
The Phone That’s Failing Apple: iPhone XR - robertgk
https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-phone-thats-failing-apple-iphone-xr-11546779603
======
protomyth
I cannot help but think that an iPhone XR mini would have been a great seller
if it hit the $450 range. I just don't understand Apple these days, its like
they have reverted to the early 90's where they kept jacking the price until
even the loyal customers had to exit the ship. I had so believed they would
repeat the iPod strategy and start at the top end and slowly squeeze the
market by introducing models that filled in the lower price bands.

~~~
threeseed
I don't understand why people are so confused on this.

Apple ships models that fill the lower price brands. It is the iPhone 7 and
iPhone 8 which are still supported and being sold.

~~~
bonaldi
Consider the iPod: the differentiation was about things people would care
about, like size, capacity, portability, style, etc. You weren't made to feel
cheap just because you entered at the lower price points. You _wanted_ an iPod
Mini, and it made sense that it cost less than the Classic: you were still
getting "the best" version of the thing you desired.

Same story with the Mac: buying the iBook didn't make you feel like you were
cheaping out, you were making a conscious choice for what you _wanted_ , not
buying "last year's PowerBook".

With the phones it's very different. Buying an old phone doesn't make you feel
good, it just makes you think "I _know_ this isn't the best, but it's all I
could afford", and that's very un-Apple feeling -- especially when you still
have to pay quite a lot.

Apple has apparently boxed itself into a corner, though: this is its second
attempt to segment the line (the 5c being the first) and both have failed
because they didn't feel like _different_ things, they just felt like
_cheaper_ ones: the 5c was just a plastic 5S, and the XR is basically an XS
with cheaper camera and screen.

So how else can they differentiate? Making a small phone won't really fly -
while I'd _love_ an SE-sized XS, the Chinese market they need to win back
wants its phones big.

That only leaves the margin to cut, and that's a shibboleth. You can see why
they'd much rather focus on services to escape this fix.

~~~
jinushaun
Yes! You hit the nail on the head!

The iPhone needs to be split between iPhone Mini, iPhone and iPhone Pro,
instead of current model of “last year”, “this year medium” and “this year
large”.

As much as I wanted to love the iPhone SE, it always felt like last year’s
model. It wasn’t a differentiated product that had a proper update cycle. A
lot of people in the community were hoping for a proper update to the SE.

I also wanted to love the 5C because I actually preferred the design over the
metal iPhone, but they hindered it with last year’s specs. I was always hoping
they would break out a proper model line from the 5C, but it died with the 6.

~~~
wwweston
How often do people find in practice they have to think about specs at all?
I'm typing this on an SE. It is, of course, literally last year's phone (two
years) but both when I bought it and now, there's nothing except the camera
that doesn't feel well above adequate (and the camera, while missing some neat
low light features, is adequate) and there's a few things that feel optimal
about it that simply aren't available in current models (form factor,
headphone jack, and price).

I never think about specs/performance... much in the same way that I haven't
thought of specs for the mid 2012 MBP I bought years ago. What are people
doing with their phones that drives a sense that last year's specs aren't good
enough?

~~~
dman
Your question reminds me of a humorous quote - "I use Gentoo because I'm a
speed freak - I can't stand the thought that some of my packages might not be
running as fast as they could be.".

PS: The above quote is just one of the gems from [https://funroll-
loops.teurasporsaat.org/](https://funroll-loops.teurasporsaat.org/) \- a
humorous portal to a lost world from the 90s - 2000s (ie the gentoo
subculture).

~~~
ubercow13
Fun page, I remember those times. Some of the quotes aren't so ridiculous,
like:

>"I notice that my disk does a whole lot of thrashing when I boot up. I have a
lot of stuff that gets loaded into memory every time I boot, like X11, ion2,
Firefox, Eterm, Thunderbird, etc. It seems to me that putting all of the files
necessary to those apps in a contiguous section on the disk and loading that
into memory in one shot would be a whole lot faster. Is there a way to do
this? Is it stupid?"

