iPhone X So Xr’s screen is only 720p...

[The-Real-Deal82]

Apple was never about having the best specs in the market. Apple is about selling products with great experience that make their owner happy. And the XR is just that. A fine product that will make it’s owner happy. In the end that’s all that matters.

Apple have had to wake up a bit on the spec front of late though due to coming across as very boring compared to other companies. The bar has been raised in the last couple of years and offering mediocre specs is something they can’t afford to do anymore. iOS is the experience and the hardware completes the deal. The XR is competing for the affection of the mainstream iPhone user and has healthy competition from the 8+. The XS is their flagship but that only satisfies those wanting a premium price tag. The XR needs to be as good as we expect.

 

[NorthSeaBeach]

What does "Liquid Retina" mean aside from the marketing garb? I highly doubt anything at all.

Lcd literally means liquid crystal display. So the liquid in 'Liquid Retina' doesn't add anything to the technique used. Retina just means the above 300-320 ppi screen where you can't see pixels (but can see fuzziness) I guess. So that's nothing new either.

But all the above is not to say that Apple somehow has managed to come up with a new 326 ppi lcd screen that somehow gives more clarity than the ones used in the 8 and before. That would change my mind. I don't think that's very likely though. I will have to see for myself.

 

[rnbarg]

I'm nearly certain you're joking, but I find that term "Liquid Retina" annoying.
It has lower PPI than the Plus, and lacks the 3D Touch, bet yet it's their most "advanced LCD" they claim.

What does "Liquid Retina" mean aside from the marketing garb? I highly doubt anything at all.

True Tone, P3 wide color gamut, 625 brightness, 1400 contrast, all carried over from iPhone 8, and New: pixel masking and sub-pixel antialiasing to help with the curved corners, one touch wake, haptic touch, and another feature that improves speed of multitouch interface whose name escapes me, and some secret sauce intangibles known only to Apple. Why “liquid”? Right LCD morphs to LRD. Master stroke by Apple.

 

[gelie]

Seems like the Xr is a budget phone seems like 3yr old tech regarding the screen and lack of 3D touch(which is quite useful). If it were me I’d stick with a 7+ or maybe a 8 +. I guess the next “budget” phone Apple will announce will be on the Edge network.

 

[rnbarg]

View attachment 792987

True Tone, P3 wide color gamut, 625 brightness, 1400 contrast, all carried over from iPhone 8, and New: pixel masking and sub-pixel antialiasing to help with the curved corners, one touch wake, haptic touch, and another feature that improves speed of multitouch interface whose name escapes me, and some secret sauce intangibles known only to Apple. Why “liquid”? Right LCD morphs to LRD. Master stroke by Apple.

The attached is from a hands-on video of the XR at the event. Compare this with the initial Settings screen on the 8 plus running iOS 12 and behold the breathtaking increase in screen real estate with the XR. This is equal in all respects other than resolution with the Max. And all this in a smaller form factor to boot.

 

[Gudi]

However, a 326ppi LCD screen is the sort of thing only Apple can get away with at this price point in my opinion. This is not a device that is geared toward people who care about screen technology or resolution.

Bull, as a former iPhone 4 and iPad 3 owner, I care an awful lot about Retina resolution.

Just as with any kind of specs at some point there are diminishing benefits and increasing disadvantages. I want a sharp display, but I also want a small phone which shows a lot of content. The XS Max and XR show point for point the same amount of content, one @3x the other @2x. If both phones cost the same, I would still choose the smaller one.

https://www.paintcodeapp.com/news/ultimate-guide-to-iphone-resolutions

 

[rnbarg]

View attachment 792988 View attachment 792987
The attached is from a hands-on video of the XR at the event. Compare this with the initial Settings screen on the 8 plus running iOS 12 and behold the breathtaking increase in screen real estate with the XR. This is equal in all respects other than resolution with the Max. And all this in a smaller form factor to boot.

If you were comparing this to cars, we could say the XS is a Lexus with the highest trim level and the XR a Lexus with the next trim level down. The 8 plus and down are excellent reliable Toyotas.

 

[Newtons Apple]

Cheers I upgraded last week to the 8+ and I’m glad I waited to see what the XR offered before I made my choice.

The 8+ is a great phone. Hope you enjoy!

 

[rnbarg]

The XR is 8mm shorter and 3mm narrower than the Plus iPhones so I very much doubt a real physical difference would be noticed in general use. They are both significantly large handsets.

You would be surprised at what diff a mm makes.

