iPhone XR review – why Apple’s ‘cheap’ smartphone is a STEAL at £749

APPLE’S iPhone XR is the cheapest new 2018 model you can buy today, but is it any good?

I’ve spent nearly two weeks with the phone – here’s why I’m convinced this will be the UK’s new favourite gadget.

iPhone XR design – something for everyone

Last year, Apple completely redesigned how its smartphones looked with the iPhone X.

For 2018, all new iPhone models borrow that same design: an all-screen front with a small “notch” jutting out into the top of the screen, housing the selfie cam and other sensors.

For the iPhone XR’s part, you get a large 6.1-inch panel that’s bigger than the iPhone XS (5.8 inches) and smaller than the iPhone XS Max (6.5 inches).

The screen is bigger than most Android handset displays, and looks great.

Tech geeks may be concerned that the iPhone XR panel is LCD, not OLED – and that’s a fair concern.

Premium OLED screens – like the one on the iPhone XS – don’t need a backlight, with individual pixels lighting up on their own.

This makes it possible to offer slimmer phones, with screens that use less energy and show more colours and improved contrast.

The iPhone XR has a more traditional LED-backlit LCD screen, which frankly doesn’t look as good as the iPhone XS side by side.

But anyone coming from an old iPhone will get on just fine with the cheaper, less pixel-dense display.

The screen looks great – and will suit most users who’d rather not pay the £250 premium for an OLED iPhone XS.

Interestingly, the “bezel” – the thin strip of border around your screen – is slightly thicker on the iPhone XR versus the iPhone XS.

This is a result of Apple’s backlight design for the screen. It makes the phone look cheaper than the iPhone XS (it is, after all), but your eyes get used to it after a while.

Overall the phone looks great, and far better than the iPhone 8 – but it’s likely not the new screen that will draw in customers.

To the average punter, the iPhone XR’s vast array of colour options may prove most tempting.

Unlike the muted greys and golds of more premium iPhone models, you can get the iPhone XR in white, black, blue, yellow, coral and red.

The iPhone XR is waterproof –  and, although rated slightly less so than the iPhone XS, is fine to get a little wet).

There’s also no headphone jack (or boxed adapter). Instead, you’ll have to rely on Lightning headphones or wireless cans – both of which can be cheaply bought, these days.

iPhone XR specs, features and performance – an absolute powerhouse

The iPhone XR features Apple’s new A12 Bionic processor, which is the same chip inside the more expensive iPhone XS ad iPhone XS Max.

Apple claims that the chip is 50% faster than last year’s iPhone processor, which is a sizeable jump.

This is possible because Apple has built its new chip on a 7nm manufacturing process – which means the transistors on the chip are just 7 nanometers apart.

Transistors are tiny electronic switches that allow computing to happen. The more transistors you have, the more computing you can get done in a given amount of time.

For last year’s A11 processor, the transistors were 10 nanometers apart – but this has now been reduced.

It means Apple is able to squeeze more transistors into the same amount of space, boosting computing power and energy efficiency.

The good news is that this design has definitely paid off. The iPhone XR is buttery smooth to use, and runs powerful apps without issue.

In fact, benchmark testing of the iPhone XR suggests that the handset is more powerful than even the most premium Android handsets – despite being cheaper than many.

Of course it’s not all about performance.

The iPhone XR is also feature packed, running on the latest version of iOS 12 – which includes Group FaceTime calls, animated Memoji emoji, and a Measure app that lets you find the width and length of real-world objects just using your phone’s camera.

Apple has also ditched the Home button on the iPhone XR (to allow for an all-screen design), which means you now get Face ID face unlocking.

This involves projecting infrared dots on your face to map them, and then using facial recognition to verify your identity – unlocking your phone.

Apple says this has a one-in-a-million failure rate, so you’re probably safe unless you have a sinister identical twin.

You can use Face ID for authenticating Apple Pay contactless payments in shops, and App Store purchases too.

In my experience, it works really fast even in the dark. Importantly, it learns your face and improves over time, so you should find unlocking speeds up eventually too.

A final note on performance is battery life.

The iPhone XR has very impressive battery life, partly thanks to the more efficient chip and a less pixel-dense display.

The cell size is 2,942mAh (a little bigger than the 2,658mAh iPhone XS battery), which easily took me through a full day’s usage.

I have zero complaints so far, but I’ll be keeping an eye on how the iPhone XR battery life holds up over time – and will update this review if any problems crop up.

iPhone XR camera – one of the best snappers on the market

The iPhone XR is the only model in Apple’s 2018 line-up to ship without a dual camera on the back.

That might put keen Instagrammers off, but don’t let it: the iPhone XR is an exceptional shooter.

It’s got the same core 12-megapixel wide-angle camera as the iPhone XS, but lacks only the telephoto lens – which would otherwise enable 2x optical zoom.

In my experience, photos look barely different to the iPhone XR, with exceptional performance all round. This includes in low-light conditions or scenes with wide dynamic range (bright lights and dark areas), a sticking point for Apple on previous iPhone models.

For anyone coming from an older iPhone, the difference is stark.

It’s mostly thanks to software improvements rather than physical changes to the camera.

With the iPhone XR and iPhone XS, Apple has added a new feature called Smart HDR.

It means that when you take a photo, lots of frames are snapped very quickly.

Your iPhone will then pick the best bits from each of these frames to create a single super snap.

This is especially useful in tricky lighting conditions, allowing your iPhone to keep the entire shot exposed correctly.

The camera is great, frankly.

The only other point to note about the iPhone XR is that Portrait Mode works slightly differently.

For the uninitiated, Portrait Mode lets you take photos of people with a “bokeh” effect – keeping the subject in sharp focus, while blurring the background.

On the iPhone XS, this works using depth-sensing from the two cameras on the back.

But the iPhone XR only has a single rear-facing camera, which means Apple is forced to do software trickery.

Apple has taught the camera to recognise human faces (using machine learning), and then applying a convincing “bokeh” effect over the top.

The first note is that this means Portrait Mode won’t work on inanimate objects or your cat – because it relies on detecting human faces. If you’re a pet snapper, the iPhone XS is a better buy.

What’s interesting is that the iPhone XS uses the telephoto lens for Portrait Mode, so you get very close-up snaps. But the iPhone XR uses its wide-angle lens, so you get much wider shots.

I actually thought these wider Portrait shots looked better, because you can pack much more of the scene in.

The Portrait Mode also worked very effectively in low light conditions.

iPhone XR review verdict

It’s hard to complain about the iPhone XR – it’s a fast phone with a stunning camera, slick design and endless features.

Some customers may balk at the £749 price tag, which is a leap from last year’s base iPhone price of £699.

But the iPhone XR is miles better than the iPhone 8, and absolutely almost as good as the £999 iPhone XS.

Die-hard gadget fans will want to invest in the top models, but the iPhone XR goes above and beyond what you expect from a smartphone – and will suit almost everyone.

For the first time, I’m actually convinced that an iPhone is a bit of a steal at its price.

You have to make a few compromises down from the iPhone XS, but the value for money is very strong here.

Apple has set a new benchmark for what you should expect from the iPhone, and it’s extremely high. Android rivals will absolutely be fretting about how to match this new offering (and the powerful A12 chip, in particular).

I believe that the iPhone XS Max is still the best handset you can buy today, but the iPhone XR will suit far more people thanks to its friendlier pricing.

That’s why I’m convinced the iPhone XR will become Britain’s favourite smartphone. Dear Santa…

The iPhone XR is available to buy now in the UK for £749. Here’s our favourite deal:

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