That's a good idea! It's kind of what Windows Prefetch feature does.

~~~
yjftsjthsd-h
(And in case anybody's interested, the utility e4rat (ext4 read ahead...
tool?) does exactly this)

------
interlocutor
Apple's problem is that their rate of innovation has slowed down. iPhone
generates over a 100 Billion dollars in revenue. Per year. If any company has
the resources to innovate it is Apple.

Apple, here are some free ideas. Some of these ideas go beyond the phone and
into cell networks. If Google can do that (
[https://fi.google.com](https://fi.google.com) ) why can't Apple?

\- Improve cellular reception. We are now heavily reliant on our cell phones,
yet half the time our cell phones don't work because we are inside a building
or not close to a tower and so on. This needs to be fixed ASAP. Apple has the
resources to do something about this. Here are some ideas:
[https://www.wired.com/2014/02/steve-perlman-
pcell/](https://www.wired.com/2014/02/steve-perlman-pcell/) and
[https://www.artemis.com](https://www.artemis.com) Quote: "pCell delivers 5G
performance to standard LTE devices"

\- Improve cell plans. Why are we paying for voice, text and data separately?
The only thing we should be paying for is data. Voice and text should go over
data. Apple needs to disrupt.

\- Improve user experience. Here are some really cool ideas from Microsoft:
[https://www.theverge.com/2016/5/5/11595564/microsoft-3d-touc...](https://www.theverge.com/2016/5/5/11595564/microsoft-3d-touch-
kinect-gestures-windows-phones)

\- Improve TV. There is a TV app on my iOS, but it doesn't seem to do anything
interesting. This needs to be more like tv.youtube.com

\- Fix design. Fire Jony Ive's a$$ and hire some real designers. Apple used to
be insanely great at design. Now they are a nobody. Take a look at HomePod. It
is an amorphous blob. Every single Bose speaker looks better than HomePod.

\- Get rid of flat design, it is an unusable mess (see
[http://uxcritique.tumblr.com/](http://uxcritique.tumblr.com/) ). You don't
need to bring back leather and stitches, but you absolutely need to bring
physicality back into UI design in order to improve usability.

~~~
tabs_masterrace
How about some more sensors. No phone can tell me the temperature, without
checking weather online. What if I want to know the room temperature. Could
put humidity, atmospheric pressure sensors in there too, IR cameras, all kinds
of cool stuff. Think of the software applications, right know my "smart" phone
has no way of knowing if I'm outside or inside.

Then, voice mail. Why doesn't this still not work locally? There is no reason
the phone shouldn't be able of answering and recording messages by itself.

~~~
rhn_mk1
> How about some more sensors. No phone can tell me the temperature

Electronics get hot when operating, and even more so when they are sitting in
the pocket. Typical temp sensors are attached to 30cm long cables.

Nevertheless, I'm sure phones can do that already if you install a weather
station in your house.

~~~
ricardobeat
Someone figured out how to measure ambient temperature based on _battery
temperature_ a long time ago, with high reliability!

~~~
epanchin
How does it compensate for being in your pocket?

------
woranl
Why is Apple diluting their brand? What happened to the simple product line?
iPhone X this and iPhone X that is simply bad marketing. Are there product
driven people in Apple anymore?

~~~
beaconstudios
I wonder if the same thing is happening to Apple as happened to Disney - the
visionary founder died, and the company slowly lost its way and became a
vehicle for corporate profiteering while resting on the laurels of the
visionary's pre-existing ideas.

~~~
ronilan
I don't know about Apple, but you are wrong about Disney.

They may have been meandering for a while but over the last decade (and
change), current leadership has made three multi-billion dollar visionary
acquisitions that turned the company around and brought it back to its roots
as a story teller and creator/curator of American pop culture. Financial
results followed the vision not the other way around
([https://www.boxofficemojo.com/studio/](https://www.boxofficemojo.com/studio/)).

