Ass! I don't see the difference except whi
Liquid Retina is marketing babble for rounded corners.

Apple could have easily specified the high PPI they've used in the plus series of phones for the last four years.

They cheaped out and jacked the price. You got ripped off.
The Xr is Bad Ass! I don't see that much of a difference except a with white and black over the oled iPhones. But my eyes are soon 41 years old so what do I know. Well I trust my eyes more than secs on a paper. Sure the border could be smaller, the resolution could be HD. But it is still a bad ass phone.
 
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id much prefer TB3 enabling faster transfer speeds (maybe target disk mode ;) ) than MIMO wifi.

i know it wont happen :(
 
The Xr is Bad Ass! I don't see the difference except whi

The Xr is Bad Ass! I don't see that much of a difference except a with white and black over the oled iPhones. But my eyes are soon 41 years old so what do I know. Well I trust my eyes more than secs on a paper. Sure the border could be smaller, the resolution could be HD. But it is still a bad ass phone.

Agreed. People who own the Xr seem to be very satisfied. I am happy with mine. Also, the screen looks great to me, and I certainly can't see any pixelation, but I understand there are people that are more discriminating than I am.

If you are coming from the 6/6+, 6s/6s+, and maybe 7/7+, it's a very nice upgrade. If you have an 8+, your phone is only a year old, and I would wait for another iteration or two. I like to keep my phones 3 years.

The Xr is not for those folks that like to upgrade every year to the latest top of the line phone. The XS/XS Max serve that market.
 
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They keep insisting on this mediocre phone... unbelievable!
What makes it mediocre exactly? It’s a great phone that has amazing battery life. Sure the screen is lower and only one lens but it still runs IOS and runs well.
 
It's refreshing to see there is talk about the antenna to improve the LTE speed instead of rumors of additional cameras. Sometimes we lose sight that a smartphone was primarily a communication device and now it's become a multi-device which cause the large increase in price.
 
I imagine they’ll probably put a 5G modem in the next generation XS/XS Max and the ‘cheaper’ Gigabit LTE modem in the next generation XR.

I know a fair few people have experienced issues with reception and data on their phones but, touchwood, I’ve been OK with my carrier so far.

Same here!

Edit: well, when I first got the phone I had a few issues with reception. But that has seemed to smooth itself out and now I feel like my reception is usually great.
 
"The difference was especially noticeable in weak signal conditions, the results indicated. "

That is NOT what the results indicate.
The interesting (and non-obvious, to non-engineers) result is that the 4x4 antennas give substantially better throughput when communicating with a 2x2 tower. Why should this be? The naive understanding is that only two data streams can be transported, and both phones support that.

The answer is that there are multiple different problems that can degrade the quality of a cellular signal. One that's especially important, but not obvious, is called fast fading. This is caused by a signal bouncing off multiple flat surfaces (think walls) and interfering. The result of this is that the overall signal amplitude varies dramatically over very short distances (~cm). This is not *exactly* a weak signal; it's not caused by being far from the tower. Rather it's a signal that's very strong in some places, and very weak just a cm over from that strong signal.

Now how do you deal with this? The standard way is called antenna diversity, where you have multiple antennas (which, by definition, are a few cm apart) and you cleverly fuse the signals from each of them. BUT if you are using two antennae for diversity, you can't also use those two antennae for two different MIMO signals! It's one or the other, and one of the secret sauce elements that makes some cellular chipsets better than others is how they decide when to switch antennae between being used for diversity and being used for MIMO.
Obviously if you have 4 antennae and 2x2 MIMO, this is a much easier calculation! Because you can just devote a pair to each MIMO stream and still get the benefit of two streams.
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I just don't see much of a need for 4x4 MIMO in the U.S. right now. The few speed tests I've read about didn't seem all that compelling. The 4x4 handsets basically provided close to the same throughput that LTE networks used to have back when the early adopters were the only people using LTE and everyone else was still using 3G handsets. I have yet to see a single speed test in the U.S. that comes anywhere close to the theoretical 'gigabit class' marketing Apple is claiming.

id love to meet someone who finds the 4x4mimi in this xm to be an improvement. Its no better than my 7 was at getting a signal:rolleyes:

So the article gives a reference that EXPLAINS why the 4x4 MIMO is better, along with a whole lot of graphs demonstrating this, but no, your gut feelings are a better indication of reality?

