Iphone XR. The R stands for relatively.

"Spanfeller is a twat" (theaspiringengineer)
03/19/2019 at 02:15 • Filed to: None

Apple got me, aight.

I changed my Telcel iphone 8 for an Iphone XR back when I was in Sacramento. The good thing is that now I own an unlocked phone with the best chip Apple makes, the bad thing is that it was 450 dollars.

At 450 bucks, it might be the cheapest phone I’ve had since the Nexus 6P. Granted, it’s a 750 dollar phone when you don’t give in another one for it, so it’s kind of a moot point.

What isn’t a moot point is that this is the first time in years that I intentionally picked an Apple smartphone, and I must say... The XR doesn’t make me miss Android.

Admittedly, I used to be an android fan before, but support for the weird android devices I like is limited in Mexico. My Essential phone is basically unfixable, the 6P’s warranty didn’t count because it was never sold here, fixing my HTC was also impossible for the same reason, and fixing my Galaxy S4 back in middle school was an expensive pain in the ass even if Samsung does offer support.

While Apple never said why the XR was called the X R . I have a theory that it stands for “relatively.” As this device is not that impressive on it’s own, but can really be compelling when compared to other apple products.

While you lose the telephoto lense, the OLED display, and the stainless steel construction to the XS, you keep a large battery pack, the best smartphone chip available in the form of the A12 Bionic, and face ID. So it’s a relatively good phone, even with the compromises you make in the name of savings.

The vibrant colour did it for me, I got the red one, and I like it a lot, it stands out, and the matte aluminium body actually makes it look better than the stainless steel one from the iphone XS. I missed having such a large phone and keyboard, so even if the weirdly thick bezzel and absurd mass of 200grams sort of made my typing a bit slower at the begining, I’ve gotten adjusted to it quite fast.

The battery is something I was amazed about. It just won’t fucking die. The pack isn’t even that big, at 3000mAh, it’s smaller than the one on my Nexus 6P. But it still manages to last 24 hours without an issue. Even with the slow 5W charger apple ships with it, the charge time is reasonably short.

I really think the current generation iphone tens were a missed opportunity for apple to finally implement USB-C, since this port would be able to support more stuff, faster charging, and many other things. But Apple is Apple.

And Apple being Apple, the XR cuts some corners that seem odd rather immediately if you graduated from a lesser iphone.

The lack of 3D Touch is something I lament, and don’t understand, since it’s available on literally every other iphone. The quality of the LCD display is also subpar compared to the OLED iphones and even android compettitors.

No to be outdone, apple employs a myriad of software tweaks to make the LCD work seamlessly. It also employs the A12’s, erm, “bionic” chipset to fill in the blanks left by the begone telephoto lense when using various camera settings

It is in the end a lower-end product than an XS, bur it doesn’t feel cheep in it’s materials quality like the 5C. The weird way Apple cuts corners but also added features like That Battery and the use of Machine learning to overcome hardware cutbacks makes it a special phone.

In the end, the Iphone XR is, in my opinion, the best smartphone Apple sells.

DISCUSSION (17)

Future Heap Owner > Spanfeller is a twat
03/19/2019 at 02:27

Haven’t had any issues completely switching smartphone OS? I guess everything does run on the cloud these days. There’s nothing at all you miss?

Spanfeller is a twat > Future Heap Owner
03/19/2019 at 02:33

The PH-1 was such a terrible phone... it was laggy, it overheated, and even with the fancy construction it didn’t survive a small fall to the ground... it gave me a very bitter last android experience. So, no...I don’t miss it at all. The biggest problem was perhaps the single button as opposed to Android's three buttons. Other than that... meh, like changing from one car to another.

I didn't have any inmediate issues when I switched from the PH-1 to my old iphone ten months ago except for Whatsapp that wouldn't transfer my conversations over. Other than that it was rather smooth. I still use Google Photos, which really slimmed down the transfer process for multimedia.

NotUnlessRoundIsFunny > Spanfeller is a twat
03/19/2019 at 02:37

Very well written, thank you for posting!

I’ve been considering my next phone, and the iPhone XR is very tempting...the battery life and R elatively reasonable cost are really appealing.

