A decade. It has been a decade since Steve Jobs took the stage to open the keynote of the Macworld conference and introduced a mobile device that shattered all the rules. The iPhone has its users, staunch detractors, and unwavering fans, which confirms that it is not a simple product line but a forceful presence in the market. That force now has a new representative with the iPhone X. Completely redesigned, without borders, and with a giant screen, the iPhone X aims to step firmly and claim the throne of the “ultra-high-end”. Can it?
Apple Park hosted its first official event. Tim Cook walked into the “Steve Jobs Theater” and kicked off what could be interpreted as a birthday celebration. The party was somewhat marred by several high-profile leaks, but the Cupertino giant is used to those things. The iPhone X is a fact. Ten years of innovation and development, with mistakes and successes alike, poured into a single smartphone. Apple took the market by storm in 2007, and it took the competition a long time to reach a similar level, but the situation has changed. The offers are broad, very powerful, and in most cases, cheaper. However, Apple’s strategy was never to go “blow for blow,” but rather to position itself a step above in terms of features, specs, and why not, price. The iPhone X is a fundamental proof of that.
https://www.youtube.com/embed/mW6hFttt_KEDesign and screen
The appearance of the iPhone X is very different from previous models, to the point that someone could confuse it with a smartphone from another company if they look at it from the front. The new “Super Retina” screen stretches to 5.8 inches (2,436 × 1,125 pixels), and is the first in the entire iPhone series to adopt OLED technology. The presence of the “island” at the top sparked a strong debate on the web. Many users believe it breaks the symmetry of the smartphone and ends up ruining its aesthetics, but in that area we find critical elements for the iPhone X, such as the dot projector associated with facial recognition, two cameras (7 MP front and infrared), three sensors, microphone and speaker.
Adopting such a screen had its consequences: First, the edges of the iPhone X are almost nonexistent (except for the aforementioned “island”), and second, the home button was definitively removed. That button was the cause of multiple inconveniences for users and Apple (mechanical failures, replacements, locked smartphones, etc.), so it is in some ways a relief. The iPhone X now favors a feature known as Face ID, which is essentially facial recognition applied to smartphone security. According to vice president Phil Schiller, Touch ID failed once in 50,000 (the so-called “false unlocks”), but the new Face ID activates a battalion of sensors on the iPhone X to obtain a three-dimensional map of our face, which is updated periodically and adapts to details like haircuts and beards. Face ID is also compatible with Apple Pay and animated emojis, which will initially be a dozen. Face ID is supposed to have an average of one error per million attempts, but anyone who watched the live keynote probably noticed that its demo failed twice in a row, and media colleagues report similar incidents in secondary tests.
Camera and hardware
Dual 12 MP camera, a new SoC called A11 Bionic with enormous firepower (two high-performance cores, six in total), an internally designed GPU, 3 GB of RAM, a battery that lasts two extra hours compared to the iPhone 7 (its exact size was not revealed), support for fast and wireless charging (more on that in another article), and a brand new augmented reality platform round out the package of the iPhone X. The pre-sale begins on October 27, shipments start on November 3, and it will be available in silver or black. Prices? Well... I recommend sitting down: 1,159 euros for the iPhone X with 64 GB of internal storage, and 1,329 euros for the 256 GB edition.
