Camera: Latest Updates Give iPhone 11 The Edge
Both phones have a 12-megapixel camera, but the iPhone 11 has a second, 12-megapixel ultrawide camera and a new Night Mode for low-light photography. All in all, outdoor and well-lit photos on both devices look similarly vibrant, with consistent and bright coloring on both cameras.
However, the iPhone 11 did take notably sharper photos with finer details, especially when pictures were viewed at full resolution. It also did a better job brightening up night time and dim photos with its new mode. The second ultrawide camera is useful when you want to fit more content into each frame or you want to capture more expansive scenes too. Its flash is a tad brighter as well, though we rarely use the feature. Lastly, we like that we can now take portrait photos of pets on the iPhone 11 . The iPhone 11 also makes use of a feature called Deep Fusion, which further improves detail and reduces image noise in photos.
Processor And Battery Life
Another aspect where the iPhone 11 excels against the iPhone XR is its processor. Instead of the iPhone XRs A12 Bionic -chip, the iPhone 11 contains a more advanced A13 Bionic -processor, making it faster and more powerful. The iPhone XRs A12 Bionic -processor is still well capable of providing a fast user experience, even for playing games and using augmented reality.
Both phones have a long-lasting battery life, although the iPhone 11s battery lasts a bit longer than that of the XR. Regardless of your choice, both the iPhone 11 and XR will last you throughout the day with a single charge. Both phones also support wireless charging as well as fast charging, getting you from 0% to 50% battery capacity in just half an hour.
Apple iPhone 11 Vs iPhone Xr: Which Older iPhone To Buy
It may not be current-gen anymore, but the iPhone 11 remains a great smartphone. A follow-up to 2018s iPhone XR, the iPhone 11 takes a winning formula, adds an extra camera lens, and ups the processing power on offer. Its a fantastic iPhone, and with a price tag of $499, its a more tempting prospect for most than the $999 iPhone 13 Pro.
- Overall winner: Apple iPhone 11
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But the iPhone XR can still be found, and its still excellent. Its also seen a price cut in the years since its launch, and the powerful and attractive iPhone XR is a great choice if youre looking for a cheaper iPhone. But theres only room for one of them in your pocket. Which of these two iPhones should you be exchanging your dollars for? We took a look at the two head-to-head to find out whether you should buy the iPhone 11 or the iPhone XR.
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iPhone 13 Vs iPhone 1: Battery And Charging
The iPhone 11 lasted a great 11 hours and 16 minutes on our web surfing battery test, but that’s over 4G. 5G connections tend to use more power. The 5G-enabled iPhone 13 lasted 10 hours and 33 minutes, which is a big improvement over the 8:25 from the iPhone 12.
The iPhone 11 and iPhone 13 both support 20W charging, which gets you to 50% in 30 minutes. We’d like to see faster charging.
Design: Nearly Identical And Still As Durable
The iPhone 11 and XR look nearly identical — the quickest way to identify them is by the iPhone 11’s extra camera and square bump. But besides that and the different color choices , there are no obvious differences. They are the same size and weigh the same, and the phones have the same 6.1-inch LCD display with the same resolution and pixel density.
Besides the number of rear cameras they have, the iPhone 11 and XR look similar.
We performed a series of drop tests on the iPhone 11 and XR, and both phones are quite sturdy. We dropped the iPhone 11 on its front and back on smooth concrete from 3 feet, 6 feet and 8 feet, 7 inches. On all drops, the phone’s back glass and screen didn’t crack. There was a small, cosmetic scratch above the camera lens from 8 feet, but the camera lens was completely fine.
Read more: Best iPhone 11, 11 Pro and 11 Pro Max cases you can get now
When we dropped the iPhone XR back in 2018, we dropped it on a concrete sidewalk. At waist height , the phone’s camera glass cracked, but the back glass survived. The screen also was unscathed. At eye-level , the iPhone XR survived a fall on its back with no new damage, but when we dropped it on its screen, the display ultimately cracked. Though that was unfortunate, the fact that the iPhone XR survived waist-high drops was still good.
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Power: The iPhone 11 Runs On Apple’s New A13 Chip While The iPhone Xr Runs On Last Year’s A12 Chip The A12 Might Be Older But It’s No Slouch
The iPhone XR runs on Apple’s 2018 A12 chip with 3 GB of RAM, while the iPhone 11 runs on 2019’s A13 chip with 4 GB of RAM.
It’s tough to gauge the difference that the iPhone 11’s specs will make. New iPhones are always more powerful and faster than older iPhones, but the performance gap between the old and new is narrowing more and more every year.
iPhone Xr Vs iPhone 1: Camera And Battery
Where both devices really start to differentiate themselves is in both camera and battery.
The iPhone XR offers a perfectly decent 12MP wide camera, but the iPhone 11 adds a second lens for Ultra Wide shots. It also adds “Night Mode” for taking pictures in low-light scenarios, as well as a brighter true-tone flash.
