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iPhone 6(S)/Plus Help deciding which iPhone?

D

Dualvansmommy

macrumors member
Original poster
Dec 31, 2014
90
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So my husband and I are struggling to make a decision on new iPhone. We currently have iPhone 6s that is really on its last legs. Extremely short battery life, despite not using many apps. We shut all apps not used and keep one or two running, still lose power like crazy. Also shuts down and restart itself randomly more frequently.

Can’t decide between XR, X, or XS. We tend to keep our phones forever until it breaks down and not interested in upgrading every year or even every other year. Just want a working phone that can give us long battery life, takes great photos, keep few apps running effectively. I have iPhone 7 Plus for work, so I like their sizing and don’t mind same, little bit bigger but not huge.

Seems like I’m leaning towards XR but I’m worried with the new phones coming out later this year, that XR will be slow in a year or two?? Budget not a limitation. Willing to pay for a good one that’ll last us 4-5 years.
 
First, I would at least handle the XR in person to see if that’s a phone that you would like. It is heavier/thicker, and some don’t like how that phone feels in the hand particularly.

Secondly, I wouldn’t worry about the XR ‘slowing down in just two years’, it has the latest A12 processor, which is incredibly fast.

But if I had recommend one of those two phones you listed, it would be the XR. For the value, it’s highly competitive against the XS with the exception it does _not_ include an OLED panel, 3D Touch or dual camera.
 
I don’t expect the XR to become slow anytime soon. My 8+ is almost two years old now and still feels snappy on the latest version of iOS.

I had the XR as a loaner for a while and thought it’s a great device.
 
i would go for the iphone XR, its the one i have :p the only thing i would like to change is the color just to try another one.
 
Definitely the XR since it will basically be the same as your 6s, has the same processor as the xs. You can trade in your 6s and get the XR for really cheap too.
 
I recommend not closing your daily apps, as your 6s has the RAM to idle them in the background, but could cost your battery more to start them from scratch.

Anyway, whichever phone you're picking I recommend you wait the handful of weeks until September and get yourself a discount. The X, XR, and XS will all be ~$100 cheaper.
 
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another thing to take into consideration is that when a new iPhone finally ships, it's going to be loaded with the very first public (buggy) version of iOS 13. There's no way to put iOS 12 on a new iPhone.
So although you'll get new hardware, you'll also get the worst version of that OS on launch day which will have some problems.

I think the wisest choice is to buy an iPhone when an iOS .3 or later version can be installed on it. Either a year old phone now, or a "new" phone 6 months after it becomes available... (unless you like beta testing rough software and enjoy wasting untold hours downloading and installing one iOS update after another)
 
Just another thought to upgrading right now - you might consider getting the battery replaced in your 6s and holding onto it until iPhones are released with 5G modems in Fall 2020. Lack of 5G support isn't a big deal at all right now, but it may be in 4-5 years.

The 6s is running really well on the iOS 13 beta so with a new battery it should chug along happily for another year.
 
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Just my two cents. If you can make it until the end of Sept you’ll likely get the newest phones for the same price you’ll pay now for 10 month old phones. I personally would hold out for that alone.

That said, if you like the size of the 7 Plus and money isn’t a factor, I’d recommend the XS Max for you and the XS/XR for the husband. But definitely go see them in person.
 
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Dualvansmommy said:
So my husband and I are struggling to make a decision on new iPhone. We currently have iPhone 6s that is really on its last legs. Extremely short battery life, despite not using many apps. We shut all apps not used and keep one or two running, still lose power like crazy. Also shuts down and restart itself randomly more frequently.

Can’t decide between XR, X, or XS. We tend to keep our phones forever until it breaks down and not interested in upgrading every year or even every other year. Just want a working phone that can give us long battery life, takes great photos, keep few apps running effectively. I have iPhone 7 Plus for work, so I like their sizing and don’t mind same, little bit bigger but not huge.

Seems like I’m leaning towards XR but I’m worried with the new phones coming out later this year, that XR will be slow in a year or two?? Budget not a limitation. Willing to pay for a good one that’ll last us 4-5 years.
Click to expand...
Put new batteries in the 6s, then you can take your time on deciding on a 2019 phone or other model.
 
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Thanks all. We went earlier today to an Apple store to see and feel all the different models. X Max was ruled out immediately for me because it was just too big for me, and too close to how my iPad feels.

That left the others and we really wanted to keep our 128Gb storage capability, and since we were buying our phones outright. We were factoring price in as well, and ultimately settled for XR. I liked how it felt in my hand and eyesight to read, browse and play.

We normally keep our iPhones every 4/5 years but for this cycle, I probably will only keep my XR for 2-3 years before passing it on to my oldest kiddo. By then his iPad mini 4 will probably not work well, and he’ll need a phone by then. That means I can buy whatever is the latest in my next cycle. So far I’m pretty happy with XR without feeling like I was ripped off in price, camera is far better already and loving my battery life! Granted only day 1, but I’m a happy camper.
 
