Editor's note:
Since its debut, the iPhone XR has been surpassed by new iPhone models. We've checked the below to ensure accuracy and relevance for the time of writing, though pricing and availability will differ from when we first reviewed this device.
- Apple released iPhone XS, iPhone XS Max and iPhone XR in 2018
- While the XS and XS Max are stacked with great features, the XR may have everything you need in a smartphone—with a cheaper price to boot
- Our five reasons to grab the iPhone XR include price, battery, colors, features and display.
Apple released its three new phones, the iPhone XS, XS Max, and XR, in 2018.
The XR is the best of the bunch, with a far more attractive price tag. Below is a quick comparison of the three new iPhones, and read on for our 5 reasons to buy the XR.
iPhone X Models Compared
iPhone XR Reason #1: Price
Upon its release, the iPhone X broke the $1,000 ceiling, and the XS and XS Max unsurprisingly do the same. The 64GB version of the XS started at $999, while the 64GB version of the XS Max started at a whopping $1,099.
It's enough to make you want to hold onto your current iPhone. But you don't have to. The iPhone XR came in at a $749.99 price point, a full $250 cheaper than the starting price of the XS. What's more, the XR included some of the same core features that the XS sports (more on that later).
iPhone XR Reason #2: Battery Life
NBC's The Good Place aired an episode last season in which the main character got to choose from a selection of frozen yogurt flavors, one of which was "full cell phone battery." Her reaction to trying it: "I'm so relaxed."
This surely resonates with iPhone users who have struggled to keep their devices charged. The iPhone XR has the best battery life of the three devices; Apple says the XR can outlast the iPhone 8 Plus by 90 minutes. That's reason enough for many to hold out for it.
iPhone XR Reason #3: Colors
Some will scoff at your decision to choose a smartphone based on color, moments later texting some inane Animoji to a friend—which incidentally was the feature that convinced them to pick up their iPhone X. Which is to say: any reason for a purchase is as valid as the next.
I'm one of those people who buys stuff based on color—that's why I bought the rose gold iPhone 6s, and why I more recently picked up the "kinda blue" Google Pixel 2. If you're an aesthetics-oriented person like me, you're going to want to wait for the iPhone XE, which comes in a range of brilliant colors—blue, yellow, red, coral, black and white—that expand beyond the, at this point, rather "blah" colors of typical iPhones. The blue, especially, looks awesome.
iPhone XR Reason #4: Similar Features to the XS
While many outlets have pointed to the superior features (display, build, camera) found in the iPhone XS, do they really necessitate the (much) higher price tag?
After all, the XR contains perhaps the XS's most innovative new feature: the lightning-fast A12 processor. That means your speed and overall experience with the XR will be very similar to the XS. This includes, to summarize Apple marketing talking points, 50% faster graphics performance, 50% lower power usage, and 15% faster performance cores (whatever that means).
Oh, and the XS's much-celebrated dual-SIM support? The XR has that too!
iPhone XR Reason #5: Big Display
At 6'1" inches, the iPhone XR's display strikes a near perfect balance between the huge screen of the iPhone XS Max (6.5") and the handy, smaller iPhone XS (5.8"). It's a bit smaller than the iPhone 8 Plus (see comparison to the right).
It's big enough to enjoy hours of Netflix streaming but not so big that it's annoying to have to hold when you go for a run. Like the XS, the XR's design is bezel-less.
Much has been made of the XS's superior OLED screen, but the XR's pixel density means its LCD screen should be just fine for most users. After all, it's a smartphone display, not a television screen.
Chris Holmes
Staff Writer
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