"The iPhone XR is a great choice if you want what iPhones do without the flagship price."
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Beautiful, colorful design
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One day battery life
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Good performance
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Strong camera
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Easy to use software
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The screen resolution could be higher
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Portrait mode restricted to people
publisher's Note: Apple released the iPhone 12 which is now available for purchase. The iPhone 12 is the successor to the iPhone 11, which is itself the successor to the iPhone XR. It improves the quality and performance of the camera, but comes with a slightly higher MSRP of $ 799. We recommend stopping buying the iPhone XR. Instead, if you want to save money, consider buying one iPhone 11or the $ 400 iPhone SE. Here is our list of the best iPhones to buy.
The iPhone XR is the best iPhone of the year. Yes, the iPhone XS and XS Max have better screens and more versatile cameras, but none of them look as good as the XR in yellow, blue, or coral. The iPhone XR (pronounced "Ten-R") is also significantly cheaper and offers many of the best features of the flagship products. It is hands down great value at $ 750.
Colorful design, solid screen
We can't stop holding the iPhone XR the wrong way round. Sure, the screen is a window to our apps and notifications, but it's the glowing, bright yellow paint on the back that makes us smile every time we pull this phone out of our pockets. We feel like Gollum and we constantly admire the beauty of the one ring. It's perfection.
When you buy the iPhone XR – and you should – we can't envision the idea of going black or white. For the first time since the iPhone 5C, you get a rich, colorful selection of Apple – red, blue, yellow, and coral in addition to black and white. This is a phone that you want to flaunt. We strongly recommend choosing the colors yellow, blue or coral. The product color (red) looks nice too, but we've seen it many times so it doesn't feel that special. The colors also mask any fingerprints that build up on the glass bottom.
Julian Chokkattu / Digital Trends
The edges around the phone are aluminum – a step up from the stainless steel of the iPhone XS and XS Max – but the color here is more metallic and offers a nice, complementary two-tone look. The buttons click as usual.
The iPhone XR looks a lot like the iPhone 8 from the back with its single camera lens, but flip it over and you get the full iPhone X treatment. There's a notch, no home button, and an edge-to-edge screen for the most modern iOS experience you can get at this price. The differences between the XS can be felt here as the black frames around the screen are thicker. However, the bezels are not so big that they clutter the device.
We feel like Gollum and admire the beauty of the one ring. It's perfection.
That's a good thing, because the XR has a large 6.1-inch LCD screen with a resolution of 1,792 x 828. Apple calls it the Liquid Retina Display, and while the screen resolution may sound a little low, it looks like the The distance you normally hold your phone at. If you take a closer look, pixels become visible. We think Apple could have added at least a 1080p screen here – there are hardly any Android phones with such a low-resolution screen in this price range. Even the OnePlus 6 for $ 530 has a resolution of 2,280 x 1,080.
Even so, it's difficult to find anything else wrong with the display. The black levels aren't as deep as the OLEDs on the XS and XS Max, but they're close to each other. The screen is colorful and bright enough to be used outdoors. We believe the screen is good enough for most people, but it's one of the XR's few shortcomings.
The iPhone XR has the advantage of being the perfect size for people who find the XS too small and the XS Max too big. At 6.1 inches, it is right between the flagships (slightly smaller than the Samsung Galaxy S9 Plus). It's not as easy to use one hand as the 5.8-inch iPhone XS, but we can still reach most parts of the screen. And it's not as cumbersome as the 6.5-inch XS Max, which is undoubtedly a two-handed phone.
Julian Chokkattu / Digital Trends
Face recognition is the primary method of unlocking your phone and it works just as quickly as it does on the iPhone XS. With a price range of $ 750, it's one of the few facial recognition tools you can use to log into secure apps. There's not a lot of competition here on the Android side, but that could gradually change.
