iPhone X Review: All Your Questions Answered

What catches the eye of the iPhone X is not what Apple has added to its 10th birthday smartphone, but what it leaves behind.

There are almost no bevels around the screen. There is no more Start button. And Apple has banned Touch ID from this model in favor of facial recognition. Start a game of augmented reality or a movie, and you'll see that everything else disappears except the content.

It's an exciting feeling, without a doubt, and after using the iPhone X even for more than a week, I would hesitate to return to my iPhone 7 Plus. But the ultra-premium Apple phone also brings many questions. Is the new iPhone working to catch up with the Android competition or is it a real step forward? Is Face ID an appropriate replacement for Touch ID? And, most important of all, is the iPhone X worth $ 999?

Is the design of the iPhone X much better?

In summary, yes. By putting the iPhone X next to the iPhone 8 and the iPhone 8 Plus, it's easy to see why this is the true flagship of Apple.

You get a pretty big screen of 5.8 inches on a phone that is easy to use with one hand. Not only have I had no problem stretching my thumb on the screen, but the iPhone X is also much easier to slip into the pocket of my jeans than the iPhone 8 Plus.
Because there is a very little telescope on the iPhone X above and below the screen, the phone is significantly shorter and narrower than the iPhone 8 Plus; The iPhone X is also an ounce lighter than the iPhone 8 Plus. However, the iPhone X feels denser and heavier than the Galaxy S8, which has the same 5.8-inch screen.

I do not necessarily care about weight, especially since the iPhone X is lined with a precious and very resistant steel. It gives the design more polish than the iPhone 8 and 8 Plus aluminum, as a revealing reminder that it is in a higher class.

The back is glass, which allows wireless charging. The vertically oriented camera goes a little further but does not seem uncomfortable. Unfortunately, Apple still does not offer a headphone jack, although the Galaxy S8 and Note 8 have one and offer water resistance.

One thing I like is the expanded power button on the right side, which makes it easier to find and activate by feeling.

Face ID is good enough to replace Touch ID?

Based on my time with the iPhone X, Face ID is reliable and becomes natural after a week of use. After registering my face with the TrueDepth camera on the front of the phone, which involved securing my head in different directions, the iPhone X would normally unlock the phone without any problem. But the process is not instantaneous.

You'll know for sure when the iPhone X is ready to use when a small lock icon is unlocked at the top of the screen. From there, drag up from the bottom of the screen to unlock the phone. Using a stopwatch, I found Face ID a little slower than Touch ID. But if you slide on the screen almost as soon as you look at the phone, you can unlock the iPhone X almost instantly.

Face ID worked when I had the iPhone X in my kitchen; I did not have to pick up the phone to unlock it. But you have to make sure that you look at the phone. The ideal point is 10 to 20 inches of your face.

Because you need to slide the screen to unlock the iPhone X, technically there is one more step compared to Touch ID. On my current iPhone 7 Plus, I can press and hold the start button to unlock and start using the device. I would also like to be able to slide anywhere on the screen; Instead, Apple requires you to do it from the bottom of the screen.

What is it about not having a start button?

The new interface of the iPhone X looks like the future, but there is a learning curve. During the first day of use, I really had to reprogram my brain to slide to the output applications, instead of just pressing a button. I also had to remember to drag up and hold down to see all my apps open, compared to just pressing the Start button twice on previous iPhones. Add a hair of a delay where there was none before.

To close applications in this menu, you must press and hold to display the Delete buttons. I would just prefer to be able to sweep around to force applications to quit. Apple has clearly added this extra step so you do not accidentally force yourself out of an app. The good news is that iOS 11 and the Bionic A11 chip are powerful enough to handle application loads

Is the notch a big problem?

Well, it is really remarkable. Unlike other cell phones with edge-to-edge displays, the iPhone X has a notch on its collapsing screen. It interrupts the stream, especially in applications that have a white background like news and email. It's a bit monstrous.

On the homepage and in other darker content applications, such as However, for example, when movies are being shot, the fade usually disappears in the background.

The video player is a good example. You can watch 16: 9 widescreen or full-screen videos of Wonder Woman in iTunes. Although the 16: 9 vote creates a space to the left of the content so snapping is not a problem, I preferred full-screen mode, even though the video matched the score, as I was closer to the action and I felt more immersive.

Is Aninmoji cool or artificial?

I looked at this feature when Apple announced the iPhone X. But now that I have had the opportunity to play with Animoji, I can easily see that it is a runaway success.

The TrueDepth camera on the iPhone X is able to capture 50 facial movements and play them in one of the many cute characters, from an alien and unicorn to a panda and (yes) poo.

Is it the best OLED screen?

That does not sound scientific at all, but my first impression of the iPhone's 5.8-inch OLED display was that it was not OLED - and enough.

What I mean by that is that the colors are not as saturated as the screen shades of the Galaxy Note 8. When I saw the same Wonder Woman trailer on both phones, the greens appeared more on the Note 8 screen.

