Recommendation: iPhone Xr or iPhone Xs Max

[Sorenson]

My iPhone 7's battery drains too quickly for me so I'm looking to upgrade. The main thing i'm looking for is better battery life and a better camera. Hopefully someone who has actually used either of the two options can tell me what they think. If you have the iPhone Xs Max (and you are actually paying for it) is the extra 300 it would cost me to get it worth the OLED screen and second camera?

[LukeSavenije]

everyone's going to hate me for this

 

mi 8 is like 300-350 bucks and goes close to that xs max

[dizmo]

Worth is entirely subjective, and really only something you can answer on your own.

It takes slightly better pictures, and has a nicer screen. The rest is on you.

[Sorenson]

1 minute ago, dizmo said:

Worth is entirely subjective, and really only something you can answer on your own.

It takes slightly better pictures, and has a nicer screen. The rest is on you.

Thank you, I'm looking for people who have gotten either phone and if they are happy with their decision or wish they had gone with another one. 

[Sorenson]

7 minutes ago, LukeSavenije said:

everyone's going to hate me for this

 

mi 8 is like 300-350 bucks and goes close to that xs max

No, I know i'm getting gouged by apple. I have a MacBook pro and an iPad so the added value of everything working together makes up the difference. Also, I just personally like IOS more. All I do on my phone is watch youtube videos, text, and browse the internet. If I want to mess around with something I work on my PC. 

[Sorenson]

9 minutes ago, PacketMan said:

I've tried the XR, imho it's a piece of shit, it feels cheap, light and not worth $750 (the XS Max isn't worth $1200 neither, the fuck is wrong with people who think paying over $1000 for a phone is normal), yeah you get the same CPU but the camera is shit (maybe it's because of the screen), the screen is shit, and the speakers aren't that great

I know you don't want any Android BUT this is something you should know: there's the Google Pixel 3A Plus, 6.2" (IIRC) OLED (IIRC), amazing battery life, one of the best cameras out there, you get the latest patches and updates from Google themselves, and it's over $400, it depends on what you want to do between your Apple devices, for me it's just a mobile phone and nothing else so...

Thanks for the reply! I completely agree, 1000+ phones are crazy, but I also keep my phones for around 3 years. Apparently the iPhone 11r will have an OLED screen. I should probably just buy a battery bank and wait it out. 

[GoldenLag]

30 minutes ago, Sorenson said:

Apparently the iPhone 11r will have an OLED screen. I should probably just buy a battery bank and wait it out. 

or you can grab something like the google Pixel 3a and have an OLED screen, batterylife, software updates and a phone you can keep around for a long time for around 1/2 the price. 

[Sorenson]

1 minute ago, GoldenLag said:

or you can grab something like the google Pixel 3a and have an OLED screen, batterylife, software updates and a phone you can keep around for a long time for around 1/2 the price. 

I could do that, and have my AirPods not work well, not be able to send texts on my computer or laptop, not be able to face time my relatives, not be able to use the voice assistant to play my 4.99 a month apple music, and have everything I ever do on the phone tracked and used to advertise to me. 

 

I don't mean to be rude, but there is a reason I like iPhones. $250 isn't going to break my bank over a 2 year period. Why would I give up all of the benefits I get from using an iPhone to save $10 a month?

[GoldenLag]

Just now, Sorenson said:

I could do that, and have my AirPods not work well, not be able to send texts on my computer or laptop, not be able to face time my relatives, not be able to use the voice assistant to play my 4.99 a month apple music, and have everything I ever do on the phone tracked and used to advertise to me. 

im pretty sure Apple music works fine with Googel assistant with Apple music. 

 

but yes that is an issue when you dig into the ecosystem. i can see why you wouldnt want to. you could also just pick up a used iphone X at some point. its not like they changed between the X and Xs. 

