iPhone XR, for when £1,000 is just too much for a smartmobe Back in 2007, Apple convinced the world a phone that could barely last a day was OK. In 2018 it has set out to persuade the public that a phone costing £749 is somehow a bargain. Is that an iPhone in your lanyard or are you just happy to see me? Reg the vulture strikes a moody poses with the kit. Is that an iPhone in your …
This would be the equivalent of the Nokia 8.1 but the iphone is over twice the price.
It's basically made from crap picked up off the factory floor a couple of years ago. And as much as commentators try to convince me the notch is ok, it's not.
I'm sorry but in this case you are really just paying for the badge.
"It's basically made from crap picked up off the factory floor a couple of years ago."
Such an ignorant comment. Now you're just trolling. The XR's SoC is built on the latest 7nm process, just like the XS, XS Max.
The guts in this are actually a genuine worthy Apple upgrade, in the scheme of Apple upgrades and oddly the 7nm fabrication was pretty underplayed by Apple in the Keynote.
If there is one reason to buy the XR phone it's because it isn't built from parts off the factory floor from two years ago.
(Apple does have exaggerated form on their upgrades in the past, the iPad mini 2 -> iPad mini 3 'upgrade', now - that was parts off the factory floor from two years ago).
"The XR's SoC is built on the latest 7nm process, just like the XS, XS Max."
So what? I couldn't care less about tech willy waving, all that counts is price and performance, and the review is quite clear that this is poor value for money unless the buyer puts huge value on the fact that it is an Apple device.
"I couldn't care less about tech willy waving"
If that were true you should have bailed out 10 years ago with a 2GHz+ Core 2 Duo + dedicated Nvidia Graphics laptop/desktop and a basic Nokia with a 7-day battery life. Heck, probably even a 1.4Ghz Pentium-m ULV Centrino processor.
The whole processor industry - Intel i3,i5,i7 series 3-8 has been based on obfuscated willy waving for 10 years now.
A 7nm fabricated Arm processor is a substantial shift in terms of mobile performance. i.e. real genuine progress in the scheme of things.
At least have some respect for the people that took the time to produce it, it's 1000's upon 1000's hours of dedicated work, irrespective whether there is an Apple logo or not.
"The guts in this are actually a genuine worthy Apple upgrade"
Clearly this is not parts picked off the factory floor, but equally "worth the upgrade" sticks a bit in the craw when looking at the price. I have a Samsung S6 - 3-year-old specimen of a 4-year-old model.
So, no wireless charging, phone payment, face unlock, 5G or latest-and-greatest processor speed BUT it's still great for real-world use. Everything has a point of diminishing returns, and smartphones passed that point a couple of years ago
"but equally "worth the upgrade" sticks a bit in the craw when looking at the price. I have a Samsung S6 - 3-year-old specimen of a 4-year-old model."
You seem to have a very short selective memory. The Samsung Galaxy S6 cost circa £599 for the 32GB on release in 2015. The S6 Edge cost £100 more, circa £699 on release.
The "parts picked up off the factory floor" comment has been dealt with below, but otherwise, I agree. As usual, though, anyone who is blind or deafblind is stuck with it. Google and the Android OEMs have made it glaringly obvious that they don't care if people who can't see, can't hear, or can't do either can use their phones smoothly. Apple has made it obvious that they're not a priority, but that if they can help such people without annoying anyone else or losing too much money, they will. This is the best we can expect. I have an iPhone SE, I have no clue what I'm going to get when it dies. I can choose between a headphone jack and decent pricing or accessibility. Oh how wonderful a thing is consumer choice.
in Android land... you have to ask how much data is being sent back to Google in an effort to track you so that they can spam you better with ads.
While Apple still does a bit of spying on you... the price difference covers the bit more privacy.
It looks like you'll end up with an ipad mini , blue tooth head sets and watches for devices to replace that simple phone.
Nonsense.
Otherwise, yes it's massively overpriced and has a stupid notch.
