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iPhone XR Used iPhone X vs New iPhone XR

4

4ppleg1rl

macrumors regular
Original poster
Aug 29, 2017
198
185
Hi all,

So I know there must be an abundance of these threads all over the forum, but I just needed some tailored advice/someone to justify my purchase for me(?)

I own an iPhone 8+ which I bought on launch day last year. I’ve been loving it so far and honestly didn’t trust the new iPhone X design at the time, so decided to go with it (I was previously using a Samsung and missed the iOS ecosystem).

I’ve found an iPhone X (used) from one of those trade-in shops that buy your used phones and then sell them on Amazon. It’s £580. I can sell my iPhone on one of those trade in sites for about £350/360ish(?) - making the new iPhone X a £200 spend. I’m just wondering if it’s worth it to get that or to buy an iPhone XR because it’s newer.

Will the iPhone X be good in 2/3 years time!? Like will it still be fast & run well?! Or should I get the XR?!
 
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I know EXACTLY what you are going through because I faced the same thing. I decided to buy a used iPhone X 64GB on eBay to replace my old 6 plus. I used the phone for a long time and also felt that the X design wouldn't last. I Paid $599 for the X.

Don't EVER Buy a used iPhone X. Why? Three reasons: Battery, Screen, Warranty!

1. The battery on a used iPhone X will be at about 87% (mine was) when you get it. That means, you'll be paying apple 50-70 dollars in no time at all for a replacement battery.

2. Screen... OLED Burn-in. The screen will show signs of burn-in on a used X especially around the battery and cell indicators. You will see, as I did, ghosts, weird patterns, and all sorts of screen abnormalities that your trade-in shop would consider "minor cosmetic wear not affecting functionality". The trade in shop I got mine from was a real sneaky operation. They sold iPhones that had tiny defects. I suspect that is common among such businesses.

3. The Apple Warranty on a used iPhone X will be either almost gone, or gone. Not a good position given that the screen in many iPhone X's suffer from manufacture defects which can appear when you least expect. A new screen is quite expensive, and if you get a after market, then prepare to have uneven bezels, and poor quality.

So, I sent my iPhone X back because it had all of these issues. Bad Battery, Screen Burn-In, and no Apple Warranty.

I took my 6 Plus to an Apple Store, traded it in, and ended up with a brand-new iPhone XR 128gb unlocked... for 599$.

Same price as the used X.

You should be able to trade your 8+ in and get a great deal on the XR.

You won't be disappointed by the iPhone XR, it really delivers more than the X. This is coming from someone who had something against the XR because it wasn't the 1 grand flagship phone.

I really hope this helps!
 
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Apple gave you £370 Trade-in for you 8+ if you buy the XR and you get a new phone with full warranty comparable in screen size to the 8+ and with one year newer tech than the X. This decision is easy.....
 
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This decision is truly a no brainer. Anyone who says “used X” has lost there marbles.

I’m an owner of 3 of 4 “X models”. The only one I don’t have is the regular iPhone XS. The Xʀ has a bigger screen. Check for the Xʀ. The Xʀ battery life TRULY trumps the X (HUGELY). The main camera on the Xʀ is better than the main camera on the iPhone X. That’s 2 HUGE checks for the Xʀ.

The iPhone X has an OLED screen and a telephoto lens.

Also, something a lot of people nowadays fail to realize is this... the iPhone X and iPhone Xʀ both have 3GBS of RAM.. however the the iPhone X has a telephoto lens which uses 1GB of RAM. Therefore In RAM comparison the iPhone Xʀ actually has 1 more GB of RAM for “system services” simply because it has one camera. On top of that the performance gains between the A12 and A11 while not HUGE there are differences.

People let this 458PPI be 326 PPI pixel density thing get there head way too much. I can watch a video on my Max and my Xʀ and the differences are still negligible.

New iPhone Xʀ wins against a used X any day in my book...

Just as New iPhone Xʀ vs New iPhone X ... the Xʀ still wins
 
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XR for sure. My wife’s employer just issued her a new XR, and it really is a great phone. The screen difference is barely noticeable and the camera works very well.
 
tt061282 said:
Also, something a lot of people nowadays fail to realize is this... the iPhone X and iPhone Xʀ both have 3GBS of RAM.. however the the iPhone X has a telephoto lens which uses 1GB of RAM. Therefore In RAM comparison the iPhone Xʀ actually has 1 more GB of RAM for “system services” simply because it has one camera.
Click to expand...