 

2 minutes ago, Sorenson said:

I don't mean to be rude, but there is a reason I like iPhones. $250 isn't going to break my bank over a 2 year period. Why would I give up all of the benefits I get from using an iPhone to save $10 a month?

fair enough, i can see why people like the Ecosystem. also i wouldnt grab an Xr. for what it is, its not impressive. 

[Sorenson]

26 minutes ago, PacketMan said:

Or you could buy a battery kit and replace it, it's too easy to do in the iPhone 7 plus you gain experience and knowledge (and you could sell it or keep it in good condition)

I got it swapped through Apple 3 months ago. I’m a substitute teacher durning the day so I end up using my phone a lot while the kids are working on their chrome books. From 6-11 my phone will be at like 30%. 

[SenKa]

Heyo!

 

I am paying for my XS Max, OLED is 100% worth it for a few reasons, the most important to me being Force Touch, which is absent on the XR.

 

Also the XS Max has a slightly better battery than the XR and the extra cameras help immensely. I have a buddy with an XR and he half regrets his purchase simply because of the camera quality.

 

I use my phone in probably every way iPhones get hammered on battery for being used (Hotspot, GPS Navigation, and Bluetooth streaming.) Due to the fact that most of my life professionally and socially are run from my phone, I am on it the majority of the day. I can get ~20 hours of screen on time with only the last 2 on power saving mode no problem. No regrets on my XS Max purchase!

[SenKa]

Also feels good to be recognized, thank you @PacketMan

[Sorenson]

8 minutes ago, SenpaiKaplan said:

Heyo!

 

I am paying for my XS Max, OLED is 100% worth it for a few reasons, the most important to me being Force Touch, which is absent on the XR.

 

Also the XS Max has a slightly better battery than the XR and the extra cameras help immensely. I have a buddy with an XR and he half regrets his purchase simply because of the camera quality.

 

I use my phone in probably every way iPhones get hammered on battery for being used (Hotspot, GPS Navigation, and Bluetooth streaming.) Due to the fact that most of my life professionally and socially are run from my phone, I am on it the majority of the day. I can get ~20 hours of screen on time with only the last 2 on power saving mode no problem. No regrets on my XS Max purchase!

Thanks for taking the time man! I totally forgot about force touch not being on the XR. You made the decision a lot easier!

[Zodiark1593]

18 hours ago, PacketMan said:

My father has the iPhone XS Max, I can't say anything bad about it (well actually yes, it's too big for me, the XS is perfect size, and the golden version isn't that pretty)

Good battery life (not amazing, enough for a full day), amazing OLED display, amazing speakers, amazing design...

I've tried the XR, imho it's a piece of shit, it feels cheap, light and not worth $750 (the XS Max isn't worth $1200 neither, the fuck is wrong with people who think paying over $1000 for a phone is normal), yeah you get the same CPU but the camera is shit (maybe it's because of the screen), the screen is shit, and the speakers aren't that great

I know you don't want any Android BUT this is something you should know: there's the Google Pixel 3A Plus, 6.2" (IIRC) OLED (IIRC), amazing battery life, one of the best cameras out there, you get the latest patches and updates from Google themselves, and it's over $400, it depends on what you want to do between your Apple devices, for me it's just a mobile phone and nothing else so...

Google themselves don't provide updates past the 3 year mark...

 

For practicality, I'd probably lean toward the XR (of your two options). The XR boasts the best battery life of any iPhone, and (if you keep phones for a very long time) LCD displays tend to endure better than OLED.

[Sorenson]

1 hour ago, PacketMan said:

Disagree, Google says that there are no guaranteed support for their phones, not that they definitely won't support it, so who knows (if the support is as bad as the iPhone 6/6S in the last year... No company is perfect)

Umm what? The last update they released was targeted at making their older phones run faster. They still support the iPhone 5s which was released in September 2013, a nearly 6 year old phone. 