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The XR has the same processor as the XS and XS Max. Me personally i'd wait until september and get the new XR or get the current XR at a reduced price come september. The only reason I went with the XS Max was the larger screen and OLED display
 
I7guy said:
Put new batteries in the 6s, then you can take your time on deciding on a 2019 phone or other model.
Click to expand...

Forgot to mention I did replace the battery 9 months ago, when it started giving me problems. It held up great till a month ago when it would just shutdown and restart on me randomly, very frustrating! I couldn’t live with that for another 2-3 months.
 
Dualvansmommy said:
Forgot to mention I did replace the battery 9 months ago, when it started giving me problems. It held up great till a month ago when it would just shutdown and restart on me randomly, very frustrating! I couldn’t live with that for another 2-3 months.
Click to expand...

If your phones crapped the bed then you can't go wrong with the XR. Like I said same processor as the XS and XS Max and the 6S is still getting software updates 4 years later. You will get a phenomenal phone that will run great for years to come.
 
Dualvansmommy said:
So my husband and I are struggling to make a decision on new iPhone. We currently have iPhone 6s that is really on its last legs. Extremely short battery life, despite not using many apps. We shut all apps not used and keep one or two running, still lose power like crazy. Also shuts down and restart itself randomly more frequently.

Can’t decide between XR, X, or XS. We tend to keep our phones forever until it breaks down and not interested in upgrading every year or even every other year. Just want a working phone that can give us long battery life, takes great photos, keep few apps running effectively. I have iPhone 7 Plus for work, so I like their sizing and don’t mind same, little bit bigger but not huge.

Seems like I’m leaning towards XR but I’m worried with the new phones coming out later this year, that XR will be slow in a year or two?? Budget not a limitation. Willing to pay for a good one that’ll last us 4-5 years.
Click to expand...

I went from the 6S to the XR, with the XR in use it’s definitely faster, apart from unlocking with Fave ID as that’s much slower, but it’s a fair bit bigger and heavier, I sometimes feel like going small again as whilst a big screen is nice, it’s a pain of a device size wise.. but in my experience of using the XR it doesn’t hold on to signals as well as my 6S did and can drop cellular reception much more easily..

However the camera is simply stunning, Apple have finally nailed that part on there phones.

Another niggle is You Tube, play it on the 6S and it works great, goes to a high resolution easily.
On the XR it defaults to having black bars each side of the screen and it does NOT always automatically go to 720 or 1080P video quality settings, I’ve found I have to manually change this a lot of the time.

So yeah it’s an alright device, but it certainly has its problems. I’m going to wait to see what happens next year, the XR is the first big phone I’ve kept, I had a Note 5 before but couldn’t get on with the size so sent it back...

Now before people say just get an XS, yes, that’s an option but the problem with the XS is Apple for who knows what reason, removed the zoomed screen mode function from the smaller XS? Yet kept it for the XR and Max, it was one of the main reasons I got a XR..

So for me I’ve found it positive and negative experience. Will see what happens next year as I want to buy an iPhone that I can just keep the same as you, he camera is now where I want it, just need the rear of it, if they stick an OLED and Qualcomm modem in next years XR it may solve all bar the size issues.

It’s kind of annoying as you love that small sleek sexy 6S design, the way it disappears in your pocket, but that big chunky heavy XR gives you massively more real estate so you can literally use your phone for everything.

The XR is lightning quick though but apps do reload more often then not. And the screen is pretty good most of the time, but I won’t lie and not say I’m looking forward to if they fit an OLED next year as rumoured.
Don’t forget also with the XR you lose 3D Touch if that’s important to you? The current solution is alright but lacks half the functionality of 3D Touch, the XS and Max still have 3D Touch.
 
I mean...if you have the money...then why not get XS?

XS...best damn screen. A12 processor with 4GB RAM...the RAM will give it more long-term snappiness vs. 3GB RAM in XR and X...esp when you have more apps opened and the apps themselves are becoming more demanding. (Future iOS will allow more multi-tasking...see iPadOS.) Dual camera. Stereo mic (vs. single mic on X). Better cellular connection.

XR is definitely way better in battery life (and more colorful). That's about it. So, if you really want long battery life (without needing battery case), then XR...but other than that (and you have $$), then get XS.
 
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The XR is a safe bet for a choice. If you can look past it’s a little bit thicker/heavier, it’s Apples ‘targeted choice’ iPhone they offer right now, which is highly competitive against the XS that has features consumers would most likely care the most about. In the end, smart phones generally execute the same tasks, it depends what you’re willing to spend or if the dual camera would be that much more of an impact for someone on the XS if the OP had chosen that.
 
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