iPhone XR Review: Is the iPhone XR a Good iPhone?

The iPhone XR is the best iPhone for the money for most buyers. You get almost the same performance, great software, most iPhone XS features, wireless charging, Face ID, and a decent camera for $250 less than the cheapest iPhone XS. You can get up to $449 off when you exchange an iPhone as part of your upgrade.

You have to give up the beautiful OLED display the iPhone XS has, but the iPhone XR display is good enough for most people. One feature I missed is the second camera on the back of the iPhone XS and iPhone XS Max, which allows for optical zoom and better portrait mode, but it’s not a deal breaker after all. The iPhone XR is made of aluminum, which is a bit easier to scratch, but you get more color options and it’s okay since it has a case on it.

Is the iPhone XR a Good iPhone?

The iPhone XR is the best iPhone for its price and will be more than enough iPhone for most users. After all, it feels like Apple overpriced the iPhone XR at $50. That sounds like better value for $699, and luckily, you can find some deals that lower the price with and without a trade.

I tested the iPhone XR on Verizon for a month. I tested this phone at home and on the road. When I went to CES and the Detroit Auto Show, my primary camcorder for the ride was the iPhone XR. Almost all footage was shot on the iPhone XR with a DJI Osmo gimbal and a Rode microphone. Perhaps the best example is the Brydge iPad Pro keyboard hands-on, which I shot on the iPhone XR, Airdropped to the iPad Pro, edited with LumaFusion, and then uploaded to YouTube with my iPhone as a hotspot.

While I miss zooming at times, the XR does a great job of recording 4K video and taking photos. It also easily met all my gaming, social media and communication needs.

I didn’t notice any slowdowns in performance when switching to my personal phone iPhone XS Max and iPhone XR. The size is still very nice and still manageable. I’m still glad I went with the iPhone XS Max for the OLED display and optical zoom, but for most users, the iPhone XR is more than enough.

After all, most people will want to use the $799 version to get 128GB of storage. This pushes the price well above budget levels. I would suggest looking for a deal on the iPhone XR or swapping your old phone with your carrier or Gazelle to help bring that price down. Verizon, which lent us the iPhone XR for testing, is offering $750 off one Buy One Get another when you buy the new iPhone, or more than $100 off certain trade-ins. One of them needs to be a new smartphone line to save money.

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iPhone XR Camera

The iPhone XR camera is excellent.

Camera is the most used app on my smartphone. I love using it to take pictures of our two Toy poodles and all my little cousins. I also use it to take photos for gadget and car reviews.

Apple uses the same sensor in the iPhone XR and iPhone XS camera; This means that the iPhone XR takes great-looking photos even in low light and in areas with bright light that could otherwise ruin a shot.

You still get portrait mode on the iPhone XR, which is one of my favorite modes for taking photos of family and pets. It makes photos stand out and with editing options makes photos really stand out on social media or in print. The big catch is that the iPhone XR uses software to make portrait mode photos. This means you can’t take portrait mode photos of objects or pets – only people. It also means a different view from the iPhone XS portrait mode where you’re further away from your subject. It still works and produces nice photos, but not as good as the iPhone XS or Pixel 3 XL and not great for pet photos. You also get portrait mode on the front camera.

The only other real difference between the iPhone XS and XR cameras is the lack of optical zoom. iPhone XS and XS Max let you zoom without sacrificing quality with the secondary lens. The iPhone XR doesn’t have a second lens, so the only way to get close without sacrificing quality is to get physically close. You can zoom in digitally, but then you start to lose some of the overall quality of the photo.

At the end of the day, the iPhone XR camera can do 90% of what I need to use it for work and pretty much everything I need in a smartphone camera. If you don’t know you need optical zoom or you don’t like to take portrait mode photos of pets and objects, feel free to miss out on this area if you choose the iPhone XR.

iPhone XR Screen

Despite being LCD, the iPhone XR screen is very beautiful.

The iPhone XR has a 6.1-inch LCD display. This isn’t quite as good as the OLED display on the iPhone XS and iPhone XS Max, and it lacks 3D Touch, which you may or may not be used to using.

While I like the OLED display on the iPhone XS Max and appreciate the additional size it offers, the iPhone XR display is still very good. Most users looking at the devices side-by-side won’t notice a huge difference, and if you’re looking at the iPhone XR alone, you’ll have a hard time feeling like you picked a big drop.

Photos, videos and games still look great on the iPhone XR, and the 6.1-inch screen is noticeably larger than the iPhone XS display. This is a good choice for users who want to increase the font size on iOS to make text easier to read.

I miss 3D Touch as I use this daily for shortcuts and previewing links and photos. Apple supports haptic touch, which makes the iPhone XR vibrate slightly when you press it hard. It’s a nice option but I still miss 3D Touch. It’s unclear what Apple plans to do with 3D touch, and not many users know that 3D Touch is an option, so decide if it’s important to you and $250 is worth it.

iPhone XR Design

I’m a big fan of the larger iPhone models, but they’re too big for many users. If you’re looking for the Goldilocks of iPhones, the iPhone XR might be for you. It’s definitely larger than the iPhone XS and has a larger screen than the iPhone 8 Plus, but it’s actually smaller than the iPhone 8 Plus and iPhone XS Max. That’s true for many users, and the size works even better when you don’t have to tap a home button.

The iPhone XR design is similar to the iPhone XS and XS Max, but with aluminum edges.

Apple sticks Face ID on the iPhone XR so you unlock it with a look, not a fingerprint. Without the home button, the phone is easier to hold and use, even on the big screen. Instead of pressing a button, you swipe and use gestures to control the phone. If you’ve been using an iPhone with a home button for years, it takes a week or so to adjust to it, and then it becomes second nature.

You get more color options than any current iPhone, with Red, Yellow, White, Coral, Blue, and Black options. The back is made of glass like the iPhone XS. The overall styling is very similar to the iPhone XS and XS Max. Instead of a steel band running around the edges, the XR uses aluminum to match the color of the phone.

As with other current iPhone models, the only port is a lightning jack, so if you choose to plug in other headphones, you’ll need to replace the headphones, set up a wireless connection, or purchase a dongle.

iPhone XR Battery Life

iPhone XR battery life is solid. Even with heavy use, it usually took a full day and left some free space. This is great news for power users and many users will get through most normal days without worrying about battery life.

iPhone XR can fast charge when you use a capable charger and USB C to Lightning cable; this allows you to plug it in and get 50% battery power with a 30-minute charge. It also supports wireless charging, which is my favorite way to charge daily on iPhone.