iPhone 11 or iPhone XR: which is the better buy? 📱🤑
Price, battery, image quality: what are the differences between the two models, and which one is worth your money?
Let's say it from the start: the iPhone 11 Pro is a waste of money. After all, this is a phone that can cost €1,179 (standard size, 64GB) and goes up to €1,679 if you choose the Max version with 512GB.
Last year the iPhone XR beat the iPhone XS (you can read our comparison here). This year, we think the obvious choice can and should be one of the "low-cost" models, from either 2018 or 2019.
So you already know we have picked the cheaper version this year. But how does it compare with the iPhone XR? Which one comes out on top, and what upgrades has Apple made? Here is everything you need to know to make the right purchase.
The screen: more of the same!
The brand Steve Jobs founded made a lot of noise about the Super Retina XDR display on the iPhone 11 Pro and iPhone 11 Pro Max. The truth is that, in this area, little or nothing has changed from the iPhone XR. Here are the few differences:
iPhone XR
6.1-inch (diagonal) all-screen LCD Multi-Touch display with IPS technology
1792x828-pixel resolution at 326 ppi
1400:1 contrast ratio (typical)
True Tone display
Wide colour (P3)
Haptic Touch
625 nits max brightness (typical)
Fingerprint-resistant oleophobic coating
Support for display of multiple languages and characters simultaneously
iPhone 11
Liquid Retina HD display
6.1-inch (diagonal) all-screen LCD Multi-Touch display with IPS technology
1792x828-pixel resolution at 326 ppi
1400:1 contrast ratio (typical)
True Tone display
Wide colour display (P3)
Haptic Touch
625 nits max brightness (typical)
Fingerprint-resistant oleophobic coating
Support for display of multiple languages and characters simultaneously
Where the latest iPhone really beats last year's model is Face ID, the facial recognition that unlocks the phone and approves actions. The notch at the top of the screen is no smaller, but it holds a latest-generation module that makes this feature 30% faster.
The recognition itself has also improved. The phone reads the angles of your face more accurately, even when it is lying flat on a table, for example.
And since you unlock your phone so many times a day, this could be a real benefit.
A front design that has barely changed
Overall, the dimensions have not changed. Let's start with how they look and feel:
iPhone 11
Width: 75.7 mm
Height: 150.9 mm
Depth: 8.3 mm
Weight: 194 grams
iPhone XR
Width: 75.7 mm
Height: 150.9 mm
Depth: 8.3 mm
Weight: 194 grams
The two are truly identical (only the iPhone 11 Pro and Pro Max are heavier). And from the front, absolutely nothing has changed. This year's model still has a smaller bezel thanks to the LCD screen and is still made of aluminium (unlike the Pro models), but the glass has had a big upgrade... Apple even claims it is the "toughest glass ever in a smartphone".
Water resistance, on the other hand, has clearly improved. The iPhone XR could stay one metre under water for 30 minutes; the iPhone 11 can go down to two metres for the same time. The two Pro models do even better, but the base model is still slightly more attractive than the XR here.
Otherwise, you still get dual SIM (one physical nano-SIM and one eSIM) and the same charging port (the Lightning connector).
As for sound, the iPhone 11 has "spatial audio playback", while the iPhone XR has "only" "wider stereo". The speakers have indeed been upgraded.
What about the colours?
In terms of finishes, the iPhone 11 shares a few options with the iPhone XR: black, white, yellow and the now famous red with its own name, (PRODUCT)RED. Blue and coral have been replaced by green and purple.
Just like last year, the colours of the cheaper models are much more interesting than the Pro shades. So if everything else is the same... what makes the iPhone 11 uglier than its predecessor? The cameras. Let's talk about them now.
The cameras that became memes
Let's start with the good news: they may be ugly and the butt of jokes online, but they are genuinely better. Take a look:
iPhone 11
TrueDepth camera
12MP camera
ƒ/2.2 aperture
Portrait mode with advanced bokeh (blurred background) and Depth Control
Portrait Lighting with six effects (Natural, Studio, Contour, Stage, Stage Mono and High-Key Mono)
Animoji and Memoji
4K video recording at 24, 30 or 60 fps
1080p HD video recording at 30 or 60 fps
Slow-motion video support for 1080p at 120 fps
Next-generation Smart HDR for photos
Extended dynamic range for video at 30 fps
Cinematic video stabilisation (4K, 1080p and 720p)
Wide colour capture for photos and Live Photos
Retina Flash
Auto image stabilisation
Burst mode
iPhone XR
12MP wide-angle camera
ƒ/1.8 aperture
Digital zoom up to 5x
Portrait mode with advanced bokeh (blurred background) and Depth Control
Portrait Lighting with three effects (Natural, Studio, Contour)
Optical image stabilisation
Six-element lens
True Tone flash with Slow Sync
Panorama (up to 63MP)
Autofocus with Focus Pixels
Smart HDR for photos
Wide colour capture for photos and Live Photos
Advanced red-eye correction
Auto image stabilisation
Burst mode
Photo geotagging
Image formats captured: HEIF and JPEG
The iPhone 11's wide-angle lens is a very strong selling point. It makes the phone excellent in this area and able to capture wide landscapes and tighter spaces, and the flash is now even brighter. Even so, the lenses on the Pro models are much better, especially in portrait mode quality.
So do not expect a big difference between the XR and the 11.
Here are a few memes on the subject:
Video should be better than on earlier models. You can now edit in real time and switch between the standard and wide-angle modes while you film.
