I got to spend some time with the iPhone X (thanks to AT&T), and I can understand Apple’s vision for the future of the iPhone.
The iPhone X shares a lot of its internals with the iPhone 8 and 8 Plus. They all use the same A11 Bionic CPU, the same graphics processors and the same cameras.
Gone is the home button. After 10 years, the front of an iPhone is button-free.
It was a strange feeling of familiarity and being completely lost. I’ve been using an iPhone since the beginning, and thought I knew almost everything about how to use it.
I wanted to take a screenshot on the iPhone X, and I had no idea how to do it.
To Apple’s credit, I did figure it out in a few seconds (you press the sleep-wake button and the up volume button at the same time).
By the way, the sleep-wake button on the X is called the side button. I’m hoping Apple will base future models on the X, so I expect we’ll be calling it the side button from now on.
In my recent review of the iPhone 8 Plus, I wrote of my choice to go for the Plus model with the larger screen and the Touch ID sensor in the home button.
I’ve only used my 8 Plus for a few weeks, but since I’m a big guy, the larger iPhone feels very comfortable in my hand.
When I took the iPhone X out of the box, it felt unusually small, but when I held it up next to my 8 Plus, I saw that the X’s screen is a half-inch taller.
So the iPhone X is a nice change in design for Apple, but Samsung was first up with an edge-to-edge screen without physical buttons.
My time with the iPhone X was a little like driving a rental car — it’s newer than your car at home, and the controls are all there somewhere, but it takes a few days to find them all.
The X is the first iPhone to use an edge-to-edge OLED HDR display that offers blacker blacks and a 1 million-to-1 contrast ratio.
The 5.8-inch screen has a resolution of 2,436 x 1,125 pixels and fills the entire front of the phone except for a 1-inch-wide notch at the top that houses front-facing cameras and sensors.
The back of the iPhone X is made of glass, and the sides are polished stainless steel. It is a stunning design.
Like the iPhone 8, the X is IP67-rated for dust and water resistance. You can submerge it in a meter of water for up to 30 minutes.
The 12-megapixel main camera has the same dual lens setup of the iPhone 8 Plus, including portrait mode.
The front camera is now called the True Depth camera. It has a 7-megapixel sensor and can shoot in portrait mode so your selfies will look really nice.
Of course there is no headphone jack, but a pair of Lightning earpods and a 3.5mm-to-Lightning adapter are included.
The iPhone X has a glass back panel, like the iPhone 8 and 8 Plus, and it can do quick charging and Qi wireless charging.
The most fascinating sensor in that notch is the True Depth sensor that shines 30,000 infrared dots onto your head to map the contours of your facial features.
The result of all those dots is Face ID, which has replaced Touch ID. Now you’ll need to look at the phone to do things like unlock it from sleep, invoke Apple Pay or any other unlocking of websites or apps that are Touch ID compatible.
The iPhone X is also smart enough to know whether your eyes are open. You can set Face ID to unlock only if you are actually looking at the screen. If you hold it up to your face while you’re looking away, the phone will stay locked. You set up Face ID by holding the phone up in front of your face and slowly turning your head like you are watching the second hand of a huge clock.
Face ID worked as advertised, and I was happy with how fast I adjusted to using it.
The Face ID sensor is also used to animate certain emojis in a process Apple calls animoji. You can record small clips, and the emoji will take on your facial expressions. It’s a hoot. Kids will love it.
The screen is the deepest of any iPhone, and while some apps have adjusted to the height, there are some that haven’t updated yet, and there are black bars that fill the edges of the screen.
The notch was hard to get used to, but I soon came to appreciate it.
The notch also serves a bit of a purpose. The portion of the screen outside the notch looks like ears.
You swipe down from the right ear of the screen to bring up the control center.
I found the screen much more reachable with one hand because of the size of the phone’s body. The iPhone X is barely taller than the iPhone 8, but the screen is bigger than the 8 Plus.
So far, demand is outpacing supply. If you try to order an iPhone X, Apple’s website is showing a three- to four-week delivery time. There were some phones available in stores on launch day, and stores may be getting some more trickling in. It couldn’t hurt to check local Apple stores.
You can also check with your carrier to see about availability. Every outlet will be getting them, so keep checking. AT&T, Verizon, Sprint and T-Mobile will all have it, as well as big box stores like Best Buy and Sam’s Club.
The 64gb iPhone X costs $999, while the 256gb model costs $1,149. It’s available in silver or space gray. Watch for some Black Friday deals. You won’t necessarily see the phone discounted, but you’ll likely find some deals that include gift cards.
The iPhone X is the future.
It’s also the best iPhone so far.
