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At a Glance
Our Verdict
The iPhone XR will be best for most people; it costs a lot less than the XS and gets you a larger screen, batter battery life and the same great performance. The XS is for those who want the very best display quality and dual rear cameras.
The iPhone XS and iPhone XR are both older generation models but if you can’t afford Apple’s latest phones then you might well be choosing between these at lower prices. The two are hard to tell apart at first, but there are a number of key differences you should consider and we’ll point them out.
Here we explore why there’s a large price difference between the two phones and help you work out which you should buy. For more detailed analysis of each, check out our review of the iPhone XS and iPhone XR.
Price and availability
Following the launch of the iPhone 11, the XS is no longer part of the Apple line-up of smartphones. It previously cost £999/$999 for the 64GB model. Check it out at Carphone Warehouse and also our iPhone XS deals article to see where it’s on sale.
The iPhone XR, however, is still on sale and is now available at a cheaper price of £629/$599. Check out our roundup of the best iPhone XR deals.
Also see our complete iPhone buying guide.
Design and build
At first glance the iPhone XS and iPhone XR look the same save for the colourful hues of the XR. But they are quite different on closer inspection.
The iPhone XS is the exact same dimensions as the now-discontinued iPhone X. It has a 5.8in display but thanks to the edge-to-edge notch design is still a one-handed phone for a lot of people.
Although it’s cheaper, the iPhone XR is larger with a 6.1in display. Its bezels are larger too, but has the notch of the iPhone XS. The XR comes in six different vibrant colours, whereas the iPhone XS is either silver, space grey or gold.
The more expensive iPhone XS gains a stainless steel rim between the glass sandwich of its screen and rear compared to the aluminium rim of the iPhone XR – the latter’s similar to the rim of the iPhone 7 or 8.
The dual cameras of the iPhone XS are not on the XR. Instead there’s a single camera on the back that is less of a bump, but still a bump.
Overall, the iPhone XR is 8.3mm thick, slightly chunkier than the 7.7mm iPhone XS.
The iPhone XS and iPhone XR don’t look dissimilar, but the screen size, rim material, colour options and bezel size are the main aesthetic differences.
Features and specs
Before we highlight the biggest specs differences, here is a comparison of the core features of the iPhone XS and iPhone XR:
Here is a comparison of the iPhone XS and XR:
| iPhone XS | iPhone XR | |
| iOS | iOS 12 | iOS 12 |
| Colours | Gold, silver, Space Grey | White, black, blue, yellow, coral, red |
| Display | 5.8in Super Retina Display (2436×1125, 458ppi) OLED | 6.1in Liquid Retina Display (1792×828, 326ppi) LCD |
| Processor | Apple A12 Bionic | Apple A12 Bionic |
| Storage | 64GB/256GB/512GB | 64GB/128GB |
| Rear camera | 12Mp wide-angle, f/1.8, OIS + 12Mp telephoto, f/2.4, OIS, optical zoom, 10x digital zoom, Portrait Lighting, Portrait Mode, quad-LED flash | 12Mp f/1.8, OIS, 5x digital zoom, Portrait Lighting, Portrait Mode, quad-LED flash |
| Front camera | 7Mp FaceTime HD, f/2.2, 1080p video | 7Mp FaceTime HD, f/2.2, 1080p video |
| Video recording | 4K at 24/30/60fps, 1080p slo-mo at 240fps | 4K at 24/30/60fps, 1080p slo-mo at 240fps |
| Biometric security | Face ID | Face ID |
| Wireless charging? | Yes | Yes |
| Waterproofing | IP68 | IP67 |
| Dimensions | 70.9 x 143.6 x 7.7mm | 75.7 x 150.9 x 8.3mm |
| Weight | 174g | 194g |
| Price | £999/£1,149/£1,349 (same in $) | £749/£799/£899 (same in $) |
| Buy SIM-free | Order Now | Order Now |
| Buy on contract | Order Now | Order now |
Apple has made a big deal of the fact both the iPhone XS and XR have the same A12 Bionic processor. This is good if you want to spend less on your phone, and can pick up the iPhone XR and it’ll run just as smooth with the same silicon inside.
A big difference is the screen tech. The iPhones XS has an OLED display that is more vibrant when compared side by side with the iPhone XR, which has an LCD display.
OLEDs are capable of deeper blacks and a higher pixels per inch count that make them appear less grainy on close inspection than an LCD. This isn’t to say the iPhone XR has a bad display, as Apple’s LCDs are excellent.
You can get the iPhone XS with a huge 512GB storage but this isn’t an option on the XR, which is now limited to 128GB following its price drop. To be honest, most people will be absolutely fine with the base storage option of 64GB.
Both phones have no headphone jack and support wireless and fast charging – but don’t come with a fast charger in the box. This is pretty galling given they cost so much.
To add insult to injury neither phone comes with Apple’s £9/$9 headphone jack adapter in the box. You’ll have to buy one if you want to use your normal wired headphones, though both phones ship with wired EarPods with Lightning connector.
The cameras on each phone differ quite a bit. The dual 12Mp sensors on the iPhone XS are superior and both have optical image stabilisation. One of the lenses is for telephoto to allow 2x zoom, and for depth sensing.
But, in an Apple first, the single camera on the iPhone XR is capable or portrait mode bokeh effect photos thanks to improvements in Apple’s post-processing software. While not as advanced as on the XS, you’ll be able to take pretty great photos on the XR too.
Both phones have the True Depth front facing camera array for Face ID and Animoji.
The iPhone XR has better battery life than the XS thanks to its more energy-friendly LCD screen paired with a bigger battery capacity.
Software and apps
Right now the iPhone XS and XR both ship with iOS 12 preinstalled, the version of iOS that was released at the same time as them. This was a decent upgrade from iOS 11, improving notification interaction most noticeably and finally introducing group FaceTime.
Memoji also joins Animoji, allowing you to make a live reactive emoji of yourself to send to people on iMessage. It’s only available if you have an iPhone X, XS, XS Max or XR as these phones have the True Depth cameras on the front.
iOS 12 also adds battery health data in settings to see how you’re pounding it into the ground. There are no software differences between the two phones.
However, you’ll be able to upgrade to iOS 13.
Verdict
Although the XS is discontinued via Apple, we’d still recommend getting the iPhone XR over it. Even more so now that Apple has lowered the price to £629/$599.
The XR has a lot going for it including a larger screen, colourful design, the same performance and longer battery life. There’s very little reason to spend more on the XS.
A tricker choice is now between the iPhone 11 vs XR.