But then I looked closer, with my colleague Adam Ismail, and we did tests side by side with Pixel 2 and Note 8, and the iPhone X screen delivered better picture quality and viewing angles. For example, I could easily see the braid in Wonder Woman's hair, lost in Grade 8 and Pixel 2. Plus, if you look closely, the Super Retina Panel on the iPhone X offered more than contrast between the sky and the water

How good are the cameras?

It's a subtle difference, but I appreciate the larger opening of the iPhone X compared to the iPhone 8 Plus (f / 2.4 vs f / 2.8) on my first day of shooting. In a Times Square recording with 2x optical zoom, I could see more details in the projectors under a billboard on the iPhone X; in the iPhone 8 Plus, these lights seemed more blurry. The text on the background signs is also easier to recognize in the photo of the iPhone X.

The iPhone X offers more natural portraits when I took two pictures of my colleague Mike using the Apple Phone and Pixel 2. The bokeh effect looks much more natural on the iPhone 8, while it seems more uneven with the camera. Google Plus, the complexion of Mike on the iPhone X warmer, which I prefer.
However, Pixel 2 produces better image quality in low light. Make this picture of me in a restaurant with little light. Not only me and the table look brighter, it's easier to distinguish the lighted candle that's in the picture of the iPhone X.

What is the performance?

The iPhone X is the fastest mobile available, like the iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus. This is not a hit against the new iPhone; It only has the same A11 Bionic chip inside, which encircled Android phones in synthetic tests and real tests.
For example, the iPhone X only took 42 seconds to transcode a 2-minute 4K video with Adobe Clips. The iPhone 8 Plus needed the same time, while the Pixel 2 needed 2 minutes and 55 seconds and the Galaxy Note 8 3:03. The Galaxy S8 has taken 4: 07. In Geekbench 4, which measures overall performance, the iPhone X scored a very high score of 10,357, comparable to the iPhone 8 Plus (10,472) and the iPhone 8 (10,170), and much better than grade 8 (6,564). The Galaxy S8 (6,295) and Pixel 2 (6,282) were even further back

What is the life of the battery?

The resistance of the iPhone X is quite impressive, but not as tough as the iPhone 8 Plus. In Tom's Guide battery test, which involves continuous internet surfing on LTE (in this case T-Mobile), the iPhone X took 10 hours and 49 minutes. This runtime is more than an hour longer than the average category and also exceeds 9h54 of the Galaxy S8 iPhone 8 and 10:39.

On the other hand, the iPhone 8 More took more 11.16 and Pixel 2 XL (12.09), the Galaxy Note 8 (11.11) and the Galaxy S8 + (11.04) had a better resistance.

Can you charge the iPhone X quickly? And what about wireless charging?
The iPhone X is able to get a 50 percent charge in just 30 minutes, but you'll need to pay extra for it. Seriously, you should invest in a USB-C power adapter ($ 49) plus a USB-C to Lightning cable ($ 25). However, there are cheaper USB C power bricks that work almost as well as Apple's, as we've found in our tests, but it's still annoying that they do not connect and get ready to use cables quickly.

If you prefer the wireless way, the iPhone X supports Qi wireless charging, and there are some chargers that support fast wireless charging. Take a look at our summary of the best Qi chargers that work with the iPhone X and iPhone 8.

What is the quality of call and sound?

For a rather compact flagship product, the iPhone X emits a powerful stereo sound. In "Tkks for the Mmrs" by Fall Out Boy, the speakers did a good job of crisp guitars separating rising voice from Patrick Stump and rhythm. However, the sound approached at maximum volume somewhat abruptly.

To test the quality of the call, I called my colleague Philip Michaels via the T-Mobile network. He said it sounded clear, but a little echo - and with the use of the speaker. He came loud and clear to my end. Philip said the echo went away when I turned off the speaker. The speakers are powerful enough to be heard in a moving car.

Is it worth $ 1000?

From now on, yes. It's a matter of personal preference, but continuing to work the Face ID feature, as promised, I would be happy to pay between $ 6 and $ 8 a month more than the iPhone X commands on the iPhone if 8 More You buy an operator

That's because I want a pretty big screen in a design that I can easily use in one hand. And I like a more powerful telephoto lens to take with the two rear cameras iPhone X. I do not take a lot of selfies so in the front the portrait mode is a good thing, but I know I'll have fun with Animoji (thanks Even TrueDepth front camera). I'm also interested in seeing how developers use this camera for augmented reality applications.

Basically, I'm ready to get out of the slants, even though I have to learn to do the things I did with the Start button for well in 2007. The iPhone and iPhone 8 8 Plus have outdated air in addition to this device,

Compared to the Android competition, the Galaxy S8 and the Galaxy Note 8 offer more colorful displays with even more elegant curved designs, and the Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL cameras offer excellent cameras that surpass the low iPhone X brightness. But if you're an iOS fanatic, waiting for a phone that offers a great combination of features, performance, and looks, the iPhone X should inspire you.