iPhone XR Reviews: Is It Good?
The iPhone XR was announced alongside the iPhone XS and XS Max at Apple's September event, but it only became available for pre-order last Friday. The XR is a little sibling of sorts to the XS and XS Max, with an LCD screen (rather than OLED), only one rear camera and a smaller price tag ($750). It also comes in multiple colors, harkening back to the iPhone 5C.
So how does the XR stack up to the XS line? Is it worth spending the extra cash for the XS, or will you be all set with the XR? Here's what the reviews say.
Display
TL;DR: It's not the iPhone XS's fancy display, but it's good:
The result is what Apple calls a Liquid Retina display, which looks better — brighter and more vibrant — than past iPhone LCD screens. I confess that I struggled to see a difference between the Liquid Retina screen and the OLED on an iPhone XS. The distinction is most evident in blacks: If you look at a photo taken in the dark, you will notice that the blacks on the XR's screen have a faint blue glow, which is coming from the backlight used to illuminate the screen
The iPhone XR's 6.1-inch Super Retina LCD is one of the brighter and more colorful smartphone displays out there. It's just not OLED-great.
But look out for reports of off-axis shifts like The Verge's Nilay Patel discovered:
The display on the iPhone XR is… fine. It's fine! It has lower resolution and pixel density than the OLEDs in new flagship phones like the iPhone XS, Galaxy S9, and Pixel 3, but it's the same 326 pixels per inch as Apple's previous non-Plus LCD iPhones… That's not to say it matches the quality of previous iPhone LCDs. The iPhone XR LCD definitely shifts a little pink and drops brightness quickly when you look at it off-axis… side-by-side with an iPhone 8 Plus, the off-axis shifts are definitely more pronounced.
Camera
TL;DR: It's really good, and keeps up with the XS's camera for the most part, apart from optical zoom:
[T]he iPhone XR's cameras take shots that are just as good if not sometimes better than the iPhone XS's. I personally prefer the more true-to-life colors compared to the same shots taken by the Pixel 3 or Galaxy Note 9, but you might disagree.
[Mashable]
You are missing the second rear camera and optical zoom…
Yes, the portrait mode works. No, it's not as good as the iPhone XS. Yes, I miss having a zoom lens. All of those things are true and easily the biggest reason I won't be buying an iPhone XR. However, in the theme of Apple working its hardest to make even its 'lower end' devices work and feel as much like its best, it's really impressive what has been done here.
The iPhone XR's front-facing camera array is identical to what you'll find in the iPhone XS. Which is to say it's very good. The rear facing camera is where it gets interesting, and different.
…but in real life, that might not end up being a real issue:
[W]hen I went on a long walk through Red Hook over the weekend, I left the XS and Max at home and carried just the XR and 8 Plus. I found myself not actually missing the telephoto lens (a 56mm equivalent) I from the XS.
[Gizmodo]
And sorry, no pet portraits:
And… the iPhone XR's portrait mode effects only work on people. Apple's AI demands the presence of a person. If it doesn't "see" a person, it won't engage portrait mode at all. I tried with people, mannequins, photos, people-like sculptures, animals and things like fruit and flowers… Sure, the XR takes great shots otherwise, but pet portraits? Not this year.
[CNET]
Speed
Here's the most important similarity, though: The XR uses the same A12 Bionic chipset as the XS and the XS Max, and it shows. This thing is fast.
[Engadget]
No surprise here: The A12 Bionic processor in the iPhone XR is just as fast as those in the iPhone XS and XS Max, which means you're getting a phone that beats the best Android flagships for hundreds of dollars less. On Geekbench 4, which measures overall performance, the iPhone XR scored 11,312, which is comparable to the scores from the iPhone XS Max (11,515) and iPhone XS (11,420). That beats scores from the Galaxy Note 9 (8,876) and OnePlus 6 (9,088) and blows past the Pixel 3 XL's result (7,684).
Battery
That's why I was surprised to find that, thanks to its lower-resolution screen and big battery, the XR has the longest battery life of any iPhone I've tested in recent memory.
Disregarding specs because iOS and the A12 Bionic are more power efficient compared to Android phones, which need larger batteries with bigger capacities to run as long, the iPhone XR lasted longer than I expected it would. Because the screen is so bright, I dialed the brightness down to 50-60 percent, and managed to get anywhere between 2-4 more hours than the iPhone XS and XS Max.
[Mashable]
TL;DR
[T]he simplest way to think about the iPhone XR is that it offers virtually the same experience as the iPhone XS for $250 less, but you'll be looking at a slightly worse display. So. How much do you care about the display on your phone?
On paper, the XS is a more premium product than the XR, but I don't know who I would recommend the XS to.
I think the iPhone XR is the iPhone that most people should buy. It gives you the best bang for your buck.
[CNBC]
The XR is good enough that I don't miss the XS. Apple undercut itself, and we're all better off for it.
[Gizmodo]
