Compare Apple iPhone XR deals and contracts

Apple's third iPhone release of 2018 could well be its most exciting yet. The iPhone XR retains many of the standout features from the iPhone XS and XS Max, but costs far less. A colourful new design and longer battery life make the latest release a force to be reckoned with.

Reviewers liked

• Much-improved battery life
• Colourful, attractive design
• Super fast processor
• Cheaper than other new iPhone releases

Reviewers disliked

• Lower resolution display

iPhone XR: in more detail

The iPhone XR should not be seen as a cut-price version of the XS or XS Max — you could argue in some ways it's better. The XR contains many of the features loved in its sibling phones including the superb A12 Bionic chipset. Yet users will also benefit from a much-longer battery life and a striking set of finishes to choose from.

As you might expect from a cheaper phone, there are some compromises. The XR comes with an LCD display rather than the OLED found in the XS and XS Max. However, those looking for an upgrade for an iPhone 8 or any older iPhone model will probably not see much of a difference in screen resolution.

Overall, the critical reception has been very positive with TechRadar praising it as "one of the best handsets Apple has ever made".

Design

The iPhone XR is a striking phone. On the front, you get an all-screen design created from the same durable glass found on the XS. As with its sibling models, the XR includes a top notch to house the Face ID and selfie cameras.

The XR is a little on the chunkier side, although the rounded edges and metal back mean this model still feels premium to the touch.

Apple has gone bold with its finishes for the XR, introducing a vibrant set of new colours; as well as the regular black and white, users can choose from blue, red, yellow and coral. A matching aerospace-grade aluminium band wraps around the edges to produce a truly elegant finish.

In praise, Digital Trends said "we feel like Gollum, constantly admiring the beauty of the one ring. It's perfection".

Display

The biggest difference between the iPhone XR and its XS and XS Max siblings is the display.

Apple claims the new Liquid Retina display in the iPhone XR is "the most advanced LCD in the industry". With 326 pixels per inch you get accurate colours and sharp details, more than enough for a typical user to watch Netflix or play games.

While the screen's resolution of 1,792 x 828 is lower than that of the iPhone XS, you're really not going to notice the difference unless you put them side by side. Those who like their screens big will also be pleased to hear the iPhone XR comes with a larger display than the XS — 6.1 inches compared to 5.8 inches.

Performance and battery

The iPhone XR is powered by Apple's all-new A12 Bionic chip. The six-core CPU contains two performance cores to take care of high-intensity tasks and four efficiency cores for your everyday tasks; these are up to 15% faster and use 50% less power than the A11 Bionic.

In addition, a four-core GPU has been added to improve graphic performance for games, video editing and visually demanding apps. Combined with a separate eight-core machine-learning processor, known as the Neural Engine, the A12 can perform five trillion operations per second. As a result, expect speedier and more efficient performance than any A11-powered device.

The Verge said "Apple's chips are so far ahead of the industry that it's clear the A12 Bionic has tons of headroom to spare; this phone should feel fast for a few years".

However, the battery is where the iPhone XR really sets itself apart from Apple's other models. The XR comes with a 2,945mAh battery that dwarfs the XS' 2,658mAh. However, the XR even outperforms the larger XS Max, thanks to a smaller display that makes lighter work for the XR's CPU and GPU. A Tom's Guide Battery Test saw the XR lasts around 45 minutes more than the XS Max and 100 minutes more than the XS.

The improved quality has been widely praised by reviewers with Forbes calling it "the biggest deal maker" for the latest iPhone.

Camera

The iPhone XR boasts a 12MP rear camera with an f/1.8 wide-angle lens, optical image stabilisation and 4k video compatibility. There's an excellent 7MP front-facing camera too, complete with an f/2.2 wide-angle lens.

The Neural Engine provides the camera with a number of impressive automatic capabilities, including facial landmarking to find the right light for your portraits and depth mapping to separate your subject from the background.

Similarly, Depth Control enables you to take stunning portraits with artistically blurred-out backgrounds, while Smart HDR mode delivers enhanced highlights and shadows to your snaps.

Interface

The iPhone XR features the same home button-less design found on the XS and XS Max and is also unlocked with facial recognition. However, Apple has ditched the 3D Touch navigation system and replaced it with Haptic Touch. Unless you were a huge fan of 3D Touch, you're unlikely to miss it much. Haptic Touch performs many of the same functions 3D Touch does, but instead of hard pressing you perform a long, soft press.

As with the XS and XS Max, the iPhone XR comes with the latest operating system, iOS 12. The latest upgrade, iOS 12.1, includes some exciting new features such as Group FaceTime and more than 70 new emojis.

Dual SIM

The iPhone XR features Apple's new Dual SIM technology, which allows you to have two plans on one phone. By using a physical SIM and a digital e-SIM, users can make and receive calls and texts on two different lines from one single device. This is particularly handy for those with both a business and a personal phone number, or for travelers wishing to add a local plan when abroad.

At present, the only wireless carrier in the UK that supports e-SIM is EE.

Release date

The iPhone XS has been available in the UK since 26 October 2018.

