Gizmodo reviews Apple’s iPhone Xr: ‘Affordability done right’

“Apple does not typically do budget devices, but as they go, the iPhone XR comes pretty close. While hardly cheap (a budget phone should be under $400, not $750!), it represents a calculated attempt at creating a more affordable device that isn’t a tremendous compromise,” Alex Cranz writes for Gizmodo. “Something powerful enough that you can enjoy the perks of having the latest tech, without having to spend top dollar. And that’s an extremely big deal, especially if spending $1000 on a phone feels like too much for you.”
“The XR is much cheaper than the XS, and cutting the cost required quite a few compromises,” Cranz writes. “The sides are aluminum instead of steel and it’s rated to IP67 instead of IP68—which means it’s good for up to 30 minutes of immersion in 1 meter of water instead of 2 meters… the biggest two differences are the display and the cameras. The XR uses a cheaper LCD display instead of the vibrant OLED found in the XS, and it has only one camera on the back instead of two.”
Apple’s A12 Bionic-powered iPhone Xr comes in six new finishes: white, black, blue, yellow, coral and (PRODUCT)RED.
 
“Apple has always done ‘inexpensive’ devices differently than the rest. In some cases, cheaper devices mean older models, like the iPhone 7 or the MacBook Air, that just stay in circulation way past their prime,” Cranz writes. “In others, they are new underpowered devices, like the iPhone SE or 5c, featuring appallingly outmoded hardware. In both cases, the compromises have been painful enough to make the devices at least somewhat unappealing. With the iPhone XR, Apple has gotten its take on an affordable device right.”
Read more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: Those looking for “under $400” smartphones are really not in Apple’s target market, but iPhone 7 is going for just $449 which is very close to Cranz’s utterly arbitrary number (that’s oh-so-conveniently $49 less than Apple’s entry level) and is a far better smartphone experience all around than some insecure, privacy-trampling fragmandroid pretend iPhone from some serial IP-thieving South Korean dishwasher maker or worse.
SEE ALSO:
It took Apple less than four days to sell out initial iPhone Xr supply – October 23, 2018
Some of Apple’s iPhone Xr models are already sold out – October 19, 2018
Apple’s 6.1-inch iPhone Xr looks set to become a huge blockbuster – October 16, 2018