I really appreciate you sharing your thoughts, it’s helpful.

Future Heap Owner > Spanfeller is a twat
03/19/2019 at 02:38

Personally, the only Android thing I’m jealous of is a micro-SD card slot.

Spanfeller is a twat > NotUnlessRoundIsFunny
03/19/2019 at 02:52

A pple tries harder when it’s being kicked in the gut on the stock market. I think the XR is a good product because it’s a compromise between the Iphone 8 and the XS.

Tristan > Spanfeller is a twat
03/19/2019 at 03:45

I had an iPhone 4 followed by a 5, then I switched to a Galaxy S5 that lasted 3 months before going belly up, then I had a ZTE Axon 7 mini. It also lasted 3 months with bi-weekly factory resets to keep it functional before just completely dieing. Then I dug out the old iPhone 5, used it for another 8 months until I finally broke it in half. It was 4 years old at that point. It was replaced by my current iPhone SE. I like Android’s OS, but the hardware is just plain shit. iPhones are just plain reliable.

pip bip - choose Corrour > Spanfeller is a twat
03/19/2019 at 07:27

as someone who owns an iPhone SE, i find your review very useful

thank you.

imadick > Future Heap Owner
03/19/2019 at 08:03

Almost no phone has these anymore

BrianGriffin thinks “reliable” is just a state of mind > Spanfeller is a twat
03/19/2019 at 08:12

Last month I finally got fed up with my iPhone 6 and got an Xr in that yellow color, I love it.

Except for the lack of a home button. I put the fake home button on the screen you find in the accessibility features. I also hate how you have to take a screenshot (power + up) and mess it up every time. I’ve also noticed the screen tends to attract more lint and dust than my old one, but that’s not really a fault of the phone.

404 - User No Longer Available > imadick
03/19/2019 at 08:30

That’s just... plain false.

Samsung got rid of it on the S6 but brought it back in the S7 and kept it ever since. On some flagships and Google phones like the Pixel maybe but almost all mid-range phones have one. So I would say majority of Android phones still have it.

Spanfeller is a twat > BrianGriffin thinks “reliable” is just a state of mind
03/19/2019 at 09:21

The screenshot thing certainly took me off guard. But the new home button came natural to me.... I thought it would be user unfriendly but I found it quite versatile

nerd_racing > pip bip - choose Corrour
03/19/2019 at 10:24

I still have an SE too, it got a broken screen at one point, but I fixed it for a backup. So far I haven’t needed it, one year into my google pixel 2 xl ownership.

Future Heap Owner > imadick
03/19/2019 at 10:32

Oh sweet, iPhones have no downside then

mazda616 > Spanfeller is a twat
03/19/2019 at 12:02

I have an XS and I sometimes wish I’d have just saved some money and went with the XR.

Spanfeller is a twat > Future Heap Owner
03/19/2019 at 12:18

I mean, I can’t fathom how I’m gonna use 64GB.

My iphone 6S had 16GB and I found it to be quite adequate. Albeit, I spend a lot of time near wifi, so I could save photos to Google Photos, and I could delete music from Spotify without regreting it later on.

Future Heap Owner > Spanfeller is a twat
03/19/2019 at 13:04

I am the digital equivalent of a dude who lives in Montana and has an agreement with the sheriff so he doesn’t have a drivers license and instead of a bank account has some gold buried in the woods.

By which I mean I keep all my photos on my computers, and not on anyone else’s (“the cloud”). Same with music. I like to have all my photos on my phone, both as another back and to go back and look at every once and a while. I have 15GB of photos. I had a 32GB iPhone and between my photos, apps, the OS, and podcasts, I was always a few hundred megs away from filling up. Now I have a 128GB one and while I don’t have to worry about that anymore, I do wish I could fit more of my ~140 GB of MP3s on it (though P lex helps a lot with that, and I have an iPod that can fit everything for when I’m traveling or camping).

Chariotoflove > Spanfeller is a twat
03/19/2019 at 13:22

I’m still rocking my 6S Plus. I lust after the new ones, but I don’t have a real need yet, and this thing keeps working.