Iphone xs vs. iphone xr

As you already know, Apple has presented the new iPhone XS / XS Max and iPhone Xr, its new flagships. The XS series is presented as the highest-end, with higher benefits and, of course, with a higher price that starts at 1159 and 1259 euros respectively. For its part, the iPhone Xr, has been rated by Tim Cook as "everyone's iPhone" (debatable, I know), with a price that starts at € 859 and that, according to my intuition and that of the experts, It promises to be a complete success, covering more than half of the sales of this new generation of smartphones. But choosing can be difficult, although I am clear, so to give you a hand, we are going to compare the three models.

iPhone Xs and iPhone Xr face to face

iPhone Xr

· Liquid Retina 6'1 ″ LCD screen

1792 × 828 resolution with 326 dpi

True Tone

Unique 12MP wide-angle main camera

7 MP front camera

· Portrait mode with depth control

Smart HDR photos

Bionic A12 processor

· Face ID via TrueDepth sensors

Lightning connector

Fast charge up to 50% in 30 minutes

· Qi-based wireless charging

· IP67 certified for resistance to dust and water at a depth of 1 meter for up to 30 minutes

64GB / 128GB / 256GB

Dual SIM (Nano-SIM and ESim)

LTE Advanced

VoLTE

· 802.11ac Wi-Fi with MIMO

Bluetooth 5.0

Haptic Touch

From € 859

iPhone Xs

· 5.8 ″ Super Retina OLED display

2436 × 1125 resolution with 458 dpi

True Tone

12 megapixel dual main camera (wide-angle and telephoto)

7 MP front camera

· Portrait mode with depth control

Smart HDR photos

Bionic A12 processor

· Face ID via TrueDepth sensors

Lightning connector

Fast charge up to 50% in 30 minutes

· Qi-based wireless charging

· IP68 certified for resistance to dust and water at a depth of 2 meters for up to 30 minutes

64GB / 256GB / 512GB

Dual SIM (Nano-SIM and ESim)

Gigabit class LTE

VoLTE

· 802.11ac Wi-Fi with MIMO

Bluetooth 5.0

· Touch 3D

HDR screen

From € 1159

The iPhone XS Max has a larger 6.5-inch OLED display and one hour more battery life, but otherwise has the same technical specifications as the iPhone XS.

What will you lose if you opt for the iPhone XR?

At a lower price of € 400, the iPhone XR does not have all the features and characteristics of the iPhone XS and XS Max. In the case of the 3D Touch feature, Apple has replaced it with a new haptic feedback solution called Haptic Touch. But let's take a closer look at the big differences.

iPhone XS vs iPhone XR: comparing features

screen

Like the 2017 iPhone X, the iPhone XS has a 5.8-inch screen, while the iPhone XS Max is 6.5 inches. And iPhone XR is between them, with 6.1 inches.

While the iPhone Xs and iPhone Xs Max have OLED displays, the iPhone XR uses an LCD screen as a cost reduction measure. Due to this, it does not reach the "edge to edge" rating, with slightly wider frames than in the Xs.

The LCD screen of the iPhone XR has a resolution of 1792 × 828 pixels or 326 pixels per inch, lower than the 2436 × 1125 resolution of the iPhone XS, with a density of 458 pixels per inch.

Apple has been using LCD screens since the original iPhone, and its screens are generally among the best in the industry, so despite not being OLED, the iPhone XR will provide a high viewing experience that, in practice, little will differ.

As I was saying earlier, Apple has replaced Touch 3D on the iPhone XR with a new haptic feedback solution called Haptic Touch.

Design

The overall design of the iPhone XR is somewhat different from the XS. For example, the iPhone XR has an aluminum frame along the edges, rather than stainless steel.

The back of the iPhone XR is still glass, so it supports Qi-based wireless charging. In that sense, Apple says that the iPhone Xs and XS Max have "improved" wireless charging, so it is possible that these models have 7.5W of charging speed.

iPhone XR is slightly thicker than iPhone XS and iPhone XS Max, 8.3mm vs. 7.7mm.

Beyond the frames, the extra colors, or the rear camera, the Xr is basically an Xs in design, with the notch housing the ID sensors and an almost edge-to-edge screen. It also has the usual lightning connector, speaker grilles, volume switches, etc.

Battery duration

Apple says the iPhone XS lasts up to 30 minutes longer than the iPhone X, while the iPhone XR lasts up to 1.5 hours longer than the iPhone 8 Plus. Those stats are hard to compare, so here's the breakdown:

iPhone Xs (on the left), iPhone Xs Max (in the center), iPhone Xr (on the right)

Despite being the least expensive model, the iPhone XR achieves between two and five hours of autonomy for each charge cycle, depending on the task, compared to the iPhone XS. In fact, the iPhone XR has slightly longer battery life than the iPhone XS Max, which has two hours less use in web browsing.

This is probably due to the fact that the Liquid Retina screen of the iPhone Xr, in addition to being smaller than that of the Xs Max, also consumes less energy than OLED screens, which translates into greater autonomy even when both batteries offer the same capacity, something that is still unknown.

Cameras

All three new iPhones have 12 megapixels on the wide-angle lens however the Xs and Xs Max models offer a dual camera setup that adds a 12MP telephoto lens, while the XR has the single lens.

This means that the iPhone XR lacks 2x optical zoom, the digital zoom is limited to 5x vs. 10x on the XS and XS Max.

Despite having a single rear camera, the iPhone XR allows you to automatically adjust the depth of field or the bokeh effect in the background of photos, and it also has smart HDR.

All three new iPhones have a 7 megapixel TrueDepth front camera and they all offer the same Portrait effects: Daylight, Studio Light, Contour Light, Stage Light and Mono Stage Light

Storage

IPhone Xs and Xs Max is available in 64GB, 256GB, and 512GB. The iPhone XR comes with 64GB, 128GB, and 256GB.

Colors

The iPhone Xs and Xs Max is available in silver, space gray, and gold, while the iPhone XR is offered in a wide variety of finishes, including Blue, White, Black, Yellow, Coral, and (PRODUCT) RED.

Prices

As we already anticipated at the beginning, the iPhone Xr starts at € 859, representing a saving of 300 euros compared to the iPhone Xs of similar capacity, 64GB, which starts at € 1159, and a saving of € 400 compared to the iPhone Xs Ma x 64GB, whose starting price has been set at € 1, 259.

So should you buy an iPhone Xs or an iPhone Xr?

The truth is that I already answered this question here, however, it is only a personal opinion, my opinion, my decision. In the end, this decision will not depend on anyone but you.

The variety of colors, the greater autonomy of the battery, and its much more attractive price, have led me to opt without hesitation for the iPhone Xr 128GB, blue or coral, I am still not clear, but I "need" to abandon it. Once for all the classic finishes. But if you use the iPhone as a "professional" camera, you should probably go for an Xs model, and scratch your pocket more. If you feel like it, tell us your decision.