iPhone XR: Pre-orders open on Apple’s lower-priced iPhone

Apple’s ‘budget’ smartphone option, the iPhone XR, is now available for pre-ordering online or in physical Apple shops. At £749, it’s hardly cheap, but substantially cheaper than the iPhone XS and XS Max – which will set you back £999 and £1,099 respectively. It comes in three different storage sizes: 64GB, 128GB and 256GB, and six different colors: black, white, red, yellow, blue, and coral.

While pre-orders open today, shipping won’t start until 26 October. Below are some helpful links for places you can reserve a handset ahead of that date, as well as the bst deals on Apple’s other new iPhones:

• Apple
• Vodafone
• O2
• Three
• EE

The best Apple iPhone Xs deals

• O2 – 50GB data, £30 upfront, £63.50/mth for 36 months, total cost £1128 – Get it here
• EE – 100GB data, £10 upfront, £83/mth for 24 months, total cost £2,002 – Get it here
• Carphone Warehouse – With iD: £250 upfront, £40/mth for 24 months, total cost £1210 – Get it here
• Three – Unlimited data, £79 upfront, £52/mth for 24 months, total cost £1,328 – Get it here
• Mobiles.co.uk – With O2: 30GB data, £275 upfront, £46/mth for 24 months, total cost £1379 – Get it here 

The best Apple iPhone Xs Max deals

• O2 – 50GB data, £30 upfront, £66.50/mth for 36 months, total cost £1236 – Get it here
• EE – 100GB data, £10 upfront, £88/mth for 24 months, total cost £2,122 – Get it here
• Carphone Warehouse – With O2: Unlimited data, £200 upfront, £65/mth for 24 months, total cost £1,760 – Get it here
• Three – Unlimited data, £99 upfront, £64/mth for 24 months, total cost £1,760 – Get it here
• Mobiles.co.uk – With O2: 25GB data, £10 upfront, £75/mth for 24 months, total cost £1,809 – Get it here

iPhone XR: Everything you need to know about the iPhone XR

September saw Apple unveil the iPhone XR at the Steve Jobs Theater in Cupertino, California along with the iPhone XS and XS Max and the long-awaited Apple Watch Series 4. 

iPhone XR price: How much does the iPhone XR cost?

The iPhone XR starts at $749 USD, which translates to £749. The affordable answer to Apple’s new iPhone XS (and XS Max) is available to pre-order from 19 October, with shipping starting on 26 October. 

The £749 price point makes the iPhone XR less expensive than the iPhone 8 Plus. Its ‘affordable’ price combined with state-of-the-art technology is something the company says it is “very proud” of.  

iPhone XR design and features: What does the iPhone XR look like?

The iPhone XR has debuted with a 6.1in screen and a brand new all-screen liquid retina display (“the most colour accurate in the industry”) along with an all-new advanced single camera system.

The biggest aesthetic shakeup is that the iPhone XR will arrive in no less than six new technicolour finishes, including blue, yellow and red. It also boasts a sleek all-glass enclosure 

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iPhone XR features: What can the iPhone XR do?

The iPhone XR’s camera boasts some remarkable capacities, coming equipped with the much revered Portrait Mode, using machine learning to ensure the portrait’s subjects are kept in sharp focus in the foreground, juxtaposed with a blurred background.

Depth Control is an all-new camera feature, allowing users to adjust the depth of field in their portraiture shots after the photo has been taken. The camera also boasts optical image stabilisation, a flood illuminator and an ambient light sensor. Oh, and it can shoot 4K video. Naturally.

Camera aside, the iPhone XR boasts Face ID, Apple’s revolutionary security system. Backed up by patented Apple technology, including its TrueDepth camera system, the intriguingly named Secure Enclave and the Neural Engine, Face ID is a state-of-the-art security setup. In the XR, it’s faster and easier to use; machine learning means it works even when users are, say, wearing glasses, or donning a hat. It even, Apple points out, works with “many types” of sunglasses.

Face ID also works with apps and accounts. Need to transfer money? Face ID’s got you sorted. Want to access your locked notes? Face ID will ensure they’re viewed by your eyes only. Literally.

iPhone XR specs: What’s inside the iPhone XR

The iPhone XR is powered by Apple’s A12 Bionic chip, which the company bills as “the smartest, most powerful chip in a smartphone”. There are stats to back this up; the A12 Bionic chip boasts a graphics performance of up to 50% faster than its predecessor and performance cores of up to 15% faster. The A12 also comes installed with Apple’s next-gen 8-core Neural Engine, touting the capacity for “amazing” augmented reality experiences.

Camera-wise, the iPhone XR certainly packs a punch; its single camera system boasts a 12MP wide-angle camera, an all-new sensor and 1.4 million pixels.