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iPhone XS Complete list of XS versus XR differences

D

dwsolberg

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Dec 17, 2003
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Every article I’ve read has an incomplete list of differences between the Xs and Xr, so I thought I’d make a list that people can read and add to.

What the Xs has that the Xr does not:
1. The Xs has twice the cellular antennas (Gigabit-class LTE with 4x4 MIMO and LAA), so it’s able to go faster with the same signal and get useable signal in places that the Xr cannot. Update: maybe not: https://www.wiwavelength.com/2018/09/iphone-xr-trades-4x4-mimo-for-greater.html
Another update: maybe so: https://appleinsider.com/articles/1...lar-signal-strength-thanks-to-better-antennas
2. The Xs has a higher resolution OLED screen, and that screen extends slightly closer to the edge than the Xr (smaller bezel). A lot of people really like the vivid blacks of OLED screens, although they do have a color cast off-axis.
3. The Xs has Force Touch and the Xr does not.
4. The Xs has a telephoto lense for 2x zoom and the Xr does not. This also allows for better portrait shots.
5. The Xs has a a steel band around the outside, which possibly makes it more attractive and sturdier.
6. The Xs has 4 GB of RAM while the Xr has 3 GB.
7. The Xs has better water and dust resistance. (2 meters underwater vs. 1 meter)
8. The Xs has LTE band 46 and the Xr does not. I don't know the difference though.
9. The Xs is lighter (6.24 ounces vs. 6.84 ounces) and smaller.
10. The Xs has “advanced wireless charging”, but not sure what that means.

What the Xr has that the Xs does not.
1. The Xr has a bigger screen, and by default shows the same information (slightly smaller) that the XS Max will show. The default font size will be closer to the iPhone 8 size.
2. The Xr has better battery life, mostly likely quite a bit better.
3. The Xr comes in colors.
4. The Xr is much cheaper to repair out of warranty.
5. Both the Xr and its AppleCare warranty are significantly cheaper.
6. The memory upgrade path is better for most people on the Xr. For $50, you can upgrade from 64 to 128 GB. The only option for the Xs is to go from 64 all the way to 256, which costs $150. For a lot of people, 64 GB is a little tight, but they don’t need to go all the way to 256.
 
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Ram. Not sure on speaker quality but I’d expect XS has better. That said screen difference should be mentioned twice. It’s quite the difference.
 
Can someone explain in more detail the antenna differences and the practical real world impact?

Is the XR gimped, or is the XS improved over traditional implementations?
 
dwsolberg said:
Every article I’ve read has an incomplete list of differences between the Xs and Xr, so I thought I’d make a list that people can read and add to.

What the Xs has that the Xr does not:
1. The Xs has twice the cellular antennas, so it’s able to go faster with the same signal and get enough useable signal in places that the Xr cannot.
2. The Xs has a higher resolution OLED screen, and that screen extends slightly closer to the edge than the Xr.
3. The Xs has Touch ID and the Xr does not.
4. The Xs has a telephoto lense for 2x zoom and the Xr does not.
5. The Xs has a a steel band around the outside, which possibly makes it more attractive and sturdier, but also makes it heavier.

What the Xr has that the Xs does not.
1. The Xr has a bigger screen, and by default shows the same information (slightly smaller) that the XS Max will show. The default font size will be closer to the iPhone 8 size.
2. The Xr has better battery life, mostly likely quite a bit better.
3. The Xr comes in colors.
4. The Xr is much cheaper to repair out of warranty.
5. Both the Xr and its AppleCare warranty are significantly cheaper.
Click to expand...

Hey dwsolberg, thanks for taking the time to put this together, it is hard to find a simple bulleted list for this. I'll just touch on what jetydosa corrected below as well.

jetydosa said:
Whut?
I assume you meant Force Touch?
Click to expand...

Right, to be clear neither have Touch ID.
 
white4s said:
Full comparison towards the bottom https://www.macrumors.com/roundup/iphone-xr/
Click to expand...

