What R stands for in Apple iPhone XR, according to Phil Schiller

Apple iPhone XR is currently up for pre-orders in India. Now, Apple's marketing head Phil Schiller has given a hint at what the 'R' stands for in the iPhone XR.

Apple, Apple iPhone XR, iPhone XR name, iPhone XR sale, iPhone XR price, iPhone XR price in India, iPhone XR specifications, Phil Schiller

Apple iPhone XR goes on sale on October 26. Apple’s Phil Schiller reveals what the R stands for, according to him.

When Apple launched the iPhone XS and iPhone XS Max in September this year, a third variant was also introduced called the iPhone XR. While Apple has done ‘S’ variants of iPhones in the past, this is the first time that an iPhone with ‘R’ at the end was added to the list. The X stands for the number 10 as it did with the 2017 iPhone X, but the letter R’s significance was unclear.

Now, it looks like Apple’s marketing head Phil Schiller has given a hint at what the ‘R’ stands for in the iPhone XR. In an interview to Engadget Schiller explained that the letter do not really stand of anything specific, at least according to Apple officially. However, for Schiller, the iPhone XR and iPhone XS are reference to sports cars where both R and S are used to denoted cars, which are extra special.

“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,” he was quoted as saying by the website.

Story continues below this ad

Schiller also defended the iPhone XR’s screen resolution, which has been criticised by some. They have pointed out the screen resolution is not as high and in fact, the pixel density is similar to what Apple introduced in the past with the smaller 4.7-inch variants like the iPhone 8. Apple iPhone XR has a pixel density of 326 ppi, which is in lower than the previous iPhone 8 Plus, which had 401 ppi and a better resolution at 1080p.

Schiller told Engadget,“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.” He was also asked if the delayed launch of iPhone XR was due to the LCD display issue, which had been reported earlier. The Apple executive just said, “This is when it’s ready,” though he did not add more on the supply chain problem.

Another issue that has been raised in the context of the iPhone XR is that this is the ‘affordable’ option from Apple this year, though at $749 or Rs 76,900 in India, the iPhone XR is still much more expensive than most of the affordable Androids in the market.

Story continues below this ad

He denied Apple builds products for a particular category. “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…” Schiller also said that the iPhone XR packs the iPhone X technology, which is the best possible.

Apple iPhone XR goes on sale globally on October 26 and in India as well. The iPhone XR is currently open for pre-orders in India and other. The most expensive variant of iPhone XR costs Rs 91,900 in India with 256GB storage. Apple iPhone XR has a single rear camera, though it support Portrait mode like the iPhone XS, iPhone XS Max. It also gets the Face ID feature on the front for unlocking the device.