The only problem? The lenses really are ugly. Thick squares, a triple camera, a flood of memes online: there is no doubt Apple got the design wrong. Could this be the first time in the brand's history?
The front cameras are far less controversial.
iPhone 11
12MP camera
ƒ/2.2 aperture
Portrait mode with advanced bokeh (blurred background) and Depth Control
Portrait Lighting with six effects (Natural, Studio, Contour, Stage, Stage Mono and High-Key Mono)
Animoji and Memoji
4K video recording at 24, 30 or 60 fps
1080p HD video recording at 30 or 60 fps
Slow-motion video support for 1080p at 120 fps
Next-generation Smart HDR for photos
Extended dynamic range for video at 30 fps
Cinematic video stabilisation (4K, 1080p and 720p)
Wide colour capture for photos and Live Photos
Retina Flash
Auto image stabilisation
Burst mode
iPhone XR
7MP camera
ƒ/2.2 aperture
Portrait mode with advanced bokeh (blurred background) and Depth Control
Portrait Lighting with six effects (Natural, Studio, Contour, Stage, Stage Mono and High-Key Mono)
Animoji and Memoji
1080p HD video recording at 30 or 60 fps
Smart HDR for photos
Extended dynamic range for video at 30 fps
Cinematic video stabilisation (1080p and 720p)
Wide colour capture for photos and Live Photos
Retina Flash
Auto image stabilisation
Burst mode
So Apple has clearly fitted a higher-resolution front camera to the iPhone 11 without compromising the design. It even supports 4K video and the wide angle that will make any group selfie much easier. Apple has also come up with "slofies", a slow-motion video selfie mode.
Performance and software
The long-awaited Night mode comes with Apple's new smartphone, but it should also reach the iPhone XR once iOS 13 is installed. Less certain is Deep Fusion, the new image processing feature that takes nine photos almost at once and uses artificial intelligence to combine the best pixels from each. It is expected to compete with the Google Pixel.
Now let's look at how efficient each model is:
iPhone 11
A13 chip
Third-generation Neural Engine
iPhone XR
A12 chip
Second-generation Neural Engine
In short, the difference is 40% more efficiency. The iPhone 11's 4G LTE is significantly faster than the iPhone XR's. Apple controversially left 5G out of this year's smartphones, but it made this upgrade, which makes the new iPhone about 13% faster than the iPhone XS. As the XR uses even slower technology, that 13% will be even more noticeable.
The battery: does it last longer or not?
Yes, it does! The iPhone XR surprised a lot of people, perhaps even many loyal Apple customers, by having the best battery life of any smartphone launched in 2018.
In 2019, the iPhone 11 breaks that record.
Let's see:
iPhone 11
Lasts up to one hour longer than iPhone XR
Video playback up to 17 hours
Video streaming up to 10 hours
Audio playback up to 65 hours
Fast charge: up to 50% in 30 minutes with an 18W adapter or higher (sold separately)
Built-in rechargeable lithium-ion battery
Wireless charging (works with Qi9 chargers)
Charging via USB to computer or power adapter
iPhone XR
Lasts up to 1.5 hours longer than iPhone 8 Plus
Talk time (wireless): up to 25 hours
Internet use: up to 15 hours
Video playback (wireless): up to 16 hours
Audio playback (wireless): up to 65 hours
Fast charge: up to 50% in 30 minutes with an 18W adapter or higher (sold separately)
Built-in rechargeable lithium-ion battery
Wireless charging (works with Qi9 chargers)
Charging via USB to computer or power adapter
This year's phone has a 5% bigger battery. Combined with a 40% more efficient processor, this lets Apple claim one extra hour of battery life over the XR. The iPhone 11 Pro and Pro Max also got big increases in battery life. With all this in mind, any phone that lasts an hour longer than the iPhone XR is a champion.
The bad news? The charger. The Pro models come with 18W chargers, while the base model (and the iPhone XR) are still stuck with the old 5W one. The adapter for the more powerful charger is sold separately.
There is also wireless charging at 7.5W (competitors already reach 15W).
Storage and price: what we really care about
Let's look at the differences in capacity and price for each model:
iPhone 11
64GB – €829
128GB – €879
256GB – €999
iPhone XR
64GB – €739
128GB – €789
Overall, both are relatively "affordable" smartphones, and Apple even cut about €50 from each iPhone 11 version compared with the iPhone XR's launch price. This means a 64GB iPhone 11 costs €350 less than the Pro version and €450 less than the Pro Max.
Even more shocking: the 64GB iPhone XR costs just over half the price of the iPhone 11 Pro Max (€1,478 and €1,449 respectively).
So are the Pro versions worth it? Some say yes, others disagree. The truth is that the differences are not big enough to justify the price gap and, therefore, the investment.
The verdict
Last year, we said the iPhone XR was the best option. This year, we say the same about the iPhone 11, but the XR is still a very attractive choice.
With a price difference of about €100 between the 2018 and 2019 phones in both storage options, the best choice is obviously the iPhone 11. The wide-angle camera, the improved front camera, better overall performance, longer battery life and faster 4G are all benefits.
In fact, this model is so close to the Pro versions that the price difference makes no sense. Both the iPhone 11 and the iPhone XR lack 5G. That may not matter today, but it will probably be a big gap in 2020, and even more so in 2021.
So if you have to choose, buy the iPhone 11. Go for the XR if you cannot pay the extra €100, and ignore the 11 Pro models unless you really do not need to count every penny.
