iPhone XR gets FCC approval, will ship in late October

The iPhone XR will hit Apple stores and retailers on October 26, but do not expect it to be too affordable. (Source: Apple)

The FCC has finally approved Apple's iPhone XR, and the smartphone is expected to hit the stores on October 26. Apart from the fast A12 Bionic SoC, the "more affordable" iPhone does not really feature anything that justifies the US$750 price tag. It only has 3 GB of RAM, a 12 MP rear cam and a 7 MP selfie, which in most cases is subpar even for mid-range phones.

by Bogdan Solca, 2018/09/28

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The iPhone XR was announced as a more affordable alternative to the XS/Max flagships, but the device was still missing the FCC approval at that time. For this reason, Apple had to add a disclaimer on the official site saying that the XR model might not be available for sale. This was just added as per FCC regulation, but getting the FCC certification was a mere formality. Apple is known to delay the FCC approvals as much as possible in order to prevent early leaks.

The specs for the XR model have already been officially unveiled two weeks ago and they include a 1792 x 828 6.1-inch Liquid Retina IPS LCD display with slightly thicker bezels (which make the notch stand out even more), the 7 nm A12 Bionic SoC coupled with 3 GB of RAM and 64/128/256 GB of storage, a single 12 MP rear cam, plus a 7 MP selfie cam. The iPhone XR will be available in 6 color options: black, white, blue, yellow, coral and red.

Even though it is advertised as a more affordable XS, the XR is still more expensive than most Chinese high-end models, with MSRPs starting at US$749, and the phone will only be available starting October 26.