iPhone XR - a month later

So, having used the iPhone X, iPhone 8 Plus and more recently the iPhone Xs Max, I bought the Xr during the 11.11 sale and have been using it for a month now while I've passed my XS Max to my wife. I've read all the unfavourable reviews of the Xr, watched all the YouTube videos condemning its "low resolution" LCD screen and single camera lens for a phone that cost an upward of RM3k, and almost everyone asked why would I bother to "downgrade" from the Xs Max to the Xr but I decided to go ahead and buy the Xr anyway. That, and also the fact that there was another round of Qoo10 discount during that time, hahaha.

Anyway, a month later, I can tell you guys without a shadow of doubt that I'm glad I bought the Xr and have no regrets whatsoever.

So here's what I liked: -

- Design wise, the Xr is a great balance between screen size and physical dimensions. Some have found the X to be a little too small and the Xs Max to be a little too big and bulky, and the Xr is a great fit in between. That said, it isn't single-handed-operation friendly as the iPhone X but it's not terribly clumsy like the Xs Max. I found it to be the right size and weight. Oh, and you get to choose some real funky colours like Coral, Blue or Yellow which is a nice alternative in the world of Space Grey, Gold and Silver that we were all used to. I chose the Red one coz I thought it looked striking and sexy - and also I asked my wife to pick in case she wanted to inherit it when I'm done with it, as it is with most of my iPhones

- The battery life is fantastic. Based on my usage patterns, it easily tops my experience with the X, Xs Max and even the 8 Plus. Whether it's because of the "low res" LCD screen or whatever other compromises Apple made in the Xr, they more than made up for it by giving it the best battery life in an iPhone so far (well, for me, at least). In a 24 hour period, I can easily achieve more than 4 hours of screen time with still more than 50% battery capacity remaining.

- The Xr's 128GB storage configuration is also the ideal storage size in my opinion. 64GB may be cutting it a little close if you intend to use the phone for more than 2 years and 256GB can seem like overkill. 512GB? Let's not go there.

- I think I don't have to go into the part about performance, as it is essentially using the same A12 Bionic chip on the Xs Max. That 1GB less in RAM vs the Xs Max is also insignificant to be honest, I've not experienced any lags and what not thus far.

- It has the same great speakers as the Xs Max, which I really dig

The none issues for me (but could be important for some people): -

- The screen. I think we've discussed this ad nauseam so I won't dwell too long into it but for me personally, I can't notice any difference between this and the X or Xs Max even when I place them side by side playing the same content. Some people have eagle eyes and can spot 1080p vs 720p but I can't. Maybe I'm old, hahaha. I also cannot appreciate having an OLED screen vs an LCD screen on my iPhones and that's simply because Apple makes one of the best LCDs in town. Colour reproduction is accurate and life-like.

- There were some comments about the ugly and thick bezels around the LCD of the Xr. Bezels? Seriously? If you've used any iPhone prior to the X then you would know what bezels really are. The ones on the Xr are nothing

- 1m of water resistance vs 2m of water resistance. Really?

Where I do think the iPhone Xr loses out: -

- The camera. Don't get me wrong though, the iPhone Xr still has a great camera and takes excellent photos. You can search in /K for the shots taken by our bro Benefon when he was on vacation in Japan. Those were some really, really excellent photos and the Xr is capable of all that! And I don't miss the telephoto lens as well. But where I do find the Xr's camera lacking vs the Xs Max or even the X for that matter is the Portrait mode. That's to be expected as that's the other function of the dual cameras which the Xr is lacking and instead it relies on software for the portrait mode which is still fine and usable in most cases, but if you're really into portrait shots, you'll notice it instantly. Also, because it relies heavily on software, you won't be able to use portrait mode on none-human subjects on the Xr. That's something to take note of if you're into that.

- When Apple first introduced 3D Touch on the 6S, I thought it was a useless feature and wouldn't use it that much and when I moved the the Xr, I thought I wouldn't miss it. But lo and behold, I do sometimes try 3D touching my Xr and then go "Aww, shucks - it doesn't have that!". So human of us to only appreciate something once it's no longer there

So all in all, I'm very happy with the Xr and I agree with most reviewers - it's the best value to performance for an iPhone in the market right now (note that I said iPhone and not phone).

And terima kasih if you took the time to read this whole post!

Lol, I didn’t find anything disliked from the XR.
Single lens is work great than dual lens.
From the XS Max secondary lens not as sharp as the XR.
If the XR come with USB Type C it’s prefectly phone. 😍😍

iPhone XR - a month later

So, having used the iPhone X, iPhone 8 Plus and more recently the iPhone Xs Max, I bought the Xr during the 11.11 sale and have been using it for a month now while I've passed my XS Max to my wife. I've read all the unfavourable reviews of the Xr, watched all the YouTube videos condemning its "low resolution" LCD screen and single camera lens for a phone that cost an upward of RM3k, and almost everyone asked why would I bother to "downgrade" from the Xs Max to the Xr but I decided to go ahead and buy the Xr anyway. That, and also the fact that there was another round of Qoo10 discount during that time, hahaha.

Anyway, a month later, I can tell you guys without a shadow of doubt that I'm glad I bought the Xr and have no regrets whatsoever.