The iPhone 11 has a 12MP camera on the front, too, while the iPhone XR only offers 7MP. Both offer portrait mode, but the iPhone 11 adds Stage, Stage Mono, and High-Key Mono options to the Natural, Studio and Contour images you can take on the XR.
If you want to take videos with your front camera, only the iPhone 11’s offers 4K video at 24, 30, or 60 fps, while it also supports slo-mo. Thankfully, the rear cameras are essentially the same, save for the iPhone 11’s ability to take extended dynamic range videos at 60 fps rather than 30.
When it comes to battery life, the iPhone 11 is, again, the winner – albeit only just, according to Apple’s benchmarks. It only offers an extra hour of video playback on top of the iPhone XR’s already impressive battery life, but given the difference between making it home to charge your phone and potentially being stranded without it, we’d opt for that extra hour as a safety net, if nothing else.
We’ve also found it to actually last even longer in real-world testing.
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Plot Twist: iPhone Xr Cases Do Not Fit The iPhone 11
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Because the iPhone XR and iPhone 11 are exactly the same size, youd assume that iPhone XR cases would work on the iPhone 11, right?
Well, youd be wrong. iPhone XR cases DO NOT fit the iPhone 11. And the reason? Its to do with the iPhone 11s camera module its bigger and requires a larger cut-out in the case.
The iPhone 11 uses Dual 12 MP Ultra Wide and Wide cameras, while the iPhone XR runs a single-lens 12MP camera. The iPhone 11s camera module takes up a lot more room than the XRs, and this is why your iPhone XR case will not fit an iPhone 11.
This means if youre switching from the iPhone XR to the iPhone 11, youll have to buy a new case. This sucks, I know. But it is pretty much par for the course with Apples iPhones.
Case in point: iPhone 12 cases DO NOT work on iPhone 13 models, and vice versa. And, again, it is all down to that pesky camera module.
However, you do get to buy a new, shiny case for your phone. And that can be exciting too especially if you get a really unique one that no one else has like a limited edition number from CASETIFY, it does so many cool iPhone cases you can literally spend hours browsing its site.
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What’s The Same With The iPhone 11
From the front, the iPhone 11 could be mistaken for an XR. These are some other elements of the new phone that take cues from last year’s model.
Display and Size: The iPhone 11 is 6.1 inches, which is the same size as the XR. The iPhone 11 uses the same Liquid Retina display as the XR, too.
Battery Life: The iPhone XR already featured the best battery life on any iPhone, lasting nearly 11.5 hours on our battery test. The iPhone 11 promised to improve things even further, though, with Apple saying you can expect an hour improvement over the iPhone XR. Except our Tom’s Guide battery test exhausted the iPhone 11 after 11 hours and 20 minutes. That’s nearly the same as how the iPhone XR performed on our battery test in 2018.
Charging: There are no changes on the iPhone 11’s charging front. You’ll still charge your phone with your Lightning cable. While the iPhone 11 Pro comes with a fast charger in its box, you’ll still need to buy that accessory separately for the iPhone 11, just as you did for the iPhone XR.
Storage Capacity: The iPhone 11 storage capacities are the the same as the iPhone XR’s. You can get an iPhone 11 with 64GB, 128GB, or 256GB.
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Reasons To Get An iPhone Xr
Last year the XR also sacrificed a few premium features for a lower price tag. It’s still one of the fastest smartphones on the market and it’s now available for a discount price.
- The same 6.1″ Liquid Retina HD display as the iPhone 11
- Same glass and aluminum design in the same physical dimensions as iPhone 11 too
- Shoots Smart HDR photos and 4K video
- Water and dust resistant
- Comes in a selection of six colours
- Costs $180 less than the iPhone 11
- Upgrade to 128GB and still save more than $100 compared to the base model iPhone 11
Apple iPhone 11 Vs Apple iPhone Xr Vs Xiaomi Mi 11 Ultra Comparison By Specification Camera Battery Price
Compare Apple iPhone 11 vs Apple iPhone XR Differences including the Price, Camera, Display, Performance, Ram, Storage, Battery, Operating System, Network Connectivity, Multimedia Warranty Critic Rating, User Rating and more.
| Specifications | |
|---|---|
| 12 MP + 12 MP And 12 MP | 12 MP And 7 MP |
| OS |
- Add gadget to compareSelect Mobiles
- Add gadget to compareSelect Mobiles
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iPhone 11 Vs iPhone Xr: Which Is The Best iPhone
Apples iPhone 11 has updated features and costs more than 2018s iPhone XR. Find out if it’s worth the extra cash.
Lynn La
Senior Editor / Reviews – Phones
Lynn La covers mobile reviews and news. She previously wrote for The Sacramento Bee, Macworld and The Global Post.