What the critics say (scores are out of 100)

100	What Hi-Fi? It not only stacks up well against its family members, it displays a level of musicality that rivals brands can only dream of. A smart choice for those who want a bite of the Apple for a relatively affordable price. Read full review
100	Six Colors | Jason Snell For most people, this is clearly the best value in modern iPhones. I'm glad that Apple threw out its old iPhone playbook to create it. Read full review
100	Expert Reviews | Jonathan Bray The iPhone XR is not the best iPhone, but it's nearly as good as the Xs and it's far, far cheaper. Read full review
100	Macworld | Michael Simon The iPhone XR might not be as cutting-edge as the iPhone XS, but it strikes a perfect balance between affordability and luxury without sacrificing the things that make it great. Read full review
100	Stuff | Natalya Paul While it misses out on a few luxuries, the iPhone XR is the toughest, cheapest and sweetest iPhone you can buy. Read full review
100	Alphr | Jonathan Bray You'll notice there's nothing bad to say about the iPhone XR in any of the paragraphs above, so I'll say it here: its price is a lot for a smartphone... For those Android refuseniks, the iPhone XR is an easy recommendation: you don't lose much by saving and passing on the Xs. Read full review
95	Mashable | Raymond Wong 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. For once, the cheaper iPhone is the better choice. Read full review
94	Pickr | Leigh Stark If you had the money spare and you had your heart set on the iPhone XS, we know which way we'd suggest, but the iPhone XR just makes so much sense. If the iPhone XS Max is made for people with money to spare, the iPhone XR is the iPhone for everybody else. Highly recommended. Read full review
90	TechRadar | Gareth Beavis If you're looking for an affordable iPhone, the iPhone XR is a strong contender boasting the latest software, enough power and surprisingly good battery life. Read full review
90	TechPP (Technology Personalized) | Nimish Dubey And we guess that is going to be the biggest appeal of the iPhone XR – the fact that even though it is expensive, it is still less so than the XS and XS Max and delivers most of what those two can do, and add a dash of color to design besides. Read full review
90	SlashGear | Chris Davies Seen through that lens, though the iPhone XR may not be "perfect" it's definitely close enough for most. Read full review
90	NotebookCheck | Daniel Schmidt The iPhone XR is a cheaper and more colourful version of the XS-series. The XR shares much of its hardware with its more expensive siblings without having to compromise in key areas to save on price. Read full review
90	Trusted Reviews | Max Parker The best all-around iPhone you can buy right now. Read full review
90	phoneArena | Rado Slavov The iPhone XR is a very interesting new iPhone... With smartphone prices (not just iPhone prices) consistently going up, it's good to know that there's still a reasonably priced iPhone we can turn to. Read full review
90	Know Your Mobile | Damien McFerran Despite cutting some corners to reach that price point, Apple has created a colourful and powerful handset which is arguably a better choice than the more expensive XS and XS Max. Read full review
90	Firstpost | Sheldon Pinto This affordable iPhone XR makes the premium iPhone XS redundant. Read full review
90	VentureBeat | Jeremy Horwitz If a family member or friend was shopping for a phone now and needed something right away, I would point right to the iPhone XR. For the price, it's a better choice than the iPhone XS or iPhone XS Max. Read full review
90	T3 | Matthew Bolton You can get Android phones that match it for quality for cheaper, and that's definitely something to consider – the Huawei P20 Pro is a particularly juicy option. But it's a no-compromise iPhone experience you want, the iPhone XR offers it. Read full review
90	AVForums | David Phelan This is the iPhone which, for most people, is everything they'll need. Is it the best iPhone yet? No, but it's probably the best-value. Read full review
90	The Economic Times | ians At this price point, iPhone XR will give you a near identical performance of an iPhone XS or XS Max. True Apple upgrade, device performance close enough to XS or XS Max. Read full review
90	Pocket-lint | Stuart Miles For those who want Apple's latest design without spending a fortune, this is the iPhone for you. An iPhone to reach the masses. Read full review
90	Gizmodo UK | Alex Cranz The XR is good enough that I don't miss the XS. Apple undercut itself, and we're all better off for it. Read full review
90	Tom's Guide | Mark Spoonauer The iPhone XR delivers fast performance, great cameras and longer battery life than other flagship phones, all in a colorful and affordable package. Read full review
90	news.com.au | Nick Whigham If you're looking for a new iPhone, for your average punter it's probably hard to justify the extra spend when you've got this option available. Read full review
90	Digital Trends | Julian Chokkattu The iPhone XR is a solid choice if you want what flagship iPhones offer, without the flagship price. Read full review
89	Engadget | Chris Velazco ... everything Apple offers here is much, much better than just "good enough." The XR is the iPhone we'd recommend to most people. Read full review
88	CNET UK | Scott Stein The iPhone XR is the best iPhone for the price, delivering most of the advantages of the iPhone XS for hundreds less. Read full review
85	India Today | Sanket Vijayasarathy The XR is for consumers planning to upgrade from an iPhone 8 or older iPhone, and I think for them the display will look quite good Read full review
84	ZDNet | Matthew Miller The iPhone XR is a great Apple iPhone that is priced way less than the flagship XS models. Read full review
80	GadgetMatch | Michael Josh Villanueva If you're in the market for a new iPhone and have been holding off, the iPhone XR is a strong candidate. Read full review
80	Tech.co | Tom Fogden The iPhone XR is, objectively, a good phone. It has a decent screen, a super-fast processor, decent battery life, and an attractive design. It also benefits from the typically tight integration into Apple's ecosystem and brand kudos. However, when you compare it to its competitors, the XR seems out-gunned with its single camera and particularly its LCD screen. Read full review
80	The Indian Express | Nandagopal Rajan For those looking at the iPhone XR as competition to Android flagships, I would just say the Samsung Galaxy Note 9 offers much more at the moment. Read full review
80	AnandTech | Andrei Frumusanu I think the deciding factor for most users is whether they find the design/ergonomics of the phone acceptable, as well as the display's pixel density. If so, then the iPhone XR certainly seems to represent a better value than the XS alternatives....I think the iPhone XR is also priced a tad too high, and if you're not entrenched in the iOS ecosystem, there are better value alternatives. Read full review
80	Ars Technica | Samuel Axon The iPhone XR exists primarily because Apple wants to continually push the envelope on display tech, manufacturing process and materials, and more with its flagship phones, but those flagships carry price tags too steep to reach every prospective customer the company is interested in...This phone lets Apple have its cake and eat it, too, but fortunately, this means buyers get to feast as well...it's still not going to serve consumers who want an affordable entry point for iOS. To get that, you have to look at the two-year-old iPhone 7. Read full review
80	Gadgets Now | Aabhas Sharma The iPhone XR will not be remembered for its looks – perhaps its colours -- or camera but it has all the makings of a game-changer. Read full review
80	TechnoBuffalo | Brandon Russell The Hydrogen One is a badly missed first attempt on RED's part. Credit the company for being unique and aiming for something more, but it fails to meet the bare minimum of modern smartphone quality. Read full review
80	The Guardian | Samuel Gibbs The iPhone XR does last longer than the other 2018 iPhones, and it comes in some stunning colour options. If you must buy an iPhone but can't or won't spend £999 or more, the iPhone XR is the smartphone for you. Read full review
80	Wired | Lauren Goode Apple wants to offer you choices, but it also wants to make sure it continues to make money selling smartphones ... This iPhone was a steal, you'll think to yourself. Well. Maybe. Sort of. Read full review
80	Mobile Syrup | Patrick O'Rourke The handset is designed for Apple users that want access to the iPhone X, iPhone XS and iPhone XS Max's most useful and eye-catching features, but that don't want to shell out the money for the company's top-tier devices Read more at MobileSyrup.com: iPhone XR Review: Best iPhone for the average Apple user Read full review
80	91mobiles | Nitansh Rastogi Apart from the meaningful difference in camera capabilities, the iPhone XR is perhaps the best iPhone launched this year. Do pick one of the funky colour options though, if you're swiping your plastic… Read full review
80	The Verge | Nilay Patel When I first picked up the iPhone XR, it felt like the big questions would be about what the XR was missing compared to the XS. But now that I've used this thing for a while, that seem like the wrong way to think about it. The real question for iPhone buyers is whether the high-res OLED display on the XS is worth $250 more than the XR. Because otherwise, the XR offers almost everything you'd want in a 2018 phone. Read full review
70	PC Mag | Sascha Segan The Apple iPhone XR is the fashion-forward model of this year's iPhones, but it trades top-notch performance for a colorful design. Read full review

