iPhone 11 vs. iPhone XR: Which phone is the better buy for the price?

The iPhone 11 and XR look nearly identical -- the quickest way to identify them is by the iPhone 11's extra camera and square bump. But besides that and the different color choices (the iPhone 11 comes in lavender, mint green and a pastel yellow, while the Phone XR comes in a canary yellow, coral and blue), there are no obvious differences. They are the same size and weigh the same, and the phones have the same 6.1-inch LCD display with the same resolution and pixel density.

We performed a series of drop tests on the iPhone 11 and XR, and both phones are quite sturdy. We dropped the iPhone 11 on its front and back on smooth concrete from 3 feet, 6 feet and 8 feet, 7 inches. On all drops, the phone's back glass and screen didn't crack. There was a small, cosmetic scratch above the camera lens from 8 feet, but the camera lens was completely fine.

When we dropped the iPhone XR last year, we dropped it on a concrete sidewalk. At waist height (about 3 feet), the phone's camera glass cracked, but the back glass survived. The screen also was unscathed. At eye-level (or around 5 feet), the iPhone XR survived a fall on its back with no new damage, but when we dropped it on its screen, the display ultimately cracked. Though that was unfortunate, the fact that the iPhone XR survived waist-high drops was still good.

Both phones are water-resistant, but the iPhone 11 has a higher IP rating of IP68 and can survive underwater at 2 meters (about 6.5 feet) for 30 minutes. The iPhone XR, meanwhile, is rated IP67 and can survive underwater to a depth of 1 meter (about 3 feet) for 30 minutes on paper. However, when we took it out on dives last year, the iPhone XR kept on ticking even after 19 minutes underwater at a depth of 5 meters (16.4 feet). Because the iPhone XR could endure more than its listed IP rating, the iPhone 11 may be able to exceed its IP68 rating as well. We haven't tested the phone's water resistance yet, but we will soon. Check back with CNET when we do.

Both phones have a 12-megapixel camera, but the iPhone 11 has a second, 12-megapixel ultrawide camera and a new Night Mode for low-light photography. All in all, outdoor and well-lit photos on both devices look similarly vibrant, with consistent and bright coloring on both cameras. 

However, the iPhone 11 did take notably sharper photos with finer details, especially when pictures were viewed at full resolution. It also did a better job brightening up night time and dim photos with its new mode. The second ultrawide camera is useful when you want to fit more content into each frame or you want to capture more expansive scenes too. Its flash is a tad brighter as well, though we rarely use the feature. Lastly, we like that we can now take portrait photos of pets on the iPhone 11 (the iPhone XR does not recognize non-human faces for portraits, which is a drag). Soon, the iPhone 11 will also make use of a new feature called Deep Fusion, which will further improve detail and reduce image noise. 

As for video, footage on the Phone 11 has a tad better dynamic range, so lighting and exposure looks more even and natural. Video stabilization is a bit steadier as well on the standard 12-megapixel camera. But the wide-angle camera does not have optical image stabilization, and during 4K video recording you can only switch between cameras when you're filming in 30fps (though both cameras can record 60fps).

On the front, the iPhone 11 has a 12-megapixel camera while the iPhone XR has a 7-megapixel camera. While we do welcome the extra resolution of the iPhone 11, we never really had many gripes with the iPhone XR's front-facing camera, and if you're a casual selfie-taker, the iPhone XR is definitely satisfactory. The iPhone 11's front camera can also pull out for a wider point of view, record 4K video at 60fps and take slow-mo videos. But since we mostly use the front-facing camera for selfies, we didn't really find ourselves using those last two features often.