The iPhone XR's stereo speakers are loud and sound good, although the sound isn't as dynamic or robust as the sound coming from the Razer Phone 2's speakers. You will be satisfied if you are in a quiet room, but you will fight outside when it is noisy. There's no headphone jack, and Apple has also decided not to include the 3.5mm headphone jack adapter in the box. You can opt for the included Lightning EarPods, which don't sound too good, or you can opt for wireless earbuds or headphones.
Great performance and iOS 12 is fluid
The iPhone XR is powered by the same chipset as its more expensive sibling, the A12 Bionic, although it offers less RAM (3GB instead of 4GB). We don't have any performance issues yet. The processor makes iOS 12 run smoothly and had no problem switching quickly through multiple apps. Games like Altos Odyssey and Tekken, and ARKit 2.0 games like AR Robot, run just fine.
- Geekbench 4 CPU: 4,703 single core; 11,065 multi-core
In Geekbench 4, the iPhone XR rightly scores just below the iPhone XS and XS Max, but is faster than any Android smartphone tested so far. This phone can tackle just about anything you throw at it.
This is a phone that you want to flaunt.
We took a closer look at iOS 12, but the iPhone XR marks the first time Apple has brought several new features introduced on the iPhone X at a lower price. For example, thanks to the TrueDepth camera, you can create animojis or memojis in iMessage. Since there is no home button, it takes some getting used to the gesture navigation system, which is among the best on a phone.
The XR doesn't have 3D Touch, but Apple has replicated that with a feature called Haptic Touch. With 3D Touch on the iPhone XS, you can use the pressure-sensitive display to press and hold certain parts of the interface to see more actions. For example, if you press and hold an email notification, you can mark it as Done. Haptic touch is more limited. This only works in selected areas, e.g. For example, in the Control Center when you want to expand a tile, or on the lock screen when you want to turn the flashlight on or off quickly. How often you miss 3D Touch depends entirely on how often you use it. We suspect most people don't use it often.
Our iOS 12 guide will tell you all about the new features introduced in the latest version.
Strong camera
The iPhone XR has the same main camera on the back of the iPhone XS – a 12-megapixel lens with an aperture of f / 1.8 and optical image stabilization. It can record 4K video at 60 frames per second, record stereo sound, package Smart HDR and use portrait mode for the first time without the need for a secondary lens.
We tested the improvements in the iPhone XS main camera over the iPhone X. While not radical, groundbreaking changes, Smart HDR gives the new camera the edge. This function helps with high-contrast scenarios, minimizes hidden lights or sky and brightens the foreground in order to make it visible. It works as advertised on the iPhone XR and delivers great photos in extreme lighting, although it doesn't quite match the quality of HDR + on the Google Pixel 3.
Like the more expensive iPhones or flagship Android devices, the camera app has almost no shutter lag. This allows you to capture detailed, well-exposed photos that keep strong color. It can hold its own even in poor lighting conditions. However, you need to make sure you stay calm to avoid a blurry photo.
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Portrait mode selfie. - 2.
Portrait mode. - 3.
Portrait mode. - 4th
Portrait mode selfie.
We miss the telephoto lens on the iPhone XS and XS Max. The 2x optical zoom lets you take shots that don't look as good when the iPhone XR is digitally enlarged. When we go back to a camera with a lens, we need to change the way we take some photos and physically move closer to the subject instead of standing some distance away. The lack of the secondary lens also affects Portrait mode, which allows you to take photos of a subject with a blurred effect that mimics a DSLR. We're really excited to see Portrait mode available on the XR, as Apple first incorporated it into a camera phone with a lens. Portrait lighting is also available, but there are only three options as opposed to the five options on the XS – Natural, Studio, and Contour.
The iPhone XR doesn't zoom in to take portrait mode photos like the XS, so you have more space to work. It's not as accurate as XS and XS Max, but we've been impressed so far. In low light conditions, the photos weren't as grainy as the iPhone XS.