Compare Apple iPhone XR specs side-by-side with other phones COMPARE SPECS

Dimensions & Form	Form factor: Touchscreen bar Dimensions 150.9 x 75.7 x 8.3 mm (5.94 x 2.98 x 0.33 in) Weight: 194 g (6.84 oz)
Screen	Size: 6.1 inches diagonal Resolution: 1792 x 828 pixels Screen Density: 324 ppi Screen-to-Body Ratio: 80 % Display Type: Super AMOLED
Runs
Performance	Chipset: Apple A12 Bionic CPU: Hexa-core (2x Vortex + 4x Tempest) GPU: Apple GPU (4-core graphics) RAM: 3GB
Camera	Main Camera: 12 megapixels with Optical Image Stablisation and quad-LED flash Secondary Camera: 7 megapixels
Storage	Built-in Storage: 64GB, 128GB, 256GB Expandable Storage: Not Available
Battery & Charging	Capacity: 2945 mAh Removable Battery: No Wireless Charging: Yes Quick Charge: Fast battery charging: 50% in 30 min
SIM standard	Nano SIM Compare SIM Only deals
Water & Dust Resistance	IP67 Rating: Protection from contact with harmful dust, and protection from immersion in water up to a depth of 1m for up to 30 minutes
Fingerprint Reader	None
References & More info	Official website GSMArena specs page

Photos taken with the Apple iPhone XR

We've used Flickr to find a selection of pictures taken by the Apple iPhone XR camera. Here is a selection of photos taken by users from around the world so you can see what kind of picture quality you can expect from real-world use of the Apple iPhone XR.

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

All images shown are used under the rights and terms specified by the Creative Commons.