Smartphone Apple iPhone XR - advantages and disadvantages

The American corporation "Apple" has won a high position in the electronics market and has become one of the best manufacturers. Laptops, tablets and other gadgets are met with interest by the public, because the innovative technologies of this company allow you to take a step into the future. The iPhone model line is very popular due to its quality, stylish design and brand.

On September 12, 2018, a presentation of three smartphones was held, among which the iPhone XR turned out to be the most anticipated, secret and arousing curiosity. It is presented as an improved iPhone 8 and is noticeably different from the flagships. The phone is available for pre-order from October 19, and will go on sale from October 26. Is it worth it to queue up for a new one? The overview below will help you make your choice.

Specifications

Design

The appearance of the smartphone is similar to the design of the iPhone X. The body is rounded at the corners and is edged with an aluminum frame, while the more expensive predecessor was framed with stainless steel. Case material - impact-resistant glass. The manufacturer claims that the phone has become even more resistant to damage. It will be possible to check this when the device goes to the masses.

Device dimensions: 75.7x150.9x8.3 mm. Weight: 194g The XR is slightly larger than the iPhone X, but still fits comfortably in the hand.

The front panel is almost completely occupied by the display, above which there is a small “eyebrow” with a conversational speaker, front camera and Face ID. The layout of the buttons has not changed. On the left are three keys: a ring/silent switch and a volume control. On the right, there is a function button and a sliding tray for a SIM card. At the bottom, there is a built-in stereo speaker, a microphone and a Lightning connector for charging and connecting a headset. On the back panel at the left edge is a single rear camera with flash.

There is still no separate headphone output and Home button.The uselessness of the headset jack confirms the high demand for Apple wireless headphones, and the lack of a Home key in mechanical and touch forms will have to be put up with. After the iPhone X, the controls will be familiar, and the smartphone will bring a lot of inconvenience to users of early models at first. In the absence of a key, there is a certain plus - savings on the repair of this part of the gadget.

The XR comes in six colors: black, white, yellow, coral, red and blue. This is the first phone from Apple with a wide choice of colors. The audience was more interested in the performance in yellow.

Display

The full 6.1-inch Liquid Retina HD display occupies more than 82 percent of the front panel of the smartphone. To reduce the final price, the manufacturer installed an LCD screen instead of OLED. This display has become the "highlight" of the iPhone XR.

The phone retains the touch-to-screen feature that was previously only possible with OLED. In addition, the device supports True Tone technology: a 6-channel light sensor automatically adjusts the white balance and makes the screen comfortable to read. Thanks to this, the picture looks like an image on paper.

The display uses IPS technology, which provides a wide viewing angle and high color reproduction. The screen resolution is 1792x828 pixels with a density at the level of the iPhone 4 - 326 ppi. Contrast compared to fresh flagship millionaires remained low - 1400:1. Screen brightness is adjustable up to 625 cd/m2.

The P3 wide color gamut gives images clarity and naturalness. Using a gadget with such a screen to watch videos is a pleasure.Additional comfort brings oleophobic coating, protecting the screen from fingerprints.

Operating system

A new version of the operating system has been installed - iOS 12. There are a lot of innovations in it, but it is worth considering the most significant of them:

• Organization of conferences in FaceTime via video and audio communication simultaneously with 32 interlocutors;
• New animated emoticons and the ability to create a series of Animoji in your image;
• Applications have been added that expand the capabilities of virtual reality, with the ability to find out the size of objects in the real world, a smartphone will completely replace a tape measure;
• Disabling notifications and sound signals on them from the lock screen;
• Do not disturb mode is limited by time frame or geolocation and turns off automatically;
• Improved data protection when surfing the Internet. Sites cannot track the device without the consent of the owner and collect information for advertising purposes. Unique passwords for all accounts are generated and saved automatically.

You can sum up the description of iOS12 like this: the gadget has become faster, more convenient and safer.

CPU

The XR is equipped with an A12 Bionic chip with a Neural Engine that supports machine learning. This technology performs 5 trillion. operations per second and allows you to solve many tasks in real time, so the phone quickly adapts to its owner.

A12 Bionic is the first 7nm AI chip. The single-chip system consists of a 6-core computing module and a 4-core graphics chip. 2 processor cores at 2.5 GHz are used for complex tasks, and 4 at 2 GHz for everyday tasks.The integrated 4-core video chip opens up new possibilities in games and graphics applications.

The processor is faster and more efficient than its predecessors. It saves battery power and at the same time provides high-speed operation of the smartphone. XR is considered to be the third in the world in terms of performance, behind the flagships of Apple in 2018.

Memory

RAM is more than enough to work with open applications and the camera. 3 GB is quite enough for normal functioning in conditions of heavy workload.

In terms of internal storage, there are three types of phones: 64, 128 and 256 GB of memory. The addition of medium volume provides flexibility in choosing the XR for the price.

Manufacturers took into account that the memory card slows down the operation of the device, so they did not make a slot for it.

dual sim

The phone supports two SIM cards: nano-SIM and eSIM. Electronic SIM cards have not yet been developed in Russia, and the date of their introduction is unknown. In any case, they will not appear at the time of the release of the smartphone, so you will have to limit yourself to one SIM card.

