iPhone XR review: Keeping compromises to a minimum
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"Whereas the XS screen shifts to a cool blue when viewed at an angle, this one shifts to a warm orange."
...I saw this for myself...bothered me a bit. I wonder if I would get used to it.
...I saw this for myself...bothered me a bit. I wonder if I would get used to it.
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Statistical
Ars Legatus Legionis
You couldn't claim it had a thickness of xx mm where xx doesn't include the camera bump like they do now. This isn't just Apple but all cellphone manufacturers.
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Can't answer to the camera bump, but there IS no fingerprint sensor - it uses face recognition alone.
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I'm probably in the minority here, but the lack of 3D Touch is probably a deal breaker for me. I have so much muscle memory built around 3D Touch workflows. Oh well.
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Re: Neural engine benchmarks, Master Lu’s AImark is available on iOS and supports the A12's neural engine.
Curiously it does not seem they enabled NE access to third parties on A11.
Curiously it does not seem they enabled NE access to third parties on A11.
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It's huge. I want an updated SE. Basically the same phone but no more than 4.5".
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Most perhaps, but not all. My flagship phone has no camera bump.
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At the current prices and the current new features, I think I'll stick with the 6S. Hopefully, a cheaper phone does come out next year. With some sort of TouchID, I do recall that Apple won't go back to TouchID since "FaceID is so much better".
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I had an iPhone 6S before (now I own a Galaxy S9), and 3D touch was very convenient to me. Having moved to Android, I kind of expected not to have 3D touch anymore, but I can't imagine going back to iOS and not having 3D touch.
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So... Seems like the XR is the iPhone to get, especially if the price gap remains a significant $300-400 for basically an upgraded screen.
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"Yes, it’s cheaper than the iPhone XS or XS Max, but it’s still not going to serve consumers who want an affordable entry point for iOS. To get that, you have to look at the two-year-old iPhone 7."
Why one cannot get an iPhone 8 instead? it is only from last year...
And the iPhone 7 is a quite capable phone.
Why one cannot get an iPhone 8 instead? it is only from last year...
And the iPhone 7 is a quite capable phone.
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We've had a look at XS for my wife and it was just too large for her to use comfortably (that's what she said). And XR is even larger than that...
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Funny.
Most iPads that aren't the iPad Pro are reasonably priced. The current "regular" iPad is fine, but even the original was (at $500) cheaper than expected at the time. There is also the iPhone SE, which at $400 was faster than most Android flagships at the time.
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I never used 3D touch to its full potential, and I found it frustrating when it detected a 3D Touch when one was not intended, or vice versa. That being said, I'm glad to see that the "pressing-on-the-keyboard-to-zip-through-your-text interaction" survived.
3D Touching the settings icon to access BlueTooth, &c., was a great idea that I always forgot about until too late, and swiping from the left to switch between applications was a great idea that failed on me enough times that I never really developed the habit.
So it won't be a deal-breaker for me personally, but I imagine you're not the only person who'll be disappointed with this regression in functionality.
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Are there any articles with more details you the GPU Apple is using. I'm not sure if I've see an in-depth dive on it. I would love to know more about it to see what Apple has done there.
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It's glass front and back, regardless of the derided bump, you're just asking for it if you don't put a case on it.
I won't argue about battery life in general, on all phones, but if there's anything Apple does well it's battery life, both because of the closed ecosystem and their engineering.
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After uprading my wife's iPhone 6 to an XR, and my N6 to Pixel 3 XL, I feel buyer's remorse for my Pixel. The XR is a superb phone. Only thing keeping me in Google's land are three things, out of which I could compromise on 2:
1- Custom launcher or a much more customizable default launcher.
2- Default browser change (I could maybe live with Safari)
3- Pulling down pictures with ADB (I could maybe use iPhoto for that).
Make #1 a thing Apple and you got a convert.
1- Custom launcher or a much more customizable default launcher.
2- Default browser change (I could maybe live with Safari)
3- Pulling down pictures with ADB (I could maybe use iPhoto for that).
Make #1 a thing Apple and you got a convert.
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iPhone SE? The 2017 and 2018 iPad? The original Mac Mini all the way to the 2012 Mac Mini (before the 2014 update)?
On a side note, tip for thrifty shoppers: Apple refurbished devices are essentially new. You get new case, new screen, new battery, and new accessories. You'd be hard pressed to tell they are refurbished. You can get a refurbished 8 for $499! Pretty decent deal.
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I've been happy with my wife's iPhone XR, which we got after cancelling a Pixel 3 preorder due to concerns about video audio quality, some of the other quaility/build issues, and her preference for iPhone color balance. It's fast, has nice sound, has tremendous battery life, and we don't mind the difference at all compared to her old S7's OLED screen.
I haven't noticed as much of an improvement in photo quality as I was hoping for, and hope that Apple will eventually have something that can approach Pixel's "night sight" feature.
