Apple iPhone XR smartphone: a cheaper version of the flagship

A few weeks after the release of the iPhone XS and XS Max, Apple began selling the third of the smartphones announced in September: the iPhone XR. Moreover, in Ukraine, sales started on the same day as in the USA. We thoroughly tested the new product and figured out how much better it is in terms of price and quality compared to the iPhone XS and XS Max. Or is it still not better?

First of all, it should be noted that Apple once released a "budget-like" iPhone - the iPhone 5C. It is difficult to assess the success of the five-year-old experiment: Apple did not disclose the sales figures for the 5C,

but according to some data, they sold much worse than the more expensive 5S. However, the main complaint about the 5C was that it was certainly not a budget iPhone, and the savings compared to the flagship were not that significant.

And now Apple is making another attempt to release a model that is positioned as more affordable than the flagships, but is released to the market almost simultaneously with them and meets many of their parameters. It differs primarily in design, screen, and of course, price. 

Technical specifications of the Apple iPhone XR

SoC Apple A12 Bionic (6 cores: 2 high-performance @2.1 GHz, 4 energy-efficient) + next-generation Neural Engine
Apple M12 motion coprocessor, including barometer, accelerometer, gyroscope, and compass
6.1″ touch display, IPS, 1792×828, 326 ppi, capacitive, multitouch, with Taptic Engine feedback
RAM 3 GB
Flash memory 64/128/256 GB
No support for memory cards
Cellular connectivity: UMTS/HSPA/HSPA+/DC-HSDPA (850, 900, 1700/2100, 1900, 2100 MHz); GSM/EDGE (850, 900, 1800, 1900 MHz), LTE Bands 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 12, 13, 17, 18, 19, 20, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 38, 39, 40, 41, LTE Advanced support
Wi-Fi 802.11b/g/n/ac (2.4 and 5 GHz; MIMO support)
Bluetooth 5.0, A2DP, LE
NFC (for Apple Pay only)
GPS with A-GPS, GLONASS, Galileo, and QZSS
Universal Lightning connector
Cameras: front (7 MP, video 1080p 30 fps, 720p 240 fps) and rear with one lens (12 MP, 4K video recording 60 fps)
Face recognition using TrueDepth
2716 mAh lithium polymer battery, non-removable
Qi wireless charging support
Dimensions 151×76×8.3 mm
Weight 194 g
IP67 protection
Operating system iOS 12

Let's compare them with the iPhone XS to visually demonstrate how the specifications of the new product differ.

Thus, the main differences are immediately visible: the iPhone XR has a different screen (IPS, not OLED, with lower resolution and pixel density, but with a larger diagonal), less RAM, the maximum flash memory capacity is limited to 256 GB, but there is a 128 GB option not available in the older models, there is no telephoto lens, and the degree of water protection is lower (IP67 vs. IP68: splashes are not scary, but throwing it in water is not advisable). Well, and in terms of dimensions, the iPhone XR is significantly larger than the iPhone XS, and in thickness, it is even thicker than the XS Max.

Well, let's get acquainted with the smartphone in person.

Packaging and Completeness

The iPhone XR box is made in the traditional Apple style. The image of the iPhone's edges is printed in silver paint (which particularly reflects the use of aluminum in the smartphone's design), and overall the picture is embossed.

As with its older siblings, the iPhone XR package does not include a Lightning to mini-jack (3.5 mm) adapter, which was included with the iPhone X. Otherwise, the package is not different from the iPhone of the previous three generations: a 5V 1A power adapter, a Lightning cable, EarPods with a Lightning connector, and a set of leaflets.

Traditionally, we also talk about new cases in this section, but in the case of the iPhone XR, there is nothing to say: for some unknown reason, Apple did not release cases for this new product.
This is a very strange decision, atypical for the Cupertino company - let’s remember that cases were released for the iPhone XS and XS Max. But for the XR – unfortunately.
Moreover, this applies to the whole world. But let’s hope that after some time this oversight will be corrected.

