Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
Other Why would anyone buy an iPhone XS instead of an iPhone XR?
- Thread starter marianoam
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
Apple cut corners on the most important and the most expensive components on a phone: the screen (technology and resolution) and the camera to achieve a lower price point. Nobody is not going to get extra from Apple. It's just what it is. But many people will be fine with it.
I kind of agree with you, but there are definitely concessions. OLED, more RAM, better camera's, color accuracy, 120hz touch input, no 3D touch, stuff like that. It may not matter to some, but there are clear reasons to spend a little more. Anyone upgrading from a 6/7 era phone, I would say the Xr is the way to go though.
I think there are two main reasons - the 50mm camera, and the size.
The XR is pretty close to the 8 Plus in size. Not quite as tall, but still it is a large phone if you are coming from a 6/7/8/SE. The question becomes whether the smaller size is worth $250 more or not.
I think there will be a lot of people going for a used/refurb X over the XR/XS. Likely the same price as the XR but you still get the smaller size and 50mm lens.
[doublepost=1536842574][/doublepost]
The display is True Tone and DCI-P3 color gamut - I highly doubt the color accuracy is "way off."
The XR is pretty close to the 8 Plus in size. Not quite as tall, but still it is a large phone if you are coming from a 6/7/8/SE. The question becomes whether the smaller size is worth $250 more or not.
I think there will be a lot of people going for a used/refurb X over the XR/XS. Likely the same price as the XR but you still get the smaller size and 50mm lens.
[doublepost=1536842574][/doublepost]
The display is True Tone and DCI-P3 color gamut - I highly doubt the color accuracy is "way off."
Viewing distance matters. My 27" 1440p has a PPI of 108.79 but due to the size of the screen and viewing distance being longer it is not an issue. Likewise I use my 12.9" iPad Pro at a slightly longer distance whereas smartphones are often quite close to you. I am used to a similar size device with a 5.5" 16:9 1080p display and to me something that is larger but lower res is not going to cut it. It's the one spec that I think is truly subpar on the Xr. I would have to see the Xr in person before making a choice for it.
My real fear however is that the low resolution of the Xr also means that for example YouTube is limited to 720p resolution which we all now is pretty ****. I watch YouTube in 4K on my 1440p screen on my desktop computer because it just looks better but on my iPad Pro I am limited to 1080p for completely arbitrary reasons.
For me the main reason to go for the Xs instead is size. It's a comfortably compact device that fits my hand well based on trying the X in stores. The Xr is a big phone that I would not want to use with one hand.
The XR has the same camera sensor and optics, 120Hz touch input and same color accuracy. The only difference is OLED, probably less RAM. On the missing telephoto lens, The XR also gets all the camera features like portrait mode, smart HDR, adjustable bokeh, all with a single lens, so the telephoto is only for 2X zoom now.
[doublepost=1536843171][/doublepost]
I can watch videos on Youtube in 1080p on an iPhone 8. The option is there.
iPad Pro supports 2K in Youtube, I've done that too.
Where are you guys getting RAM specs from? Are we just making things up and running with it?
The option is there but that doesn't mean YouTube will display videos in 1080p. It'll still display the content under 720p.
I just tried and the max res I can get on my 12.9 gen 2 iPad Pro in YouTube is 1080p on any video. 720p ******** in Safari.
EDIT: Seems to be because of Apple not supporting Google's VP9 codec which they use for above 1080p videos now instead of H.264.
Last edited:
The Xr has the same pixel density as the iPhone 8/7/6s/6 (326ppi) so it's not like it's a really bad display. It is indeed a point to consider if you're upgrading from a Plus-sized iPhone however. It also loses out the split-screen feature of the Plus iPhones.
This is still a rumor, until reviewers and others can test, albeit a likely one.
EDIT: Looks like it's now factual information that the XR does indeed have 3GB of RAM whereas the XS models come with 4GB
https://en.letsgodigital.org/smartphones/apple-iphone-2018-models/
No, just going off the rumors. I think there was a geekbench released for the A12 that showed 4GB of RAM. My guess is that the Xr wouldn't be the same, knowing Apple, but who knows. It could be 4 across the board if it's important to ya.
The faster modem is a pretty big deal (to me) and I prefer the form factor of the XS over the XR and XS Max. The OLED is pretty nice too.
I'm sure that the XR will be the better selling model, but I'm leaning towards replacing my X with an XS over the XS Max. I want to see the Max in person before I make my decision.
I'm sure that the XR will be the better selling model, but I'm leaning towards replacing my X with an XS over the XS Max. I want to see the Max in person before I make my decision.
Ah, cool. I didn't see the color accuracy thing, still can't see that it has 120hz, but I trust you on that. Yea, all in all it's not a huge increase, but I know the portrait mode only works on humans on the Xr. I am thinking there is going to be some weird quirks that make it a lesser device, which it should be, but still an upgrade for a lot of people.
From the day you buy it you will be thinking I’ve got the poor boys iPhone the XR.
People will snigger at you when you use it, is that what you want?
The forever I should have got........
People will snigger at you when you use it, is that what you want?
The forever I should have got........
You're correct. I've posted the link above
Thanks, yea that's what I figured it would be.
The people may only "snigger" at you if they have better iPhones than you. Otherwise, who are they?
As
AFAIK, The XR has the same implementation of portrait mode as the XS, so it works for humans as well as other objects and living beings. Quirks to make it a lesser device are already there - Lower resolution LCD, 3GB RAM, no 3D touch (no big deal, and rumored to be removed from 2019 flagships)
The iPad is viewed from further away so it doesn’t matter. Also, resolution and PPI are two different things. The Xs is better in both respects.
I’m not saying the Xr screen will look much worse to you. But there are some major differences.
I heard otherwise on Twitter, and they mentioned it was weird considering the Pixel 2 figured this out. I guess we'll see.