Skip to main content

Refurbished Apple iPhone XRs are now available for just $500 each

Apple has begun selling refurbished versions of the iPhone XR. The device is now available from Apple’s certified refurbished store for $500 — which is actually a great price for a phone that normally costs $600.

Buying a “refurbished” product may seem a little scary, but Apple has become known for selling ultra-high-quality refurbished devices. I personally have bought Apple refurbished products before, and they’re indistinguishable from new devices, down to the packaging.

Apple refurbished phones come with a one-year warranty, and Apple gives them a new battery and outer shell. The phones essentially have the same protection as a new Apple phone. You can also buy AppleCare for one, if you’d like.

Of course, if you’re looking for a budget iPhone, there’s another device worth considering — the $400 iPhone SE. Ultimately, the device you choose may depend on what you’re looking for from your phone.

The iPhone XR was released alongside the iPhone XS, and features a modern design similar to that of the iPhone X and iPhone 11. There’s an edge-to-edge display with a notch at the top, and while it has an LCD display instead of an OLED one, the display still looks great. Under the hood, the device offers an Apple A12 Bionic processor, along with 64GB of storage in the base model. It’s available in a range of different colors — though you may not be able to get your preferred color if you buy the device refurbished, as stock is sometimes a little limited.

The iPhone SE may not be as modern-looking as the iPhone XR, thanks to its larger bezels and home button instead of Face ID, but it’s actually more powerful thanks to its newer Apple A13 Bionic processor. Because of that, customers have a choice — spend more for the more modern look and features, or save a little cash and still receive better performance. Considering the iPhone SE has an A13 chip built into it, it’s possible that it will get an extra year of iOS updates too — though that remains to be seen.

In any case, you can get the refurbished Apple iPhone XR for yourself from the Apple refurbished website.

However, if you can’t catch this deal, you can always wait for Black Friday iPhone deals to leverage from Black Friday discounts.

Editors' Recommendations

Christian de Looper
Christian’s interest in technology began as a child in Australia, when he stumbled upon a computer at a garage sale that he…
Here’s how Apple could change your iPhone forever
An iPhone 15 Pro Max laying on its back, showing its home screen.

Over the past few months, Apple has released a steady stream of research papers detailing its work with generative AI. So far, Apple has been tight-lipped about what exactly is cooking in its research labs, while rumors circulate that Apple is in talks with Google to license its Gemini AI for iPhones.

But there have been a couple of teasers of what we can expect. In February, an Apple research paper detailed an open-source model called MLLM-Guided Image Editing (MGIE) that is capable of media editing using natural language instructions from users. Now, another research paper on Ferret UI has sent the AI community into a frenzy.

Read more
There’s a big problem with the iPhone’s Photos app
The Apple iPhone 15 Plus's gallery app.

While my primary device these days continues to be my iPhone 15 Pro, I’ve dabbled with plenty of Android phones since I’ve been here at Digital Trends. One of my favorite brands of phone has been the Google Pixel because of its strong suite of photo-editing tools and good camera hardware.

Google first added the Magic Eraser capability with the Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro, which is a tool I love using. Then, with the Pixel 8 series, Google added the Magic Editor, which uses generative AI to make edits that wouldn’t be possible otherwise. There are also tools like Photo Unblur, which is great for old photographs and enhancing images that were captured with low-quality sensors.

Read more
Why you should buy the iPhone 15 Pro Max instead of the iPhone 15 Pro
Someone holding an iPhone 15 Pro Max outside on a patio, showing the back of the Natural Titanium color.

If you want the best iPhone money can buy in 2024, you have two options: the iPhone 15 Pro and the iPhone 15 Pro Max. They have the same chipset, similar display technology, nearly identical cameras, etc. It's a really close battle, save for the fact that the iPhone 15 Pro is $200 cheaper.

It might be tempting to save some cash and choose the iPhone 15 Pro, but I recommend you splurge for the larger (and more expensive) iPhone 15 Pro Max. Why? Let me explain.
It's a big iPhone you won't hate using

Read more