So here's what I liked: -

- Design wise, the Xr is a great balance between screen size and physical dimensions. Some have found the X to be a little too small and the Xs Max to be a little too big and bulky, and the Xr is a great fit in between. That said, it isn't single-handed-operation friendly as the iPhone X but it's not terribly clumsy like the Xs Max. I found it to be the right size and weight. Oh, and you get to choose some real funky colours like Coral, Blue or Yellow which is a nice alternative in the world of Space Grey, Gold and Silver that we were all used to. I chose the Red one coz I thought it looked striking and sexy - and also I asked my wife to pick in case she wanted to inherit it when I'm done with it, as it is with most of my iPhones

- The battery life is fantastic. Based on my usage patterns, it easily tops my experience with the X, Xs Max and even the 8 Plus. Whether it's because of the "low res" LCD screen or whatever other compromises Apple made in the Xr, they more than made up for it by giving it the best battery life in an iPhone so far (well, for me, at least). In a 24 hour period, I can easily achieve more than 4 hours of screen time with still more than 50% battery capacity remaining.

- The Xr's 128GB storage configuration is also the ideal storage size in my opinion. 64GB may be cutting it a little close if you intend to use the phone for more than 2 years and 256GB can seem like overkill. 512GB? Let's not go there.

- I think I don't have to go into the part about performance, as it is essentially using the same A12 Bionic chip on the Xs Max. That 1GB less in RAM vs the Xs Max is also insignificant to be honest, I've not experienced any lags and what not thus far.

- It has the same great speakers as the Xs Max, which I really dig

The none issues for me (but could be important for some people): -

- The screen. I think we've discussed this ad nauseam so I won't dwell too long into it but for me personally, I can't notice any difference between this and the X or Xs Max even when I place them side by side playing the same content. Some people have eagle eyes and can spot 1080p vs 720p but I can't. Maybe I'm old, hahaha. I also cannot appreciate having an OLED screen vs an LCD screen on my iPhones and that's simply because Apple makes one of the best LCDs in town. Colour reproduction is accurate and life-like.

- There were some comments about the ugly and thick bezels around the LCD of the Xr. Bezels? Seriously? If you've used any iPhone prior to the X then you would know what bezels really are. The ones on the Xr are nothing

- 1m of water resistance vs 2m of water resistance. Really?

Where I do think the iPhone Xr loses out: -

- The camera. Don't get me wrong though, the iPhone Xr still has a great camera and takes excellent photos. You can search in /K for the shots taken by our bro Benefon when he was on vacation in Japan. Those were some really, really excellent photos and the Xr is capable of all that! And I don't miss the telephoto lens as well. But where I do find the Xr's camera lacking vs the Xs Max or even the X for that matter is the Portrait mode. That's to be expected as that's the other function of the dual cameras which the Xr is lacking and instead it relies on software for the portrait mode which is still fine and usable in most cases, but if you're really into portrait shots, you'll notice it instantly. Also, because it relies heavily on software, you won't be able to use portrait mode on none-human subjects on the Xr. That's something to take note of if you're into that.

- When Apple first introduced 3D Touch on the 6S, I thought it was a useless feature and wouldn't use it that much and when I moved the the Xr, I thought I wouldn't miss it. But lo and behold, I do sometimes try 3D touching my Xr and then go "Aww, shucks - it doesn't have that!". So human of us to only appreciate something once it's no longer there

So all in all, I'm very happy with the Xr and I agree with most reviewers - it's the best value to performance for an iPhone in the market right now (note that I said iPhone and not phone).

And terima kasih if you took the time to read this whole post!

I assuming you are saying lightning to usb c?

Type C charging port same as android phone 🤭

People will still complain even if xr is having the exact same spec with xs or even the max. Lower resolution from a LCD? I have my big screen tv for my video viewing time. Bezel? Do you look at your screen or the bezels?

XR would be perfect 11/10 if the phone width is abit lesser, somewhere to the point i can grip and type it one handed

but its a damn good phone, i now understand why apple will never release a 5.8" XR, it WILL cannibalise the XS so much

Triple lens, fingerprint anywhere on touchscreen, OLED, 5G
Price stay the same.

Ah geram after reading your feedback, now i feel regret buying Xs during 12.12 sale, just because there is no good deal on dual sim XR can be found inany platform! T&L somehow lazy to sell good discount during that sale haha.

Very well said my friend... so will you change back to XS Max? or stick with XR

so tempted to try on apple. currently using note 9. after my gf bought a  ipx. im even tempted after that. hahahah

You might struggle with the initial change and many android users I know especially from the Samsung Note series have issues trying to switch into Apple. At the end of the day, these are but devices that help us be more productive (or less). Choose the one that best assists you.

People will still complain even if xr is having the exact same spec with xs or even the max. Lower resolution from a LCD? I have my big screen tv for my video viewing time. Bezel? Do you look at your screen or the bezels?

dont worry. i guess i am able to adapt to changes. ill just have to play my gfs ipx for many times and probably will get a hang of it hahaha

From experience, Android users moving to iOS will either appreciate and like it, or totally detest it and can’t wait to switch back. Let’s see which category you’ll fall into

yeahh. will see and i read that you got an xr 128gb for 3.2k? thats a superb deal!!!

Yup, actually I got it at 3.1k. It was listed at Qoo10 for 3588, deduct 400 coupon = 3188 and used ShopBack for another 100 rebate. So nett at 3088

Kinda lucky to get the Red one coz that was the first colour to sell out!

Not everyone have big screen TV at home ma.... a lot here are students and unfortunately they do watch movie on iPhone

For me, i never watch a single movie on iPhone. Even for YouTube i stream it to my big ass TV in the hall using google chromecast.

Nowadays a 4K tv cost less than a phone, and I won't underestimate the spending power from students. Their pocket money can be higher than certain working adults