iPhone XR: the 10 most important test results

Since today, it is the third and cheapest of the new Apple smartphones in the trade. Mac and I could already test it.

If the new XS and XS Max iPhones with OLED display are on the market since September 21, the iPhone XR (pronounced "iPhone Ten R") arrived in stores Friday just in time for the appointment announced by Apple. It comes with an LCD screen and most technical innovations of the XS, but costs the same amount of memory, but every 300 euros less and is considered the potentially successful model in terms of sales figures. We have an iPhone XR with 256GB of memory for the available tests, which costs 1029 euros in this equipment. For 64 GB, you pay 849 euros, for 128 GB, 909 euros. A model of 512 GB does not offer Apple here.

1. Housing in six colors

IPhones of different colors have existed for a long time: the model in black, blue, red and coral (pink-orange) has a similar frame to the glbad back. In the case of white, the frame is silver instead and the yellow model is golden. Our test copy is white.

The case frame is aluminum for the iPhone XR. On the other hand, it is steel for the other two models almost without rim XS and XS Max. The XR is likely to be a little more sensitive to scratches. That's why, like any iPhone, it protects better with a hull.

Overall, the iPhone XR looks very valuable and feels good in the hand, even though it's a little bigger than the XS. But as the XR is smaller than the XS Max and a little shorter and narrower (but thicker) than the iPhone 8 Plus, it should be a good compromise in terms of display size and pocket size for many interested parties.

Protected against dust and water, the iPhone LCD is in the image of the predecessor of the X to IP67. He can tolerate a bath of thirty minutes in a meter of water. XS and XS Max already comply with the IP68 standard.

2. Large LCD screen contains more content

Although the iPhone XR does not have OLED, but an LCD, but now almost at the edge, because there is no more button home. Compared to the OLED X, XS and XS Max models, the black bands on the sides of the XR are wider by about one millimeter. The display also shows rounded corners and the notch, typical of the X, on the top edge. Extrapolated to a rectangle, the screen size measures 6.1 inches. That's a lot more than the iPhone 8 Plus 5.5 inches.

The number of pixels is 1792 × 828 pixels below that of the LCD screen of the iPhone 8 Plus with its 1920 × 1080 pixels. The resolution of 326 dpi corresponds to that of the iPhone 8 and is therefore also lower than that of the iPhone 8 Plus (401 dpi) as well as the OLED screens of X, XS and XS Max ( 458 dpi each). Nevertheless, there is more content regarding the home screen, browser or XR screen settings than on any other iPhones. Texts and icons are smaller: Apple uses the XR with a screen scale (2x) different from the iPhones X, XS, XS Max and 8 Plus (3x). The slightly lower sharpness is noticeable only during a thorough check and in direct comparison. The panel is clean, but not quite as clean as the XS. As maximum brightness, we were able to measure 640 candelas / square meter. This provides enough reserves to mitigate the usual reflections of glossy panels.

The panel showed a very low angular dependence in the test, the extended DCI P3 color space and a contrast of 2452: 1 with a fantastic black value for an IPS display. This makes it the best LCD screen on a smartphone we have ever tested.

Although Apple says that the screen is compatible with HDR10 and Dolby Vision, it can not display the increased contrast range. On request, the system adapts white to ambient light with True Tone technology. So when you surf at night with artificial light, you will not be bothered by a cold white background. With a polling rate of 120 Hertz, the screen reacts immediately.

3. Haptic Touch instead of 3D Touch

The iPhone XR no longer masters the 3D Touch, where iOS and apps offer additional "Quick Actions" in contextual menus at times, if you press with a finger ("peek"), then drop it to a given moment. call an advanced function ("Pop"). This is replaced by the new "Haptic Touch", in which one lingers longer with the finger on a point and feels a tap of the Taptic Engine for confirmation.

The test showed that Haptic Touch offers far fewer offers than 3D Touch. For example, with the XR, you can not access the settings pop-up menu to quickly select the Bluetooth, WLAN, Mobile Data, and Battery settings. If you press harder on the XR, nothing happens. If you hold down the setting icon for a long time, it starts to flicker and you can move its position on the display – as usual. If you hold down the Notes application icon, you will not get a menu to directly create a new document, a new checklist, or a new scan.

Although the Haptic Touch is newer than the 3D Touch, it may be less, which is unusual for Apple. On the XR, the functions of all iPhones since the 6 are lost. Maybe Apple is saying goodbye again to this really smart idea, so future iOS devices are only equipped with Haptic Touch: On the eve of that, it was said that only a few users actually use the 3D Touch.

The bottom line is that XR iPhones can be used as much as older iPads and iPhones, but with the delicacy of haptic feedback via the stepper motor.