Apple iPhone XS, XS Max & XR Are Coming to Dundee
Overview
If you’re an Apple fan, you’re probably aware of the announcement- and impending release- of three new phones from the company. These are the iPhone XS, iPhone XS Max and the iPhone XR. They replace the original iPhone X, whose discontinuation was announced at the same time (just ten months after it went on sale).
The iPhone XS and iPhone XS Max are scheduled for UK release on the 21st of September 2018, with the iPhone XR coming out the following month on the 26th of October.
iPhone XS and iPhone XS Max- The New Flagships
Apple’s UK prices for the XS and XS Max are £999 and £1099 respectively.*
You’ll probably have guessed from this that the XS- with its 5.8″ display- is essentially the direct replacement for the iPhone X and the 6.5″ XS Max is the new (even more expensive) top-end flagship model.
Unlike the XR, which uses the older-style LCD technology, the XS and XS Max feature 458 ppi OLED displays which are very high quality. Unfortunately, they’re also expensive and likely contribute to the phones’ high prices- not to mention being equally expensive to replace if they get broken.
As with the X, there’s no home button- and hence no Touch ID. (Face ID is used to identify the owner.)
Both have a glass back, which- while looking nice- also raises breakability and repair cost issues. These have already been a problems with the iPhone 8 and X’s glass backs, with the 8’s back often costing more to repair than the screen itself.
The Apple iPhone XS and iPhone XS Max (left) feature an OLED display and dual rear cameras. The iPhone XR (right) has an LCD-based “Liquid Retina” display and a single rear camera.iPhone XR- New Lower-End Model
The iPhone XR is a cheaper (i.e. not quite as expensive!) model scheduled to launch at £749 in the UK.** It includes a 6.1-inch “Liquid Retina” LCD display, and- yes- if you weren’t distracted by the new marketing term, you’ll have noticed that this means the lower-end XR comes with an LCD-based display rather than the OLED that the original iPhone X features (and which is included in the high-end XS and XS Max).
“Liquid Retina” or not, the PPI of this display is slightly lower than that of the OLED-based models (326 vs. 458 ppi). By any normal standards, that’s still pretty good.
Is the use of an LCD necessarily a bad thing? The OLED displays in the iPhone X and high-end Samsung Galaxy phones are generally expensive (and expensive to replace) and the XR’s LCD display may help keep the price down. It also means that unofficial compatible (“copy”) LCD screens– those designed and manufactured entirely independently by third-party companies for use in screen replacement repairs- will arrive very quickly after the iPhone XR’s launch. Unfortunately, as with “copy” screens for previous iPhones, we anticipate those for the iPhone XR will be of much lower quality than the original Apple display, with the potential to even cause damage.
However, they do at least have one benefit- for those in the know at least- since copy screens will probably reduce the demand for refurbishable originals. This keeps the price of repairs down for people who- like us- prefer to fit the higher-quality third-party-refurbished original screens.
Regardless, it likely means that LCD screen replacement for the iPhone XR will be technically quite different (more like the iPhone 8 and lower than the iPhone X) than replacing the OLED screen on the Apple iPhone XS Max and iPhone XS.
The XR also omits Apple’s much-hyped 3D Touch and only features a single rear camera (compared to the two found on the XS and XS Max). However, like the X, XS and XS Max it omits the home button and- as a result- uses Face ID instead of Touch ID.
As with the XS series (above), the XR is to have a glass back, which will no doubt both look nice and- from past experience with the 8 and X- also be a breakage risk. Since the XR is supposed to be a lower-cost phone- but whose glass rear will still likely cost as much to repair as the 8, X and XS- this is more of an issue.
What About Those Names, Then?
We’re not entirely sure about the names. The iPhone X was officially pronounced “iPhone 10”, but that “X” was often pronounced like the letter anyway. This is a problem for the iPhone XS- officially the “iPhone 10S” and “iPhone 10S Max”- since it’ll lead to them getting called the “Excess” and “Excess Max”. Not to mention- we predict- related jokes at the expense of their high price. (As one person pointed out, even the official pronunciation sounds like “iPhone Tennis”).
“iPhone XS Max” is also quite unwieldy, and many are already asking if Apple is losing its touch. Not to mention that “XS Max” also sounds reminiscent of 1990s “Xtreme” marketing (e.g. this Pepsi Max advert). Perhaps Apple are intentionally jumping on the 1990s revival bandwagon, but we doubt it!
iPhone XR (“iPhone 10R”)? Much the same problem, maybe not as bad. (There’s probably a joke about “tenners” in there, but we can’t be bothered thinking one up right this second).
Repairs for the iPhone XS, iPhone XS Max and iPhone XR
What do we think about these phones from a repair point-of-view? It’s a bit early to tell as (at the time of writing) they haven’t hit the streets yet. However, a major part of our job as one of eastern Scotland’s leading independent iPhone repair centres is keeping on top of the latest technological developments- that way, when they do start coming in to our Dundee store, we know where we stand and are already up to speed.
Screen Replacements
As we mentioned above, the LCD technology used in the XR’s screen (typical of pre-iPhone X models) is significantly different to that of the OLED used in the iPhone XS and XS Max. From both a technological and parts/supply point of view, we expect iPhone XR screen replacement to have more in common with LCD-based iPhones than with its expensive siblings.
Meanwhile, expect the XS and XS Max’s OLED displays to be expensive to replace. This was the case with the AMOLED Samsung Galaxy displays, as it was with the original iPhone X- and that’s not likely to change soon.
*While this appears much higher than the US prices ($999 and $1099, around £768 and £845), bear in mind that the UK prices already include VAT at 20%, whereas US buyers have sales tax added on at the checkout. Sellers there can also save money by (e.g.) offering much shorter or inferior warranties due to far weaker consumer protection laws than the UK and EU. (You can decide for yourself whether that’s a false economy.)
**Again, apparently higher than the US price of $749 (£576), but see our note above for the reason.