Design

The main feature of the iPhone XR is, of course, its design. While the iPhone XS did not differ externally from the iPhone X, the iPhone XR demonstrates a different approach to both style and ergonomics. First, aluminum returns as the material for the side edges, while in the X, XS, and XS Max, steel is used instead of aluminum. Secondly, there is an emphasis on color: in addition to the black and white versions, the new product is presented in "coral" (something between pink and orange), "yellow," "blue" (more like light blue), and Product Red (red).

We had the blue version for testing, and I must say, the color looks really very impressive: it is quite saturated but not screaming. Of course, it is still a youthful, informal style compared to the classic black and white options. Perhaps it will be perfect for women, young people, and even for men, especially creative ones prone to public self-expression, it can be a good choice.

The color of the aluminum edges elegantly matches the color of the back surface, although the shade of the edges is even more restrained. It should be noted that the placement of all control elements and connectors/slots here is identical to the "older siblings," with the only difference being that the SIM card slot in the iPhone XR is shifted to the bottom.

The most attentive users may notice that the XR does not have a plastic cutout for cellular signal, located in the XS/XS Max on the top edge (similar cutouts on other edges are located almost identically).

As with the iPhone X/XS/XS Max, the new product has a glass back surface. That is, it is not plastic, as was the case with the iPhone 5C and as can be inferred from the photos, but the same material as in the more expensive models. In addition, there is the same smooth rounding of the front and back glass. These are huge pluses.

Now let's talk about the design flaws. Well, first of all, the smartphone is thicker than the iPhone XS and even than the iPhone XS Max. And secondly: the bezel around the screen on the XR is wider. This is visible to the naked eye if you first take the iPhone X/XS/XS Max and then the iPhone XR. As a result, the ratio of the area of the front surface to the area of the screen itself in the XR is worse than in other models of the X line.

And the last drawback – although more aesthetic than practical: the rear camera module protrudes significantly. Everyone to whom the author showed the smartphone noticed it.

By the way, in compact iPhones of previous generations, this was smoothed out by the shape of the camera module (it was wider at the base and more compact at the top). But the height of the module seems to have been unchanged for several years. So it is not entirely fair to criticize the iPhone XR for this. In the photo below – the iPhone XR lies under the iPhone 6.

Yes, the camera module of the iPhone XR is single, without a telephoto lens. And we will talk more about this in the relevant section. Here, however, it is important to note that all front cameras (including the TrueDepth camera used for FaceID) of the iPhone XR are identical to the older models.

Overall, there is a feeling that Apple combined in the design of the iPhone XR motifs from several of its past models: iPhone X (borderless screen, absence of buttons, FaceID, glass with rounded edges on the front and back), iPhone 8/8 Plus (aluminum edges), iPhone 5C (a wide variety of bright colors). It turned out interesting with the size: the iPhone XR is slightly larger than the iPhone X/XS and iPhone 8 Plus, but smaller than the iPhone XS Max. At the same time, its screen is much larger than that of the iPhone 8 Plus. So it is a kind of compromise option for those who find the iPhone XS Max too big, while in other models the screen seems too small.

Screen

Unlike all other "tens," the iPhone XR has an IPS screen, not OLED. In addition, its diagonal is 6.1″, which is larger than that of the X and XS, but smaller than that of the XS Max. The resolution is the lowest - 1792 828, which gives a pixel density of only 326 ppi. What other pitfalls are there? We decided to test the display of the new product with all the rigor of our methodology.

The front surface of the screen is made of a glass plate with a mirror-smooth surface, resistant to scratches. Judging by the reflection of objects, the anti-glare properties of the screen are slightly better than those of the Google Nexus 7 (2013) screen (hereafter simply Nexus 7). For clarity, here is a photo where white surfaces are reflected in the turned-off screens (on the left is the Nexus 7, on the right is the Apple iPhone XR, which can be distinguished by size):