~~~
hn_throwaway_99
Walt Disney died in 1966. I'm assuming the parent poster meant the tougher
times Disney faced between then and the start of the Disney Renaissance in the
late 80s.

~~~
ronilan
Parent said: “company slowly lost its way”.

They didn’t. They’ve been down, they’ve been up (so did Apple btw), down and
up again, but as of 2019 Disney is as strong as ever (though we are in the
“endgame” of this cycle).

The narrative of vision lost with founder’s death, just doesn’t work for
Disney’s history.

~~~
wetpaws
Recently I gave up and decided not to watch anything coming from a Disney - no
pixar, no starwars movies, nothing. There's simply no point to bother, Disney
brand is virtually a guarantee mark of a soulless, meaningless, corporate
product with only point of generating cash.

Yes, Disney is still strong, but I believe I'm not the only person that got
tired of it.

------
glitchc
I bought the XS recently, but what I really wanted was the SE form factor with
the XS internals (sans Face ID). Indeed, ignoring the SE market is Apple’s
biggest flaw.

~~~
lostlogin
Do you want no Face ID or are you just happy to forgo it?

~~~
JKCalhoun
My problem with Face ID is how close I have to be to it to work — when sitting
in its cradle on the dashboard, I can't face-unlock.

~~~
Tomte
Mine is sitting in bed, when the phone isn't able to isolate my face from the
wall close behind me.

Also, recognizing me without glasses (again bed). I've got an alternate face
configured, but bed also means low light, and current FaceID doesn't like
thatat all.

~~~
culturestate
> bed also means low light, and current FaceID doesn't like thatat all

The Face ID sensor is basically a tiny Kinect (infrared dot grid), so low
light _shouldn 't_ be a problem. I have the most trouble with it in the
morning when I first wake up, usually squinting at the light.

------
pdimitar
Or maybe the Asian market is not riding the display 's notch hype train? They
might view the notch + the high price as opposing factors (I once heard a guy
say "why would you pay so much for a phone with a screen that's cut on several
places?"). Food for thought.

I bought the X because I wanted an OLED screen iPhone. And I was digging the
less bezels. The notch however is irritating me to this day, 14 months in. And
the non-rectangular screen (with unconventional aspect ratio) has been an
annoyance when watching videos or when playing games.

It's even more absurd seeing how many Android OEMs followed suit with the
notch. Seriously though: 3-4mm on the top and 2mm on the bottom is alright.
There were phones with slightly larger top/bottom bezels than these and they
still managed to even have dual front-facing speakers as well.

We need marketing people who have common sense, not those who try and imitate
their way to success.

~~~
koyote
I agree. The notch simply does not look premium at all. It's the kind of
design decision you would see in lower-end phones as a compromise.

The fact that so many Android OEMs followed suit surprised me. The usual
chinese iPhone clones going along with it? Sure! But so many 'reputable'
companies went for it, it's just incomprehensible.

Anecdotally I just can't imagine someone preferring a notch to no notch (as
long as the bezels aren't massive on the alternative). What kind of data were
the Android OEMs looking at when they made that decision? Or did they not look
at any data at all and simply go with "we better follow Apple on this, just in
case".

~~~
samatman
Anecdotally I prefer the notch to a bezel that would take up the same amount
of space.

Vast majority of the time, I don't notice the notch. I like the way the 'done'
button floats in the upper real estate when modifying apps (wiggle mode).

I would prefer a phone that's a pure wall-of-glass and manages somehow to also
have FaceID, and I'm pretty sure Apple would as well but can't manufacture it.

~~~
zepolen
Xiaomi's new phone is something like that:
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7HCcP0YexTU&feature=youtu.be...](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7HCcP0YexTU&feature=youtu.be&t=247)

~~~
samatman
Neat, would you mind sharing the model name?

I lack the patience (and at the moment, bandwidth) for most video.

~~~
jakobegger
Xiaomi Mi Mix 3

It has a slide-out front camera. So when you are not using the selfie camera,
there is no notch and no large bezel. (It does look like the bottom bezel is a
bit larger than the top and side bezels, though)

~~~
samatman
Thanks!

