iPhone XR vs iPhone 6 Speed performance - is iPhone 6 STILL good?

iPhone XR vs iPhone 6 Speed performance - is iPhone 6 STILL good?

Back in early 2010s, iPhones would double the performance of their predecessor, but this is no longer the case. How can a 5 generation old iPhone still stand today?

I've been an iPhone user since 2015 and since then, I realised an iPhone is for me. iPhones can not hold forever unfortunately, since there will be a point where Apple will stop supporting those devices (updating to the latest iOS). But, what can you do if you are on a budget? How well can the iPhone 6 stand out next to the full-screened iPhone?

Tech specifications comparison

Here we compare the specifications of both iPhones. All information is obtained from Apple.

  iPhone XR iPhone 6
Storage Capacity (GB) 64, 128, 256 32, 64, 128
Size Height: 150 mm (5.94 in) Width: 75.7 mm (2.98 in)
Depth: 8.3 mm (0.33 in)
Height: 138.2 mm (5.44 in)
Width: 67.1 mm (2.64 in)
Depth: 6.9 mm (0.27 in)
Weight 194 gr (0.43 lb) 129 gr (0.28 lb)
Screen Liquid Retina HD display
Size: 6.1 in
Brightness: 625 nits
Resolution: 1792x828, 326 ppi

Retina HD display
Size: 4.7 in
Brightness: 625 nits
Resolution: 1334x750, 326 ppi
Chip Model: A12 Bionic (2nd Generation Neural Engine)
Clock Speed: 2.49 GHz
Model: A8

Clock Speed: 1.4 GHz
Camera (Main) 8 MP, f/1.8, 26mm (wide)
Flash: Quad LED
Video Resolution: 2160p@24/30/60fps, 
1080p@30/60/120/240fps
8 MP, f/2.2, 29mm (standard)
Flash: Dual LED
Video Resolution:
1080p@60fps,
720p@240fps
Camera (Selfie) 7 MP, f/2.2, 32mm (Standard)
Flash: No
Video Resolution:  
1080p@60fps
1.2 MP, f/2.2, 31mm (standard)
Flash: No
Video Resolution:
720p@30fps
Speakers Yes, Stereo (no headphone jack) Yes
Communication/Network WLAN: 802.11ac Wi‑Fi with 2x2 MIMO
Bluetooth: 5.0
NFC: Yes
WLAN: 802.11ac Wi‑Fi

Bluetooth: 5.0
NFC: Yes
Sensors Face Recognition, accelerometer, gyro, proximity, compass, barometer (no thumb ID)

Thumb ID, accelerometer, gyro, proximity, compass, barometer (no Face ID)

Battery Capacity: 2942 mAh battery
Talk time: 16h
Music playtime: 65h
Web Browsing: 15h
Video Playback: 16h

Capacity: 1810 mAh battery
Talk time: 14h
Music playtime: 50h
Web Browsing: 11h
Video Playback: 11h

Despite that, specs aren't everything, but definitelly good for tech enthusiasts, but most people just wan't to know which one is better to buy. Hence, the most important area to dive in, is going to be speed performance.

Together with this article, we have made a YouTube video:

iPhone XR

iPhone XR black back
iPhone XR black back

Been using the iPhone XR for more than a year now, I am very satisfied with it. It very rarely lags or crashes. Everything loads very quickly and with its 6.1" inch screen, the experience watching a movie or broweing the web, makes it a lot more convenient. It's battery life can last for more than 1 day of heavy usage including watching YouTube videos, playing games, and web surfing.

Of course, my XR still has a long way to go until I replace it with the latest iPhone at that time.

iPhone 6

iPhone 6 Silver back
iPhone 6 Silver back

Before getting my XR, I was using the iPhone 6 for 3 years. I was really happy with it, although lately, it was seeing it's age. Some heavy-content websites would take a few extra seconds to load, some heavy games would take extra time to load and sometimes lag would appear while playing PUBG or Asphalt 9. Most of the times, its 1GB of RAM is responsible for the slowdown.  Other than that, the game experience is still very smooth and apps function well. Unfortunately, the more you use your iPhone, the faster the full battery capacity will drop. The iPhone 6 doesn't have the best battery capacity and tends to drop very quickly.

Up until I changed it to the XR, I was still very happy with it and the main reason for the upgrade was that I needed more storage. Common issue when living with a 16GB iPhone!

Which one wins the battle?

Well, we went through several tests, including launching apps, launching heavy games, playing heavy graphic games, benchmarks and more. Below we list boot up time, apps and websites we launched relative to the time taken to load.

 

Comparison for booting launching apps and websites time (in seconds)
Comparison for booting launching apps and websites time (in seconds)

Of course, we needed to dive in to more depth. Below, we list each game with the amount of time needed to load.

Comparison for game launch time (in seconds) 
Comparison for game launch time (in seconds) 

Lastly, we went through some Benchmarks.

Geekbench 5 Score for iPhone XR (left) and iPhone 6 (right)
Geekbench 5 Score for iPhone XR (left) and iPhone 6 (right)

... and the Antutu benchmark scores.

Antutu Score for iPhone XR (left) and iPhone 6 (right)
Antutu Score for iPhone XR (left) and iPhone 6 (right)

According to the scores, we can easily declare winner the iPhone XR, but it doesn't stop there. According to our results, the iPhone XR is 4 times more powerful than the iPhone 6, but it doesn't mean that the iPhone 6 is for the bin.

What about the iPhone 6?

The 1GB RAM phone managed to put a good fight, but I was surprised to see that it was able to play all the heavy games smoothly. Lag is occasional to rare, but it certainly wouldn't affect your gaming experience. To maximize performance, I would say to remove any background apps to free up your RAM. More RAM, more content to be loaded, hence faster access to that piece of content. Sometimes when loading a webpage, you may end up with an error "A problem occured with this webpage so it was reloaded". This usually happens due to the lack of RAM availability, so keep in mind to erase Safary browsing history (remove multiple tabs) and force quit apps on the background. By doing those, you will ensure a lasting experience with your iPhone 6.

Price?

You'll rarely find an iPhone 6 on a mobile or your local electronics store, but definitely on Amazon for around 100-150£ here in the UK. You may need to do some research to find the one you are looking for, as most models are sold on 16GB.

On the other hand, the iPhone XR is a lot more common and still sold in the Apple Stores for 629£ the 64GB and 679£ the 128GB model. If you already have an iPhone, you may trade it and get a discount and purchase it for 509£.

Which one?

The iPhone 6 is very cheap those days. If you can find a 64GB at a good price and trusted retailer or seller and you are on a strict budget, I would say go for it. Also, keep in mind that iPhone 6 cannot upgrade to the latest iOS, as iOS 12 is the latest OS supported by it. This means that at some point, you will need to purchase a newer iPhone. I would say that the iPhone 6 can still last for the next 1-2 years at most. It would be a great choice as a temporary iPhone.

On the other hand, if you are still on a budget, but don't mind spending 600-700£ for a new phone, the iPhone XR would be the perfect choice for you. It will take a long time until the iPhone XR becomes vintage. 

Your Turn!

What iPhone do you currently have? Are you considering upgrading it to the latest iPhone? Let us know!

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About the Author

...
George K.

Admin of TechLunar

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