I saw this as well. I’m just going to sit tight until better options present themselves...
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iPhone XR To people who’ve switched to the XR, any regrets?
- Thread starter eyeseeyou
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I saw this as well. I’m just going to sit tight until better options present themselves...
No regrets. But I used a 4S for a very long time before I bought the XR (SE successor didn't come around and I was really loathing using the 4S for anything beyond phone-calls and iMessages...)
If you never had OLED, you can't miss it. I'm not reading books on my XR, I'm not watching TV-show episodes.
I bought it for the battery life, which is absolutely great for my use.
If you never had OLED, you can't miss it. I'm not reading books on my XR, I'm not watching TV-show episodes.
I bought it for the battery life, which is absolutely great for my use.
Just brought the iPhone XR, was previously using iPhone 6s. I am loving the XR and getting used to the heavier weight and size. However in the last few days I have noticed that the XR is giving me a cut on my little finger. Caused by the weight of holding the phone up. Has anyone else experienced this with their XR? I’ve always held my phone with my little finger underneath as it’s the most practical for me! Are apple trying to make people use both hands so that their full attention is on the phone?
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I must admit, I haven’t been the biggest fan of the 8+ mainly because I initially had no interest in it and only switched to it because I had to due to the iPhone X’s PWM. I’m tempted to try the XR again in the future even though I was disappointed. I won’t be entirely happy until there’s a flagship phone without flicker. Either way the XR is a compromise compared to the XS, but most people who own it do love it. As much as I’d like to own a current-generation iPhone I’m going to try to wait a few months for the next generation.
The last iPhone I truly enjoyed was the X despite debilitating issues, and before that I loved the Jet Black 7+.
The last iPhone I truly enjoyed was the X despite debilitating issues, and before that I loved the Jet Black 7+.
I truly miss my 7+ Jet black. The battery life on iOS 10 was amazing. iOS 11 made it go to ****. That's why I bought an X.
What do you love about your X? Apart from the form factor, all screen display and the build quality, there's nothing I really like about it.
I was only able to own the X for a few weeks due to issues with the PWM implementation on the display, but I loved the next-generation feel of the X. It felt like the most premium iPhone to date, and befitting of its $999+ price point. Ironically what I loved most was the OLED display since it looked fantastic, and I had been wanting an OLED display on an iPhone for years.
To me the XR didn't feel like iPhone X since it was lacking the edge-to-edge premium design (the bezels are quite a bit larger which is understandable) and while the screen also looked fantastic for a LCD it doesn’t match the color/contrast of OLED. It felt like a compromise, though I do miss the cameras on the XR — they’re a significant improvement from the previous generation. If they released an update in Accessibility that made the XS or XS Max usable for me I would buy it in a heartbeat.
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P.S. The 7+ Jet Black was a truly special, premium phone. I’m so glad I waited for the Jet Black color to be available. The display was also slightly better than the 8+ imo due to a higher contrast ratio (which measurements back up) though I do like having True Tone. Paired with the blue Apple Leather Case (the shade of blue for that generation was my favorite) it looked super premium.
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By then you will be used to the big screen on the XR and there will be no going back!
The one time I find myself sometimes missing 3D Touch is in Safari.
Still loving my XR. I used a relative's XS Max extensively recently and was using it side by side with my XR and while the screens are obviously different I didn't find myself regretting getting the XR at all. I'm not sure if I'm someone who is sensitive to PWM (I did use a Samsung GS5 back in the day and didn't have any issues... I think it had the same hz as the OLED iPhones. Does that mean I'm not PWM sensitive?). I wasn't willing to risk it given my recent eye issues, though, and the over $500 I saved going XR (based on prices and sales tax where I live) was nice!
Curious: how long do you think 3GB RAM will perform as well as it does now? When do you think we'll start to feel a need for a bit more RAM?
