iPhone X is here…and I can’t put it down.
For almost a year now, Apple fanatics have been writing and speculating about what the next iPhone would look like…feel like…perform like…and because of all the rumors circulating, I wasn’t sure if I wanted to upgrade. My iPhone 7 Plus has performed admirably for the past year and even though I typically upgrade every year, I seriously considered not doing it this year. The early reports were that the ‘next generation’ iPhone would cost more than $1,000. I honestly just wasn’t sure if this phone would be worth it. After Apple’s iPhone event in September, I started to be persuaded to make the jump to the new device. I placed a pre-order through Verizon and then anxiously awaited the delivery this past Friday. Even though the timing of the package was set until 8:00 p.m. that night, our FedEx driver is usually a bit earlier in the day. Around 6:00 p.m., I started to panic a bit thinking that maybe my phone call to Verizon the day before canceled my order. Fortunately, at 6:15 p.m., the FexEx van pulled up in front my house and placed the lovely device into my hands. So, what do I think after the first 48 hours with my iPhone X?
It’s honestly the best iPhone Apple has ever made.
Let’s start with the unboxing video.
A QUICK LOOK AT THE SPECS
Back in September when Apple announced the iPhone X, the full specs for the device have been listed on Apple’s website for reference. Here is a quick summary of the iPhone X’s most prominent details.
- Dimensions: 143.6 x 70.9 x 7.7 mm
- Weight: 174 grams
- Screen: 5.8-inch all-screen OLED Multi-Touch display
- Screen Resolution: 2436-by-1125-pixel resolution at 458 ppi
- CPU: A11 Bionic chip with 64-bit architecture; Neural engine; Embedded M11 motion coprocessor
- Storage: 64GB or 256 GB
- Rear Camera: 12MP (wide-angle and telephoto cameras); 4K video recording at 24 fps, 30 fps, or 60 fps; 1080p HD video recording at 30 fps or 60 fps; 720p HD video recording at 30 fps
- Front Camera: 7MP (TrueDepth Camera); 1080P HD Video Recording
- Battery: Talk time (wireless): Up to 21 hours; Internet use: Up to 12 hours; Video playback (wireless): Up to 13 hours; Audio playback (wireless): Up to 60 hours
- Charging: Wireless through QI chargers and wired through Lightning connections
IMPRESSIVE…MOST IMPRESSIVE
Since I have had a little bit of time with the iPhone X, I would like to express my personal thoughts on how the new iPhone X has affected my daily life and the features that stick out the most to me. First of all, I want to say that I feel very strongly that this is the iPhone that people have wanted for several years. It’s a true next-generation device and the future direction of the device. It’s a full-screen, no-home button phone that feels perfect in your hands. Usually, the ‘in awe’ effect of a new device starts to wear off on me within the first 24 hours. After 48, I’m happy to say that I still reach for the iPhone with childlike wonder and glee as I swipe away on the screen. The overall design of the iPhone is stunning and even though it’s glass on the front and back, it doesn’t feel fragile to me. It’s a solid, stylish mobile phone with extremely advanced features.
Camera Bump: For lack of a better term, I’m going to refer to the raised area around the camera lens as the ‘camera bump’. I’ve seen a lot of complaints online about the bump and I just want to scream, “Who the heck cares?!” I don’t really feel the bump at all and if anything the placement of the new camera has kept me from putting my fingers on the camera while holding the phone in landscape mode. That is something I constantly did with my iPhone 7 Plus.
Bye, Bye Home Button: As I mentioned above, I’ve wanted to say, “Sayōnara,” to the home button for quite some time. So, for me, getting used to the absence of the home button was a breeze. The gestures you have to learn with the new iPhone X are easy to remember and just as easy to do. They allow for navigating around the new phone like slicing through warm butter, just super easy.
A ‘Wicked Nice’ Front-facing Camera: The new front-facing camera provides the best selfies I’ve ever seen. I have always hated to take any photo with the front-facing camera because of the grain I would get in the shots. Now, I’m not embarrassed to snap a selfie with a friend because I know the quality of the photo will look good. The new portrait effects that Apple promised delivers a high-quality image and it’s really amazing how well the photos turn out. Below is an example of the portrait effect using the front-facing camera.
Dual-lens Rear Camera: Even though the telephoto/wide angle lens on the back is really nice, I’m far more impressed with the front-facing camera. The telephoto lens is still impressive in its own rite because it has image stabilization. I have been able to take much better photos without there being any shake. Taking photos, in general, has been a much more enjoyable experience than previous iPhone models.
OLED Display: iPhone X’s OLED display is clean and is one of the best displays I’ve seen on a phone its size. It showcases vibrant colors, but not over-saturated. It’s a little too early to tell about any burn-in but Apple says they took extra care with that issue on the OLED screen.
Call Quality & Cell Service: One thing I’ve noticed with other reviews I’ve seen is that people are overlooking the fact that the iPhone is a phone. I definitely took notice of the call quality and cellular connection. I would rate the call quality as ‘good’ and the cell service as ‘average’. When making and receiving calls, I can hear quite well. In fact, because Apple adapted the speaker design of the iPad Pro for the iPhone X, I hear much better while on speakerphone. With the iPhone 7 Plus, I would find myself holding the speaker close to my ear when talking to someone, but I don’t have to do that with the iPhone X. I haven’t noticed a big difference between my cell coverage on the iPhone 7 Plus and the iPhone X. I’ve been watching my bars and haven’t really noticed that they’ve been stronger or weaker with the iPhone X.
Animojis Are Great Fun: Even though it’s not the reason to get the iPhone X, I have to admit that I’ve had a lot of fun playing with Animojis. I’m amazed at how well the camera actually captures the facial expressions and translates that to your cartoon character.
Wireless Charging: Wireless charging is a nice add-on to the iPhone. It’s a feature that Android phones have had for a good long while now and I have no idea what took Apple so long to integrate it. I find it to be a nice option and it’s worked very well. Using a typical QI charger, I found that my iPhone charged at a decent rate. It wasn’t as slow as I expected and there were no real heat issues from the charger or the phone. Whatever the reason Apple had for adding wireless changing does not matter at this point I’m just happy the iPhone X now has it.
iOS 11 and the iPhone X: I was running iOS 11 on the iPhone 7 Plus and while it worked, it was pretty buggy. So far, the iPhone X has been performing better with the OS than the iPhone 7 Plus. In the time I’ve had with the new iPhone X I’ve not had any stuck screens or any random reboots that I was getting after installing iOS 11 on my 7 Plus.
CONCLUSIONS
All in all, it’s a wonderful, but expensive upgrade. In addition to the retail price, Apple Care is $199 for the iPhone X. Would I suggest you go out and upgrade right now? It really depends on your particular needs. I would not spend the money to upgrade my daughter’s phone just so she can text her friends and play games. For me, I live on my iPhone and the upgrade was almost a must. Apple dropped two other phones — the 8 and 8 Plus — that share a lot of the iPhone X features so if you are on the fence about the money either one of them would be a wonderful option. If you have the extra cash, you won’t be disappointed with the X.
