This is the iPhone XR.
Apple's 2018 entry-level device and I want to talk about if it is
still a good choice to buy in 2021 going into 2022
And if you already have it, should you upgrade
This phone was actually available on Apple's official website just until a
couple of months ago, when the 13 lineup came out
and then it was replaced with the iPhone 11.
Right now you can get it from apple refurbished or get it used on eBay
or something like, that but we'll get into those details a bit later on in the video.
For this one, I don't want to get too much into every single spec of the phone, although
I will mention a couple of key things of course.
I just want to go over how it performs in all areas of average
everyday usage and compare it to some newer models to see if there is anything
you would be missing out on if you decide to get it right now.
Welcome to the channel, my name is Pedja and on
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Alright, let's get on with the video.
I want to start off talking about the design of the iPhone XR.
Like all newer iPhones, it has glass on front and back of the phone, that's held
in place by an aluminum frame, as opposed to stainless steel found on the pro models.
I honestly like the aluminum a bit more since it has that
matte finish and stainless steel get all fingerprint-y very easily.
The biggest design factor that sets it apart from its younger siblings are these
rounded edges that are now flat since the 2020 iPhone 12 lineup came out,
But it still does have a nice premium feel to it and a healthy weight
that makes this phone feel very solid overall.
One more difference is that there's only one subtle camera lens on the back of the phone.
It comes in a variety of color options, I got the black one but there's also red,
yellow, blue, coral and white.
So you do have a lot to choose from when it comes to colors.
It is a bit too big for my taste, but I generaly love smaller phones.
Right now I'm using the iPhone 12 mini as my main device, so this is a bit bulkier.
But it also has an advantage of having a bigger screen.
Which is kind of, you know...
Bigger phone has a bigger screen.
This is the exclusive information you come to this channel for!
Bigger phone has a bigger screen.
Jumping onto that screen,
It has a Liquid Retina IPS display with up to 625 nits of brightness which is
to me more than bright enough for most use cases.
Now, it is an LCD panel as opposed to new Super Retina XDR OLED displays
that are in the new 12 and 13 lineups.
So you do miss out on those deep blacks that come with OLED screens,
as well as some resolution, since this LCD isn't even full HD, so it's technically below 1080p.
But in real world usage, I never noticed that lower resolution and pixel density.
It's still a very good color accurate LCD display,
watching movies and YouTube videos is great and everything looks
Well... HD. Even though it actually isn't.
And it comes with True Tone which in my opinion is one of the best
features Apple introduced to their devices in a long time.
If you are looking for a higher refresh rate screen though, when it comes to iPhones,
your only choices would be iPhone 13 pro and iPhone 13 pro max.
Those are the only models from Apple that have 120hz refresh rate screens.
I personally don't notice that high refresh rate
on screens in general to be honest, and I've used Android devices in the past that support 120hz.
So that comes down to your personal preference.
If a high refresh rate is something you absolutely can't live without,
you might want to skip this one all-together.
But, even though it is inferior to those new OLED panels,
you still do get a pretty solid quality display that, by the way, does not flicker.
If you had problems in the past with OLED devices
giving you headaches and eyestrain, you won't have that problem here.
Okay, so, jumping onto performance.
This is the area that I'm not going to say too much about honestly,
because this phone is still really fast.
It does have a 3 year old chip inside it, but Apple's chips have always been
top of the line, and you won't run into anything that this phone cannot handle.
I've seen absolutely no lag whatsoever in my 6 months of using this phone
and now comparing it to the iPhone 12 mini I currently use,
I honestly saw little to no difference when it comes to speed and performance after the switch.
Now, I want to mention a few additional features that this phone has.
It's IP67 water resistant, it supports fast and wireless charging,
and it has face ID that is, well, almost identical to new iPhones.
On newer models, face ID may work in in more different angles.
Honestly, again, I didn't notice much of a difference between the
12 mini and the XR when it comes to face ID.
All right moving on to the battery.
iPhone XR supports 15W fast charging, which will give you around 50% charge in 30 minutes,
and it supports wireless charging up to 10W.
Now, there have been reports of people saying that their iPhone XR is charging wirelessly
only up to 7.5W, so take that into consideration, but it does have wireless charging.
Apple never disclose the exact size of their batteries,
but to be honest, it doesn't really matter too much when it comes to Apple.
Their whole system is set up a bit differently, so
5000mah for example on Android is not the same as 5000mah on an iPhone.
That's not to say that all iPhones have great battery life, far from it.
But this iPhone XR is still a solid performer in my opinion.
