In an interview with Engadget, Apple’s senior vice president of worldwide marketing Phil Schiller confirmed that the “R” and “S” moniker used for the new line of iPhones does not stand for anything specific. Usually, Apple attaches the “S” moniker the year after a new number generation is introduced. For example, Apple added the “S” brand every year since the iPhone 3G was rolled out in 2008 all the way up until the iPhone 6s was launched in 2015.
In the past, Apple declared that the “S” moniker usually stood for a certain word. For example, Schiller said that the “S” in iPhone 3GS stood for “speed” because it is the “fastest iPhone” that the company ever made when that device was introduced. And then two years later, Apple CEO Tim Cook said that the “S” moniker used in the iPhone 4S stood for “Siri,” which was the new digital assistant technology that the company launched at that time. And the “SE” in the iPhone SE — a device that essentially featured specifications similar to the iPhone 6S packed into the body of an iPhone 5S — stood for “Special Edition.”
But Schiller said that the letters “R” and “S” mean something to him personally. “I love cars and things that go fast, and R and S are both letters used to denote sports cars that are really extra special,” added Schiller via Engadget.
Another detail that Schiller revealed in the interview is that Apple made a big ask from its engineering team with the development of the iPhone XR only one year after the company redefined the future of the iPhone with the iPhone X. By being able to provide some of Apple’s most sophisticated technology into a more affordable device for a larger audience put a lot of pressure on the engineers.
One of the biggest reasons how Apple was able to bring the cost of the iPhone XR down is due to its screen technology. The iPhone XS and iPhone XS Max are priced higher because it has OLED displays, meaning they have more pixels per inch. Specifically, the iPhone XS and XS Max have 458 pixels per inch (ppi) displays and the XR hax 326 pixels per inch.
One of the selling points that Schiller made for the iPhone XR especially if you are on a budget is that the eye cannot discern individual pixels unless your face is pressed up against the glass. “If you can’t see the pixels, at some point the numbers don’t mean anything. They’re fairly arbitrary,” explained Schiller.
Aside from the display, there are several other reasons that make the iPhone XS or XS Max a more premium option. The iPhone XR does not have a 512GB storage option like the iPhone XS and XS Max does. Plus the iPhone XS and XS Max have better cameras and support 3D Touch, unlike the XR.
And the consensus across most of the reviews I have read is that the $749 starting price of the iPhone XR makes it the iPhone to buy this year compared to the other Apple flagships and Android devices on the market today. This is evidenced by the fact that the iPhone XR is sold out as of today.