The screen looks gorgeous, I personally will never again own a phone with
moving parts of any sort so that's a deal-breaker for me. I'm glad there's
still experimentation happening in the space, too many Androids just jump off
the same bridge as Apple.

~~~
koyote
Then you might be interested in the Vivo Nex Dual Display. It has a smaller
screen at the back which means that there is not need for a front camera. It
comes with neat little features such as the people whose picture is being
taken being able to see themselves (and pose) while someone is taking their
picture:

[https://www.indiatoday.in/technology/features/story/vivo-
nex...](https://www.indiatoday.in/technology/features/story/vivo-nex-dual-
display-review-innovative-good-looks-and-not-so-
complicated-1426203-2019-01-08)

------
Spooky23
The only thing you can trust is that any analysis on this topic is horseshit
for at least the next 3 months.

Apple headlines just attract too much attention for god journalism, unless you
are versed enough on the topic to be able to spot the relevant facts through
the nonsense.

------
beezischillin
Personally, these last two iPhone generations were a bit overwhelming,
confusing and strange. I did upgrade to the X but I honestly say, I didn't
even look at this years' offering with any interest. I like the X. I'm happy
with it but here's just simply not enough interesting things going on to make
the new ones worth checking out. Maybe it's just these two generations -- but
this constant push to raise the prices on the higher end to astronomical
levels is leaving a pretty sour taste in my mouth...

The Android market on the other hand is something I couldn't resist checking
out, it's like the wild wild west out there: all these various companies are
constantly in the news with loads and loads of weird and quirky ideas. Now,
granted, I did end up switching to iOS because I found the Android offerings
inferior, I still can't help but sometimes think about trying out the newest
and most interesting on that end. "The grass is always greener on the other
side", as they say.

It's also the case that the killer apps are simply not there. Unlike the 2018
iPhones - I really did look at the new iPad Pro and thought to myself that I'd
love one since I've been using the first gen 13" Pro ever since it came out
and the redesign is cool. On second and third thoughts, though I had to admit
to myself that even with the 120hz panel, I wouldn't really gain much in
practical terms. And the entry price, which in my country is almost $500 more
than the first generation's, really doesn't justify something that's that much
of a hard sell..

Now, granted, this is all just my personal opinion and might even change this
September if Apple has some surprise queued up for us, who knows?

For now, though, I can't help but feel like that $1500-$2000 for a new tablet
and smartphone every year or two is better served as part of my savings
account.

~~~
mwilcox
The price increase and subsequent quality increase of the X made the purchase
make sense given that it would be a longer-lasting phone.. on the 3-4 year
timeframe rather than a 1-2 year timeframe. If they didn't refresh the X (kept
the name) and just released the larger and cheaper versions, it would have
made sense. Given the diminishing returns and higher prices, they should put
more time in to make sure they have breakthrough releases. Even Jobs did this
with the tick-tock of the 4/4S. The naming scheme is all messed up

~~~
beezischillin
You're probably right!

I agree with the long term argument, I still love my X and it was my reasoning
behind paying the price. I do appreciate the fact that Apple still pays
attention to things that are important to users like me, like the whole
privacy aspect, keeping as much data on-device as possible. It's great and I
try to keep that in perspective. It's hard to deny that for the last few
years, they've been making gaffe after gaffe after gaffe. Delayed launches,
increased prices, good products being discontinued instead of updated,
announced products not making an appearance. It would've been unacceptable
before Cook, now it seems like it's just part of how they do business
nowadays.

------
m0zg
Only Apple can name their phone "excess" and price it at $1k+ and still nobody
catches on. For those able to count, that's _five times_ what a decent Android
Pie handset costs (Nokia 6.1, $200) for nowhere near 5x difference in
anything. In fact the Nokia has a phone jack and standard USB-C power. I've
been iPhone user since iPhone 1, and I currently have iPhone 8, but even I am
contemplating a switch.

