iPhone XR - Worth it in 2019?

This is the iPhone XR and despite being the cheapest phone that Apple made last year it was considered by many people to be the best phone of the Apple I've ever made.

The iPhone XR is a combination of some of the best hardware and software that Apple ever created. But it's held back by Apple intentionally removing some of the key features that could have been on this device and the result is a device that feels just a little bit confused. But through the confusion there is still a really great device here.

The XR feels like a modern day take on Steve Jobs ear earphone and the end result is so much better for it. First impressions can make or break a phone for me and with the XR it is nothing short of flawless.

The design alone is one of the very reasons why I love this phone. It's minimalistic looks blended with a typical Apple aesthetic. It might not be for everyone but there's very little that I would change about the design of this phone. The simplicity is really what makes it from the subtle curve of the front and rear glass leading seamlessly into curved edges. The perfect button placement everything is just about perfect here and it's pretty rare for me to say that about it design.

The color options are possibly the best part of this device. This device is not only as it refreshing to have more than just black or white as choices, but the colors themselves look so good in person that I wish every phone had these options.

The color that I have is coral and it's possibly the best looking color of any fun. That I've ever used. What really makes it for me is the variation in this color. Under different lighting conditions it appears to change and this is the character behind a device that we don't see enough of these dates.

Whilst it may not feel as good in the hand as the XS did mainly down to his lower weight to body ratio. It still feels like a flagship despite Apple doing their absolute best to try and take that feeling away from this device. It's all glass and metal as you'd expect in the build quality is also amazing as to expect.

It’s just slightly lighter than you anticipate for its size. For me the aluminium edges are better looking than the stainless steel from the XS. It's a bit of a contrast from the shine of the rear and front glass and it is much easier to hold without it slipping. And although it may not look as premium as stainless steel aluminium is so much less likely to scratch and that is a huge benefit for its long time durability.

The display is possibly the weakest part of this phone. And it’s not just down to the resolution. Because most of the time iOS is scaled enough to not make it look soft but what a lot of people made out to be a big issue really isn't one at all. It's a much lower resolution than other phones on the market I'll give it that. But for normal distance use it really isn't noticeable.

The other issue that I have with this phone is to do with edge fading. It's difficult to show on this article, but there is some noticeable edge fading about this phone and it really does ruin the experience that titles. It appears most on brighter screens with the brightness turned down, but that's not to say this display isn't usable.

It is an LCD which is a little bit disappointing in today's market and it might impact the battery life, but I have no problems using this display every day. Although the notch is not really the standard we'd expect from today's market. The one thing that apple does best is symmetry. Whilst the bezels aren't the finished ones out there. The symmetry of the thickness is something that many companies overlook, but if something the only apple seemed to be doing right. Holding it next to a phone with flagship sized bezel the XR doesn't look amazing but on its own without anything to compare it to it does look great. How’s both inside the notch and at the bottom of the phone at the stereo speakers. And these are probably the best smartphone speakers I've ever heard. Just like on the XS.

Despite being a cheaper version of the XS the XR has exactly the same face ID technology inside. Which is really great to see. Just like with the XS it unlocks ridiculously quickly to the point where it feels like the phone isn't even locked and that's great. Face idea become a really easy way to unlock your phone and I'm a huge fan of it. Also has been the notch is the seven megapixel selfie camera almost it's not the best out there, it does produce some really nice looking images.

One thing I'm not a big fan of is the portrait mode because despite the fact that it uses the face ID sensors, the results are in portrait selfies are so far behind Google standards. Possibly the biggest surprise of this phone is the rear camera. Being a single camera instead of two it's clear Apple trying to cut down the features on this phone what's actually happened is that they've unintentionally made a camera system that is better than the XS’s camera in my opinion.

Images from the XR have the classic iPhone look of a cooler color temperature and bright overall look but that's no bad thing. Colors and sharpness from this phone are much better than my experience with this XS. And despite not having a secondary telephoto lens. I still believe this is one of the best iPhone cameras that has ever been released.

The only thing that lets this camera down is Apple holding it back through software in portrait mode. Unless your subject is a person it will not take a portrait photo. And that seems like a bit of a ridiculous removal considering that the XS doesn't actually use two cameras to do portrait mode. It uses one I tested that. So it's clearly just them trying to make you think this phone can't do this so should I buy the more expensive one and give them more money. And that's a bit disappointing to see.

Through putting an LCD instead of an OLED display on this phone and the removal of portrait mode for objects Apple are doing things to reduce the attraction to this phone and it seems unnecessary. Force touches also been removed which really limits the experience you can get from this device compared to iPhones. They've replicated the experience well enough through holding down the buttons that give you exactly the same haptic feedback. But it'll never be the same as it was with force touch. It feels like these third element of using an iPhone has been ripped out and it's a little bit jarring to use when the software itself is actually built around the integration of course touch.

iOS is the cleanest feeling operating system I've ever used. And although I'm an Android user most of the time the experience of using this phone with iOS 12 would genuinely make me consider switching permanently. There's something about the way the iOS works that's so uniform that satisfies the minimalist within me and it's a fabulous experience and start to finish.

Everything from the subtle animations which charges the ease of switching apps, iOS feels like you finished product where everything is the same. And although that's a pretty polarizing thing within the tech community. For me I find it to be a good thing.

However iOS isn't perfect but some parts of apps that just don't make sense for a user experience point of view, such as the way that you can share the link to a tweet and how different that is to sharing an Instagram or Facebook post. You can feel a little bit confused at times but only in specific areas. But the main basis for iOS is perfect. It's just the tiny details that kind of spoil it.

With an A12 chip and three gigabytes of RAM performance will be very similar to XS, if not the same thanks to the low resolution screen. Just like an XS it's a flawless performance experience throughout. I'm using this phone quite intensely and switching from apps to music and back is a really pleasant experience and hasn't been a single issue with performance for me. From gaming to social networking at the performance could not get any better from this phone if it tried.

But what really finishes up the experience for me is the integration of animations and a haptics within iOS and within the apps that are developed for iOS. Everything feels so well laid out and so well programmed to the device and that's really what makes an iPhone.

I bought my iPhone XR used for $578.34 and there is no better iPhone to be had for that price. The XR is a great device almost all around. But because of Apple's tiered product lineup, it's always gonna be held back by software restrictions and that has the potential to ruin this phone.

The removal of force touch the lack of portrait photos for anything but people and the softer looking LCD display instead of a high resolution OLED. It's all of these things put together the Apple of removed intentionally that have the potential to ruin the experience this phone has.

But if you can look past them, there is a great device to be had here. And that great phone really is still worth buying in 2019. This phone hasn't changed since it was released and it can only get better with the release of iOS updates.

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