Phil Schiller on iPhone XR Display: 'If You Can't See the Pixels, at Some Point the Numbers Don't Mean Anything'

Engadget's Chris Velazco recently sat down for an interview with Apple's marketing chief Phil Schiller to discuss all things iPhone XR. We've rounded up some of Schiller's comments about the device below.

iphone xr display
What the "R" stands for in iPhone XR:

I love cars and things that go fast, and R and S are both letters used to denote sport cars that are really extra special.

How the iPhone X led to the iPhone XS, iPhone XS Max, and iPhone XR:

We had this technology we were working on for many years to be the future of the iPhone. It was a huge ask of the engineering team to get it to market last year, and they did. ... We knew that if we could bring that to market and it was successful very quickly after that, we needed to grow the line and make it available to more people.

Making sure the iPhone XR is still "the best phone":

If we're going to push the upper boundaries with XS and XS Max to make something the best, how do we make something that's more affordable for a larger audience? To make the overall iPhone audience even larger? What choices can we make and still make it a phone that people can hold and say, "I have the best too"?

Expanding on that:

We don't think about categories. We think the iPhone X technology and experience is something really wonderful, and we want to get it to as many people as possible, and we want to do it in a way that still makes it the best phone.

Addressing concerns about the iPhone XR's lower-resolution display:

I think the only way to judge a display is to look at it. …

If you can't see the pixels, at some point the numbers don't mean anything. They're fairly arbitrary.

As far as the iPhone XR launching over a month after the iPhone XS and iPhone XS Max, Schiller simply said "this is when it's ready."

iPhone XR pre-orders began last Friday in over 50 countries. The first deliveries to customers and in-store availability will begin Friday, October 26. The colorful device starts at $749 in the United States.

Full Article: With the iPhone XR, Apple broadens its 'best'

Related Forum: iPhone

Popular Stories

Generic iOS 19 Feature Mock Light

iOS 19 Leak Reveals All-New Design

Friday January 17, 2025 2:42 pm PST by
iOS 19 is still around six months away from being announced, but a new leak has allegedly revealed a completely redesigned Camera app. Based on footage it obtained, YouTube channel Front Page Tech shared a video showing what the new Camera app will apparently look like, with the key change being translucent menus for camera controls. Overall, the design of these menus looks similar to...
2024 iPhone Boxes Feature

Apple Changes Trade-In Values for iPhones, iPads, Macs, and More

Thursday January 16, 2025 6:45 am PST by
Apple today adjusted estimated trade-in values for select iPhone, iPad, Mac, and Apple Watch models in the U.S., according to its website. Some values increased, while others decreased. The changes were not too significant, with most values rising or dropping by $5 to $50. We have outlined some examples below: Device New Value Old Value iPhone 15 Pro Max Up to $630 U ...
2024 App Store Awards

Apple Explains Why It Removed TikTok From the App Store in the U.S.

Sunday January 19, 2025 6:58 am PST by
Apple on late Saturday removed TikTok from the App Store in the U.S., and it has now explained why it was required to take this action. Last year, the U.S. passed a law that required Chinese company ByteDance to divest its ownership of TikTok due to potential national security risks, or else the platform would be banned. That law went into effect today, and companies like Apple and Google...
Generic iOS 18

Everything New in iOS 18.3 Beta 3

Thursday January 16, 2025 12:39 pm PST by
Apple provided the third beta of iOS 18.3 to developers today, and while the betas have so far been light on new features, the third beta makes some major changes to Notification Summaries and also tweaks a few other features. Notification Summary Changes Apple made multiple changes to Notification Summaries in response to complaints about inaccurate summaries of news headlines. For...
iOS 19 Roundup Feature

iOS 19 Rumored to Be Compatible With These iPhones

Saturday January 18, 2025 10:28 am PST by
iOS 19 will not drop support for any iPhone models, according to French website iPhoneSoft.fr. The report cited a source who said iOS 19 will be compatible with any iPhone that can run iOS 18, which would mean the following models: iPhone 16 iPhone 16 Plus iPhone 16 Pro iPhone 16 Pro Max iPhone 15 iPhone 15 Plus iPhone 15 Pro iPhone 15 Pro Max iPhone 14 iPhon...
iPad Pro vs iPhone 17 Air Feature

Here's How Thin the iPhone 17 Air Might Be

Friday January 17, 2025 3:38 pm PST by
For the last several months, we've been hearing rumors about a redesigned version of the iPhone 17 that Apple might call the iPhone 17 "Air," or something along those lines. It's going to replace the iPhone 17 Plus as Apple's fourth iPhone option, and it will be offered alongside the iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Pro, and iPhone 17 Pro Max. We know the iPhone 17 Air is going to be super slim, but...
airtag 4 pack blue

AirTag 2 Launching This Year With These 3 New Features

Sunday January 19, 2025 8:11 am PST by
After a four-year wait, a new AirTag is finally expected to launch in 2025. Below, we recap rumored upgrades for the accessory. A few months ago, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said Apple was aiming to release the AirTag 2 around the middle of 2025. While he did not offer a more specific timeframe, that means the AirTag 2 could be announced by the end of June. The original AirTag was announced...
apple power beats pro 2

Powerbeats Pro 2 Coming Soon: Apple to Announce Them 'Imminently'

Sunday January 19, 2025 8:25 am PST by
In September, Apple said that it would be launching Powerbeats Pro 2 in 2025, and it appears the wireless earbuds are coming very soon. Powerbeats Pro 2 images found in iOS 18 code In his Power On newsletter today, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said the Powerbeats Pro 2 are "due imminently." In addition to Apple filing the Powerbeats Pro 2 in regulatory databases last month, Gurman said Apple is...

Top Rated Comments

AngerDanger Avatar
82 months ago
Think the XR screen is too low-res? I managed to find an instructional guide on a particularly unstable Apple support page.

1. Firmly grasp the XR in your dominant hand.
2. Move it a little farther from your bloody face.



If you're unable to follow the instructions above, there's an Optimal iPhone XR Viewing Distance (OIXVD) spot check your friends can perform on the fly. Apparently, your pose should approximately match the illustration below:



Attachment Image
Score: 53 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Scottsoapbox Avatar
82 months ago
And yet they increased the PPI for the X and XS... Apparently Apple's design team could still see the pixels.
Score: 51 Votes (Like | Disagree)
RogerWilco Avatar
82 months ago
$749 is “affordable” ... sure Phil, whatever.
Score: 47 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Tsuchiya Avatar
82 months ago
I don't think Apple should try and go for the "more affordable" angle when it comes to a $749 phone...I mean it's technically true considering their flagship starts at $999, but still...it's $749.
Score: 41 Votes (Like | Disagree)
zorinlynx Avatar
82 months ago
He's right. iPad Pro 10.5 is 264PPI and looks fantastic.
Also, the 5K iMac's display is 218PPI and you really have to get close to the screen to see pixels.

If anything, I'd rather have the lowest number of pixels needed to not see the pixels. This results in the best performance possible since the GPU is pushing less data per frame.
Score: 32 Votes (Like | Disagree)
NIKKG Avatar
82 months ago
He is right, once your eyes can't detect the difference, than you're just wasting extra battery life and graphics performance for no reason other than to play the specs game.
Score: 28 Votes (Like | Disagree)