The tech giant plans to stop selling the iPhone XR with the launch of its new line up of smartphones. This year, Apple plans to release four new iPhone models, including a 5.4-inch iPhone 12, a 6.1-inch iPhone 12 Max, a 6.1-inch iPhone 12 Pro, and a 6.7-inch iPhone 12 Pro Max.
The iPhone XR has better battery life than the iPhone XS.But the iPhone XR is way better. Apple says the iPhone XR lasts 90 minutes longer than last year's iPhone 8 Plus, which had the best battery life of any iPhone that Apple released in 2017: it could last about 14-15 hours on a single charge.
Starting today, you can get the iPhone XR for free when you switch to Verizon Unlimited. After you activate the phone on a new line with Verizon Unlimited, the $600 price tag will be credited to your account over 24 months. Offer ends 12/25. See more phone offers with the best iPhone XR deals.
iPhone SE: The cheapest iPhone Apple sells
- iPhone SE (Image credit: Apple)
- iPhone XR (Image credit: Future)
- (Image credit: Future)
- (Image credit: Tom's Guide)
The 6.1-inch iPhone 12 became available for pre-order on Friday, October 16 with a launch following on Friday, October 23. It is priced starting at $799 for 64GB of storage, with 128 and 256GB available for an extra fee.
The iPhone XR doesn't have one, but it does come with Lightning-enabled EarPods, which work exactly like Apple's older earbuds — you just plug them into the phone's Lightning port. And if you have nicer wired headphones, you can buy a $10 adapter from Apple.
Swappa is the best place to sell your Apple iPhone Xr because you get paid what it's actually worth.
The best iPhone you can buy right now
- (Image credit: Future) iPhone 12 Pro Max. The best iPhone overall.
- iPhone 12 Pro. Apple's less expensive Pro model.
- iPhone 12 mini. The best compact iPhone.
- iPhone 12. Top iPhone features with a bigger screen.
- iPhone 11. The best iPhone bargain.
- iPhone SE 2020. The least expensive new iPhone.
The iPhone XR is the better option here in terms of design and specs, but the iPhone 8 is a better value option if you're on a tight budget. Screen size is the big difference here as well as the move to Face ID instead of Touch ID.
The iPhone XS display is significantly better-looking than the iPhone XR. The iPhone XS features a "Super Retina" OLED screen, while the iPhone XR features a "Liquid Crystal" LCD screen. OLED screens, in general, are brighter, show more accurate colors, and can achieve far better contrast than LCD screens.
iPhone 11 has improved water resistance too, surviving for up to half an hour in 4 metres of water. The chipset has been upgraded to Apple's new A13 bionic processor, and along with 4GB of RAM and a bigger battery, iPhone 11 is a more powerful beast than iPhone XR.
iPhone XR sales estimates indicate it's not an unsalable failure whatsoever. Counterpoint Research recently issued its sales estimates for November, concluding that "iPhone XR became the best-selling iPhone model." That's a strange observation to make if that model were actually a failure that Apple couldn't sell.
For starters, LCD screens are backlit, and that can result in noticeable backlight bleed, especially while in dark environments. Secondly, because of the backlight, black levels aren't as good as the OLED screen in the iPhone X or iPhone XS, especially when viewing the device off axis.
On the plus side, the iPhone XR has an overall better battery life, more color choices (6 vs 3) and an LCD display that is much brighter than the OLED screen used in the more expensive models. The sales momentum of the iPhone XR continues driven by its lower cost, advanced features, and overall better value.
The single rear camera offers excellent performance and impressive portraits, but the newer iPhone 11 offers better low-light performance. Apple's A12 Bionic chip delivers fast performance that will satisfy most people. The iPhone XR offers nearly 11.5 hours of battery life, which is among the longest lasting phones.
My takeaway: Most people don't need an iPhone 12 now, but you might want one in a year or two … by which point there could be an iPhone 13 or 14 with 5G. For most iPhone owners, the choice is when to upgrade, how much money you want to hand to Apple and — particularly this year — what size you want it to be.
