Live data from Hacker News

The Phone That’s Failing Apple: iPhone XR

wsj.com

131–140 of 375 posts

Re: The Phone That’s Failing Apple: iPhone XR

#131

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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 al…

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 availabl…

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/ - a humorous portal to a lost world from the 90s - 2000s (ie the gentoo subculture).

Re: The Phone That’s Failing Apple: iPhone XR

#132

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 re…

They have exactly the same rear camera (the XS just adds an additional camera with a telephoto lens)

The XS uses the telephoto lens for portrait shots whereas the XR has no choice but to use its sole wide angle lens, which makes it look bad but not really because some people prefer the portraits taken with the primary lens.

Re: The Phone That’s Failing Apple: iPhone XR

#133

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 re…

I'm kind of sorry to see the XR doing so poorly myself because I think it's a great phone and I've been saying for years that Apple needs to get its devices into more hands to expand the market for its services. I don't know what it is exactly about the XR that turns people off but I can afford an XS Max but opted instead for the XR and I don't regret it.

Since the 5C was also a disappointment maybe it's just that people buy Apple because they want a premium phone and a 5C/XR, even with Apple's premium components isn't perceived as such?

Re: The Phone That’s Failing Apple: iPhone XR

#134
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.

Re: The Phone That’s Failing Apple: iPhone XR

#135
post #3

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 audi…

> 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.…

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.

Re: The Phone That’s Failing Apple: iPhone XR

#136

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

Xiaomi's new phone is something like that: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7HCcP0YexTU&feature=youtu.be...

Neat, would you mind sharing the model name?

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

Re: The Phone That’s Failing Apple: iPhone XR

#138

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 fille…

Someone made the point that Apples margins are quite consistent and have been for years. But a larger proportion of their revenue comes from services which are normally very high margin. Which implies that they are actually cutting their margins on hardware - in other words the phones are expensive because they cost more to build, not because Apple are getting greedy.

Re: The Phone That’s Failing Apple: iPhone XR

#139
post #134

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.

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

Re: The Phone That’s Failing Apple: iPhone XR

#140

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Keep in mind that the iPhone XR launched on 10/26, a month after the iPhone XS on 9/21. What Greg Joswiak says is likely true, but you have to account for the fact that peak demand for the XS has already passed by the time the XR is launched, so total XS sales to date could still be more.

Good point! I (perhaps baselessly) think the XR has been the most popular phone, but there's an iPhone-wide softening in demand.

And nearly 40% of XS in total were sold during the period where XR were not available. So XR being the most popular phone doesn't paint an accurate whole picture.
Post reply on HN