For the Chinese market, Apple has prepared an XR model with support for two physical nano-SIM cards. Perhaps consumers from Russia will also be able to use this modification.

autonomy

The battery capacity is currently unknown. According to the manufacturer, the built-in lithium-ion battery lasts 1.5 hours longer than the iPhone 8 Plus. According to official data, the duration of the device in different modes will be:

For laboratory tests, such indicators are quite real. In reality, with the active use of the gadget, the battery will only last until the evening.

XR supports the option of fast battery charging: in 30 minutes, the battery is charged to 50 percent. You can charge your smartphone from a power adapter or a computer via a USB cable. It also provides wireless charging from devices with the Qi standard.

Communication and navigation

iPhone XR operates on four GSM/EDGE cellular bands: 850, 900, 1800, and 1900 MHz. High-speed mobile Internet networks are available in technologies: 3G, 4G LTE and CDMA EV‑DO Rev. A. The last standard listed is not supported by all models. The Wi-Fi network features a MIMO option that provides data transfer rates in excess of 300 Mbps. Voice communication over the LTE network is carried out using VoLTE technology. In Russia, mobile operators provide this service only in the largest cities.

Using Bluetooth version 5.0, information from the device is transmitted at a speed of 6.25 MB / s. The built-in NFC module completes the data exchange possibilities. It instantly turns on Bluetooth to transfer heavy files, speed up shopping, send information to another device, and scan programmed tags.

There are four types of navigation satellite systems: A-GPS, GLONASS, Galileo and QZSS. They quickly find the phone's coordinates using installed map applications. In this case, errors caused by various interferences are allowed.

Unlock

To unlock, a Face ID scanner is used, which instantly recognizes the owner's face using the TrueDepth camera. It tracks changes in appearance and recognizes a person even in the dark and in sunglasses.The Face ID scanner opens access to applications and accounts, replacing logins and passwords, which saves time.

The TrueDepth IR camera, IR emitter and dot projector work together in real time to unlock your smartphone instantly. The new version allows registration of a second person. This may be the owner himself with a changed appearance or another person. If the scan fails, just swipe up on the screen to try again.

It is believed that Face ID is a secure data access system, but it has its drawbacks:

• The system is energy intensive. Face ID drains the battery many times faster than a fingerprint scanner.
• Face ID can make a mistake and work on a twin. Also, problems with unlocking occur in children.
• The scanner is inconvenient when driving.

The fingerprint scanner is not installed in the smartphone. By removing the Home button, the manufacturer also abandoned Touch ID.

Interface

The lock screen contains notifications divided into thematic groups, quick access to the camera and flashlight. The home page contains shortcuts to various applications. At the bottom of the screen, in the usual places, there are icons of contacts, messages, compass and music. Application icons can be moved around as you like. The upper corners of the display are filled with hours, battery power and network.

The XR comes with about 40 apps by default, which have undergone minor changes. So, for example, more keys are added to the “Control Center” for quick access to smartphone functions, including “Hearing” and “Scanning a QR code”.

Rear and front cameras

iPhone models have always been famous for a quality camera that can compete with digital cameras. XR is no exception. It allows you to take rich photos and videos with both cameras. The image quality will not disappoint even the most demanding user.

rear camera

• Photography

The camera with a six-element wide-angle lens has a resolution of 12 megapixels. Outside, it is covered with scratch-resistant sapphire crystal. Aperture 1.8 ensures bright pictures even in low light conditions.

The XR has a digital 5x zoom. Since optical zoom is not provided here, only the frame will be enlarged without the object approaching. The quality of the picture may suffer a little from this.

The smartphone has a built-in True Tone Quad-LED flash with Slow Sync function, which evens out the brightness of the frame and makes the picture harmonious. This will prevent the object in the foreground from standing out too much due to the backlight.

The BSI sensor reduces digital noise and adds richness, while the hybrid IR filter fills the image with realistic colors. Smart HDR mode details objects in areas that are too dark or too bright.

Autofocus with the Focus Pixels option quickly selects the optimal sharpness, while the focus object can be changed with one touch. The camera shutter works instantly, so you can capture any moment in life. Optical Image Stabilization prevents blur and captures a moving subject clearly. Each photo can be linked to the desired geolocation.

The rear camera is good for taking portraits. Blurring the background and optimizing the sharpness in the finished shot makes the shots spectacular.Additionally, three types of light are provided: daylight, studio and contour.

With Live Photos, you can create "live" pictures with moving objects.

Photos are saved in two formats: HEIF and JPEG.

Example shot on a clear day:

How to photograph at night:

• Video filming

You can record video in three resolutions: 4K, HD 1080p and HD 720p. Slow motion shooting is also supported, which is useful when creating videos with very fast movements.

With a frame rate of up to 30 per second, image detail is expanded, making video recording more complete. Cinematic and optical stabilization hide hand shake and occasional jerks. Focus Pixels keep the focus at all times while shooting video, while the digital zoom lets you magnify the frame by up to 3x. It is easy to mark the location of the shooting to the resulting video.

