The Apple iPhone XR Review: A Different Display Leads To Brilliant Battery Life
by Andrei Frumusanu on February 5, 2019 9:45 AM EST- Posted in
- Mobile
- Apple
- Smartphones
- iPhone XR
Camera - Quick Verification
The camera on the iPhone XR is a straightforward matter: It employs the same module as on the iPhone XS and XS Max, meaning we find a new 12MP sensor with 1.4µm pixel pitches and better DTI (Deep trench isolation), as well as an f/1.8 aperture lens along with OIS in the module. The only difference is that the iPhone XR eschews having a telephoto lens – meaning the phone won’t be able to have as high a quality of zoomed in photos as its more expensive XS siblings.
We can quickly verify the picture quality results against the iPhone XS:
[ iPhone XR ] - [ iPhone XS ]
[ iPhone XR ] - [ iPhone XS ]
In both images, the results are virtually identical. This was to be expected, but it’s always good to verify!
Overall, rather than repeating myself here I'm going to refer to the camera section of the iPhone XS review, as all of my analysis there is also valid for iPhone XR – minus the telephoto module, of course.
The iPhone XS Camera Review - Historic iPhone comparisons
Similarly, for readers interested in a broader, more contemporary camera comparison, I'm going to refer to the camera comparison in our Google Pixel 3 review. It contains the most up-to-date camera comparisons across 2018 flagship phones, including results of the iPhone XS against the newest Android competition.
The Google Pixel 3 Review - Most recent full competitive camera review
Overall – the iPhone XR camera shines in the same way the iPhone XS camera did: Apple’s absolute strength here is in terms of picture consistency and the assurance that essentially every shot will come out the same in the best possible way.
Key to making this happen was that this generation’s main camera sensor saw big improvements in terms of resolving details – thanks to the bigger sensor with bigger pixels, as well as the much improved DTI (Deep trench isolation) which is able to reduce noise and improve sharpness. Apple’s new HDR system is also a big upgrade for the new iPhones, as it manages to capture a much greater dynamic range in virtually all scenarios. Low-light performance of the new iPhones is also good – although Apple doesn’t use some of the new-fangled computational photography magic that is now standard on Huawei devices, and was most recently adopted by Google’s Pixel phones.
Another aspect of the camera that is understated for the new generation of phones is an absolute huge jump in video recording quality. Here the dynamic range in video recording has seen immense jumps – and together with Apple’s first-time introduction of stereo audio recording, actually makes the new iPhones, including the XR, what I find to be the best smartphones on the market for video recording.
The lack of a telephoto lens on the XR is something that needs to be subjectively evaluated based on your experience and needs. On one hand, I do find it quite useful and a feature I would probably miss – but on the other hand it’s also not something that I find to be a deal-breaker or represent a key deciding factor when having to choose between different smartphones. It’s a feature that augments the camera experience, but one can also live without it.
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GreenReaper - Tuesday, February 5, 2019 - link
I don't think that's the case. LCD is more efficient than OLED unless you're looking at a largely-black screen. There have been reviews looking specifically at power usage and they show a significant increase for OLED screens.FreckledTrout - Wednesday, February 6, 2019 - link
Its both the resolution and the use of LCD since LCD has lower standby draw.beggerking@yahoo.com - Wednesday, February 6, 2019 - link
don't think thats true.... OLED only light up pixels that needs to be lite up.. while LCD requires the whole backlight to be lite up... unless you really dim the LCD, OLED typically is more efficient.beggerking@yahoo.com - Wednesday, February 6, 2019 - link
Proof OLED is more effecient than LCD ... from macworldhttps://www.macworld.com/article/3223143/displays/...