1 hour ago, PacketMan said:

The XR feels cheap, the screen isn't that great for the price (the bezels are huge compared to the XS, and it looks ugly imho) and the battery life and camera aren't that great for, again, the price ($750)

 

I agree that the Xr looks cheaper, but I think it is more due to the lack of an OLED screen and slightly larger bezels. I actually like the color of the blue they use on the aluminum back. In reports it gets the longest battery life out of all of the models, almost as much as the pixel 3a while having a  smaller battery. After looking into it more, the camera in the Xr is the same one used in the Xs and Xs max. They might not be the "best" smartphone camera, but it is a damn good one. It is just missing the second telephoto camera. 

1 hour ago, PacketMan said:

but maybe it's just because Apple decided to make their base phone the "cheap" choice with the best materials for the +$1000 phones

I wouldn't pay $750 for the 64GB iPhone XR, too expensive for what it really offers while having cheaper and (personally) better alternatives, like the Pixel 3A or the iPhone 8 Plus (can be found for around $400-$500), it's something personal so what I found not worth it can be worth it for other people, and viceversa

Personally, I would rather go with the iPhone Xr than the pixel 3a. It's made out of plastic and looks like an old Nokia phone from 2012. 

[zlolslavez]

It looks like you're already in the ecosystem, so I don't see a point of arguing Android vs iOS at this point; you seem content with iOS regardless. With that being said, I would probably pick up the XR. The lower-resolution LCD screen is a bit disappointing, but does bring benefits in battery life that which in many test do outperform the XS max even. I don't have experience with the XR but I think in day-to-day it's not a big deal, even though OLED is pretty sexy. The price difference though is what takes it home I think.

 

I personally would prefer a OP7P (I don't know how this phone hasn't been brought up in discussion yet if you're talking iPhone price range), but to each their own, I currently have an iPhone X myself.

 

tl;dr iPhone XR

[SenKa]

XR and XS Max are toe to toe in battery life, not sure where you all have seen otherwise.

[Bouzoo]

On 5/24/2019 at 3:07 PM, PacketMan said:

Disagree, Google says that there are no guaranteed support for their phones, not that they definitely won't support it, so who knows (if the support is as bad as the iPhone 6/6S in the last year... No company is perfect)

You need to do some info hunting. My gf has 6S, she gets all updates day 1 (iirc, pretty sure of that). 5S got the latest updates as well, that's 6 years guaranteed vs. Googles "who knows maybe 3+". 

 

As an android user I can only dream of that kind of support. 

 

On 5/24/2019 at 3:07 PM, PacketMan said:

Samsung Galaxy S5/S6 for 3+ years can relate, no issues with the OLED screen, there's obviously some models that get worse displays (like the Pixel and the burnt screens) but it's just that: the model

Have seen some insane burn ins on Galaxy S7 for instance (not even 2 days ago on my uncles phone as an example), they are possible on best displays. So no, it isn't "the model". 

[Sorenson]

@SenpaiKaplan @PacketMan

So I decided to try out the iPhone XS Max, since you can return it with min 14 days, and I love most of it. The screen is huge and amazing to use, I can text a lot faster on it, the speakers are so much better than my iPhone 7’s, the battery life is great, and Face ID is so fast! My one complaint is my hands are cramping up from using the darn thing . Turns out I’ve been skipping hand day at the gym.

[SenKa]

5 hours ago, Sorenson said:

@SenpaiKaplan @PacketMan

So I decided to try out the iPhone XS Max, since you can return it with min 14 days, and I love most of it. The screen is huge and amazing to use, I can text a lot faster on it, the speakers are so much better than my iPhone 7’s, the battery life is great, and Face ID is so fast! My one complaint is my hands are cramping up from using the darn thing . Turns out I’ve been skipping hand day at the gym.