~~~
darkstar_16
This! I've been an iPhone user since the first version too and am
contemplating a switch simply because the price to be in the ecosystem is more
than I'm willing to pay. I'm on an iPhone 7 still and when this gives up, I'm
going to jump ship

~~~
m0zg
Price _per se_ would not be a concern if competition wasn't there. I just
bought an iPad Pro this year. Nothing Android based even comes close. But
unfortunately for Apple (and fortunately for us) there is stiff competition in
the smartphone space. And Apple will either have to innovate and/or cut
prices. Incremental upgrades at triple digit prices aren't going to work.

~~~
fjp
As a recent XS buyer (upgrade from iPhone 7) my strategy is just going to be
waiting 2 or more upgrade cycles before buying again. I still value the
ecosystem and trust Apple with my data more than anyone else, especially in
the case of iMessage.

I don't think I'll miss anything serious from skipping upgrade cycles. I'm not
much of a camera user and Face ID is meh to me so From iPhone 6 to XS I've
barely seen any improvements I care about other than water resistance which
was a 6 -> 7 upgrade.

------
londons_explore
I recently got a Umidigi A3 Pro [1] as my main phone. It's an iPhone X clone
for $85.

Is it as good? No. But it's nearly as good, and has the flexibility of Android
(tethering when the carrier doesn't allow it, side loading 'dodgy' apps,
multi-sim so I can always get coverage even indoors, hackable headphone
volume, call recording without hassle).

Overall, I'd value the iPhone and fake iPhone the same for my uses. And that's
a problem for Apple when the real one is subpar in many respects and costs 15x
as much.

[1]:
[https://s.click.aliexpress.com/e/c6vyrTdJ](https://s.click.aliexpress.com/e/c6vyrTdJ)

~~~
vbezhenar
Honestly I'm shocked that my phone could disallow me tethering just because
some third-party operator told him so, without any technical reasons. I paid
my money to Apple, they got their salary from my money, yet they don't respect
my freedom. The same with recording the calls. It's an extremely basic feature
which is present in almost any Android phone AFAIK. That's what I don't like
about iPhones, they have no respect for their owner. It's like a car with
built-in limiter to 140 KM/h just because there are no roads where I can drive
faster. It's my business, my liability.

~~~
nkristoffersen
just a quick note regarding speed limiter on cars (which most cars have), this
is typically a safety feature to prevent you from exceeding the limit of the
factory tires (imagine your tires blowing out at 160mph). Many performance
cars can be reprogrammed to remove the speed limit (just do it once you've
installed higher performance tires!)

[https://www.tirerack.com/tires/tiretech/techpage.jsp?techid=...](https://www.tirerack.com/tires/tiretech/techpage.jsp?techid=35)

------
lettergram
My wife and I bought an XS (for her) and XR (for me). We both had Nexus 6p and
they were at end of life and wanted to get her a nicer phone for Christmas.

Well, after playing with both the XR takes better photos, generally. In
addition, the XR gets probably 30% more life on a single charge. Nothing else
on the XS is really much better (outside of a couple nice to haves). So now
she has the XR and I have the XS.

ID recommend and XR over the XS for everyone.

~~~
freediver
Would have bought XR if it was smaller. Currently using 7 and even XR is just
too large to be called a phone anymore. XS is a monstrosity from my point of
view.

~~~
cyxxon
Indeed. I upgraded from a 6S, and was going to order a XR, when I finally, in
the last minute, actually measured the dimentsions out in comparison to my
current phone. Then I basically said WTF and waited for some deal on the XS
and bought that. Not really happy, though, as all friends who did the same
aren't: it is stilltoo big and too expensive for what it does - and we are in
Europe, so the prices are even more ridiculous...

------
GeekyBear
I don't think the Chinese market slowing down is news for anyone who was
paying attention last year.

>The global smartphone market has suffered a drop of 6 percent in overall sale
numbers, according to a report on the third quarter of 2018 from the
International Data Corporation (IDC).

Similar to the drop in smartphone sales in the first quarter of the year, the
IDC points at a slowdown in the Chinese market as being one of the primary
factors for the global slump.