Lexy Savvides
Principal Video Producer
Lexy is an on-air presenter and award-winning producer who covers consumer tech, including the latest smartphones, wearables and emerging trends like assistive robotics. She’s won two Gold Telly Awards for her video series Beta Test. Prior to her career at CNET, she was a magazine editor, radio announcer and DJ. Lexy is based in San Francisco.
TheiPhone 12 may be Apple’s latest iPhone, but there are still plenty of reasons to consider Apple’s older phones like the iPhone 11 and iPhone XR, especially if price is your primary consideration. We’re comparing the iPhone 11, which starts at $599, with 2018’s iPhone XR, currently available for $499, to see which phone is the better buy today.
Don’t forget there’s even the $399 2020 iPhone SE, to cater to the most cost-conscious iPhone buyer.
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There Are No 5g iPhones
Most major makers of Android phones have either released a 5G phone, or are planning to do so in the near future. Apple did not even mention the term 5G in its iPhone launch. This was no huge surprise. We have known for some time the first 5G iPhone will likely arrive in 2020, not 2019.
5G is not actually a particularly compelling prospect for most of us right now. You have to pay more for the contracts and most dont come with quite enough data to justify the extra speed. 5G is only available in a handful of UK cities. And we find 5G coverage to be very patchy, and speeds highly variable, even in the centre of London.
Nevertheless, upgrading to a 4G iPhone 11 may not be the wisest idea if you tend to buy one very high-end phone every 3-5 years. 5G will seem pretty mainstream in 2020-2021. Phone networks will do their best to make sure that happens too, as the infrastructure spend involved in 5G is huge.
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iPhone Se Vs iPhone 11 Vs iPhone Xr: Screen
The iPhone SE has the smallest screen here at 4.7 inches, which is a huge size difference compared to the 6.1-inch screens on both the iPhone XR and iPhone 11.
The display resolution is 750×1334, which is 326 pixels per inch. This resolution isn’t very high, but because the phone is small, it’s perfectly sharp and clear.
If you find the screen a little small to read on, you can easily increase the size of text on iPhones, so it shouldn’t be a problem.
The iPhone XR and iPhone 11 have identical screens, both at 6.1 inches as mentioned above, and both have a resolution of 828×1792, which again is 326 pixels per inch, so they also look sharp and clear.
Apart from size, the screens on all three phone are essentially identical. They all include support for the P3 wide-colour gamut , and they all offer a 1,400:1 typical contrast ratio and peak brightness of around 625 nits. Which is a technical way of saying that they’re all equally good, and are bright and colourful enough to make photos, videos and everything else look great.
There is one more feature they all share, which is the most important thing in our books: True Tone. This is an Apple feature that shifts the colour balance of the screen to match the lighting of the room you’re in, making your phone screen much easier on the eyes when reading in the evening. Once you’ve tried this feature, it’s hard to go back from we’re really pleased to see it’s made it to the cheaper iPhone SE as well as the more expensive models.
Personal Smartphones Premium Features
Although released in different years, both devices share one purpose put the most powerful iPhone features in a smartphone priced for the personal smartphone market. Not everyone conducts their business on their smartphones, but they can still have premium hardware if they buy an iPhone XR or iPhone 11.
Now that the iPhone XR is a year old, it’s been discounted and priced below the iPhone 11. However, it’s still one of the most powerful and feature-rich smartphones in 2019. Perhaps best of all, buying either the iPhone XR or iPhone 11 will include Apple TV+ for one year for free .
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iPhone 11 Vs iPhone Xr: The Best Personal iPhone In Canada
Article Summary
The iPhone 11 has replaced the iPhone XR as the best Apple smartphone for personal use. However, prices start near $1,000 so Apple is keeping the XR on the market at a discounted price. It’s still a pretty powerful and feature-rich phone so we break down what they have in common, what makes them different, and how to pick the best iPhone for you.
The newest iPhone has launched with a new naming scheme. The best new iPhone for personal use is the iPhone 11 with two spectacular 12MP rear-facing cameras, a speedy new A13 Bionic processor and sharp 6.1″ LCD screen. The iPhone 11 Pro and iPhone 11 Pro Max add a third camera and spectacular OLED display, and is aimed at content creators and professionals who rely on their smartphone to get work done.
Last year Apple introduced the iPhone XR under similar circumstances offering the fastest hardware, giant screen, and low price for Apple-faithful who want the newest thing without breaking the bank. While Apple is letting the premium iPhone XS ride off into the sunset, the iPhone XR will stick around for at least another year. The starting price in Canada for the iPhone XR is $180 less than the iPhone 11. By Apple’s own admission during this year’s launch event, the year-old A12 Bionic CPU is still one of the fastest smartphone chips on the market.
So, should you go with the popular iPhone XR or this year’s hot new iPhone 11?
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