Lack of earphone socket (does adapter to USB host + €2 USB sound adaptor with 2 x 3.5mm jack sockets work on iOS? It does on Android and Kindle PW3 aka PW Gen 7).
Also Nokia don't make phones, it's a licenced badge.
…I can see the benefit of the Watch 4, but the phone doesn’t feel like that much of a step up from the iPhone 7 - or even the iPhone 6. I don’t watch films on the phone so the bigger screen is moot, I don’t play games so the increased performance is unnecessary, I have a (real) camera so the built in shooter is not required. As far as I can see, the only real benefit is that the day of its obsolescence from an OS perspective is further away. So perhaps the best thing to do is wait until it is obsoleted - and replace it then.
My biggest problem is with the Mac - and, specifically, Apple’s restrictions on what OS can be run on its latest systems. Presumably the inverse is also true - future versions of MacOS won’t run on systems not equipped with a T1 or T2 chip. Since I run Mojave on a 2009 Mac, this could be a problem for me in the future and, unless my app sales pick up to compensate for the increased hardware spend, maybe I’ll have to jump to an all Linux world.
I don't think you are alone here, I have numerous non IT friends currently with older iPhones who are unable to justify the current models costs. Some have bitten the bullet but £750 for a 720p phone and 326 ppi in 2018/9 WTF
Persuaded my wife to go Nokia 7.1 Plus for £250 and she is over the moon
@Starkoman
It is, and I do. I like Linux a lot, but the MacOS is still more polished. Critically for me, MacOS users are also more willing to pay for software. Much as the utopian ideal of free software seems desirable, the wheels fall off when you try to pay for food or for the mortgage.
If you want to enjoy MacOS on older hardware, I believe that you can use the Mojave Patcher Tool (http://dosdude1.com/mojave/), YMMV. In my case, I use a 2009 model Mac Pro with newer firmware than officially supported and a new Radeon RX580 graphics card - in so doing I can run the latest MacOS without any odd patcher tools.
My concern is that the Tx chips will close this door - even as they have closed the door on Linux for newer Macs. No Tx chip? No MacOS.
It would be much more preferable if Apple just warned about installing Mojave on older hardware (or even charged for it), than using a 'hard block' to prevent it been installed on older machines.
Some 2008-2011 machines only need minor upgrades such as a newer wireless card to work without problems, £10 on ebay.
If you run a business, using the dosdude patcher isn't a serious option, or shouldn't be. It would be good too if Apple publicly tested this patcher tool and confirmed it was free from malware, instead of leaving their existing users in the dark, at the mercy of such software.
The days of "It just works" are long gone with macs in terms of ageing kit, it's become tedious to remember all the caveats.
Are you listening Apple?
I have a (real) camera so the built in shooter is not required.
I agreed with the rest of your comment, but the age old adage is that when asking a professional photographer what their best camera is, they'll reply "the one I have with me at the time".
So whilst as somebody versed (and indeed dipped) in silver halide and developer solution I follow your logic, there is a place for smartphone cameras, I'd just like them to be substantially better than they are.
@Ledswinger I agree, although the Smartphone camera is, in general, totally useless for the types of photo I tend to take,m when out and about.
Even my DSLR with a 250mm lens is working beyond its designed limits. I generally need at least a 350mm lens - or a decent macro lens at the other extreme.
We are just saying, for the type of photopgraphy we do, a smartphone camera is useless. I'm not saying get rid of them, but trying to photograph wildlife at 300M + distance isn't something you can do with a smartphone.
For me, personally, I'd like a cheaper model without cameras. But most people want cameras, so I put up with the added cost.
I didn't have any form of mobile device until the iPhone 5 was released.
Given I already had a (white, plastic!) MacBook - it seemed a logical step into the world of mobiles.