[https://www.digitaltrends.com/mobile/samsung-slumps-in-
smart...](https://www.digitaltrends.com/mobile/samsung-slumps-in-smartphone-
sales-numbers/)

This has already impacted Samsung's smartphone sales much more strongly last
quarter.

>Operating profit in Samsung’s smartphone division dropped 33pc from the same
quarter last year to 2.2 tn won.

[https://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/2018/10/31/samsung-
re...](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/2018/10/31/samsung-reports-
record-profit-despite-smartphone-sales-slump/)

~~~
simonh
The XR this year in China is also having exactly the same problem the 6s had
when it came out. The 6 (with it's big screen) and X were so attractive that
many people upgraded a year early. That means there's a smaller potential
market for the XR, just as there was for the 6s. This is disproportionately
true in China where distinctive looks are more important than in other
markets. Add that in to the economic picture and it's a bit of a perfect storm
for Apple. The XR has done fine in other markets.

------
jakobegger
Can someone explain why Apple needs to make the iPhone more expensive when the
Dollar rises compared to the Yuan? The iPhone is produced in China, most of
the components are produced in Asia, etc. Their fixed costs per phone should
drop when the dollar is strong. Sure, their margins might take a hit, but
raising prices isn't going to help them sell phones...

Similarly, why doesn't the phone price drop in the US?

The only explanation I have would be that contracts with suppliers are all in
USD, which would mean that the suppliers are the ones profiting from the
strong dollar. Is that's what is happening?

~~~
mcrae
Labour might be priced in CNY, but most of the expensive bits in the BOM are
from non-Chinese firms like Qualcomm, Samsung, and others and would be in USD
denominated contracts most likely.

~~~
addicted
Apple almost certainly doesn’t hire the Chinese laborers directly. They do so
indirectly through the likes of Foxconn.

And their Foxconn contracts are almost certainly dollar denominated. If anyone
benefits from the strengthening dollar, it’s Foxconn, who likely gets the same
dollars per iPhone, but those dollars get them more Yuan than they did before.
They still pay their employees the same number of Yuan, which means they have
more left over for themselves.

As a result, Apple’s iPhone costs remain the same in dollars, so they need to
sell it at the same dollar price to maintain their margins, but that means the
iPhone is more expensive for people in China buying in Yuan, or people in
India buying in Rupees, or people in Europe buying in Euros, therefore
reducing sales.

------
porphyrogene
That video at the top of the page is absolutely god awful. I acknowledge that
this is a low-quality comment but that cannot go unmentioned. I would believe
that the first ten seconds are satirical.

~~~
rossdavidh
My God, you kept listening for TEN seconds?!? :)

------
Zhenya
Complete article: [https://outline.com/KuHx2U](https://outline.com/KuHx2U)

------
achow
[https://outline.com/KuHx2U](https://outline.com/KuHx2U)

------
apapli
I'm only a sample of 1, but I loved my original iPhone X - had to replace it
due to taking on a new job and they haven't approved that device yet, so I'm
back to an iPhone 8 unfortunately.

To me although the screen size was nice the X is just a bit big, and my old 6
Plus was relatively huge when it came to fitting inside my pocket.

I'd much rather an iPhone X no larger than my current iPhone 8 (all screen
though), with all the bells and whistles that the X comes with such as face
ID. I'd still pay good money for it if it was approved by corporate security.

So Apple if you are listening, just make a smaller X about the same
width/height of my current 8 and I'd be a happy camper!

~~~
geocar
I'm in the smaller boat too.

I'd love rsim support as well, as long as we're wishing...

------
sys_64738
I must confess I don't know the difference between the iPhone X, XR, XS, XS
Max. It all seems very confused and stinks of marketing getting their claws
into it. It was simple when they were numbered sequentially. Now I wonder if
there will ever be an iPhone 11 as that suggests there can't be a premium on
the iPhone X* as people will poo-poo that.

~~~
samatman
Three of these are easy to understand, especially if you know anything at all
about how Apple has been naming iPhones since the beginning of the product
line.

