The iPhone XS and iPhone XS Max might have stolen all the limelight but its the iPhone XR which is going to sell in huge quantities for Apple. Priced a couple of hundred dollars lower than the iPhone XS, the iPhone XR offers largely the same experience as its more expensive brothers. Apple even offers the iPhone XR in three different storage capacities to cater to the needs of different customers.
If you are confused as to which capacity iPhone XR you should buy, read our guide below to help make that decision easier for you. You obviously don’t want to unnecessarily spend extra on the 256GB variant if it is going to be an overkill for you. Similarly, you’d not want to regret buying the 64GB variant of the iPhone XR down the line.
So, to help you in this dilemma of yours, read our guide below.
Which iPhone XR Storage Capacity Should You Buy?
Let’s dive in:
iPhone XR – Capacity and Pricing
First, below is a quick rundown of the pricing of the iPhone XR for different storage tiers.
- 64GB – $749
- 128GB – $799
- 256GB – $899
General Storage Guidelines
If you’re the kind of person who likes to keep their entire music library offline on their iPhones or you download a lot of movies or apps, it’s best if you don’t skimp on your storage. If you like to keep your entire photo library available offline on the device, it’s best if you go for the largest possible storage capacity.
On the other hand, if you use music streaming services, stream movies and TV shows exclusively and you back up all photos and videos to iCloud Photo Library, you might just get away with the lowest storage tier. But even then, you should be prepared when you hit the wall. You’ll need to delete apps and back up photos actively to make sure there’s enough storage space available.
Who Should Buy the 64GB iPhone XR?
The base 64GB storage of the iPhone XR is going to be enough for most consumers out there. If you only have around ~100 apps installed on your devices and keep a few hundred photos, the 64GB variant is going to be more than enough. Remember that unlike Android smartphones, iPhones store photos and videos in HEIF and HEVC formats which take up significantly lesser space than regular JPEG and video files. Plus, there are plenty of space saving features in iOS 12 which you can use to automatically free up storage on your iPhone XR.
If you are not someone who is bothered by having only around 10-12GB of free storage space (or lower) on your iPhone XR, go ahead and buy the 64GB variant of the device. The money you save can be used towards AppleCare+, case, and other accessories for the device.
However, there’s a big catch here: the pricing of the 128GB iPhone XR. Read below to know more.
Who Should Buy the 128GB iPhone XR?
If you plan on using your iPhone XR for at least 2-3 years, I will strongly recommend you to buy the 128GB variant of the device. Even if you will have to extend your budget to buy the device, I will still recommend you to buy the 128GB variant. This is because over time you will end up storing a lot of unused files, photos, apps, and videos which will take up precious storage space on your device. Plus, over time your storage requirements are only going to increase with iOS and iOS apps and games themselves getting heavier.
What seals the deal for the 128GB iPhone XR is that it is priced only $50 more than the 64GB iPhone XR. At $799 for the 128GB iPhone XR, it makes little sense to buy the 64GB variant of the device for $749. If anything, Apple has priced the 128GB variant of the iPhone XR like this so as to get more people to upgrade to it.
Who Should Buy the 256GB iPhone XR?
You don’t really need a 256GB iPhone XR unless you are someone who likes to carry around their entire library of FLAC music or Blu-Ray rips of movies and TV with them. If you are really interested in buying the 256GB variant of the iPhone XR, well you already know you have a use case for it which is why you are looking at buying it in the first place. At $899 though, the iPhone XR definitely does not offer as much value for money as the 128GB variant does.
Which Capacity iPhone XR Will You Buy?
Are you planning to buy iPhone XR? Which iPhone XR storage capacity do you plan to buy? Let us know in the comments below.
Buy iPhone XR
You can buy the iPhone XR from any of the following retailers and carriers below:
