How To Make Your iPhone Xr Display Even Better
The iPhone XR display isnt as good as the one found on the XS or the iPhone X but its not too shabby. The iPhone XR features a 6.1in Liquid Retina HD LCD screen with a resolution of 1792×828 pixels and a pixel-per-inch density of 326. And while most consumers think the iPhone XR display looks better than higher-resolution displays found in some Android phones, there are things you can still do to make your iPhone XRs display look even better, which weve detailed in full below
Water And Dust Resistance
The iPhone XR is IP67 water and dust resistant, which means that it is impervious to dust and can withstand immersion in water up to one meter deep for 30 minutes in laboratory conditions.
Though the iPhone XR can withstand splashes, rain, and brief accidental water exposure, intentional water exposure should be avoided. Apple warns that water and dust resistance are not permanent conditions and could decrease as a result of normal wear.
Apple’s warranty also does not cover any kind of water damage to iOS devices, so it’s best to use caution when exposing the iPhone XR to liquids.
Great Performance And Ios 12 Is Fluid
The iPhone XR is powered by the same chipset inside its more expensive siblings, the A12 Bionic, though it comes with less RAM . Weve yet to see it run into performance issues. The processor makes iOS 12 fluid to operate, and had no problem swiftly swapping through multiple apps. Games like Altos Odyssey and Tekken, as well as ARKit 2.0 games like AR Robot, run flawlessly.
- Geekbench 4 CPU: 4,703 single-core 11,065 multi-core
In Geekbench 4, the iPhone XR rightly scores just under the iPhone XS and XS Max, but its faster than any Android smartphone weve tested to date. This phone can tackle almost anything you throw at it.
This is a phone youll want to flaunt.
Weve taken a close look at iOS 12, but the iPhone XR is the first time Apple is bringing several new features that debuted on the iPhone X to a lower price point. For example, you can create Animojis or Memojis in iMessage thanks to the TrueDepth camera. Theres no home button, so you will need to get used to the gesture navigation system, which is among the best available on a phone.
Check out our iOS 12 guide to read up on all the new features introduced in the latest version.
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Does The iPhone Xr Have A New Display
Yes and no. It’s still an LCD panel, unlike the iPhone XS, which uses and OLED screen. LCD is still the standard display technology in the mainstream iPhone lineup. But for the first time, Apple has made an LCD display that covers the entire front of the device, and Apple calls it the Liquid Retina display. That means saying goodbye to the iPhone’s “chin and forehead” look that had become associated with it.
It’s also the second-largest iPhone that Apple has produced by screen size. Sitting in between the iPhone XS and iPhone XS Max , the iPhone XR features a 6.1-inch display with a resolution of 1792×828, with a pixel density of 326ppi.
Whats It Like To Use And Hows The Battery Life
If youve used an iPhone X in the past year, many of the familiar features are front and present, from the notch housing the front-facing TrueDepth camera and Face ID facial recognition to Animoji animated characters and lack of home button. It comes with latest software iOS 12, which is 40 per cent faster than its predecessor and is slick, intuitive and simple to use.
The new A12 bionic chip is a big step up from the previous A11 processor, making switching between apps and playing games incredibly fast, but perhaps the biggest triumph is the iPhone XRs battery life. The new processor, paired with the lower-intensity LCD screen, resulted consistently in 15-16 hours of battery under standard usage .
This was considerably longer than the 12 hours I averaged on the iPhone XS Max, which I suspect is down to differences in powering the OLED display. Battery life is an incredibly important aspect when considering buying a smartphone these days, and the iPhone XR pleasantly surprised me with how efficient it was.
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Con: Lack Of 3d Touch
The iPhone XR has Haptic Touch rather than 3D Touch. What makes 3D Touch superior is that you can use it to press down on app icons to activate Quick Actions such as Take Selfie, on the Camera app. And Quick Actions can also be used on the Notification Center. 3D Touch also has a feature called Peek and Pop, which allows you to preview menu options and activate certain actions quickly.
Devices that have 3D Touch also support a feature called Live Wallpapers. This allows you to push down on your wallpaper to animate it assuming that it is a Live Photo.
Apple attempts to compensate with the Haptic Touch support on the iPhone XR by offering some Quick Action options on certain apps. But it is slower and Peek and Pop does not work. Live Wallpapers do not work on the iPhone XR also.
How To Create A Memoji
To create your own Memoji that looks just like you, swipe over to the left and tap the + button.
This begins the creation process, and you can get surprisingly detailed, thanks to all of the different options that Apple has provided.
Where it says Skin, you can scroll to the right to move onto the next section of the creation process.
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Loop Your Live Photos
By default, iPhones save little moments of animation from before and after a picture is actually taken, putting them together to create a Live Photo. To edit one of these Live Photos, open it in the iOS Photos app and swipe up on it. Youll see a variety of different effects you can addincluding Loop, an option that will instantly transform your Live Photo into a short, repeating video clip.
iPhone Xr Haptic Touch
Apple has deployed several different types of pressure sensitivity over the years. There are the electrodes circling the display of Apple Watch, the quad corner sensors of the MacBooks, the Pencil tip that transmits to iPad Pro, and the deformation of the glass as measured by the LED backlight on older LCD iPhones.
Though iPhone XR is LCD, like iPhones 6s through 8, Apple hasn’t brought over their 3D Touch implementation at all.
My best guess is that spreading out the LCD corner-to-corner, and the new backlight Apple had to use to make it possible, precluded the traditional 3D touch.
So, instead of that or a potentially more expensive touch layer, Apple has come up with something new, if much less pervasive: Haptic Touch.
When and where it works, it feels enough like 3D Touch that I sometimes find myself forgetting it’s not 3D Touch. Until I try to use 3D Touch in other places which I’ve gotten used to using fairly often over the last few years. Yeah, I’m the one. You’re welcome.
It uses a system closer to the MacBook Trackpad, but with the Taptic Engine that still makes most competing haptics seem totally crude by comparison, but it only works on the Lock screen icons for Flashlight and Camera, the Control Center icons that spring up additional options, and the keyboard when you long-press the space bar to switch to trackpad mode.
It’s probably fine for most people but, for anyone like me who uses 3D Touch a lot, Haptic Touch will end up being more of a Taptic tease.
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The iPhone Xr Is Good Which Means Choosing An iPhone Right Now Is Confusing As Hell
The XR is an iPhone under $1,000, with the features of an iPhone over $1,000.
The iPhone XR is an iPhone designed for normals. It has the best battery life of any iPhone, takes Portrait Mode pics, includes a giant, almost edge-to-edge screen, can be charged wirelessly, and uses Face ID facial recognition tech, just like Apples more expensive phones.
The XRs best feature is that its an iPhone under $1,000, with the features of an iPhone over $1,000.
The XR pronounced Ten R isnt without its faults. The thing feels big, thick, and heavy compared to Apples other, ultra-svelte phones. Occasionally, the phones lower-resolution LCD display, compared to the high-contrast OLED in last years iPhone X, and lack of a telephoto lens were noticeable. It also doesnt have 3D Touchenabled peek and pop, a feature included in every iPhone since the 6S in 2015. Without it, I missed being able to preview web links and having a shortcut to call one of my favorite contacts from the homescreen.
But so far, after five days of reviewing the device, the biggest problem with the iPhone XR is that its mostly good which makes picking an iPhone in 2018 more confusing than ever.
iPhone Xr Cost And Value For Money
The current iPhone lineup looks like this:
- iPhone XR $750
- iPhone XS $1,000
- iPhone XS Max $1,100
So, does the $250 saving make the iPhone XR a good deal? On paper, you get a less impressive screen, less impressive cameras, better battery life, the same processor, and a range of colors. And, to be honest, it looks like Apple might have got the pricing right.