Still loving my XR. I used a relative's XS Max extensively recently and was using it side by side with my XR and while the screens are obviously different I didn't find myself regretting getting the XR at all. I'm not sure if I'm someone who is sensitive to PWM (I did use a Samsung GS5 back in the day and didn't have any issues... I think it had the same hz as the OLED iPhones. Does that mean I'm not PWM sensitive?). I wasn't willing to risk it given my recent eye issues, though, and the over $500 I saved going XR (based on prices and sales tax where I live) was nice!
Curious: how long do you think 3GB RAM will perform as well as it does now? When do you think we'll start to feel a need for a bit more RAM?
the only issue i’m finding with the 3GB is if i’m watching youtube and leave it for another app for a few minutes, i can’t swipe back to youtube and continue where i left off.. i have to re-find the video and hopefully remember what the minute mark was..
The SE design is still my favorite design yet every time I hold one in my hand really can’t imagine how I ever was able to use such a small keyboard.
Have to say the XR is a phenomenal device and having gone from non iPhone > 4 > 4S > 5 > 5C > 6 > 7 > XR, it represents by far the biggest upgrade between any of those phones, including non iPhone to the 4
The weird thing is now the size feels completely right, despite being very sceptical about a 6.1 inch screen when it was launched, and initially feeling for the first few days once I’d upgraded to it that I’d prefer it to be a bit smaller (but that it was worth it for the other features)
The FaceId, gestures, beautiful design with awesome colours (coral), size and above all crazy battery life make the XR by far my favourite iPhone I’ve owned (the speed and camera are great too, but not noticeably better over a 7)
The weird thing is now the size feels completely right, despite being very sceptical about a 6.1 inch screen when it was launched, and initially feeling for the first few days once I’d upgraded to it that I’d prefer it to be a bit smaller (but that it was worth it for the other features)
The FaceId, gestures, beautiful design with awesome colours (coral), size and above all crazy battery life make the XR by far my favourite iPhone I’ve owned (the speed and camera are great too, but not noticeably better over a 7)
Humm I am having a very different experience. Youtube keeps my video exactly at the last point I was watching. I usually have about 6 to 10 apps running. How many apps do you have in the background? If it’s about the same as me, you might want to reinstall the youtube app and see if that fixes it.
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it’s usually youtube app and maybe safari .. nothing else..Humm I am having a very different experience. Youtube keeps my video exactly at the last point I was watching. I usually have about 6 to 10 apps running. How many apps do you have in the background? If it’s about the same as me, you might want to reinstall the youtube app and see if that fixes it.
Probably for a couple of years more.
The iPhone 5S which has 1gb of ram is supported by iOS 12. If I am not wrong it was released in 2013.
The iPhone 6S which was released in 2015, has 2gb of ram and it’s still a really capable smartphone. In fact for most people that just do common daily task like simple web browsing, checking emails, watching youtube etc. There is not much of a difference performance wise between the 6S and the latest batch of iPhones.
Apple has not only done a good job in supporting older devices with updates but also in ensuring that they run really well, this is especially true with iOS 12. If this continues and it probably would, since apple is slowly transitioning more into a “services” company, we can expect the XR to be supported for quite sometime to come.
Furthermore I think we reached a point of saturation in terms of how much ram is optimal. This is especially true in an efficient operating system like iOS. Devices running on 2gb of ram are still running great and if it is held back slightly, it’s because of the aging SOC. We are kind of at the place where the PC was some 10 years. A good windows laptop, 10 years back had about 8gb of ram, today it’s still about the same amount of ram that most people need for a good experience on windows. Some with less demanding work load, could get away with 4gb of ram.
Of course programs like adobe premiere/after effects/photoshop, Maya, 3D Max etc would perform better with more ram but to be honest I really don’t see developers bringing apps like that to the iPhone. Maybe to the iPad. The current iPad Pro is a really strong device for production and we can only hope that big companies like adobe would create apps for it that would express the full adobe experience on iOS ecosystem. One can only hope.
