iPhone XR – Dispatches From The Front

As the iPhone 13 takes its place as the iPhone literally everyone should buy, the question still exists: Should I upgrade to the new iPhone, or should I keep my old one? To find out, I went back to a much older iPhone — the 2018 iPhone XR — for just over a week to see how well it would fare in 2021. Back when we reviewed it, we praised it as the “budget” iPhone to buy. This device was loaned to me by the folks at Backmarket, so it’s a refurb without all the dings and nicks that you’d have on an actively used phone.

A game changer with a legacy

The iPhone XR may be old now, but it’s an important iPhone that preceded the current iPhones like the iPhone 11, iPhone 12, and the most recent iPhone 13. It’s a phone that would be considered less than the “real” iPhone, but an iPhone nonetheless. Apple tried this sort of non-standard iPhone model with the SE and the iPhone 5C before. In many ways, the iPhone XR kicked off the standardization of Apple’s lineup, and it also became one of the bestselling iPhones in its day. After using it, it’s not a surprise.

Apple events are always big, and few tech product releases generate the level of excitement we see over new iPhones. This year, we saw an oddly-named trio of new phones and a new smartwatch, but that’s not all Apple unveiled on the Cupertino stage, we also saw a whole new level of greed from the world’s richest company.

We can wax lyrical about the stunning iPhone Xs, the super-sized iPhone Xs Max, and the more affordable iPhone XR. Make no mistake, these are highly-desirable, thoughtfully-designed smartphones that will bring joy to many people. Whether they’re worth the high fees Apple commands is debatable. A price of $1,450 for the 512GB iPhone Xs Max seems excessive, but most people will be perfectly happy with the $750 iPhone XR.

Tag: iPhone XR

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