In the U.K. the XS Max 256 is £1249 and the 128GB XR is £800, so not the massive difference as Canada but that’s still £450 Sterling, that’s a significant difference.
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Other Why would anyone buy an iPhone XS instead of an iPhone XR?
- Thread starter marianoam
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In the U.K. the XS Max 256 is £1249 and the 128GB XR is £800, so not the massive difference as Canada but that’s still £450 Sterling, that’s a significant difference.
Umm... that's £450
I’m tired, and updating to iOS 12 etc lol! Makes the XR even more of a better buy.
Initial impression of iOS 12 on my 3 GB iPhone 7 Plus is that it runs VERY well. I am extremely pleased with the performance. It feels as fast as any brand new iPhone in terms of the iOS interface.
This is a very good sign for the iPhone XR, as it is rumoured to also have 3 GB. No idea how it will be on iOS 13 and beyond, but it should still be decent, esp. considering how much slower my A10 Fusion is than A12 Bionic.
This also solidifies my decision not to upgrade my iPhone 7 Plus this year. I am still getting the XR, but it's for the wife, to replace her 6s.
This is a very good sign for the iPhone XR, as it is rumoured to also have 3 GB. No idea how it will be on iOS 13 and beyond, but it should still be decent, esp. considering how much slower my A10 Fusion is than A12 Bionic.
This also solidifies my decision not to upgrade my iPhone 7 Plus this year. I am still getting the XR, but it's for the wife, to replace her 6s.
Thank you for this review. You've probably answered a question I was about to post. Will the XR have the text clarity of my current 7+? I had wondered due to the drop in PPI. Your observations seem to suggest it wouldn't. That's a shame, as everything else about the XR makes me want to get one.
But I suffer from presbyopia and a side effect of eye surgery that makes all sharp edges slightly wavy or pixelated. While I don't normally notice it, small text on a small screen makes my eyes tire more quickly, as text is all edges.
Thanks for the mention of zoom. Can't believe I've had this phone for 2 years and didn't realize it was there. It really helps.
So, that leaves the XS or XS Max. Because of the above eye problem, I think I'd have to go to the XS Max for a larger screen area. But do I want to pay more for it than I just did for a 4K touchscreen computer?
I just installed IOS 12 on my 7+ and it's acting like a young phone again. Maybe I'll just keep it for another year.
For me I’d say who would buy XR over XS if you’re in the market.
I'm pretty sure that the XR will NOT have the text clarity of your 7 Plus. For someone like my wife, she doesn't notice the difference, but someone like you might.
The XR will be very good, but the 7 Plus will still be better, for the very discerning eye, esp. if you favour shorter viewing distances. We shall see though in one month.
Do soft edges on small text make it worse, or small text with sharp edges still cause you problems? Because I'm not sure how that affects the decision in this context. Either way, I'm sorry to hear you have this.
Haha.
I think I showed this feature to my wife 3 years ago, but at that time she preferred the smaller fonts. But then she totally forgot about it. Recently she decided she wanted something bigger, with bigger fonts. I showed her Zoomed Display mode now that's all she uses. I suspect if she had remembered this feature existed, she would have turned it on last year.In any case, I'm still getting her a larger iPhone, in the form of an XR (which will also have Zoomed Display mode).
You need to go to the XS Max not only because of the larger screen area, but also because the XS does not support Zoomed Display at all AFAIK. (It's not on the X in either iOS 11 or iOS 12, and there are no references to it for the XS in iOS 12 that people could find, so I assume the XS doesn't get it either.) AFAIK, for the 2018 models, only the XS Max and XR support this.
I hear ya on the cost. In Canada, the XS Max 256 GB costs exactly the same as my 12" MacBook Core m3 256 GB.
That's what I'm doing. It was a combination of the crazy high price of the XS Max (which is 57% more than the XR in the storage size I want), and the 7 Plus's top-of-the-line pixel density, along with the fact this 7 Plus flies with iOS 12.
