the phone (somewhat) upgrade to Iphone XR

 Just about a few blogs back I've mentioned that my postpaid plan retention is already due. My primary option is still to continue with iPhone since I am more comfortable with the "User Experience" that iPhones give which I cannot really find in Android phones. 

And now this was just about it. Last week, I was already hands-on with the new iPhone XR which I got from my provider.

But why shifting to renew on a 3 year old phone model and not on the latest one? Simply put it this way: I cannot cash out a sum for the newer models or even the iPhone 13. I am not a person who would break a bank just to avail of such extravagances. And besides, I got what I need: a very big 128 GB of internal storage which is my primary consideration of considering this phone. But of course, I still have an installment plan on top of my monthly bill to cover for the cost of the unit. iPhones are known for it's high price point and re-sellability value. So even for the still OK models, you can still sell it at a decent price.

What made me decide to get this phone instead? Well, here are my primary considerations:

1. The aesthetics. An iPhone is an iPhone. The first thing you will notice is the appearance and the screen size. The color is great. I got the black one because it looks elegant and "yayamanin" appeal. Well I am not being shallow. But let's admit it, an iPhone exudes that certain appeal that some android phones try to mimic but falls short.
2. The price point. Well, admittedly, the phone is 3 years old since release and apple already discontinued production. But it remained to be the highest selling iPhone in 2018-2019 beating out the high-end ones in the line XS, XS Max. Given this, the advantage is the low cost on my end to avail from my provider
3. The memory of 128 GB. The pitfalls of previous iphones I've had: 4, 6, 6s+ are the internal memory. Good thing, I have my back-up drive up to now to backup the photos and videos I've taken.
4. The speed. The more high-end chip as compared to my previous one offers me a faster experience in navigating through it.
5. Apple has a much better after sales and technical issues support. You can have the apple support app downloaded from the apple store.

Given the above, this phone also has its flaws but not really major ones:

1. The back is a finger smudge magnet. It's built with corning gorilla glass front and back with aluminum frame on the sides. Your finger marks will stamp when you hold. Just buy a decent phone chase.
2. Camera is much OK but not the greatest. Improved as compared with the 6s+ but still missing the zoom and the night mode shot. But camera is forgiveable and acceptable if you're not after photography or filming videos using the phone.
3. The screen display. I think the screen display of the iphone 6s+ is really better as compared to the iPhone XR. But is it just me?  It's clear in its own right but not really offering sharp and crisp colors.
4. No headphone jack. Basically, it's time that you'd invest in a wireless earphones if you want to listen to music in this phone. I think to me this is some kind of drawback since I'd prefer the wired earphones over the wireless ones at anytime
5. The face unlock. Don't get me wrong. I love the faster response of the face unlock that this phone has as compared to the finger scan. However, it annoys me to have the phone unlocked everytime it sees my face even if I don't intend to have it unlocked.

In general, here's my final verdict: I 💓 it. It may not be the latest model but I am really not after the latest and the expensive ones. It's basically what I need and what I want in a phone. 

BTW, In the box/package don't expect you'll have the inclusions of a headset or a charging brick. what you will have though is a USB type-C to lightning pin cable to charge your phone as an inclusion. But anyway, I can still use my charger from my iPhone 6s here since it's a standard for all apple products.