13 Reviews
T3
100
The iPhone XR delivers a full 2018 iPhone experience for a great price. It deserves to stand outside of the shadow of the iPhone XS, offering a finely balanced experience that takes most that phone’s premium feel, and throwing in a couple of tricks of its own.
- Supremely slick and powerful
- Very strong camera
- Great battery life
- Excellent build quality
- Less flexible camera system than the XS
- Can get a better screen for the money
- Lack of 3D Touch is weird
Stuff
100
While it misses out on a few luxuries, the iPhone XR is the toughest, cheapest and sweetest iPhone you can buy.
The XR is the perfect antidote to the ludicrously expensive XS duo and it’s refreshing to see Apple isn’t scrimping on the important stuff to push down that price. In the flesh, the LCD screen is far better than we could’ve ever imagined after Apple’s announcement in September. The camera is as good as many other flagships, and although you might not get the wow-factor on portrait mode, pictures are still worthy of a 100 insta likes.
If you’re nestled in the Apple eco-system and haven’t upgraded in a year or so, the XR is a no brainer. If you made the jump to iPhone X in 2017, you probably won’t be that impressed and should opt for the iPhone XS.
Macworld
100
The iPhone XR gets second billing to the iPhone XS and is seen as a lesser alternative. It’s most definitely not. It might not be quite as cutting-edge as the XS, but it’s a massive improvement over the iPhone 8 and 8 Plus, and even with a single camera, the XR is able to take stellar photos, even portraits. Easily, the iPhone XR is the best entry-level iPhone Apple has ever made, and it’s not much of a stretch to say that the iPhone XR is the greatest iPhone Apple has made to date, with a perfect blend of good, better, and best.
- Impressive design that adds just enough personality
- Crazy fast with incredible battery life
- Single camera does well to handle the work of two
- Bezels are very thick
- Portrait mode limited to people
Mashable
95
The iPhone XR is the Goldilocks of iPhones with a big screen, fantastic cameras, and future-proof power — all at price that’s considerably less than the iPhone XS and XS Max.
- Comes in six colors
- Just as fast as iPhone XS and faster than any Android phone
- Cameras take fantastic photos and video
- Longest battery life on any iPhone
- Big, bright, and vibrant display
- Thicker than the iPhone XS and XS Max
- Portrait mode only works on people
- No dongle or fast charger in box
- Relatively big bezels for an edge-to-edge display
Digital Trends
90
The iPhone XR is the best iPhone of the year.
Yes, the iPhone XS and XS Max have better screens and more versatile cameras, but neither of them look as gorgeous as the XR in yellow, blue, or coral. The iPhone XR (pronounced “ten-R”) is also significantly more affordable and carries many of the best features from the flagships. It’s an unquestionably superb value at $750, especially if you’re still shopping around for an iPhone and the $1,000 price tag on the XS is bringing you down.
Should you buy it? Absolutely. Buy it in yellow. You won’t be disappointed.
TechRadar
90
Of the three iPhones launched in 2018, the iPhone XR is the most impressive of the lot. Not because of the strength of the spec – the iPhone XS is slightly ahead in a lot of areas – but what you’re ‘saving’ by going for this model far outweighs what you’re losing. A multitude of colors, very good battery life and a lower price? If you want a new iPhone, check this one out first.
- Great battery life for an iPhone
- Attractive array of colors
- Lower price tag
- Portrait camera mode doesn’t impress
- Some apps still not fully optimized
- Lower-res screen
Pocket-lint
90
Sure, the iPhone XR doesn’t offer a screen or camera setup that’s as good as the top-of-the-range, but that’s the play in having a more affordable handset. Besides, many will be perfectly happy with what’s on offer, especially as there’s no compromise in power.
As an upgrade option over, say, the iPhone 7, the XR’s larger display, bright colour finishes and considerable power will appeal. Yes, we’ve missed not being able to take a picture of our dog in Portrait Mode, but we think we can live without this feature for the most part.
For those who want Apple’s latest design without spending a fortune, this is the iPhone for you.
