Apple's iPhone XR from 2018 will soon be offered as a replacement when you're getting lengthier repairs to your smartphone.
Until now, the company has been offering the iPhone 8 in these situations, so this is an upgrade for when the Apple staff are tinkering with your handset to fix any issues you may have.
This information comes from an internal memo that was seen by MacRumors. It says it'll be for those getting repairs at an Apple Store or from an Apple Authorized Service Provider.
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The exact locations where these iPhone XRs will be offered is unclear, with the memo saying it'll be happening from later this week in the United States and "other select regions".
We'd expect this to be something the company supports in its key markets like the UK and Australia, but that has yet to be confirmed.
If you own an iPhone 11 or later, this likely won't be such an attractive switch for you for a longer period of time, but it'll ensure you're still running a reasonably modern phone while you wait for your own handset to be returned.
Apple has yet to explain what repairs will see you offered an iPhone XR, but we'd expect it to be for repairs that are set to take a long time.
The iPhone XR features Face ID - the iPhone 8 came with the Touch ID sensor - as well as a 6.1-inch screen and the company's A12 Bionic chipset. It won't match the power of the iPhone 13 series, but the iPhone XR still supports the latest iOS 15.
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With the introduction of the iPhone 13 series, the iPhone XR was dropped from the company's main series of smartphones. Until September this year, you were still able to buy this handset directly from Apple.
You can still buy the iPhone XR from other retailers, for example you can still buy from Sky Mobile or Three in the UK, but it's no longer available from an Apple Store.
It's likely Apple still had some stock of that handset left over, so now that you can't readily buy this handset from the company it's putting its devices to the new use of being replacements during repairs.
That's an interesting way of using older models, and it's likely you'll be given a pre-owned handset for a repair period rather than a fresh new iPhone XR.
You might also want to check out the best iPhone XR cases.
Via 9to5Mac