Thanks, this is pretty good, although it doesn't discuss price and the RAM differences.
[doublepost=1539961666][/doublepost]
cardfan said:
Ram. Not sure on speaker quality but I’d expect XS has better. That said screen difference should be mentioned twice. It’s quite the difference.
Click to expand...

From what I've heard, the speaker quality is the same. Let me know if you find something that says different.
 
To expand on the 2x telephoto lens difference...

Pro for Xr:
- Can do wider angle portrait mode

Pro for Xs:
- Can do portrait mode for inanimate objects
- Better optical zoom
 
dwsolberg said:
Thanks, this is pretty good, although it doesn't discuss price and the RAM differences.
[doublepost=1539961666][/doublepost]

From what I've heard, the speaker quality is the same. Let me know if you find something that says different.
Click to expand...

3gb vs 4gb. Can't really see this being an issue since it's only 1gb
 
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So wait - the cellular connections will be WORSE with XR? All I've been reading is how horrible the connection has been with XS.

I certainly can't afford to get worse reception than I already do.
 
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dwsolberg said:
What the Xr has that the Xs does not.
1. The Xr has a bigger screen, and by default shows the same information (slightly smaller) that the XS Max will show. The default font size will be closer to the iPhone 8 size.
2. The Xr has better battery life, mostly likely quite a bit better.
3. The Xr comes in colors.
4. The Xr is much cheaper to repair out of warranty.
5. Both the Xr and its AppleCare warranty are significantly cheaper.
Click to expand...

More reasons to get XR (full disclosure: I have XS and my wife is getting XR):
  • Some folks have sensitivity to XS's OLED screen (PWM), which can induce headaches and/or eye strains
  • XR has traditional iPhone antenna design that probably won't suffer from cellular and Wi-Fi reception issues
  • Portrait mode in wide angle lens, although only works for a person (not objects)
  • $250 cheaper
  • Available in 128 GB capacity for only $50 more
  • Aluminum sides are probably more scratch resistant
 
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dwsolberg said:
Every article I’ve read has an incomplete list of differences between the Xs and Xr, so I thought I’d make a list that people can read and add to.

What the Xs has that the Xr does not:
1. The Xs has twice the cellular antennas (Gigabit-class LTE with 4x4 MIMO and LAA), so it’s able to go faster with the same signal and get useable signal in places that the Xr cannot.
Click to expand...

While it's true the Xs has support for potential faster LTE speeds, why the assumption that the Xr won't get as good a usable signal? Band support is pretty much the same as far as I'm aware.
 
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I just read a first-impression review on PC Mag, where the author felt that the stereo reproduction of the speakers on the XR doesn’t sound quite as good as the XS Max -- if you care about that sort of thing. (I don't know if the speakers on the XS sound different from the XS Max due to the size difference.)
 
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johnc22 said:
Can someone explain in more detail the antenna differences and the practical real world impact?

Is the XR gimped, or is the XS improved over traditional implementations?
Click to expand...

The XR has the same antenna setup as iPhone X. The XS has a theoretically better antenna setup which can enable faster throughput. But the XS antenna relies on good signal strength. Under low or marginal signal strength, the XR is expected to perform equal to or better than XS.
 
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Good list. I think we should have a list for what the same is as well so people have an idea what the middle ground is.
 
It's very hard to swallow the price difference, for me, when looking at a 128GB XR vs a 256GB XS Max. Even if you do iUP, you're looking at an extra $20 a month which comes out to almost $250 over the first year...
I just couldn't pass up at least trying the XR.
 
When you see it listed out like that its easy to see why what on first sight isn't a lot different is so much cheaper. I hadn't actually realised 3D touch wasnt on the XR. I know most people on here slate that feature but I wouldn't want a phone without it now.
 
JPack said:
The XR has the same antenna setup as iPhone X. The XS has a theoretically better antenna setup which can enable faster throughput. But the XS antenna relies on good signal strength. Under low or marginal signal strength, the XR is expected to perform equal to or better than XS.
Click to expand...

Thank you. I'm leaning to the XR as the cost difference is considerable. I'll have to see the screen in person as I'll be returning to iOS from an S7 Edge and really nice Samsung display. However I still have my 6 Plus and the screen is fine.
 
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