Why you should choose the iPhone XR – and hold on to your cash
- It is 95 per cent as good as the costlier XS and XS Max, and has a huge screen, long battery life and a video stabiliser
Lately, Apple has made shopping for an iPhone complicated. So let me simplify: if you’re in the market for an upgrade, buy the iPhone XR.
I don’t blame anyone who’s been holding on to an old iPhone 6, 6S or 7. The data shows people are waiting longer and longer to upgrade, with good reason: phones haven’t been getting that much better, yet prices have climbed to US$1,000, or even $1,450, for the top iPhone.
With the US$750 iPhone XR arriving in stores in the US on Friday, you have the opportunity to leap ahead to better technology – like a superior camera and more screen – without getting a nosebleed from the price tag. The best part: your battery will last an astounding three hours longer than the US$1,000 iPhone XS, according to my tests. Just promise you’ll do one thing before you buy: go to a store and see whether the XR’s larger shape fits your hand.
Apple confused everyone this autumn by introducing three new models: the iPhone XS (large), the iPhone XR (larger) and the iPhone XS Max (largest). Yet the prices didn’t increase with size – the only one that costs less than a grand is the XR, pronounced “ten-R”. To further complicate matters, Apple waited an extra month to sell or even show off the XR in stores while it marketed the dickens out of the expensive models.
But like all middle children, the XR shouldn’t be overlooked. This phone isn’t an old model with a colourful paint job. It’s 95 per cent as good as the very best, for 75 per cent of the cost. Think of the iPhone XR as the top Toyota you buy instead of the Lexus. It’s Chandon sparkling wine instead of Moët champagne. It’s the Backstreet Boys instead of *NSYNC.
Why bother upgrading? And what do you give up by not splurging on the XS and XS Max? Answers below.
For anyone using a phone from 2016 or earlier, I think the XR will feel like a dramatic upgrade, the most significant since the iPhone 6 first brought Apple into the big-phone trend.
What you’ll notice first about the XR is how much more screen there is for playing games, reading articles and going down YouTube rabbit holes. The 6.1-inch screen is 45 per cent larger than that of the iPhone 6 – a godsend because nobody’s eyes are getting sharper. Apps are bigger, type is bigger, and the on-screen keyboard is bigger, making for fewer embarrassing auto-correct moments.
