Lost in the shuffle of Apple’s new premium flagships was the introduction of the low-cost iPhone XR. It is meant to replace the iPhone 8 Apple offered last year with some key upgrades. Let’s see what’s different.

We’re mostly comparing the iPhone XR and the iPhone 8 to see the differences because any which way you cut it, the iPhone XR is a better phone. That’s not a knock against the iPhone 8, the iPhone XR is supposed to be a better phone. Apple intended it that way. It gains just about every advantage the iPhone X offers but does it with the materials used to build the iPhone 8, which is an LCD display and glass and aluminum build.

The main difference between the two phones is the display. The iPhone XR offers a spacious 6.1-inch display and the iPhone 8 has a symmetrical but undersized 4.7-inch display.

About the only area the iPhone 8 has an advantage is with biometric sensor. For a great as the first generation Face ID was given its technology breakthrough, it still lags behind the refinement of Touch ID. The iPhone 8 isn’t a complete chump against the iPhone XR, but it’s clear one is a modern smartphone while the other is a smartphone from four years ago.

Check out the spec comparison between the iPhone XR and iPhone 8 down below.

Apple - iPhone XR Apple - iPhone 8
Display Size 6.1-inch, 828 x 1792 pixel display (324 ppi) 4.7-inch, 750 x 1334 pixel display (326 ppi)
Resolution X 828 750
Resolution Y 1792 1334
Display Type Liquid Retina HD display Retina HD Display
Operating System iOS 12 (at launch) iOS 11 (at launch)
Processor A12 Bionic chip A11 Bionic chip with 64-bit architecture
RAM N/A 2GB (unofficial)
Storage
  • 64GB
  • 128GB
  • 256GB
  • 64GB
  • 256GB
External Storage No No
Main Camera (Back) 12MP 12MP
Secondary Camera (Front) 7MP 7MP
Networks
  • CDMA EV-DO Rev. A (800, 1900 MHz)
  • FDD‑LTE (Bands 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 12, 13, 14, 17, 18, 19, 20, 25, 26, 29, 30, 32, 66, 71)
  • GSM/EDGE (850, 900, 1800, 1900 MHz)
  • TD‑LTE (Bands 34, 38, 39, 40, 41)
  • UMTS/HSPA+/DC-HSDPA (850, 900, 1700/2100, 1900, 2100 MHz)
  • CDMA EV-DO Rev. A: 800, 1900, 2100
  • FDD-LTE (Bands 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 12, 13, 17, 18, 19, 20, 25, 26, 28, 29, 30, 66)
  • GSM/EDGE: 850, 900, 1800, 1900
  • TD-LTE (Bands 34, 38, 39, 40, 41)
  • TD-SCDMA 1900 (F), 2000 (A)
  • UMTS/HSPA+/DC-HSDPA: 850, 900, 1700/2100, 1900, 2100
Bluetooth Bluetooth 5.0 Bluetooth 5.0
Battery N/A N/A
NFC Yes Yes
Connectivity
  • Lightning connector
  • Lightning port
Sensors
  • Accelerometer
  • Ambient light
  • Barometer
  • Face ID
  • Proximity
  • Three‑axis gyro
  • Accelerometer
  • Ambient light
  • Barometer
  • Proximity
  • Touch ID
  • Three-axis gyro
GPS
  • Assisted GPS
  • Digital compass
  • Galileo
  • GLONASS
  • QZSS
  • Assisted GPS
  • Digital compass
  • Galileo
  • GLONASS
  • QZSS
Height 5.94 inches (15.09 cm) 5.45 inches (13.84 cm)
Width 2.98 inches (75.7 mm) 2.65 inches (67.3 mm)
Depth 0.33 inches (8.4 mm) 0.29 inches (7.4 mm)
Weight 6.84 oz (194 g) 5.22 oz (148 g)
Colors Black, Blue, Coral, Red, White, Yellow Gold, Silver, Space Gray
Supported Audio Formats AAC‑LC, HE‑AAC, HE‑AAC v2, Protected AAC, MP3, Linear PCM, Apple Lossless, FLAC, Dolby Digital (AC‑3), Dolby Digital Plus (E‑AC‑3), and Audible (formats 2, 3, 4, Audible Enhanced Audio, AAX, and AAX+) AAC-LC, HE-AAC, HE-AAC v2, Protected AAC, MP3, Linear PCM, Apple Lossless, FLAC, Dolby Digital (AC-3), Dolby Digital Plus (E-AC-3), and Audible (formats 2, 3, 4, Audible Enhanced Audio, AAX, and AAX+)
Supported Video Formats HEVC, H.264, MPEG‑4 Part 2, and Motion JPEG HEVC, H.264, MPEG-4 Part 2, and Motion JPEG