The fourth is the XR. Which is, as TFA indicates, a head-scratcher of a
product.

~~~
alonmower
This is purely speculation but I wonder if the XR only exists because of fear
that they wouldn’t be able to scale up the OLED supply chain enough to satiate
total demand for the new model iPhone (and incidentally make a lower cost
phone too). Otherwise I too agree, why offer it?

------
augbog
The XR and XS offering confused me for a long time. Even right now I still
don't fully understand the difference.

It is surprising that XR didn't do as well as XS relatively speaking. Then
again I feel a lot of people who are extremely loyal to Apple wouldn't
hesitate to get the most expensive offering anyways.

------
coldtea
Yeah, let's see how this goes with the quarterly results.

Historically 90% of pundit/press claims have been proven to be utter BS. If I
had a penny for each "Apple is doomed" and "iPhone model XXX not selling" I
would have, well, 10s of dollars...

~~~
coldtea
...and TFA doesn't seem to fare better either:

[https://appleinsider.com/articles/19/01/08/the-wsj-
calling-t...](https://appleinsider.com/articles/19/01/08/the-wsj-calling-the-
iphone-xr-a-failure-that-cant-sell-is-ludicrously-mistaken)

------
m23khan
Consumers should demand cheaper smartphones with adequate performance -- just
like cars, you have toyota corollas and honda civics for the average joe and
then you have lexus and cadillacs. Similarly, a cheap, reliable phone for
masses and the rich folks can go for their iPhones and Samsung Galaxies.

It seems when it comes to smartphones, consumers are also to blame for
unnecessarily spending more then their actual affordability and this is
causing lack of cheap+reliable options for the consumer. Almost all smartphone
manufacturers are focusing on producing high-end, expensive devices for the
wanna be socialites (both men and women).

~~~
snarf21
I would partially agree with you except they made the SE and people didn't
vote with their dollars. It was only 10% of iPhone sales. I agree that it
would be nice to have more lower and mid range options but most people seem to
want the new shiny.

~~~
epanchin
Where did you get 10% from?

According to TechCrunch... In the UK it was 10% of total smartphone sales, 25%
of Apple’s. In the USA it was 5% of total smartphone sales and 16% of Apple’s.

[https://techcrunch.com/2016/08/10/the-iphone-se-is-
selling-j...](https://techcrunch.com/2016/08/10/the-iphone-se-is-selling-just-
as-apple-planned-in-the-u-s-and-europe/)

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rajacombinator
Maybe charging $1200 for a phone that barely has improvements over the 6s, yet
contains several major regressions, was a bad strategy.

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abrowne
My partner has an XR and loves it. Granted she upgraded from a 5, so anything
would've been an upgrade, but she likes the button-less X design and excellent
camera but had no interest in the super high-end XS.

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neya
The iPhone XR is failing because of Apple's arrogance. They shoved in a 720p
display into a smartphone in 2018. They even dismissed concerns about it[1].
The other reason is there are too many models in their lineup in a desperate
attempt to capture market share - something Steve jobs was against.

The desirability is not there as it used to be, since they're now almost
pushed into a price war with other makers in the segments who were already
well established before Apple.

Finally, there are simply too many issues surrounding iOS. Either the wifi
stops working, or the phone is made to perform too slow in the pretext of
battery throttling or something else is compromised. This is unacceptable from
a company that reached $1 Tr. I am not kidding you when I tell you guys I know
sweatshops that can do better quality code than Apple's iOS. Get your shit
together, Apple!

[1] [https://www.trustedreviews.com/news/iphone-xr-screen-
issues-...](https://www.trustedreviews.com/news/iphone-xr-screen-
issues-3609709)

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anpago
The Wife has a iPhone each year and for her needs wanted a bigger screen than
the standard 8 should would of happily had a iPhone 8 plus as her new phone
but when the XR came along it worked out as more screen than the 8 plus. But
the difference between the XR and X's models was the extra memory and Apple
service plan (roughly). The notch she has never mentioned and I have noticed
all new adverts with a phone screen in them have a notch in them, I just don't
think the regular user notices them that much.