Right now the iPhone XR does not struggle with day to day task. The workload on basic things (watching videos on netflix, youtube, surfing the web, checking emails, messages, what’s app, facebook and all other social media platforms etc.) is so well tuned it almost feels instantaneously in terms of response. The only thing holding it back is network speed and consistency. Which really depends more on your network provider. This kind of workload on the smartphone, is probably not going to change much over the next 5 to 10 years. If it does change I presume it would be aimed more towards improving efficiency as the “masses” tech becomes increasingly more mobile.
On a device where the only changeable perimeter is software. (You can’t upgrade the screen to a higher resolution thus the only increase in workload is software base.) I think buying a XR is a good choice for longevity because the biggest “real” viable that could age and ultimately become obsolete is the SOC. The XR having a lower resolution screen requires less resources to push pixels to the screen. Even today there is noticeable fps difference comparing the XR to the XS/XS Max. In the below “on screen” benchmark the iPhone XR is showing a 87% increase in gaming performance(iPhone XR 58 fps vs XS/XS Max 31 fps). I believe this is because of both a lower resolution screen and better thermal dissipation on the XR. Another words the XR will age more gracefully but chances are they will all become obsolete at the same time. That would be when Apple decides to retired the A12 processor.
Having said that. The likely reason for most people on this forum to upgrade would be upgradtitis, a common chronic condition found mostly amongst those who live in first world countries, where we must have the latest and greatest gadget. It usually show signs of flares up every September. Of which I too am a unwitting victim(Hopefully not this year).
So in my opinion we probably got quite sometime ahead before the XR becomes obsolete and when it does it would probably not be because of ram.
Benchmark as stated above
Ugh, I hadn’t considered this RAM issue. Or, rather, I assumed it wouldn’t be a problem. My 7 still runs like a champ (after having the battery replaced) but I have one major pet peeve: those constantly refreshing apps/tabs. I can switch between two Safari tabs without any refreshing, but if I navigate to a third - or use another app - then my page will refresh 9 out of 10 times. The 7 has 2GB, while the XR has 3GB...I thought the extra GB in the XR would alleviate this issue. But I guess not. Wishful thinking.
Although it seems like a minor annoyance, it’s a real problem for me. I can get a lot of work done from my phone, but my workflow is interrupted when I have to, say, fill in a form a second time because a refresh wiped out my initial entries. Or if I have to spend time navigating back to wherever I left off.
Anyone know if this is an issue with XS/XS Max too? They have more RAM, but they also have a lot more display data to drive/manage. Guess I’ll do some research.
I can’t speak to YouTube, but FWIW I don’t have any issues with Safari tabs refreshing when browsing on the XR.
Currently I have a couple of apps open in the background, a youtube video(Kevin Hart, Rebel Wilson, “What the fit” about mid way through), 6 safari tabs(Macrumors, Macworld, Anandtech, Washington Post, Forbes and National Geographic) opened, Facebook, WhatsApp, Messages app, Mail app, Books app, Manga Rock app, Logos Bible app and finally Tapatalk app.
I can switch through all the apps/tabs and continue what I was last doing without any refreshing.
I am wondering if the problem might by poorly scripted websites with bad optimisation of javascript, CSS, jQuery Etc. I had a website that I frequented in the past that specialise in the translation of chinese novels. It frequently reload for no reason even when it was the only tab on Safari and I had no other apps in the background. No amount of ram would remedy the situation that I was experiencing on that website. Had the same problem on this particularly website with the iPhone 6 plus(1 gb of ram), iPhone 6S plus(2 gb of ram) and also on the iPhone 7 plus(3 gb of ram).
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The iPhone 6 Plus is still better than half the phones out there, and today it’s under $200 unlocked
https://bgr.com/2019/02/14/iphone-6-plus-sale-on-amazon-unlocked/
https://bgr.com/2019/02/14/iphone-6-plus-sale-on-amazon-unlocked/