- More affordable than the XS models
- Large 6.1-inch display
- Still a good camera
- A12 Bionic processor delivers top spec power
- Great colour options
- Wireless charging
- IP67 weather/dust sealing
- LCD display can’t beat the XS’s OLED panel
- Single rather than dual camera has some limitations
- No 3D Touch
- No mobile HDR
Engadget
89
I alluded to this earlier, but building a device like the iPhone XR is an exercise in thoughtful compromise. How do you give people as good an iOS experience as possible for $750? Apple’s answer – by folding top-tier performance, valuable software and a solid camera into a cheaper, well-made body – seems like a winner. That’s not to say the XR is perfect: People concerned about the display’s resolution have a point, and the camera just isn’t as flexible as other ones Apple has produced.
While these are definitely factors to keep in mind, I don’t think they’re deal breakers for the audience Apple is trying to reach. For those people, who haven’t upgraded their iPhones in a while or who want a taste of what Apple is capable of without spending $1,000, the XR isn’t just a great, cheaper iPhone. It’s a great iPhone, period, and, for that matter, it’s the iPhone most people should buy.
- A12 chipset means excellent performance
- The best battery of any iPhone we’ve tested this year
- Typically great build quality
- 6.1-inch screen hits the sweet spot
- Colors!
- A higher-res display would’ve been nice
- The camera lacks some flexibility
- More expensive than comparable Android phones
CNET
88
If you’re looking for a great iPhone that costs well under a grand, dive right in. This is the iPhone. This is the one you’re looking for.
The iPhone XR is the best iPhone for the price, delivering most of the advantages of the iPhone XS for hundreds less.
- Less expensive yet delivers most iPhone X and XS features
- Excellent big screen in a comfortable body
- Fast performance
- Face ID and wireless charging
- Camera mostly as good as the iPhone XS
- Single rear camera lacks optical zoom
- Limited portrait mode
- LCD screen, while large, bright and vivid, is still a step below iPhone XS OLED
ZDNet
84
After about a week with the phone, I am enjoying it for the most part, but there are some compromises that I am not satisfied with. These include the inability to take any kind of bokeh effect photo unless a person is in the picture and the sub-par cellular reception in weak signal areas.
The iPhone XR is a great Apple iPhone that is priced $250 and $350 less than the flagship XS models. However, cellular signal strength is important to me and I am likely going to jump to the iPhone XS at the end of November to get back to the form factor I fell in love with earlier this year.
- Excellent photo quality
- Cool color options
- Long battery life
- Loud stereo speakers
- Wireless charging support
- Poor cellular reception in weak signal areas
- Portrait mode limited to people
The Verge
80
Personally, I would pay the extra money for a better OLED screen in a heartbeat because I am extremely picky about displays. But I think most people can find way better ways to spend $250 than on things like infinite black levels and 60 percent wider dynamic range when viewing photos. And in that case, the iPhone XR is a no-brainer upgrade.
- Fun colors
- Competitive price for Apple’s latest processor and cameras
- Great battery life
- Good but not great display
- Only one size option
- Camera does strange things sometimes
Tom's Guide
80
Verdict: The iPhone XR delivers fast performance, great cameras and longer battery life than other flagship phones, all in a colorful and affordable package.
- Fastest processor in a phone
- Very long battery life
- Excellent camera performance
- Big, bright and colorful LCD
- Superb audio quality
- Great flagship value
- Single rear camera lacks 2x optical zoom
- Portrait Mode works only with people
Wired
80
So there are some differences between the iPhone XR and the flagship iPhone XS that are positive. Like the fact that the iPhone XR’s battery life is better than the smaller iPhone XS’s. And, personally, I really like the colors tones offered with the iPhone XR. There are other differences between the two iPhones that show clear signs of cost-cutting in the XR. Apple wants to offer you choices, but it also wants to make sure it continues to make money selling smartphones.
- Great battery life
- Standout colors
- Camera will seem like a dream to anyone upgrading from an older iPhone
- This “cheaper” iPhone has the same top-of-the-line processor that the iPhone XS has. Plus, it costs a few bucks less than a Pixel 3.
- Aluminum body and LCD are a throwback to the days before ultra-precise, stainless steel bodies and rich-looking OLED displays
- Single-lens rear camera means means you miss out on advanced photography features
- Storage is capped at 256 gigabytes, though pricier iPhones go to 512
- What happened to 3D Touch?