What the actual ****?
 
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I actually bought a used iPhone X off of eBay and I've been using it as my main phone for 6 months.

That being said, I did my homework first and got one in very good condition with AppleCare coverage for another year and a half. Doing this cut about $500 off of the price of buying new, but as many people have said there are risks with buying used. My battery is holding at 89% by the way and has been there for a while.

If they update the design of the iPhone next September though, I might sell my iPhone X before the keynote and get that though.
 
If you can spare the extra cash I would recommend getting a new iPhone X. Apple currently, has the 64 GB on their refurbish store (Apple refurbish is basically getting a brand new device) for $769. The XR starts at $749 however, the X has some advantages over the XR and vice versa.
 

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badatusernames said:
If you can spare the extra cash I would recommend getting a new iPhone X. Apple currently, has the 64 GB on their refurbish store (Apple refurbish is basically getting a brand new device) for $769. The XR starts at $749 however, the X has some advantages over the XR and vice versa.
Click to expand...

better value to get a newer model, brand new for cheaper surely?
 
badatusernames said:
If you can spare the extra cash I would recommend getting a new iPhone X. Apple currently, has the 64 GB on their refurbish store (Apple refurbish is basically getting a brand new device) for $769. The XR starts at $749 however, the X has some advantages over the XR and vice versa.
Click to expand...

OLED screen, Qualcomm radios, dual cameras, better build quality outweighs the battery life improvements, FaceID improvements, and newer processor. Good call. I would've said XR if the device had an OLED screen and a Qualcomm radio.
 
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If you use 3D Touch and take portrait mode pics of non human subjects, buy the X refurbished from Apple. If not, the XR wins hands down.

With that said, I would hold out another 6 months and see what Apple brings in September. The 8 Plus is still a great phone that has a few things better than the XR: display, 3D Touch, zoom lens.
 
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zx128k said:
better value to get a newer model, brand new for cheaper surely?
Click to expand...

It’s not as simple as it being a newer model. The iPhone X has some advantages of the iPhone XR and vice versa depending on what’s important to you those advantages might lean you towards one phone more than the other.
 
badatusernames said:
If you can spare the extra cash I would recommend getting a new iPhone X. Apple currently, has the 64 GB on their refurbish store (Apple refurbish is basically getting a brand new device) for $769. The XR starts at $749 however, the X has some advantages over the XR and vice versa.
Click to expand...

TBH I think the X ship has sailed. It's over 1.5 years old, will probably get one fewer year of support, might not support all iOS 13 features etc.
 
nviz22 said:
OLED screen, Qualcomm radios, dual cameras, better build quality outweighs the battery life improvements, FaceID improvements, and newer processor. Good call. I would've said XR if the device had an OLED screen and a Qualcomm radio.
Click to expand...

Finally someone mentions the Qualcomm radio!!! That’s one of the biggest reasons why I won’t upgrade. I tested both the X and Xs and the X still performed *a lot* better in low signal areas (Verizon), which I’m in 90% of the time. I saw “No Service” wayyyy too often. I am happy I didn’t sell my X or I’d be so upset. I bought mine new so I know how well it’s been taken care of. Still rocking 100% battery *health.*
 
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Freakonomics101 said:
Finally someone mentions the Qualcomm radio!!! That’s one of the biggest reasons why I won’t upgrade. I tested both the X and X and the X still performed better in low signal areas, which I’m in 90% of the time. I’m happy I didn’t sell my X or I’d be so upset. I bought mine new so I know how well it’s been taken care of. Still rocking 100% battery *health.*
Click to expand...

Even if the XS used Qualcomm radios, I would've held onto an X imo. The device is so good that you can get many years out of it. I made the upgrade from the 8+ to the XS Max for $500 plus trading in the 8+. I also am disappointed in the Intel modem.

I tried out the S10e recently and it obliterated my Intel modem. But, considering I paid $500? I am content with the features the XS Max provides. I wouldn't advise others to give up Qualcomm based modems for an Intel one. Apparently the XR has better signal than my XS Max though.
 
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I have a X. I Like OLED a lot.

I checked out the XR in the store and tbh the screen is nice. I didn’t feel like it was bad or anything.

I will say the XR did feel a little bulky to me. It’s not so much the size but rather the thickness I think.

Idk it just felt bulky. Hard to explain. Kind of like a brick.
 
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