Review: Apple iPhone XR

By Gadjo Cardenas Sevilla

Apple’s third iPhone release for 2018, the colourful and perky iPhone XR, may have been relegated to second-class citizen status behind the pricier iPhone XS and XS Max and the new iPad Pro, Mac mini and MacBook Air unveiled today.

On any other year, a device like the iPhone XR would shine and stand alone as a worthy and worthwhile iPhone release. There’s a lot to the iPhone XR that will endear it to many users whose iPhone 6, iPhone SE or iPhone 7 handsets may be on their last legs.

Yes, it is more affordable than the premium iPhone XS family and if you can get over some of the manufacturing compromises (i.e. aluminum over stainless steel, LCD technology over OLED, 3 GB of RAM instead of 4 GB, single 12-megapixel rear camera instead of two) then the iPhone XR still has plenty to offer.

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Apple's new iPad Pro loses headphone jack, gains optional USB to headphone jack dongle

Apple's new 11 and 12.9-inch iPad Pro adopt an all new design and bring USB Type C to iOS for the first time. The casualty of this innovation has been the beleaguered headphone jack. Now, the headphone jack has been gone from iPhones for years now and it was just a matter of time before Apple deep sixed the 'legacy' port from its other products. 

For buyer of new iPad Pros, they will have to purchase an optional USB-C to 3.5mm headphone jack adaptor to connect to wired headsets. What happens if you want to charge your iPad Pro and listen to some music, no dice unless you connect through Bluetooth. Such is the price of progress. 

Apple's iPad Pro gets biggest design and performance overhaul for 2018

Where the iPhone treads, the iPad soon follows. For 2018, Apple is revealing an all-new redesigned iPad Pro in 11 and 12.9-inch sizes. Now with edge-to-edge and near bezel-free displays, Face ID,  USB Type C and upgraded processors with up to 1 Terabyte of storage, the iPad Pro is starting to look like the PC killer that was promised.

Also new are the Apple Pencil and the Keyboard Cover, which offer refinements over previous versions. The all-new design pushes 11-inch and 12.9-inch Liquid Retina displays to the edges of iPad Pro and integrates Face ID to securely unlock iPad with just a glance.

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Apple's new Mac mini breathes new life into the Mac platform

Apple has listend and granted us a new Mac mini and this time what was once the most affordable Mac desktop is currently one of the most powerful computers running macOS Mojave. Encased in the same form-factor as the Mac mini devices of years past, this year's Mac mini is an impressive upgrade.

2018 Mac mini, which ship on November 7, offer 4 and 6 processor cores, up to 64GB of RAM and  8th-generation Intel Core processors with Turbo Boost Speeds up to 4.6GHz and Intel UHD graphics. Apple says that these new minis are 5 times more powerful than the models they replace. 

With a starting price of CAD $999.00, the Mac mini is highly configurable through Apple's store. Mac mini also brings Apple's T2 security processor, a bevy of ports including four Thunderbolt 3, two USB-A, HDMI video, audio, and Ethernet up to 10Gbps. 

Mac mini is now the perfect photo and video editor's desktop, provided they have their own displays and external GPUs.