The integration (subsequently with iCloud etc) has proven very slick - and that faithful iPhone 5 lasted me until the battery finally packed up just shy of 5 years later. I had the battery replaced, but figured the "speed" of the device was getting a bit laggy anyway, so I treated myself to a 7 (which is still running strong).
Assuming I average 5 years a device, that's about £13 a month on-going. Definitely a premium price, but for as long as I can afford it I will - not least because of I'm bought into that "ecosystem" the article mentioned (iCloud, MacBooks [wife and myself], iPad, AppleTV, etc).
And the rate of change is slow enough that I can keep up ;-)
Assuming I average 5 years a device
I think that's stretching it. You might get 5 years but I'd use 4 for any kind of calculation and you'd have to factor in Apple's desire to increase the ASP. Mind you, I think your maths is more of an excuse and less of argument. For any kind of monthly payment I'd expect instant replacements to be included, which is definitely not the case with Apple.
I've had a Mac since 2006 but the I-Phones have never appealed. Not putting all your eggs into one basket is a strategy that I do follow.
**Disclaimer which I should have included originally: I only touch my phone a handful of times in a day. It mostly sits in my pocket or on my desk. I am *not* one of those "do everything on my phone, you'll always see me with it in my hand" people. Both this and my last comment were in the context of "me", who isn't one of those people.**
Call it 4 then. £3.50 a month more. I wasn't trying to argue anything - as I hoped my title "Speaking for myself..." showed. :-) I'm very fortunate to have a disposable income which allows me to pretty well choose any of the options out there. Ethically, I make every effort to not flaunt that to my friends - particularly those who're on a significantly lower income than me (instead, for them, I try to sing the benefits of other options - refurbished Think Pads, the Android ecosystem with last-generation flagships which have crashed in price, etc).
"I-Phones have never appealed" - I think that hits my nail on the head. I've just grown "used" to what I'm "used" to. Before I bought into the Apple ecosystem, I only ever ran Kubuntu (and Slackware before that) on Dell hardware, and pushed my (then-to-be) wife down the Android route.
Mostly for me, it's my lifestyle has changed (I think). I'm growing grey hair and just don't have the motivation to tinker with "daily drivers" like I used to. I just want something that turns on and works - and _for me_, the Apple route has delivered that (as I'm sure many of the Android routes would have too).
The eggs-in-one-basket has always been a concern for me too. My photos are cross-backed up on Flickr (at a £30 a year or whatever it costs now) and everything is backed up to my NAS. Hopefully it never comes to it - but if it does, hopefully I'm prepared.
Regarding replacements being included - I've been exceptionally lucky. I had an older iPad which the gyroscope failed in, Apple replaced it out of warranty no questions asked. Same with £700's worth of innards on my white MacBook (2 years past the extended warranty).
That said, I definitely approve (and desire) the proposed push of right to repair etc. Looking at the second-to-latest MacBook Pros with those (frankly) shoddy keyboard designs, I'm starting to question how long I'll stick with the Apple route.
For anything which is "almost entirely solid state" (phone, tablet, TV dongle, etc) - I'm more inclined to believe that the liklihood of MTTF is sufficiently low that I'm happy to roll the dice - but when your laptop keyboard fails at the first sign of a crumb... that makes me question whether they have any clue as to what they're doing.
A ha ha ha
A ha ha ha ha ha
My sides are splitting. He said crook. Such scintillating wit! And he explained his joke too. So clever.
Just to be clear, I have no objection to the sentiment nor do I have any objection to crap jokes (I make enough of them). On the other hand, I do have an objection to trolling by mindlessly calling names (just trolling in general really). Just because Donald does it doesn't make it right. In fact, if Donald does it then it probably makes it wrong - and that works for social discourse, financial affairs, eating, putting up umbrellas, politics - just about anything really.
Calling names as Anonymous Coward just makes it worse somehow.
I've heard anecdotes of weak reception on iPhones. I went for a walk in the woods with an iPhone 5S owner the other day, and my Exonys Galaxy S8 seemed to give up the 4G around the same time.