cha0z_ - Monday, February 11, 2019 - link
Wrong, even the current gen LCDs are draining more power than a OLED current gen screen. The only exclusion would be a maxed out brightness, but most people don't use the phone in max brightness most of the time. Then again, I don't know what the power consumption of the XS OLED is (can't recall the Andrei tests, you can check them out in the review).The lower screen resolution is the reason for the long battery life, not only because the UI is using a lot less GPU to draw, but this goes to every app too - like youtube, that will run most videos at 720p while my note 9 will run them at 1440p if available. The workload for 720p and 1440p is a lot different and leads to different battery usage.Then we have games... for xs they will be it's native resolution in a lot of cases, but for the xr they will be 720p. And so on and so on... the resolution is playing a lot bigger role than: "oh, the UI is using so low on the CPU/GPU that the resolution doesn't matter." yeah, for the UI itself the difference would not be that great, but on the most consumed apps like videos/games/modern web pages - it will.
Wardrive86 - Tuesday, February 5, 2019 - link
I always look forward to your in depth reviews and architecture deep dives Andrei. I love your sustained performance tests..something only found at Anandtech currently. I honestly think you are the best writer Anandtech or any other tech site has had period...with that out of the way, I have one question and a potential request. Spec2006 shows the A12 having substantially better efficiency than it's competitors, finishing the finite tests faster with less total energy used by virtue of higher performance, but having higher average power draw. How would this correlate to an infinite test such as a high end 3d game like Shadowgun Legends or Asphalt 9? Would the higher average power draw remain at the same performance level of say a Snapdragon 835/845/Kirin 980? Also a request if you ever have time with your busy schedule, Could we get a sequel article to your 2015 article "The Mobile CPU core count debate" with more modern games and apps, comparisons of OpenGLES vs Vulkan on CPUs, etc.. I know I don't ask for much!Andrei Frumusanu - Wednesday, February 6, 2019 - link
> How would this correlate to an infinite test such as a high end 3d game like Shadowgun Legends or Asphalt 9?For infinite workloads you just use the perf/W metric:
https://www.anandtech.com/show/13392/the-iphone-xs...
https://www.anandtech.com/show/13503/the-mate-20-m...
Consequently if you're fps capped you can use Joules/frame but that's not a popular metric.
> Could we get a sequel article to your 2015 article "The Mobile CPU core count debate" with more modern games and apps
At some point.
zodiacfml - Wednesday, February 6, 2019 - link
Performance reminds me of my AMD Vega 56 on reasonably low graphic settings at 4k/UHD resolution, it uses only 60 to 80 watts while gaming. Changing just one or two graphics settings shoots to its default power limit which is 180 watts.Anyways, I hope Apple release an iPod touch this year based from this SoC. It is terribly impressive which is good for gaming.
CHJ - Wednesday, February 6, 2019 - link
I have been using the XR for the last few weeks. My previous phone was the Xperia XZ, and the one before that a 5s.I cannot stress enough how good the battery life is. I used to carry a 10000 mAh power brick around for a full day out just in case - that simply is not the case anymore. I can’t run this thing down below 20% (I do sometimes get close, meaning I probably will run down the XS on some days, especially taking into consideration battery degradation after some months). This has simplified my life quite a bit.
As for the display, I was worried about it, but I honestly do not notice the lower resolution compared to the XZ in day-to-day usage. In fact, all things considered (color accuracy and True Tone), this has a better display imo. The lower resolution certainly helps battery life as well.
The thicker bezels - this I do still notice, but the XR costs 330 USD less than the XS where I live, and a slightly worse display, the lack of a second lens and 3D Touch, and thicker bezels are acceptable compromises given the savings. And that amazing battery life, did I mention that? ;)
All in all, I am very satisfied with my purchase.
CHJ - Wednesday, February 6, 2019 - link
Some other observations:The weight is noticeable, and the width of the phone does not aid in getting a comfortable grip. My fingers cannot wrap over the edge when I need to reach the top half of the screen. If you have large hands, you’ll be better off, I think.
The stereo speakers are also much improved and genuinely useful. I find them to be sufficient for watching YouTube, which is pretty much all I need from phone speakers.