I haven't noticed as much of an improvement in photo quality as I was hoping for, and hope that Apple will eventually have something that can approach Pixel's "night sight" feature.
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There's been some chatter about poor cellular reception on the XR, and on the XS as well. Is there a simple way to test and include LTE in the review? There were comments about Samsung phones significantly outperforming the XR (and XS) in fringe areas. Does anyone have any input on that?
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I hear you but who, these days, does not use a case? Almost a crazy idea when you’re paying £700+ for your phone.
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As an iPhone XR owner, upgrading from the iPhone 6S, my issues with the phone are primarily…
- The phone is very slippery. It frequently falls off even flat surfaces, if it happens to be plugged in. I can sit it on an almost flat table (imperceptibly sloped, presumably) and it'll gradually creep towards the edge like it's possessed. I think the camera bump exacerbates this as it means there's only a small surface area in contact with the table.
- It's big - chunkier than I expected, after trying out an XS. The XS feels a lot nicer - and lighter. I'm coming to terms with it now though.
- Apple don't make any cases for it - and the Otter Box case they feature on their website is really unattractive and overly bulky.
Except for that, I'm surprised that...
- FaceID works really well, and I prefer it to TouchID. I use Apple Pay a lot, and I think it works better even in this situation - which I was skeptical about.
- I don't really miss 3D Touch. I used it quite a lot - but the key use cases that I used it for are still supported by 'haptic touch'. These are primarily the various Control Center controls.
- I don't really miss the headphone socket - at least not with my use cases.
- Battery life is amazing, coming from a 3 year old iPhone 6S anyway!
- There's still a few apps that don't work well with the XS/XR screen shape. Some have even be very recently released and featured by Apple (Stardew Valley for example).
- The phone is very slippery. It frequently falls off even flat surfaces, if it happens to be plugged in. I can sit it on an almost flat table (imperceptibly sloped, presumably) and it'll gradually creep towards the edge like it's possessed. I think the camera bump exacerbates this as it means there's only a small surface area in contact with the table.
- It's big - chunkier than I expected, after trying out an XS. The XS feels a lot nicer - and lighter. I'm coming to terms with it now though.
- Apple don't make any cases for it - and the Otter Box case they feature on their website is really unattractive and overly bulky.
Except for that, I'm surprised that...
- FaceID works really well, and I prefer it to TouchID. I use Apple Pay a lot, and I think it works better even in this situation - which I was skeptical about.
- I don't really miss 3D Touch. I used it quite a lot - but the key use cases that I used it for are still supported by 'haptic touch'. These are primarily the various Control Center controls.
- I don't really miss the headphone socket - at least not with my use cases.
- Battery life is amazing, coming from a 3 year old iPhone 6S anyway!
- There's still a few apps that don't work well with the XS/XR screen shape. Some have even be very recently released and featured by Apple (Stardew Valley for example).
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I've been back and forth between phones and phone OSes over the past few years. I was always reluctant to return to iOS because it simply hasn't changed for so long, and the launcher is basically a kid's toy. It works. Rumor is the next big iOS refresh will mix the launcher up a bit - way overdue IMHO.
ETA: only just 'upgraded' from iPhone 6+ to iPhone 7 yesterday! So, in the iOS ecosystem for a while longer...
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https://www.anandtech.com/show/13392/th ... -secrets/2
This is the most I've seen about it. Apple has said very little about their current GPUs so it's largely speculation based on die shots and exposed features, but it appears to be a semi-custom design still based on Imagination Technologies IP. Probably going to be replaced with a clean sheet design next generation as Apple has announced their plans to move away from imgtec entirely.
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But then it would be thicker still when I put it in a protective case. As is, the camera can be almost flush with the surface of a protective case rather than a camera thats recessed when such a case is used.
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Yeah, that was worded weird. Still, glass on the back is a flawed approach, imho. I get the the need for inductive charging (I refuse to call it "wireless") but why glass? Because it looks more premium? The Nokia N9 in my desk drawer - the one running the elegant Meego, before the WinPhone takeover - remains the most beautiful smartphone I've ever held, and it's made from polycarbonate, a material that (afaik) allows for inductive charging.
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I still don't understand why iPhone reviews do not include comparisons with the Pixel phones, when the Pixel phones include comparisons to the iPhone. Could someone please explain this? (This is coming from someone who currently has a Nexus 5X but is planning to switch to a iPhone XR as it looks like a damn nice phone, and it will limit Google's intrusions into my privacy.)
Edit: I guess it was mentioned that the camera is bested by couple unnamed Android phones in the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly, though there were no comparisons made in the Camera section of the review.
Edit: I guess it was mentioned that the camera is bested by couple unnamed Android phones in the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly, though there were no comparisons made in the Camera section of the review.
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