Apple’s announcements in September might not have impressed some users, especially after Apple decided to put pretty excessive price tags on their two high-end devices. But there was a third. The iPhone we are most excited about is the iPhone XR. And we can now confirm it is coming to South Africa on 26 October this year.
X’R Us
iStore South Africa has confirmed that the more affordable option in Apple’s 2018 lineup will be available locally soon, with pre-orders open from 19 October.
Unfortunately we don’t have local pricing at this stage, but we have reached out to iStore SA and will update as soon as we know. In the US, the XR is priced at a converted cost of R11,000, but tax and markups will play a role in pushing that price up quite a bit. Considering the cost of the iPhone XS and XS Max, the XR will likely sit around the R15,000 mark. Not XS-level, but still painful in the wallet department.
When it lands, the iStore will offer XR owners the same iCare Plus package offered on the new iPhone XS and XS Max, which gives customers free iCare Plus worth R2,000 and includes a two-year extended warranty and a certified screen repair.
Update: iStore has just confirmed that the iPhone XR is priced from R16,000 for the 64GB model, up to R20,000 for the 256GB model. All of XR models will be available to pre-order from 19 October at iStore. iStore is also offering a payment plan in collaboration with FNB.
Spot the difference
What’s most interesting about the colourful iPhone XR devices is that they contain many of the high-end features of last year’s iPhone X and this year’s XS. And that with a price that’s more in line with the pockets of the general public.
The display on the XR is actually bigger than that found on any other iPhone model besides the XS Max, but instead of the usual OLED display, it’s fitted with an LCD screen. The handset also comes in an assortment of colours, much like the iPhone 5c did.
Apple’s Face ID facial recognition system is present in the all-too-famous notch, and the device houses the company’s latest and fastest chip, the A12 Bionic. It supports wireless charging and features some of the advanced photo features you get on the X, like the bokeh ‘portrait mode’. Even though there isn’t a second camera sensor, Apple’s somehow made it work.
We’ll be sure to bring you pricing when we have it, but for now, it’s safe to say this is the new iPhone we’re most excited to play with.