The smartphone includes a Time Lapse mode with the ability to create a video from a series of photographs. In addition, while recording a 4K video, you can take a photo with a resolution of 8 megapixels.

Video formats: HEVC and H.264.

Front-camera

The 7-megapixel camera is equipped with an on-screen flash for natural frame colors. Thanks to this, selfies are bright and vibrant. The front camera also supports Smart HDR and can take action photos. Portrait mode offers 5 types of light for a variety of shots: daylight, studio, contour, stage and stage mono.

Using this camera, you can make your own emoticons, which will bring a pleasant variety to communication.

There are two resolutions for video: HD 1080p and HD 720p. Frames are smoothed by cinematic stabilization, and the image becomes smooth.Clips with a frequency of up to 30 frames / s are obtained in detail traced.

Sound playback

XR reproduces stereo surround sound that is not lost even at maximum volume. Two speakers provide comfortable listening to music even on a noisy street. The gadget will not replace a full-fledged speaker system, but it will cope with the function of a portable player with dignity.

FM radio can only be listened to after installing the corresponding application. When playing a radio station, Internet traffic will be consumed.

Video playback

A smartphone is ideal for watching videos. With the help of Dolby Vision and HDR10, iPhone XR optimizes the video and makes it bright and voluminous.

The phone can also stream video to a TV or other device via AirPlay. You can output up to 1080p resolution with a digital AV adapter or VGA adapter.

Siri

Siri voice control greatly simplifies the work with the phone. The assistant adjusts to the interests and needs of the owner. Siri leaves hints and quickly performs voice commands: sending messages, creating reminders, searching for information, etc. You can also communicate with the mobile assistant through the keyboard.

Special abilities

Apple Corporation is focused on consumers. Of course, not everyone can afford the iPhone, but this device can become a real assistant and bring color to life.
Additional options are divided according to the characteristics of the person:

• Vision. VoiceOver controls navigation and speaks what is happening on the screen. "Color Invert" applies special filters to the image, making it comfortable for perception.The built-in magnifying glass lets you see objects in the real world when you point the camera at them, and the Magnifier function helps you understand the elements on the display. The "Screen Aloud" option will read the article, message, and other textual information.
• Hearing. Live listening will allow you to hear your interlocutors better when using a hearing aid from Apple. FaceTime with high video quality is suitable for sign language communication. When watching movies in closed captioning, you can see the description of the music and sound effects. "Voice when typing" will help the owner with voice prompts and corrections. Blinking flash notifications are also available.
• physical skills. Switch Control allows you to control your smartphone using built-in functions and external input devices such as a joystick. The Home app supports voice control of HomeKit compatible accessories. With AssistiveTouch, you can set up one-touch access to features.

Equipment

The smartphone is packaged in a compact white box with a familiar design. The kit includes:

• iPhone XR.
• EarPods with Lightning connector and high quality sound. Apple finally abandoned the standard headset jack. You won't be able to listen to music and charge your phone at the same time, and it's not very convenient to connect headphones from below. There is a way out: purchase an adapter or a wireless headset.
• USB cable for charging and connecting to a computer. The length of the cord is not specified, but it is unlikely to exceed 1 m.
• Mains power adapter with a current voltage of at least 2 A.
• Documentation.

The adapter from Lightning to 3.5 mm jack will no longer be here.

Price

The price of XR varies depending on the amount of memory. In Russia, the final price is:

• 64 GB - 64,990 rubles.
• 128 GB - 68,990 rubles.
• 256 GB - 77,990 rubles.

Pretty affordable prices compared to Apple's flagships.

Advantages and disadvantages

According to consumer reviews and the characteristics of the phone, the following pros and cons of the new model stand out:

• LCD screen with realistic color reproduction;
• Budget price by Apple standards;
• Two high quality cameras;
• 4G LTE support;
• Powerful A12 Bionic processor;
• Choice of six colors;
• Protection against water and dust IP67 (immersion to a depth of 1 m for 30 minutes).

• No 3D Touch;
• Only one physical SIM card;
• One rear camera;
• No optical zoom;
• The kit does not include an adapter with a 3.5 mm jack;
• "Monobrow". Some users note this as a disadvantage, since the screen is not fully utilized by many applications.

Outcome

iPhone XR is a high-quality smartphone that can work for several years with proper operation. The powerful processor handles multitasking with ease and is great for active gaming. Nimble cameras capture all the bright moments and complement the memories with beautiful pictures.

XR is a real helper. He will not forget to remind you of an important meeting or call, suggest a leisure activity and help you plan your time.

After the presentation, the "stuffing" of the smartphone does not cause much interest among connoisseurs of Apple products, but the XR remains a worthy phone. It's not worth swapping the iPhone X for the XR, but older iPhone owners may like the design and performance. The smartphone is also great for newcomers to Apple culture. A relatively budget device on a powerful engine will show all the charm of using the iPhone and its extensive functionality. It makes no sense to overpay for the flagships of Apple in 2018, since the processor will become obsolete next year.So in a company with XR, you can safely wait for a new innovative giant.