While the news that Apple is selling less phones than ever might suggest that the XR is a sales flop, in reality, the decline in shipments is due to people holding onto older iPhones for longer, rather than simply avoiding the XR.
Buy one for $750 and youll certainly be getting a good phone. However, one of the conundrums with the XR is that, as soon as you see an XS, youll almost certainly feel that you made the wrong decision.
That inevitable feeling of regret largely comes from the screen. Side-by-side, you can see that the XRs just isnt as good. Youll be able to see that the LCD screen, no matter how Apple tries to spin it, is past its sell-by date.
But what if we examine the XR away from other iPhones? Does it do enough to justify its price tag in relation to similarly-priced phones?
Its a nice-looking phone with a blistering processor, decent cameras, and solid battery life. The screen is fine, but doesnt match its competitors with OLED screens.
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Why Does Apple Still Sell The $499 iPhone Xr
I dont think Im alone in admitting that I never buy the latest iPhone unless something catastrophic happens to the model I own. For example, I somehow was able to stretch using an iPhone 6S until just a few months ago, when my food photos and DJ practice videos succumbed to the dreaded Error 14, which prevented my iPhone from booting at all. I had two choices: Buy a new iPhone or pay a data specialist in Northern California $1,000 to get my videos back.
So I opted for a new iPhone 12 mini for my small hands. But if I wanted a larger phone, I might have considered grabbing an iPhone XR instead. Available for $499 , the model received high marks when it was released, and its still pretty great three years later. As we wrote at the time, When you take everything into considerationprice, design, storage, camera, battery life, and performancethe iPhone XR might be the best iPhone Apple has ever made, even if its not technically the most advanced. Of course, the XR is no longer Apples best phoneand in fact, has a slightly slower processor than the $399 iPhone SEbut its plenty capable.
| iPhone XR | |||
| 5.94 x 2.98 x 0.33 inches | 5.18 x 2.53 x 0.29 inches | 5.45 x 2.65 x 0.29 inches | |
| Display | 6.1-inch Liquid Retina HD LCD | 5.4-inch Super Retina XDR OLED | 4.7-inch widescreen LCD |
| Dual 12MP Ultra Wide and Wide | 12MP Wide camera | ||
| Up to 16 hours | Up to 15 hours | Up to 13 hours | |
| Colors | Black, White, Red, Yellow, Coral, Blue | Black, White, Red, Green, Blue, Purple | Black, White, Red |
Michael Simon
iPad & iPhone Control Center Icons
Access the Control Center by swiping up from the bottom of your screen if you have an iPhone 8 or earlier, or down from the upper right corner of your screen if you have an iPhone without a Home button. Some of the icons in the Control Center are the same for every iPhone, but the icons at the bottom of the Control Center are determined by how you choose to customize your Control Center. You can add or take away Low Power Mode, the Flashlight, the Calculator, Voice Memos, and more.
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Additional Steps Depending On The Situation
Depending on where you drop your iPhone, there can be other issues that require attention. Lets take a case-by-case look at three common scenarios:
I Dropped My iPhone In The Toilet!
Dropping your iPhone in a toilet adds another factor to the situation: bacteria. In addition to following the steps above, we suggest wearing latex gloves while you handle your iPhone. Remember to disinfect your hands afterwards too!
When I was at Apple, I remember one situation where someone handed me a phone, smiled, and said, I dropped it in the toilet!
I replied, You didnt think to tell me this before you handed me your phone?
I wiped it off! she said unapologetically.
If you bring your iPhone into an Apple Store or local repair shop after dropping it in the toilet, please be sure to tell the technician that its a toilet phone before you hand it to them. Id suggest putting it in a ziplock bag for transport. David Payette
I Dropped My iPhone In The Sink!
