iPhone X feels like the future.
iPhone X is the “10th” iPhone from Apple and it’s meant to show us what the future of the smartphone looks like. I’ve spent about 1.5 months with the iPhone X (256GB, Space Grey)and I’m ready to take you through what that experience has been like.
Look & Feel
I think the iPhone X is beautiful. But before I start extolling it’s virtues as far as aesthetics are concerned, I’m going to talk about a few “flaws”.
The Notch
A lot was said about the notch. That it’s ugly. That it’ll make lives of iOS designers & developers harder and that it’ll be impossible to ignore. Most of that is true. I don’t think Apple would choose to include this weird black notch on the front of their flagship, 10th anniversary phone but it’s only there because it was “necessary” to create a secure, almost edge to edge screen.
It took me 24 hours to stop hating the notch. I don’t particularly love it either but it just doesn’t exist to me any more. It’s practically not there when watching videos (except you switch to full-screen mode and then it’s annoying).
Most applications I use have been updated to handle it well and the ones that haven’t just display a black bar across like with videos.
Bottomline, the notch is a mild visual inconvenience that is only really noticeable for about a day. I still wish Apple could make the iPhone without it but I think I’d rather have this than a slightly smaller screen.
Glass Back
The back of the iPhone X is glass like the iPhone 4 and 4S. This looks very good, a lot of the time…when it’s not ruined with fingerprints. It’s also actually less slippery than the iPhone 7 (matte black). Anyway, it’s bound to break (
’s unit got a crack in less than a week) and it’s actually more expensive ($549) to replace than the actual screen ($279).If fingerprint marks really annoy you, you might want to get a dbrand skin or just skip this phone (and the iPhone 8 & 8 Plus) entirely.
Camera Bump
I’ve somewhat gotten used to camera bumps in iPhones but this one is huge and ugly. I don’t care about it’s vertical arrangement, it’s just way bigger than the bump behind the 7 & 8 Plus.
Still beautiful though
If (like me) you can ignore the notch and the glass back’s fingerprints & fragility. You’ll find the iPhone X to be one of the most good looking phones out now, along with the Essential PH-1 and the Samsung Galaxy S8 (Pixels are ugly, don’t @ me).
The “edge to edge” screen looks amazing. Whether it’s lit up or not. The phone looks like black glass bar of future. I love holding it and looking at it.
Also, using the screen is a very immersive experience. It’s actually quite big and as such, you just get lost in it. The OLED Super Retina screen is a definite improvement; it gets brighter, black looks blacker and sometimes I just want to lick it.
(The top and bottom bezels of older iPhones look very ugly to me now)
Face ID
Face ID is Apple’s replacement for Touch ID. Because of the “edge-to-edge” screen, the iPhone no longer has a home button and as such, there’s no longer any room for the fingerprint scanner. Apple had the option of putting the fingerprint scanner at the back of the phone like some Android phones but I prefer this approach. I don’t think fingerprint scanners behind phones are the best user experience but I admit that this could be because I’ve gotten quite accustomed to Touch ID.
Haven’t we always had face unlock?
It’s easy to think Face ID is similar to the face unlock features that exist in other (android) phones. I mean, it’s supposed to unlock your phone with your face, Samsung already did that.
Well, it’s very different, both in how it works and what it does for you, the user.
- It takes into consideration the actual 3D shape of your face and as such cannot be fooled with a picture.
- Face ID still works when you change your look. If you grow a beard, change your hairstyle, wear a hat or shades etc etc.
- It knows when you pay attention to the phone. So if your eyes are closed, or you’re looking away, the iPhone uses Face ID to hide the contents of your notifications until you look at it.
- Animoji. Well, these aren’t exactly useful. But they’re fun. You can make certain emoji talk or sing or whatever it is you want as long as your face can do it too.
How well does it work?
Face ID works most of the time for me. And it gets better at recognising me, as advertised. I think it’s definitely slower than Touch ID (which became near instant with the 7 & 7 plus) but they’re pretty even as far as number of successes go. I haven’t really had problems using Face ID to unlock my phone in bed but most of my friends that have an X do, and I think it could be because I unconsciously hold it farther away from my face than usual till it unlocks.
It mostly just works.
I don’t think I prefer Face ID to Touch ID though, as far as unlocking my phone goes. I’m actually no longer sure which I’d choose if I had a choice. Prior to actually using the phone I wished for Apple to hold off on an “edge to edge” screen until they figured out how to put the finger print scanner under the phone. Now, I don’t care, Face ID works.
The Camera
The Bad
Portrait mode on the iPhone X (both the front-facing and rear facing camera) is not the best. The Pixel is. Sometimes it actually looks nice, mostly with the rear facing camera but if you actually zoom in, you’ll see that it doesn’t always recognise edges accurately and there’s not that much variation of depth.
I’m not even going to put up pictures of all the other modes of Portrait mode. The “studio light” ones. They NEVER work in my experience and I’ve been using my phone like they don’t exist.
However, it’s actually possible for these modes to get better with software updates. Till then.
The Good
Ignoring portrait mode, the camera is amazing. Pictures are just great! Whether it’s in low-light or zoomed in or both. Here are some picture’s
took with his phone.
No Home Button
I thought I was gonna miss the Home Button. I don’t. That’s because the new gesture to go home still requires you to put your thumb somewhere on the bottom of the screen. By the time your finger hits the screen and you don’t feel a home button, you immediately realise that the next step is to swipe up — no motion is wasted and in about a day or two, you get completely used to it.
The Rest
As is to be expected with every new iPhone, it’s very snappy. Animations are smooth and it doesn’t ever feel like it’s challenged by any process.
The battery life is good, definitely better than the 7 but I’m not sure it’s better than the 7 Plus. I have no problems with it whatsoever and I think I’m a pretty heavy user.
Final Words
I think this iPhone is amazing. But is it worth the price tag? (starting at $1000 sans tax). Sometimes I think “No, there’s no smartphone worth that price”. Other times, because of how well it mostly works, how good it looks and the fact that it’s THE iPhone X, it feels like a thousand bucks.
So if you have $1k to spare and you want to experience Apple’s vision of what the smartphone will eventually become, get the X.
If not, wait a bit and all this tech will find it’s way to the “regular” pricing of an iPhone.
