Apple iPhone XR

The Apple iPhone XR is an entirely new iPhone that Apple announced on September 12, 2018. It is also a bit of a crazy device. It has the same design as the iPhone X from 2017 but uses cheaper materials and simpler specifications. But to say that the XR is an entry-level model, no.

Liquid Retina screen without 3D Touch

With its 6.1-inch screen, Apple's iPhone XR sits between 5.8-inch iPhone Xs and 6.5-inch iPhone Xs Max. Unlike its brothers, the XR does not have a high-contrast HDR screen. That's because it doesn't use OLED but the more traditional LCD. That's why Apple renamed it Liquid Retina. The edges are slightly thicker but still negligible and the colour fidelity is equal or even better than that of the iPhone 8. The screen doesn't support 3D Touch, but it does have tap-to-wake for quick unlocking. Biometric identification comes in the form of facial recognition thanks to Face ID which is processed at the top of the screen. In practise, it's safer than fingerprint recognition and is at least as fast as not faster.

Aluminium frame, colourful back

The iPhone XR is not made of stainless steel but of series 7000 aluminium in a matte finish. We're mainly talking about the edges, because the front and back are made of glass. The back is available in many colours, something that hasn't happened since the iPhone 5c. A seven-step process was used to create such a deep colour. The glass back lets you charge wirelessly. It's IP67 rated, making it splashproof, dustproof, and waterproof. Inside is an A12 Bionic chip made by Apple. It offers so much processing power that it starts apps up to 30% faster and allows the camera to take much better photos. Games also benefit from the extra processor power that makes them faster and smoother.

Main Apple iPhone XR specifications

• Large 6.1-inch LCD display with True Tone
• High-speed mobile web browsing via 4G (LTE)
• Apple's powerful A12 Bionic chip
• Single 12 megapixel camera with depth recognition and Smart HDR
• 7 MP TrueDepth camera for studio-like selfies
• Water- and dust-resistant IP67 housing
• Available in 64, 128 and 256 GB of memory
• Dual SIM thru eSIM but not widely available
• Available in a wide range of colours

Single camera still sees depth

On the back we find a single 12 megapixel camera that can record depth despite the lack of a second sensor. This is because the extra processing power of the A12 Bionic processor enables new algorithms. So you can just shoot portraits with out-of-focus backgrounds and adjust them afterward. And Smart HDR, which we saw on the more expensive Xs and Xs Max, is also available. This feature analyses all the signals from the camera, including lighting and shadows, and takes the best of everything so you'll always have a great shot. The 7 megapixel selfie camera gets help from the TrueDepth camera to better map faces. This allows the background to be pulled loose and possibly replaced by a single black shadow. This so-called Portrait Lighting makes everyone Instagram-worthy.