I never had a problem getting through the day on a single charge,
you can expect something like 6-8 hours of screen on time.
The reason that fluctuates so much is the fact that like I mentioned earlier in the video,
you can't pick up this device any more directly from Apple,
If you decide to go the refurbished or used route, your initial battery health may vary quite a lot.
So definitely pay attention to battery health if you plan on purchasing this device used.
That being said, mine is at 90% battery health currently and still gets me through the day
no problem with some charge left to spare.
Overall solid battery performance if you take into consideration the age and price of this device.
Now when it comes to the software experience, there's really not much to say about that.
It still supports the latest version of iOS and judging by Apple's previous reputation,
is should be supported for a couple of more years at least.
Like I mentioned in my last video, iPhone 6s that came out back in 2015
still has the latest verion of iOS, that's iOS 15,
So you can expect at least 3 more years of updates
for the XR if not more since iPhones are getting faster and stronger by the year,
and I wouldn't be surprised if iPhone XR was supported 4 or even 5 more years as of 2021.
You're not losing out on software at all if you compare this device to some newer models.
Alrigh, let's talk a bit about packaging and what you get when you pick this phone
up and then we'll jump on some camera tests and samples as well as pricing.
When it comes to packaging, you have 2 different routes you can go with basically.
When it came out in 2018, this phone came with a 5W charger,
USB to lightning connector and earphones in the box.
But since Apple decided to drop, first earphones, and then chargers from their packaging later on,
if you pick up a version of this device that came out, or rather was sold from Apple in 2020,
You will get the slim box with just a USB-C to lightning cable inside.
If I was getting this phone for myself right now, I would probably go with that slim box design,
since the 5W charger that comes with the older version is pretty slow anyway.
And I have like 10 of those sitting around my apartment
somewhere as most of us do for some reason.
So to utilize fast charging that iPhone XR supports, you would have to go
out and buy a fast charger separately anyway.
But by picking up that slim box version,
you know you're getting a device that hasn't been used more than 12-15 months max if not
less than that, and it will probably come with better battery health since it is a bit newer.
Cameras on this device tho?
iPhone XR has just one camera lens on the back.
That's a 12 MP wide lens with an aperture f/1.8
And a 7 MP selfie camera with an aperture f/2.2.
So you get no ultrawide or telephoto on this one.
But that main lens can still push out some great looking photos and video.
You also miss out on night mode, as well as portrait mode on objects.
Portrait mode only works on people, if you try to take a portrait shot of an object,
that's not going to work out for you, I'm sorry.
Basically, if you give it enough light, this camera will do a great job every time.
But as soon as you're in a less than ideal situation when it comes to lighting,
you're going start noticing less sharpness,
video starts to look a bit grainy and all that stuff since it is a smaller sensor on this one.
If you're planning on taking a lot of photos and videos and that's the main
reason you're upgrading your device, you might want to go with something a bit more current.
Even iPhone 11 has significantly better camera capabilities and it's still pretty affordable.
That being said, if you just want to snap a few casual photos and videos
of your friends and family every now and then,
iPhone XR will do a great job in like 98% of cases.
I'll leave a link in the description to my last video on this channel that
was recorded only with the XR's main camera lens top to bottom.
So you can check out the quality for yourself on that one.
Alright, so you can pick up this device refurbished or renewed
on Amazon for around $300 to $350 for 64GB model and $350 to $400 for 128GB,
And for $300, this phone is definitely a great, great deal.
You get a complete iPhone experience with just
a slightly worse screen and less camera options for a fraction of the price.
So if you're planning on picking one up for yourself, definitely go for it.
It's still a great phone full of features and
in my opinion it's going to stay great for at least a few more years.
If you already own a XR and you're thinking of upgrading, well that really depends on your needs.
If cameras are really important to you, you're looking for a better photo,
video setup and a brighter more contrasty display,
You might want to consider upgrading to something like base model iPhone 13 or something like that.
Maybe even the 12 from last year.
But aside from those two things, your experience using this device day to day
won't be as different as with a newer model.
iPhone XR is still a very capable device and it's
definitely gonna last you for a couple of more years no problem.
So you might want to hold on to it for just a bit more until we see what iPhone 14 or even 15 is
going to look like, and then, if there is a bigger more meaningful difference between the models,
then you might want to consider picking up 14 or 15.
I'll leave a couple of different versions of this device from Amazon in the description.
If you want to pick it up for yourself, definitely check out the links down below.
Thank you so much for watching and I will see you in a couple of days hopefully.
Okay.
Bye.