 

[1050792]

True Tone, P3 wide color gamut, 625 brightness, 1400 contrast, all carried over from iPhone 8, and New: pixel masking and sub-pixel antialiasing to help with the curved corners, one touch wake, haptic touch, and another feature that improves speed of multitouch interface whose name escapes me, and some secret sauce intangibles known only to Apple. Why “liquid”? Right LCD morphs to LRD. Master stroke by Apple.

"one touch wake, haptic touch" This is not included in the "Liquid Retina Display" of the XR. All of that and in the end of the day it's still a low res LCD display which still looks like the content is far away from the glass.

 

[ghsDUDE]

True Tone, P3 wide color gamut, 625 brightness, 1400 contrast, all carried over from iPhone 8, and New: pixel masking and sub-pixel antialiasing to help with the curved corners, one touch wake, haptic touch, and another feature that improves speed of multitouch interface whose name escapes me, and some secret sauce intangibles known only to Apple. Why “liquid”? Right LCD morphs to LRD. Master stroke by Apple.

So are you saying the text will look crisper?

 

[heov]

Total pixel count is 61% higher. 1280x720 = 921,600 pixels. 1792x828 = 1,483,776 pixels. 1,483,776 / 921,600 = 1.61. I must have messed up the calculation last time and was off by 1%.

Calculating it any other way than this won’t yield accurate results because the aspect ratios differ. But as far as straight pixel count goes the Xr has 61% more pixels than a 720p image.

Did you subtract the notch and rounded corners lol?

 

[ghsDUDE]

If you were comparing this to cars, we could say the XS is a Lexus with the highest trim level and the XR a Lexus with the next trim level down. The 8 plus and down are excellent reliable Toyotas.

Disagree. I’d say the 8 Plus is a top end Lexus from the previous year.

The 326ppi, lack of 3D Touch, and lack of the dual camera lense puts the XR below the 8 Plus for me.

 

[rnbarg]

"one touch wake, haptic touch" This is not included in the "Liquid Retina Display" of the XR. All of that and in the end of the day it's still a low res LCD display which still looks like the content is far away from the glass.

One thing that made me uncomfortable about the Max with its OLED screen (which I returned) is the text seemed liked it was attached to flat surface w/no depth. It made be uneasy and I couldn’t get used to it. The text on the 8 Plus and presumably the XR appears as a bit below the screen surface. It has depth. I like the backlight. I like LCD better and I am glad Apple gave me that choice. “Far away from the glass” is not how I perceive it. The text on the XS phone is crisper and more high res, but for some, its overwhelming and there are flicker issues as well which is beyond the scope of thread. Another thread 65 pages below consists of comments of people who could not tolerate the OLED screen.

 

[C DM]

If you thought iPhone 4,5,6,7,8 had a good screen. Xr will be just as sharp and probably better colors. It has the same ppi as all those devices.

But wouldn't it be larger so same PPI wouldn't be the same as on a smaller screen?

 

[rnbarg]

So are you saying the text will look crisper?

I’m saying that if you put the 8 plus next to an XR it comes out, you probably won’t perceive much of a difference in screen resolution between the two. Mileage may vary depending on the person. Apple may have also employed other techniques to provide a better user experience with the new LCD technology.
[doublepost=1538948770][/doublepost]

Disagree. I’d say the 8 Plus is a top end Lexus from the previous year.

The 326ppi, lack of 3D Touch, and lack of the dual camera lense puts the XR below the 8 Plus for me.

Fair point. Lot’s of things to consider. Biggest loss for me is optimal zoom.
[doublepost=1538949265][/doublepost]

I’m saying that if you put the 8 plus next to an XR it comes out, you probably won’t perceive much of a difference in screen resolution between the two. Mileage may vary depending on the person. Apple may have also employed other techniques to provide a better user experience with the new LCD technology.
[doublepost=1538948770][/doublepost]
Fair point. Lot’s of things to consider. Biggest loss for me is optimal zoom.

How is the user experience actually impacted by using haptic vs. 3D Touch? I only use 3D Touch for one thing, logging into VPN using DFA. I get a text message from my employer, 3D Touch the iMessage and authenticate through Touch ID. How would that change?

 

[gelie]

My guess a lot of Xr buyers will feel a sense of FOMO. Probably will be looking to score a used X for ~ the same $$$.

 

[NJHitmen]

But wouldn't it be larger so same PPI wouldn't be the same as on a smaller screen?

No. ppi is ppi - at equal distances, a 326 ppi 4.7” iPhone 7 display will appear to be exactly as sharp as that of a 326 ppi 6.1” iPhone XR. Actually, if anything, most users would probably default to using the 6.1” from slightly further away - which would make the pixel density look a little better.