Plus the XS/XS Max does NOT fix the camera problem I've been complaining about for 2 years now. In portrait mode (which was introduced with the 7 Plus), often the camera software has problems identifying where the edge of the subject is, vs. the background. So the camera software will blur out the background, but incorrectly, so the edge of the subject gets fuzzy, etc. In The Verge's review, he shows how the XS actually erased part his subject's glasses in portrait mode, which is the exact same behaviour as our 7 Plusses.
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To compound the bad eye problem (thanks for your concern!), I'm also an advanced amateur photographer, so I notice stuff like text clarity. Things look fine on the 7+, but anything with less clarity would be questionable. I'm afraid that
I never used the bokeh on my 7+. It looked way too artificial. If I want bokeh, I use my Nikon DSLR.
The photo you sent shows exactly why. The glasses aren't the only problem. But the cameras on the 7+ do a very decent job otherwise for snapshots, copying paperwork and the like.
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actually its a larger difference in the UK than Canada lol (when you take exchange rate into account!)
I have a Canon 7D and a whole bunch of lenses. I use a 60 mm EF-S macro for 100 mm equivalent portrait shots...(edited)
To compound the bad eye problem (thanks for your concern!), I'm also an advanced amateur photographer, so I notice stuff like text clarity. Things look fine on the 7+, but anything with less clarity would be questionable. I'm afraid that
I never used the bokeh on my 7+. It looked way too artificial. If I want bokeh, I use my Nikon DSLR.
...once in a blue moon.
The thing is, I carry my iPhone 7 Plus everywhere with me, and Apple's Portrait Mode shots are non-destructive, so even if you don't like the effect, you still have the original image. I find that these days 95% of my shots are of my kids, mostly Live Photos, but some scattered Portrait shots thrown in. A lot of them don't hold up to printing because of those edge anomalies, but occasionally we can get some decent shots.
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LOL i love that.
I myself, don't need an upgrade from the 8 Plus.
But because I look at it all year, and it's literally the only thing I carry around 24/7, I'm a sucker for an upgrade.
Do I need it? No chance. But I'm getting the maxed Xs Max. lol
Yea I wouldn’t ever consider a non OLED screen again. The difference is the biggest upgrade since edge network to 3G and I’m not even kidding.
Exactly. And just to illuminate what you said, I see a lot of people saying they ‘never cared’ for an OLED display or they don’t understand the differences, [But yet they have never experienced one]. My suggestion for doubters, use an OLED display for a week, then try going back to LCD display, and you will see monumental differences between the two and how OLED really is superior in almost every facet.
I have an OLED TV. I love it for a TV. For a phone I really don’t care all that much.
My usage patterns for a TV and a phone are vastly different obviously.
For bright room usage a lot of the benefit of OLED is lost. Also, some of the disadvantages of OLED phone screens such as poorer off-axis quality should not be ignored.
I hope this version of "gold" is better than the 8. The back looked like stained nicotine cream. The Rose Gold looked like metallic pink. Previous gold phone and iPads also looked like fools gold.
Real gold comes in so many shades. Picking the right one to emulate and doing it well is obviously a major challenge.
I'm sure it will sell well.
As prices creep up they may even one day soon be able to offer a real gold plated version
For the uninitiated, here’s what I’m talking about:
Colour is all washed out on the X on the right.
https://www.google.ca/amp/s/wccftech.com/iphone-x-screen-dimming-color-shifts/amp/
If you bought an XR, I’m sure you’ve discovered the big difference in photo quality overall, and in specific, the crippled bokeh effect on the XR.
Well, to be fair, there should be zero difference in photo quality for most shots, because the XR & XS share the same wide-angle camera. The XR will be inferior for any zoomed shots, or - as you mentioned - most portrait mode photos. The exception would be low-light situations, in which the XS’ zoom lens apparently doesn’t perform very well.
It's each person's personal preference. That's why Apple and millions of other companies offer more than one product... because everyone has different needs, preferences and budgets. Personally, I prefer the XS, primarily because I don't like the larger size of the XR or XS max. Screen, camera and other differences aren't enough to motivate me to carry a bigger phone. But that's just my opinion.