iPhone 8 Plus vs. iPhone XR

Photo courtesy: Apple

I'm only 10 months into paying my iPhone 8 Plus, so I won't be eligible for an upgrade for a while.  But, if I were to upgrade, would I be interested in the new iPhone XR?

Last year, I didn't feel the extra money was worth getting the iPhone X. Is the XR worth upgrading from the 8 Plus?

SCREEN

Both the 8 Plus and the XR feature LCD screens, unlike the OLED screens of its Xs cousins. But, the XR has a larger 6.1" screen with a slightly "better" Liquid Retina screen. The pixels-per-inch actually goes down (from 401 to 326), but has a better contrast ratio (from 1300:1 to 1400:1).

SIZE

Despite having a larger screen, the XR is actually slightly smaller in size than the 8 Plus. The height of the XR is about a quarter-of-an-inch smaller and the width is about 2 millimeters shorter. The XR is actually about three-quarters-of-a-millimeter thicker and the weight about a third-of-an-ounce lighter.

Photo courtesy: Apple

COLORS

Taking a page from the iPhone 5c, the XR comes in a myriad of colors: black, white, blue, yellow, coral (pink) and (Product) RED. The 8 Plus only came in space gray, silver and gold.

The XR appears to have a matte aluminum finish as opposed to the glossy finish of the 8 Plus.  But, that also means the black on the XR is a deeper black and the white is a brighter white. Like the iPhone X, all of the XR phones have a black bezel on its screen unlike previous iPhones that were either white or black. Frankly, I'm glad they got rid of the white bezel.


CAMERAS

Now, the difference in cameras is where I have problems upgrading to the XR. The rear-facing camera on the 8 Plus is pretty close to the dual camera system on the X. On the XR, we go back to a single camera system like the iPhone 8. Because of that, the XR loses the 2x optical zoom and even the digital zoom is a paltry 5x compared with the 10x on the 8 Plus. The XR also loses some portrait lighting effects -- Stage & Stage Mono, to be specific.

The XR does have support for the advanced bokeh, Depth Control and Smart HDR features, which are really cool. For video recording on the rear-facing camera, the XR now has an extended dynamic range up to 30 fps as well as stereo recording.

The front-facing camera gets a fairly major upgrade for the XR. It finally gets portrait mode with Portrait Lighting as well as the new features like advanced bokeh and Depth Control. Taking a video selfie on the XR now comes with extended dynamic range at 30 fps, Cinematic video stabilization at 1080p and 720p, 1080p HD video recording at 30 fps or 60 fps, as well as Animoji and Memoji.

FAREWELL

With the XR, we bid goodbye to the Home button and 3D Touch. The Xs will get 3D Touch, but it is apparent that will be a luxury feature. The Home button is also no longer necessary now that Face ID is the primary unlocking and security authentication method.

PROCESSOR

The A11 Bionic with Neural Engine is replaced with the A12 Bionic with the next-generation Neural Engine. While I could spout all kinds of numbers, none of that really matters to the average person. There were a couple of demos that showed off the processing power.

AUDIO

The XR has a wider stereo playback, according to Apple. Not sure what that means but I'll need to hear it myself.

BATTERY LIFE

Apple says general battery life is up to 1.5 hours longer than the 8 Plus.

DUAL SIM

Unless you travel or need to keep two separate plans on one phone, then most won't need the dual SIM feature on the XR. But, it's nice to know it's there.

PRICING

Pricing for the XR starts at $749 for the 64GB version. However, the real bargain is at the 128GB model, which is $799. That's $50 less than the 256GB 8 Plus and the 8 Plus didn't have a 128GB option. I believe that 128GB is that sweet spot for most people. The XR tops out at 256GB at $899.

FINAL THOUGHTS

For me, the lack of 2x optical zoom is the dealbreaker. I have used that feature so many times over the past year. However, if you take mostly portrait or landscape photos, the XR could be for you. The XR has a decent amount of camera features that are similar to the Xs, especially if you are into taking photo or video selfies. If you need the dual SIM feature, you'll have to get an Xs or XR. Also, if FOMO is kicking in with the Animoji and Memoji, the XR is the lowest cost option. The XR also sports the widest amount of color options in an iPhone.