iPhone XR: Apple's Putting All Its Eggs In The XR Basket, And Praying Hard You Don't Drop It

After the launch of the iPhone XS & XS Max last month, iPhone XR is the third and final new iPhone Apple's launching in 2018.

The iPhone XR is an interesting device, bottling up the extravagance of the iPhone XS & XS Max and making it accessible to a wider consumer base at a lower selling price. Yes, the iPhone XR is the cheapest -- oh well -- new iPhone on the block, not completely raiding your bank account or forcing you to sell an organ.

iPhone XR glass back and aluminium body

ALSO READ: Unlike iPhone XS & XS Max's Slow Sales, Analysts Expect The iPhone XR To Sell Exceedingly Well

The iPhone XR is an interesting compromise by Apple. If the iPhone XS and XS Max are high-end luxury items, then the iPhone XR is still a smartphone with all the flaunt value that you expect from an iPhone.

It doesn't have two rear cameras or the OLED screens available on the iPhone XS and XS Max, but the iPhone XR runs on the same speedy A12 bionic chip as the other two. That's not all, the iPhone XR also has the same front notch, TrueDepth FaceID camera, and the same 12MP rear camera as on the XS & XS Max.

The iPhone XR has a lot going for it, despite Apple's 'budget' compromises. After using it as my primary phone over the weekend, here are some thoughts on the iPhone XR.

Thick and beautiful

The iPhone XR has a 6.1-inch LCD display with 1792x828 resolution. In terms of form factor, it sits between the 5.8-inch iPhone XS and the 6.5-inch iPhone XS Max. In the hand, it feels like a bigger version of the iPhone 8 or iPhone 7. It feels like Jony Ive stretched iPhone 8's vector image in Photoshop to arrive at the iPhone XR with little or no imagination.

The XR is definitely not as slim as the iPhone XS, but its solid aluminium frame feels proportionate to its overall form, and it doesn't feel slippery to hold -- despite the all glass finish on its back (which Apple told us is tougher than ever before). Haven't dropped the iPhone XR even once so far, a different (better?) fate compared to my experience with the iPhone 8 Plus last year.

Pretty colours on the iPhone XR

One area where the iPhone XR definitely scores above iPhone XS and XS Max is in terms of looks. Remember the iPhone 5C and the myriad colour palette it introduced? It's a similar feeling with the iPhone XR, only Apple's spun its magic even greater.

Although I'm using the Black iPhone XR, which looks like a beautiful shade of obsidian from both sides, I particularly liked the Coral, Yellow and Blue colour shades on the XR. They're exquisite, to say the least, and fight for your attention from every angle. Apple is offering a total of six colour variants on the iPhone XR -- including White, Product Red -- the most colour varieties on any iPhone ever. This alone makes the iPhone XR quite special.

From the front

Not a big fan of the thick front bezel on the iPhone XR

From the front, the iPhone XR looks every bit as much as the iPhone XS or the XS Max -- apart from the IPS LCD screen, that is. The True Tone display continues to impress on the iPhone XR, and it's one of the best calibrated screens you will find on a smartphone. Period.

Also what you can't miss on the front are the thick bezels on the iPhone XR, which look especially pronounced and ugly on the Black colour variant. Thicker bezels take the sheen off the XR's front view, compared to the XS & XS Max, but they also mean you don't accidentally touch and trigger the screen.

The notch works well for FaceID, and the TrueDepth camera is better at recognizing your face when it's contorted or hidden -- especially when you're sleeping.

Fun with the iPhone XR

The front notch and the TrueDepth camera on the iPhone XR is exactly the same as that on iPhone XS and XS Max, along with all the Natural, Studio, Contour, Stage and Stage Light Mono light effects.

Taking true-to-source selfies and portrait shots from the 7MP front camera is quite good, in early testing.

Selfie portrait on the iPhone XR

Selfie portrait on the iPhone XR

The iPhone XR is tuned for recognizing faces, due to the neural engine in the A12 Bionic chip. The skin tone and colour reproduction on pictures taken on the iPhone XR front-facing camera system is definitely as true to source as you can get, I think, in my limited testing so far.

Camera matters

The single rear 12MP camera isn't a pushover by any means, compared to the XS and XS Max. Take a look at some of the photos I clicked below.

just before sunrise in the morning iPhone XR

Flash photo in dark on the iPhone XR

Toys pictured with iPhone XR

Fish shot on the iPhone XR

Colourful post-it notes shot with iPhone XR

All photos were clicked on auto with no HDR. Low-light camera performance of the iPhone XR is quite good. Nothing is over-exposed, and noise is down to an acceptable level. The dynamic range, when it comes to reproducing colour or shades of light and dark is quite impressive on the iPhone XR. Definitely better than the mainstream competition out there.

Haven't really recorded a lot of video yet with the iPhone XR, so stay tuned for more on that front.

Usability and battery

After the very first full charge of the iPhone XR, the battery lasted for 42 hours straight, which is surprisingly good for a phone with 2942 mAh battery capacity. This included time on 4G LTE, Wi-Fi, with lots of streaming music and social surfing.

Gesture UI on iOS 12 on iPhone XR

Haven't really played a lot of PUBG or Fortnite on the iPhone XR yet, but what I keep getting amazed by is the gesture-based user interface on the iPhone XR. Seriously, the iOS 12-based gesture UI is smooth and fluid, and seems intuitive and natural within just a few minutes of learning curve. Android 9's interpretation of this still seems unpolished and botchy to some extent. iPhone XR definitely has a slippery smooth UI.

iPhone XR: Price and availability

Where the iPhone XS starts at Rs 99,900 and the iPhone XS Max starts at Rs 109,900, the 64GB iPhone XR starts selling at Rs 76,900 from Friday onwards. That's cheap by Apple standards, and I'll tell you more about whether or not the price is justified later this week.