 

[1050792]

One thing that made me uncomfortable about the Max with its OLED screen (which I returned) is the text seemed liked it was attached to flat surface w/no depth. It made be uneasy and I couldn’t get used to it. The text on the 8 Plus and presumably the XR appears as a bit below the screen surface. It has depth. I like the backlight. I like LCD better and I am glad Apple gave me that choice. “Far away from the glass” is not how I perceive it. The text on the XS phone is crisper and more high res, but for some, its overwhelming and there are flicker issues as well which is beyond the scope of thread. Another thread 65 pages below consists of comments of people who could not tolerate the OLED screen.

I'm the opposite. I prefer how OLED content jumps on you, it "sticks" from the glass and gives the feeling of the content being alive, anyway to each their own. I prefer true blacks especially watching video in 16:9 which I'm pretty sure won't look as good on the XR's liquid retina.

 

[Apple_Robert]

As long as the person who buys the XR is happy, that is all that matters. It is an exercise in futility for those who have no intention of buying said phone, to talk about how inferior it is, when it isn’t meant to compete with the other new phones. Apples to oranges.

 

[aevan]

I'm the opposite. I prefer how OLED content jumps on you, it "sticks" from the glass and gives the feeling of the content being alive, anyway to each their own. I prefer true blacks especially watching video in 16:9 which I'm pretty sure won't look as good on the XR's liquid retina.

Not everyone likes everything, but first time I hear anyone want’s their picture to be “deeper” and below the glass. I thought the idea was that the picture should look like it’s painted ON the glass. I think people just got used to the old look. To each their own, but I really love the OLED screens on iPhones.
[doublepost=1538950744][/doublepost]

As long as the person who buys the XR is happy, that is all that matters. It is an exercise in futility for those who have no intention of buying said phone, to talk about how inferior it is, when it isn’t meant to compete with the other new phones. Apples to oranges.

People will be very happy, I’m sure. But critics need something to criticize.

 

[ghsDUDE]

Not everyone likes everything, but first time I hear anyone want’s their picture to be “deeper” and below the glass. I thought the idea was that the picture should look like it’s painted ON the glass. I think people just got used to the old look. To each their own, but I really love the OLED screens on iPhones.
[doublepost=1538950744][/doublepost]

People will be very happy, I’m sure. But critics need something to criticize.

If Apple would have just put the same PPI in the XR as they do with the 8 Plus there would be less to criticize.
[doublepost=1538952041][/doublepost]

One thing that made me uncomfortable about the Max with its OLED screen (which I returned) is the text seemed liked it was attached to flat surface w/no depth. It made be uneasy and I couldn’t get used to it. The text on the 8 Plus and presumably the XR appears as a bit below the screen surface. It has depth. I like the backlight. I like LCD better and I am glad Apple gave me that choice. “Far away from the glass” is not how I perceive it. The text on the XS phone is crisper and more high res, but for some, its overwhelming and there are flicker issues as well which is beyond the scope of thread. Another thread 65 pages below consists of comments of people who could not tolerate the OLED screen.

I returned my XS Max due to the PWM implementation for OLED...terrible on my eyes.

 

[Broadus]

Everything is a compromise to me, regardless which iPhone I decide on. I would prefer OLED, but I can’t justify the price for a XS, much less a Max.

I keep my phones a while—a 4S in 2011 and a 6s in 2015. An argument can be made to go with an XS, but 64GB is too tight for me and there’s no 128GB option. I would love a 256GB XS, but not for $1150 US.

So my compromise will probably settle on the 128GB XR because I can justify the cost, am satisfied with the specs, have wanted a larger screen on a phone smaller than a Plus model, and can stay in the Apple ecosystem (10.5” IPP and 15” retina MBP). Weighing everything, this is the most acceptable compromise for me. Obviously, that won’t be the case for everyone.

 

[Icaras]

SE and SE2 were also budget phones they made.

Xr is the budget phone for the 2018 model lineup.

Again....it’s not. It starts at $750 and tops at $900. That price is anything but budget. As previously mentioned, if we go by your logic, the iPhone 6, 7, and 8 were all budget iPhones for 2015, 2016, and 2017, respectively, as that all debuted at price points cheaper than the XR.

 

[C DM]

Again....it’s not. It starts at $750 and tops at $900. That price is anything but budget. As previously mentioned, if we go by your logic, the iPhone 6, 7, and 8 were all budget iPhones for 2015, 2016, and 2017, respectively, as that all debuted at price points cheaper than the XR.

It's all relative in the context of its existence bacially. This year it's the "budget" version out of all the new/latest versions that have been released.