New gadgets by iPhone named XR and XS were released in autumn 2018, almost a month apart. IPhone XS hit the shops on September 28, and iPhone XR on October 26.
However, in some countries iPhone XR entered the market a little later. For example, iPhone XR sales started on November 2 in some former USSR states: in Ukraine, Georgia, and Kazakhstan. In Israel, the sales started on November 1. In South Korea and a dozen other countries, the sales were launched on November 2. Moreover, in Chile, Malaysia and Thailand it was possible to make a pre-order, and deliveries began on October 26.

Public Opinion on iPhone XS
The first buyers wrote many positive reviews of iPhone XS. They complemented its cool bright screen, handy case and great camera with fast focus. Once again, Apple managed to impress its fans, and it was quite unsurprising.
Harris Insights & Analytics developed and conducted a survey among a thousand of Americans aged from 21. The purpose of the survey was to determine the reaction of consumers and potential buyers to the new generation of smartphones. According to the statistics, only 26% of respondents said that iPhone XS had made a great impression on them, and 22% said that the new iPhone is innovative. However, 28% of respondents noticed that all the goodies were predictable and obvious.
25% of the surveyed were critical about the launch of the brand new iPhone XS. 9% of respondents were disappointed with the new generation, and 9% noted that smartphones were boring, while 7% said that iPhone XS appeared to be too complicated.
Public Perception of iPhone XR
Users were waiting for XR with the same impatience they had been expecting X and XS back then. The release of the last-mentioned XS and XS Max was a logical course of the product line, and people longed for a cheaper smartphone for a long time.

The design impressed everyone with new colors. They look bright and elegant at the same time. Even the typical white color does not seem simple; it is snow-white and looks noble.
Both sides of the phone are painted in the same colors as of the case. It looks chick, but the negative experience with the iPhone 5 sides suggests the short duration of this beauty.
People were happy about new colors: yellow, coral, light blue and red smartphones immediately found their fans. It is noteworthy that the model in red came out together with the rest.

Users were curious about the novelty, as Apple prepared the release of the new Liquid Retina display to reduce the final cost of iPhone XR. The diagonal was 6.1 inches, which is only slightly larger than the screens of the previous versions of X and XS. The frames became wider, but this is not a drawback. Such a change makes the new model stand out from the other models of the X line.
The camera also delighted customers. Thanks to the modern AI technologies and the program of face detection, it focuses on human faces and makes the background fuzzy.
There is one feature: the camera will not wash away the background behind a simple subject as this function works only if it finds a human face in the shot..
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The resolution of the main camera is 12 MP, and the front camera is 7MP, which is enough for detailed and clear photography, considering the other wonderful optical characteristics.Yahoo Sponsored Ads
Users were also delighted with the availability of three versions of memory capacity: 64, 128 and 256 GB. In addition, the little difference in the prices of these three versions took their fancy. Summing up, we can say that the reaction of the public is positive. Apple has released a decent smartphone at an attractive price.
Comparative characteristics of iPhone XS and XR
iPhone XS | iPhone XR | |
---|---|---|
Processor | 6-core A12 Bionic | 6-core A12 Bionic |
RAM | 4 GB | 3 GB |
OS | iOS (12.x) | iOS (12.x) |
Memory capacity | 64 GB, 256 GB, 512 GB | 64 GB, 128 GB, 256 GB |
Protection against moisture and dirt | IP 68, 30 minutes on 2-meter depth | IP67, 30 min on 1-meter depth |
Size | 143.6 x 70.9 x 7.7 mm | 150.9 x 75.7 x 8.3 mm |
Display | OLED display with True Tone | Liquid Retina display with True Tone |
Pixels | 459 ppi | 326 ppi |
Resolution | 2436 x 1125 pixels | 1792 x 828 pixels |
Diagonal | 5.8 inches (14.73 cm) | 6.1 inches (15.49 cm) |
Main camera | Dual camera (12MP + 12MP) with wide angle and telephoto lens with f/1.8 and f/2.4 aperture | One camera (12 MP) with f/1.8 aperture |
Front camera | 7-TrueDepth megapixel Camera, f/2.2 aperture | 7-TrueDepth megapixel Camera, f/2.2 aperture |
Communication | two SIM cards (normal + sim), Gigabit LTE / Bluetooth 5.0, VoLTE, NFC | two SIM cards (normal + sim), LTE-Advanced / Bluetooth 5.0, VoLTE, NFC |
GPS | GPS, GLONASS | GPS, GLONASS |
Battery | 2658 mAh | 2942 mAh |
Weight | 177 g | 194 g |
Case colors | Silver, Space Grey, Gold | Blue, White, Black, Yellow, Coral, Red |
Compare iPhone XS to iPhone X
The XS model has many updates that are especially interesting for those who use iPhone 7 Plus and earlier versions.
It is worth noting that iPhone XS borrowed all the functions from iPhone X, but with some renewals.

New Processor A12 Bionic
Apple designed and installed on its new gadgets A12 Bionic, the smartest, most powerful and fastest processor. Thanks to the Neural Engine technology, these smartphones impress us with excellent performance. The processor uses artificial intelligence and machine learning technologies, which offers great opportunities in photography, games and other fields of application.
For complex computing tasks, A12 Bionic uses the Neural Engine technology, while for everyday tasks it uses four performance cores. The new performance controller distributes tasks between the cores, and it activates all the cores only for intensive tasks. Compared to the A11 Bionic, the performance of the two cores increased by 15%, while the power consumption of the four cores decreased by 50%.