O...K...

The issue is not "do you get your theoretical max possible PHY throughput", it is "do you do better than the pre-existing alternative"? I explained in my earlier comment exactly why there is VASTLY more going on here than might appear to the naive internet commenter who knows nothing of real-world cellular issues.

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Agreed. People who own the Xr seem to be very satisfied. I am happy with mine. Also, the screen looks great to me, and I certainly can't see any pixelation, but I understand there are people that are more discriminating than I am.

If you are coming from the 6/6+, 6s/6s+, and maybe 7/7+, it's a very nice upgrade. If you have an 8+, your phone is only a year old, and I would wait for another iteration or two. I like to keep my phones 3 years.

The Xr is not for those folks that like to upgrade every year to the latest top of the line phone. The XS/XS Max serve that market.
Well put. Also, as someone who runs a business from an office, I find what matters tech wise changes. I don't care about specs like I used to, because I need something that works and that I don't think about, because i'm busy and have a business to run. This iMac is a 2015, and I wouldn't dream of a new one till at the earliest 2021. The tech is mature, this screen is best in class. My phone (6s+) had the battery replaced in November. I can use it easily till next fall. I'll upgrade around then, but only because I want water proofing, and a new camera will be (nice). I'll also pay full price out of pocket, because using Cricket I pay less than half that most folks do. When I upgrade, I plan on it being the next XR, because it will be an amazing phone. The folks that upgrade every year do it because it's a luxury and they like playing with tech. I highly doubt most folks who do need the latest phone.
 
Well put. Also, as someone who runs a business from an office, I find what matters tech wise changes. I don't care about specs like I used to, because I need something that works and that I don't think about, because i'm busy and have a business to run. This iMac is a 2015, and I wouldn't dream of a new one till at the earliest 2021. The tech is mature, this screen is best in class. My phone (6s+) had the battery replaced in November. I can use it easily till next fall. I'll upgrade around then, but only because I want water proofing, and a new camera will be (nice). I'll also pay full price out of pocket, because using Cricket I pay less than half that most folks do. When I upgrade, I plan on it being the next XR, because it will be an amazing phone. The folks that upgrade every year do it because it's a luxury and they like playing with tech. I highly doubt most folks who do need the latest phone.
Like I said, only reason I would upgrade to next year’s XR would be if it actually does have 4x4 and an improved radio. That’s really my only complaint about this phone. I’m pretty sure mine has a slightly darker left corner, but once iOS 13 dark mode hopefully comes I’ll stop caring about that, and if it doesn’t I’ll just do a $29 screen swap.
 
The XR is a mobile device first so the antennae design on the XR should not of been hobbled. Most people were not even aware of this hobbled feature (tech sites and reviews rarely mentioned it) compared to other more obvious features that were skipped on the model, such as force touch. Apple is not making the best products and hobbles features that consumer and reviewers are more likely to not be aware of initially.
 
Lol, how is the XR cheap? Aluminum body, glass back, great LCD display that admittedly only suffers from the resolution (although I haven’t noticed from the 7+), best battery of any iPhone ever, A12, I fail to see how the XR is ‘cheap’. It’s no 5C.
Well.. the antenna is a rather obvious start. lol.
 
"Of course, regardless of how many antennas an iPhone has, data speeds can be affected by factors such as network congestion, distance from the tower, physical obstructions, environmental conditions, and interference"

Which would make the idea less attractive. Although would hep when you can. Same with any wireless routers with "spider like" design
 
This whole business model of offering minor incremental features each year is what made Apple rich. But it may be the same reason why sales are slumping. People are simply catching on and tired of being milked every year.
 
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