I wish there was an app to make my dad aware of the signal level in his phone - he's very fond of ringing me up when he's in a granite-walled bar with the inevitable result that he sounds as if he's in the drink.
Except that we don't know whether the reception is that poor. Like most journalists reviews this is anecdotal and subjective. That's not a bad thing but it does point up the limited availability of objective testing and data.
And apparently consumers don't care. Their idea of "specification" is a list of screen resolution, a totally unrealistic battery life, and puff about the internals that few actually understand.
A BBC Model B in 1982 was £399.
According to measuringworth.com the equivalent value today is:
Real Price: £1338
Price relative to income: £2171
I guess we've all got used to having stuff cheap now. I don't see the problem, if you don't feel it is good value for money, don't buy it. Why is it necessary to waste energy whinging about it and accusing other people of being idiots because they don't agree?
Well, I suppose if it makes you feel better then crack on.
I personally don't like iPhones much but I have to suffer them because the alternative option is so completely shit.
Why is it necessary to waste energy whinging about it and accusing other people of being idiots because they don't agree?
Discussion, including whingeing, is part of the debate culture and also helps sets prices. Sure, people should spend their money on whatever they want but how do we get to decide whether it's good value if not through comparison and discussion. Personally, my biggest beef with Apple is their inherently anti-competitive approach.
I personally don't like iPhones much but I have to suffer them because the alternative option is so completely shit.
You're being disingenuous by pretending to be above the debate, while taking a swipe.
It's absurd even if you limit yourself to only the other things you could buy from Apple for £1,000 (or thereabouts):
* for £1,049, a complete 21.5" iMac;
* if you already have a screen, the new Mac Mini with £200 in change;
* at £969, the comically-oversized 12.9" iPad (with its fancy 120Hz display);
* two watches with change to spare — give one to your significant other and it'll be twice as likely that maybe one of you can find a use for the thing.
Thank you for starting this "it's too fekkin' expensive" thread. I couldn't agree more.
I just helped someone purchase a desktop computer with the latest 8th gen Intel, 16Gb of RAM, an Nvidia card with more VRAM than most other desktops have as system RAM, a 256Gb SSD, a 2Tb 7200RPM HDD, & an inexpensive monitor for less than the price of that phone. Read that again. A desktop & monitor for less than the cost of that phone.
My first car, albeit a used one, cost less than that phone. You can buy a beater car that looks like shit but functions well enough for less than the cost of that phone.
And for the cost of the high end ubermodel? I can buy a *desktop workstation* for that kind of coin. Dual Xeons, 32Gb RAM per CPU, a 256Gb SSD, all in a tower chassis from Fleabay of all places...
I realize much of this is comparing Apples to oranges, but when the Apple costs you the same as an entire fekkin orchard of orange trees, something is a bit out of balance...
This reminds me of premium car brands. Every few years they cycle through a period of static pricing or hefty discounts to hook in a new round of customers. Margins suffer but sales volume and brand exposure gain. Then at Model Year X they introduce some shiny and drive the pricing back up - accepting they will lose some buyers but knowing they will profit more heavily off those that remain, and reinforcing the 'premium' part of their brand.
Range Rover did it last year across their range (initially the Velar, then migrating some of the bling to other models and abandoning what had become routine discounts alongside increasing base RRP). The year before Volvo did the same when they moved their entire -60 series to their new platform, overnight discounts of up to 25% disappeared and RRP increased.
Apple have waded a few (still immensely profitable) years seeding their user base through 'cheap' MacBook Airs, iPhone SEs and legacy iPads, that then populate their Apple Music, TV, iCloud, whatever. Now they push out the discount versions, increase the base price and even more heavily monetise the wallet-leaking-system they've created. The hardware cycle may slow, but each unit is more profitable, and each year between upgrades still delivers revenues through the ancillary services. It's that last bit that car manufacturers could never quite crack.
Buyers hold off when they get a sniff of a new model and they believe that the current one is outdated.