- The smartphone is protected according to the IP68 Protocol. This suggests that you can put the smartphone in the water for half an hour to a 2-meter depth, and your actions will not affect the performance.
- You can expand memory by 512 GB.
- The weight of the cell increased by 3 g to 177 g.
- Changes in the quality of photography are enormous. Advanced algorithms and improved processor allow displaying the details of light and dark areas of the photo. The portrait mode has new features: the adjustable focusing depth and the improved bokeh-effect. In addition, photos got a spectacular background.
- Now you can shoot 4K video with surround stereo sound;
- The front camera True Depth got an updated video stabilization, and the ability to shoot 1080p HD video with 60 fps;
- 1 GB LTE;
- In the working mode, the battery retains the charge up to 30 minutes longer;
- The model supports 2 nanoSIM and eSIM cards, and the version for China works with two nanoSIM cards.
Compare iPhone XR to X
Released at the end of October, iPhone XR is a completely new model of the Apple smartphone line. Its target audience belongs to the budget segment of the market. So, XR is perfect for iPhone lovers who are not willing to spend pots of money on the gadget.

- The 6-core high-performance A12 Bionic processor is more powerful than the previous version of A11 and 70% faster than the iPhone X processor.
- Both devices have 3GB of RAM. As for the memory capacity versions, iPhoneX had two options: 64 and 256 GB, and XR has three versions: 64, 128 and 256 GB.
- Cameras at XR and X are similar, and both have 12 megapixels. The front camera of XR is more effective thanks to the algorithms of the software optimization. New parameters such as 5x zoom, as well as the "depth" function and the bokeh-effect in the portrait mode are quite important. Smart HDR allows you to take high-quality photos with minimal lighting.
- The display diagonal increased by 0.3 inches, the screen resolution is 1792 × 828 pixels against 2436 x 125 in model X.
- The LCD display is aimed at reducing the final cost of the model, and it still supports True Tone technology. The negative point is the lack of 3D Touch.
- iPhone X came out in two colors. iPhone XR has six bright colors of the case: Blue, White, Black, Yellow, Coral, and 3-Red.
When browsing the Internet, the XR battery works 3 hours longer, as much as 15 hours. As for the phone conversation, the time of work increases to 25 hours. You can watch videos for about 16 hours and listen to music for about 65 hours.
This model is protected from adverse environmental conditions by the IP67 protocol. This means that its case is completely protected from dust, and it will work in the water at a depth of up to a meter for 30 minutes.
Compare iPhone XS to XR
For the sake of reducing the final cost, iPhone XR has undergone some transformations.
- IPhone XR is a bit bigger and weights more than iPhone XS.
- Protection against water and dust in XR and XS is provided by different protocols: IP67 and IP68 classes respectively. The difference is that XS can be put on the depth of two meters in the water for half an hour or less, and XR can endure only one meter dipping. However, it's still a high-class defense.
- The iPhone XR case is made of aluminum and the case of XS is made of stainless steel. XR is presented in six colors, XS got only three.
The LCD screen of IPhone XR is 6.1 inches, it is wider and longer than the XS’s. Due to this, the weight is bigger, and the frames of the screen are wider. The XR screen is simplified to reduce the final cost. It has lower characteristics of contrast, color saturation, and resolution. However, this is not a critical disadvantage, as the screen is still bright, colorful and clear.

The 6-core powerful Apple A12 Bionic processor is installed on both models. If you compare it with the 11th version, its productivity increased by 15%, and the graphics performance grew by 50%.
- The RAM capacity also differs: 4 GB in XS and 3 GB in XR. The memory capacity varies in the 64-512 GB range.
- IPhone XR got a single camera, IPhone XS has a double camera. The front cameras True Depth on both iPhones are the same.
- Due to the Secure Enclave chip, the improved sensor in the camera and the powerful processor, the Face ID recognition system works much faster.
The communication standards are the same. The difference is the type of LTE.
For the first time, iPhones began to support two SIM-cards, and one of them is electronic. The Chinese version supports two physical cards.
Apple does not report the battery capacity, but it can be compared to previous models. For example, the battery working time of iPhone XS in comparison with iPhone X increased by 30 minutes, and iPhone XR retains the charge up to an hour and a half longer than iPhone 8 Plus. This means that the cheaper gadget iPhone XR performs longer without recharging.
IPhone XS VS iPhone XR: What Is Better
Of course, everyone will make his own choice, focusing on the necessary parameters and budget. Someone will appreciate longer battery life, and someone will prefer a dual camera.
Apple has made a big contribution by providing both iPhone XS and XR with the A12 Bionic processor. This is good news for those who wants to save money and buy iPhone XR. It will work as cool as iPhone XS.
The main differences between the models in brief:
- The XR camera is better, but it has fewer modes;
- The XR display is larger;
- XR works longer without charging;
- XR supports two SIM cards.
For most people, iPhone XR is the best Apple gadget you can buy today. It does not have all the bells and whistles you can find in iPhone XS, but still, it is an excellent device at its price, which has a few undoubted advantages.