XS Max is a thicc boi, especially if you aren't used to phablet sized phones

[Bouzoo]

11 hours ago, PacketMan said:

In my family there has been an iPhone 5S, iPhone 6S Plus, iPhone 7, iPhone 8 and iPhone XS Max, the 5S and 6S Plus got a huge slow-down with iOS 11

Absolutely no issues here on 6S or slow downs that iirc were due to battery limitations, or better to say on phones that Apple limited with OS. Can't comment on other phones. Maybe because she did swap her battery? Honestly do not know. 

 

11 hours ago, PacketMan said:

The thing with the now updates day 1 is that I feel like Apple is treating its customers as beta testers, every update I hear people complaining about something broken, unlike the old updates which worked perfectly fine, I can support minor bugs but something like the iOS 11 was poorly made and poorly tested, only think customers can hope is Apple will never do that again and test it way better

Just to be clear since we are talking beta testing, we all know Pie has been out for almost a year, yet the Pixels (even the 3a) still has the memory management issue. As in apps closing in background when you have 3 apps open with a lot of unused RAM left. A bug that has not been resolved since day 1. My LG with 4GB doesn't have that issue. LG. Then we have Pixels still not saving all photos, a bug that I have seen people complaining since OG Pixel. Apple never had such issues. It's ridiculous Google can't sort that out. 

 

11 hours ago, PacketMan said:

About the OLED burnt screen, LCD, LED and TFT can be faulty and can have defects too

They absolutely can, but in general LCDs do last longer than OLEDs, or better to say it has been here longer, is more developed and no chance of burn in (I have an OLED, I don't like it but it's the truth, yet I would still go OLED). We were talking how OLED depends on "the model", but it's not completely true. Even new Samsungs have OLED issues. Are they higher quality? Yeah absolutely, and them having issues says a lot. Much less chance you will have issues with an XR LCD than with XS LOED but after getting used to blacks and AMOLED background, I would still take the risk.

[ZXR]

Watchdog UK found that the battery life of the phone xr is nearly 50% lower than the claims that were being made by apple. Apparently the talk time is 16hours ad 32 minutes when apple claimed it was 25 hours. https://www.techradar.com/uk/news/apples-iphone-battery-life-claims-are-exaggerated-claims-uk-watchdog

 

In short, if you absolutely have to get an iphone, get the XS or XS max, not the XR. The difference in price is worth it i guess. 

[Sorenson]

4 hours ago, Zeddex said:

Watchdog UK found that the battery life of the phone xr is nearly 50% lower than the claims that were being made by apple. Apparently the talk time is 16hours ad 32 minutes when apple claimed it was 25 hours. https://www.techradar.com/uk/news/apples-iphone-battery-life-claims-are-exaggerated-claims-uk-watchdog

 

In short, if you absolutely have to get an iphone, get the XS or XS max, not the XR. The difference in price is worth it i guess. 

With carrier deals the price is like only $200 between the models. The article you linked was a story about the study, not the study itself. They even claim in the article that the watchdog’s information conflicted with their own. I’m sure apple’s talk time numbers are completed under ideal conditions, but we shouldn’t draw conclusions without looking at the testing methodology the watchdog used. Also I’m a millennial, who cares about talk time it’s all about the internet browsing battery life. 

[Nena Trinity]

XR unless you need more storage than the largest variant can offer! :3

[SHADY16]

i went from the Xs Max to the XR and honestly i cant notice any difference in screen quality at all or camera quality between the two. i was having sever connection issues on my Xs Max where LTE would randomly drop out and my service would sometimes drop and i would be forced to turn airplane mode off and back on. went to apple to try and replace but they said nothing was wrong and to talk to my carrier, but when i went to my carrier they said talk to apple. so i paid the 300$ early fee to try the S10+ out and i missed ios too much so i went back to the Xr since my friend had it and had zero connectivity problems. and after using both i dont see why the Xs Max is worth up to 500$ more then the Xr. i rarely used 3D touch lol forgot it existed at some times. also in my experiance battery on the Xr is a lot better then the Xs Max as well. for those who says the Xr feels cheap there wrong it doesnt feel cheap in any way