The purchase of the iPhone XR? Here are 5 things you give up

Now that the iPhone XR has arrived in stores, a consensus seems to be clear – for most people it is the new iPhone to get .

After all, the XR runs on the same powerful A12 Bionic processor found in the iPhone XS and XS Max and many of the improvements that make the difference between XS have also found their way alone backslider of the iPhone XR. It also lasts longer than any iPhone we've ever tested in our battery test . You get all this for $ 749 – $ 250 less than you would pay for the iPhone XS. What's not to like?

We agree that the iPhone XR is hard to beat. However, this $ 250 price difference involves some tradeoffs and you must decide if they really matter to you before you buy. Here is an overview of what you give up if you opt for the iPhone XR and its lower price.

LCD Screen instead of OLED

The difference between the iPhone XR and the iPhone XS is probably the most marked. display. To limit costs on the XR, Apple opted for an LCD instead of the OLED screen used on all other models of iPHone X.

The result is that the iPhone XR simply can not display bright colors and deeper blacks OLED phone is capable of. Although the iPhone XR screen was able to display 123.4% of the sRGB color gamut in our tests, our results are significantly lower than those of OLED phones. Note 9, for example, displays a sRGB score of 224%.

Most significant, the iPhone The angles of view of XR are just not as generous as they are with other phones like the iPhone XS. When we stacked the two Apple phones one beside the other with the screen saver enabled for the aquarium, the OLED – based iPhone had brighter colors, while blacks seemed a little greyish on the iPhone XR LCD. The picture taken on the cheaper phone from Apple was not so clear if it was viewed from an angle like on the iPhone XS.

The resolution is not as sharp on the 6.1-inch screen of the iPhone XR as on the one displayed. the iPhone XS of 5.8 inches. The XR displays a resolution of 1792 x 828 on the 2436 x 1125 screen of the iPhone XS.

Is this important? If you are upgrading to the XR from another iPhone than the iPhone X, this is probably not the case. The iPhone X, XS and XS Max are the only Apple phones to use an OLED panel. all other phones go with LCD. So you do not make a lot of sacrifices by opting for the iPhone XR. Android users who migrate from an OLED phone might well think twice about the iPhone XR.

PLUS: Best Deals for the iPhone XR

Only One Rear Camera

The iPhone XS and XS Max both have a pair of shooters at the back, which is pretty standard on the most expensive phones of Apple since the iPhone 7 Plus which debuted in 2016. Since the iPhone XR is not among the most phones dear Apple, however, he skips this second lens for a single 12-megapixel camera. The good news is that many of the improvements made to cameras by Apple have been introduced with IPhone XS and The XS Max is also in the game with the iPhone XR. This includes Smart HDR which means you can expect very detailed shots even in the shadows. In addition, the single rear camera is capable of capturing Portrait mode photos that add blur, even if they have some limitations.

On the one hand, you can only use the Portrait mode of the iPhone XR to capture photos of people; try anything, and you will receive a notification that the camera is waiting for people to enter the frame. In addition, Portrait photos taken by the XR have a more zoomed appearance than if they were captured with an iPhone XS or XS Max.

Speaking of zoom, it is something else that is affected by the lack of second camera lens on the iPhone XR. You will not have a 2X optical zoom as you would on Apple's dual lens phones. Digital zoom is perfect for the XR, but zoomed zooms lack the detail and contrast you'll get from real optical zoom.

Is this important? If you're serious about mobile photography When you're counting on your smartphone to capture photos as a serious hobby or as a profession, you're giving up some great features by only using # & # 39, a single lens on your iPhone. For more casual photographers, who just want a phone capable of producing well-composed shots, the iPhone XR should do the trick.

MORE: 6 reasons not to use the iPhone XS for iPhone XR

Not as durable

The iPhone XR has a water resistance index IP67 which means that you can put it under up to 3 feet of water for 30 minutes without suffering any adverse effects. That's good, even though the IP68 ratings of the iPhone XS and XS Max are a little more durable: they are good for about 5 feet of water for 30 minutes.

More importantly, the back of the iPhone XR is not as rugged as the material used by Apple in the XS and XS Max, although at least all of these phones use the same tough glbad. l & # 39; before. We will not know how much the XR is subject to cracking until we test it, but the logic is that the XS is more likely to come out unscathed. We suggest you take a case of iPhone XR .

Is this important? If you plan to bring your iPhone to the poolside, the XS or the XS Max is probably the best choice. to avoid water chagrin. For all other sustainability issues, a good case will probably give your iPhone XR the protection it needs – just get one that will still allow you to showcase the new color of your new phone.

MORE: iPhone XS Drop Test: Watch it survive an 11-foot drop on concrete

No 3D Touch

Probably to cut costs, Apple dropped 3D Touch from the # IPhone XR. This is the function that lets you tap an application icon to display shortcuts or tap a link or photo to preview.

Instead, the XR features something called Touch Haptic. A long press will launch the camera from the locked screen or control the cursor as you type. But getting glimpses of links or shortcuts appearing from application icons is not something you can do on the XR.

Is this important? If you are upgrading from an iPhone with 3D Touch technology (basically iPhone 6s or later) and you've used this feature a lot, you'll need some time to adapt to Haptic Touch. If you are upgrading from an old phone or iPhone SE, you can not miss what you 've never had.

More limited storage options

All new iPhone models start with an integrated 64GB storage, including the iPhone XR. . And you have the option to pay for additional on-board capacity, although your options are a bit wider if you opt for an iPhone XS or XS Max. These two phones offer 512 GB of options, if you are ready to pay them ($ 1,149 for the XS and $ 1,349 for the XS Max). With the iPhone XR, you are limited to 256GB. On the plus side, the 256GB XR at $ 899 still costs less than the iPhone XS base model. But as iPhones do not have a microSD card slot to add memory later, the capacity of the model you buy is the one with which you are stuck for the time you own your device, so choose wisely .

Is this important? If you store everything on your phone – and we hear everything – 512 GB of storage can be useful. However, for most people, 256 GB (and probably less, because the iPhone XR also has an option of 128 GB) is more than enough.

Bottom Line

Really, the biggest sacrifice you'll have to make with an iPhone XR is a less vibrant screen than you would get with an OLED-based iPhone and a smaller bag of camera tricks than you could appreciate with a dual lens model. If these features do not really interest you, enjoy the same processing power, longer battery life and lower price of the iPhone XR.

Credit: Tom's Guide