While she noticed a slight speed difference from the 8. I think it was the
improved battery life she liked more and hearing the XR seems to be better
than the XS further justify's the choice.

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viburnum
It's too big to use with one hand.

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ajb257
I would argue that the change that happened was the realistic rise in price
based on:

1) In 2017, the iPhone 8 was the 'standard', and the iPhone X was the 'premium
above', adding new features for those willing to pay the extra 2) In 2018, the
iPhone XS is effectively the standard, because the XR has the impression of
being a hobbled version of the XS

Since noone would rather buy the 'hobbled' one, the base price jumps to $1000

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faizmokhtar
Upgrade to XR recently from 6 and I truly love it.

Opted for it instead of XS since I read that it has the longest battery life
compared to the other X* offerings.

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SN76477
Remember Gateway computer stores in the 90s?

they behaved as if people were replacing their computers every year.

We are simply seeing that pattern again. there is simply no need to upgrade my
iphone8, it works well, it does all that I need. I hope to have it for several
years.

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ouid
I still don't understand why people think of these new phones as upgrades.

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mbchandar
Seems like Apple has forgotten who their customers are... instead they are
going for people who worry about specs and technology etc.... this is not kind
of apple i have viewed in the past.

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giza182
Does everyone here who's read this have a subscription? Or is there one
without a paywall?

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dingdongding
Put outline.com prefix in front of the article's URL.

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ybahubali2018
I still don't understand why apple won't support FM Radio on their phones? Are
they so scared of Apple Music subscriptions ?

Or is there any specific reason ?

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slondr
Everyone I know who owns an iPhone XR only got it because they're in some
upgrade plan that gives them a new phone every year or two. Nobody actually
wants it. There's die-hards who needs the XS because it's the latest and
greatest, while those who want something a little cheaper are buying an 8 Plus
or original X. I really feel like the XR is a repeat of the original iPhone 7
in that it's a phone with no target audience.

~~~
zapzupnz
> Everyone I know

In the grand scheme of things, and in the overall market, everyone you know
still comes out to a rounding error. Don't get too caught up in anecdata.

> I really feel like the XR is a repeat of the original iPhone 7 in that it's
> a phone with no target audience

You're right, there. If people want a high-end iPhone, they'd get the XS. If
they want a cheaper phone in the X form factor, they'd get an X. If they don't
want the X form factor yet, they'd get an 8. The XR is just… there.

And yet, it's a great phone by itself. Same processor as the XS, meaning a
great performance leap over the X, not to mention a vastly improved camera.
But it's hard to think of it as premium when it's lacking the OLED screen and
Force Touch. It feels so incomplete, like an XS wannabe than its own thing.

~~~
cageface
I always thought force touch was kind of a dumb feature so I'm happy to do
without it. And the XR screen looks great IMO. I'll happily take the extra
battery life over a barely perceptibly better screen.

The main thing I'd change about the XR is I'd make it a bit smaller. Other
than that it's a great phone.

~~~
zapzupnz
Re: Force Touch. It is a bit of a dumb feature, but it's been a feature for
all the new iPhones (bar the SE) for a few generations; plus, when you get
used to it, it's bizarre when it's gone. That it's missing feels sloppy and
creates fragmentation in the product lineup that didn't need to be there.

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paul7986
Bought and returned iPhone XS...

\- It lacks a home button

\- It lacks Touch ID which unlocks your phone instantly before meeting your
face (need this when sitting idle in traffic). Face ID takes longer.. that's
bad UX and possibly dangerous UX which probably has caused some dummies (many
out there) to have accidents.

\- It's too big ... i can not text with one hand as Ive done with my 8 and all
models before.

~~~
jakobegger
> need this when sitting idle in traffic

> has caused some dummies to have accidents

I love the lack of self-awareness...

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paul7986
I’m aware I’m the dummy at times when stuck in traffic.

Though how many millions of dummies are there unfortunately?