If you dropped your iPhone in the sink, soap and food scraps can cause additional problems for your iPhone. Even if your iPhone is water-resistant, it isnt soap-resistant.
Apple recommends rinsing your iPhone off with tap water if its exposed to any other liquid.
Your iPhone also isnt food-resistant. Any scraps of food in your sink could potentially get lodged into the ports of your iPhone. If you see any scraps of food inside your iPhones ports, scrape them out using an anti-static brush or brand new toothbrush.
Processor And Battery Life
When comparing the iPhone X and XRs processing power and battery life, the iPhone XR wins without a doubt. Whereas the iPhone X is packed with the A11 Bionic -chip, the iPhone XR is powered with an A12 Bionic -processor. This makes the iPhone XR great for games and even augmented reality applications. Still, the iPhone Xs A11 Bionic -processor is up to 70% faster than its predecessors, allowing the phone to run even demanding applications and functions.
Even though the iPhone Xs battery will last you a good while with a single charge, it still pales in comparison with the iPhone XR. This is thanks to the more powerful processor and less energy-intensive display. The iPhone XR will last you even 4 hours longer with a single charge than the iPhone X. However, both phones are equipped with wireless charging.
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iPhone Xr Cons Why Youd Avoid It
For me, the cons for buying an iPhone XR are pretty minimal, especially if you just want a functional phone with great software and excellent battery life. The main issue, for many, will be that the iPhone XRs camera isnt that impressive its a single-lens 12MP shooter the same as the iPhone 8s.
Is it terrible? No, but it pales in comparison to the camera on the iPhone 11 and iPhone 12. If camera performance, meaning market-leading camera abilities, is important to you, youll have to pony up the big bucks for one of Apples newer models, the iPhone 11 Pro Max is now well a look its way cheaper than youd think.
The iPhone XR also doesnt have 5G, so it isnt exactly future-proofed in this regard. But if youre not fussed about 5G, or you cannot get it where you live, like me, this isnt actually an issue. And a side benefit of not running 5G is that the iPhone XR, like the iPhone 11, has incredible battery life. Keep in mind the iPhone 12 has 5G and its battery life SUCKS.
Blue: The Traditional Pick
“This is the one I’d choose,” Kelleher said about the blue iPhone XR. “This one feels like a traditional, classic Apple choice, and reminds me of the Bondi Blue that Steve Jobs reportedly chose for the original iMac.”
It’s a “cerulean blue,” Katy specified, that’s “bright enough to be fun, and its got just enough green so that it doesn’t lean towards turquoise or Tiffany Blue.” That specific hue, gives the phone a “warm weather sensibility to it, that’s fun and neutral, and not as aggressive as the red. Much more diplomatic.”
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iPhone 11 Vs iPhone Xr Specs And Features
Inside the iPhone XR youll find a raft of high-end internals, albeit it ones that arent on par with the flagship XS. The 6.1-inch display is LCD, the amount of RAM smaller and the resolution much lower.
What we appreciate with the iPhone XR is that it has the same chipset as the XS. And once again with the iPhone 11 it has the same chipset as the pricier Pro and Pro Max models. Inside the iPhone 11 youll find the A13 chipset, an upgrade on the A12 inside the iPhone XR. This is very fast chip thats capable of churning through any app or game you throw at it. Thing is the iPhone XR still remains fast and we dont think youll notice much difference in terms of pure speed.
Related: iOS 13 features
iOS 13 is available across both devices and itll come pre-loaded on the iPhone 11. This latest version of Apples mobile operating system comes with a new dark mode that turns the whole UI, along with native apps, an easier to read black hue. Theres also a new keyboard that lets you type by swiping across the letters and big updates to the Maps app.
Related: iPhone 11 vs iPhone 11 Pro
The biggest reason to upgrade from the iPhone XR to the iPhone 11 is the camera and we dont think youll regret it if you make the move.
Wireless charging is supported, through the Qi standard, with both phones supporting 7.5w of power wirelessly.