Above: iPhone XR portrait mode, below: iPhone XS portrait mode
Portrait mode only works on people, however, and that's disappointing. On the iPhone XS, portrait mode can be used on food, people, objects, pets, and almost anything. The XR camera uses this mode, however, partly with the help of artificial intelligence and neural networks. It is trained to identify a face, and this is why it can outline people so accurately. When you try to take a portrait photo of a dog or object, the camera says "No Person Detected" and doesn't even try. Google's Pixel 3 smartphone has a single-lens camera and is great for using portrait mode on a variety of subjects. We hope Apple can expand Portrait Mode on the XR to get a bit more versatile with software over time.
The front-facing camera is the same TrueDepth camera system as the iPhone XS, so you can take great selfies in portrait mode here. It even worked with our dog. This 7 megapixel camera takes great shots even in standard mode.
While the iPhone XR's camera isn't as versatile as the iPhone XS or XS Max's, it's still top-notch and the photos it takes are excellent.
Don't worry about the battery
You don't have to worry about the battery of the iPhone XR. It's a 2,942 mAh unit, and we often ended a work day at around 50 or 45 percent by 6.45 p.m. It is taken from the charger around 7 a.m. and used to surf the Internet, take pictures, stream music and play games with the phone. On lighter days we reached 35 percent at 9.42 p.m. With this phone, you can easily get through a full day and have a few hours the next day if you forget to charge it.
The battery life of the iPhone XR doesn't worry you.
This day-long battery life is comparable to other phones on the market like the Galaxy S9 Plus and even outperforms the iPhone XS Max and iPhone XS. It lasts slightly longer than Google's Pixel 3 and 3 XL, which struggle to get through a day of moderate to heavy use.
It supports fast charging, but unfortunately the corresponding cable is not included. You can also charge this iPhone wirelessly, just like the XS series and last year's iPhone devices.
Price, availability and warranty information
The iPhone XR starts at $ 750 and is available now. The best deals and prices can be found in our buying guide.
Apple offers a one-year limited warranty that protects the device from manufacturing defects. You can purchase AppleCare for additional protection.
Our opinion
Undeniably outstanding value – this is the iPhone XR. Some features may be missing, but this is the iPhone that makes others yellow, blue, or coral with envy. The colors are stunning, the battery life is great, Face ID is still industry leading technology, iOS gestures are intuitive, the camera is superb, and the performance is fantastic. This is the iPhone to buy.
Is there a better alternative?
publisher's Note: Apple released the iPhone 12 which is now available for purchase. The iPhone 12 is the successor to the iPhone 11, which is itself the successor to the iPhone XR. It improves the quality and performance of the camera, but comes with a slightly higher MSRP of $ 799. We recommend stop buying the iPhone XR. Instead, if you want to save money, consider buying one iPhone 11or the $ 400 iPhone SE. Here is our list of the best iPhones to buy.
Yes. If you want all the bells and whistles, buy the iPhone XS or iPhone XS Max. They're more expensive, but you get better build quality, a nicer and sharper screen, and a more versatile camera. If $ 750 is too high, Apple is still selling the iPhone 8 and iPhone 7 at discounted prices. They are excellent phones, if not that futuristic.
On the Android side, you are spoiled for choice. Our pick, however, is the Google Pixel 3. It costs $ 50 more, but you get a slightly better camera, great software with quick updates, and a high-resolution screen.
How long it will take?
Apple's iPhones typically last four to five years, if not longer. The iPhone XR has an IP67 rating instead of IP68. That means you can get it up to 1 meter underwater for 30 minutes and nothing more. While Apple says it's the most durable glass on the front and back, it is wise to buy a case to protect the phone. Apple sells a clear case for the iPhone XR in case you don't want to hide the gorgeous, colored body.
Expect software updates for the next four to five years. The iPhone 5S, released in 2013, is the oldest iPhone that can run iOS 12, so your device will last a long time.
Should you buy it?
Absolutely. Buy it in yellow. You will not be disappointed.
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