is the xr worth it?

i currently have the iphone 6s plus, and i think it’s time for an upgrade. i heard that the iphone xr has a bad resolution, but do you think that it’s still worth the upgrade?

Reply 1

username612415

Original post by mailiegalgas

i currently have the iphone 6s plus, and i think it’s time for an upgrade. i heard that the iphone xr has a bad resolution, but do you think that it’s still worth the upgrade?

Screen resolution is very poor on the XR. The 5.5" display of your 6S Plus is 1920 x 1080, and the larger 6.1" display of the XR is only 1792 x 898, so a significantly lower pixel density. A lot of user reviews say it's still a good display, but not even scraping 1080p in a £750 phone is frankly shameful.

If your 6S Plus is no longer making you happy and you absolutely must have an iPhone, but cannot stretch to the XS, then sure, get it. However if you are willing to consider brands other than Apple and screen quality is important to you, you can get excellent phones with better screens (no just in resolution but in overall quality) for the same price that the XR would cost, for example the Samsung Galaxy S9 and Huawei Mate 20.

Reply 2

jameswhughes

Original post by mailiegalgas

i currently have the iphone 6s plus, and i think it’s time for an upgrade. i heard that the iphone xr has a bad resolution, but do you think that it’s still worth the upgrade?

The 6s is still a good phone, I hope mine lasts another two years or so. While the new iPhones are nice, I don’t see the point of paying £800-£1000 just for an incremental upgrade. (The XR might even be a downgrade in terms of the display pixels per inch.)

Reply 3

RandomWords

Original post by mailiegalgas

i currently have the iphone 6s plus, and i think it’s time for an upgrade. i heard that the iphone xr has a bad resolution, but do you think that it’s still worth the upgrade?

I'd say so. Compared to the XS models, but specifically the XS Max (which was my choice this year - see the thread I made here
https://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/showthread.php?t=5596734), it offers at least 80% of the features (e.g you still get fast charging, wireless charging, FaceID, Animojis, Augmented Reality, Portrait Mode, the latest A12 processor, etc etc), but it starts from £350 less. The only trade-offs that I can see are that it's got a 6.1" display compared to 6.5", no 3D touch and no 512GB storage option (if you need that much storage!) Apart from that, you get a better choice of colours (I hear the yellow is especially popular) and generally better value for money.

And if you're wondering about the resolution...

Yes, it may seem a bit of a cheapo tactic to not have a 1080p display, but in many cases this particular panel has been shown to look better than a 1080p display. For example, Jonathan Morrison, a prominent tech Youtuber, did a blind comparison between it and the Pocophone F1, which has a 1080p display. All 21 people asked in that video were of the opinion that the XR has the better display (for those interested, see here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dcFXEXJicgc). And indeed, others have said that the display is almost as good as the OLED panels on the flagship range. And I've even seen the display myself on show whilst shopping at the weekend and I, too, was very impressed - it's not a "night and day" difference compared to my XS Max by any stretch of the imagination.

(edited 5 years ago)

Reply 4

username612415

Original post by RandomWords

For example, Jonathan Morrison, a prominent tech Youtuber, did a blind comparison between it and the Pocophone F1, which has a 1080p display. All 21 people asked in that video were of the opinion that the XR has the better display

The Pocophone is a budget phone costing nearly a third of the price, with a screen that was universally hailed as "fine" upon release. Considering Apple's extensive investment into LCD development since the release of the iPhone 4, any result other than a landslide win would have been very embarrassing. The fact that it's a nice looking panel still doesn't excuse the fact that Apple shipped a £750 phone with a resolution lower than what has been the basest expectation for a flagship calibre phone for at least five generations, hell Apple have done it themselves for the last four. It was just about acceptable in the sub-5” iPhones, but at over 6" the sub-1080p resolution is perceptible (I've seen the screen myself too, I was just referring to reviews as that's what the OP seemed to be basing their impressions on).

Reply 5

RECDMWM86

I just sold a brand new xr for 550 yesterday. Had 2 spares through my business. Had it on gumtree an hour and had over 15 messages, must be worth it!

Reply 6

jameswhughes

Original post by RECDMWM86

I just sold a brand new xr for 550 yesterday. Had 2 spares through my business. Had it on gumtree an hour and had over 15 messages, must be worth it!

That's £200+ less than Apple for a phone that's only been out for a few weeks, so someone lost out here. :lol:

Reply 7

RECDMWM86

Original post by jameswhughes

That's £200+ less than Apple for a phone that's only been out for a few weeks, so someone lost out here. :lol:

How do you figure? Phone was part of a deal through my business. Phone was free. Not required. 550 in my pocket quick sale. Guy wanted it for his son for xmas, every one happy lad.

Reply 8

sachinisgod

Switched from a 6S to the XR- very fast phone, camera is better and Screen is bigger too. I didnt see the OLED screen in the XS Max worth the extra £350 tbh.

I would say the XR is deffo a good phone if you want to upgrade.