Manufacturers and dealers discount to clear the old stock and they produce "run-out" models with extra equipment to try and sustain sales.
New models that customers have been waiting for sell for near list price because dealers have a waiting list of customers.
It's a natural consequence, the only equivalent on iPhones is better incentive deals on the current year model toward the end of the summer/autumn.
I have literally just ditched my iPhone 6 for a Droid phone costing 25% of the price of a new Apple device. Never thought I'd ever so that. EMUI has a lot to do with the easy transition. Apple have totally lost the plot with their pricing. I expect a battle though when "her-in-doors" needs a new phone though.
Also note that the new iPhones are compatible with quick charging, but the bundled charger isn't.
You'll have to fork quite a lot of money to purchase a quick charger from Apple.
In addition, there is no adapter for 3.5mm xjack headsets, you'll have to pay extra. It comes free with many Android Phones, including the Pixel 3.
If you break the glass back it costs hundreds of pounds to repair because of the construction. Which means you need to add on Applecare to get a "mere" £75 back replacement price. I haven't found a sterling price but it looks as if it might get you up to the £1000 mark.
No, not the next model of phone in the series, but I'd rather have one of these...
https://classics.honestjohn.co.uk/reviews/ford/fiesta-xr2/
...with pepper pot alloys and go-faster stripes
Actual XR owner here! Went from an X to the XR and it has been great. I wanted slightly bigger than X and didn't want to keep paying such high prices but I am an apple fanboi so I guess that makes things tricky. The size for me is perfect, the screen is really nice, yes its not OLED but tbh coming from the X I don't notice or miss it at all, maybe I just wasn't using the OLED right or have terrible eyesight, probably both. It's easy to get caught up in all the specs and dismiss this device but it really is very good for those who are not obsessed with specs that may not even matter to them, versus the ones that do matter, like price, performance and the color yellow.
It looks as though I will still be waiting for a proper followup to the iPhone 6S, then…
No 3D Touch? And this is supposed to be progress? 3D Touch is quite a clever way to bring up additional menus or other functionality. I like it, why get rid of it?
No headphone jack (obligatory grumble). I might actually use Bluetooth headphones more often these days (now that they have come down in price), but it's still nice to have the option, especially if you realise that your Bluetooth headphones have run out of power, or if you want to connect your phone to your hifi, etc.
No Touch ID. It really is just so much more usable than Face ID. It's almost instinctive to press a button with your finger (and suitably discreet). Posing at your phone like a selfie addict instead, not so much. I thought that once upon a time Apple were supposed to be all about usability?
That stupid gimmicky notch.
Prices beyond the level that I am willing to pay. I don't mind paying a bit of a premium for Apple gear, as they are (in my opinion, yours may of course differ) better than the alternative, and usually better supported. By all means have a high end super-bling model for those who want to show off how much money they have, but if you can't make a fairly decent phone for £500 (and all your rivals can), then you really are profiteering just that bit too much.
All I really would like is an updated and slightly enhanced version of my iPhone 6S: a Full HD screen in a body size only slightly bigger (the Plus models are just too uncomfortably big/wide), maybe a fancier camera (although I'm perfectly happy with the one I have), longer battery life, newer chipset if you want, and no removal of existing features that I like and use. Is that really too much (or too little) to ask? Until then, I'll happily stick with what I have.
there is still time! Actually Apple's results, even with their inevitable spin, are showing the gloss has come off the iPhone. What has worked before is not working now. I will not denigrate the original iPhone, and by version 3 it was something awe inspiring. It certainly woke the competition up and it changed expectations of what a mobile phone is and what it does. But an OS cycle that renders useful apps obsolete with no refund or replacement, gimmicks above real features and a less than stellar reputation for sturdiness out in the real world - all with Apple tax attached. You can fool all of the people ...
The Register 
Biting the hand that feeds IT
Copyright. All rights reserved © 1998–2024
