iPhone X review

I spent the last two months absolutely certain I was not interested in buying an iPhone X. In fact, I was so certain that I got an iPhone 8 in September. And then last Friday, I bought an iPhone X.

In the review below, I'll get in to specific comparisons between iPhone X and previous iPhones.

But let me state this at the top: iPhone X is delightful. The experience of using it is somehow greater than the sum of its parts. It's not perfect, but it feels fresh and vital in a way the iPhone has not felt in a long time.

For me, the most exciting iPhone launch, aside from the original iPhone in 2007, was the launch of the iPhone 4. It was a huge leap in aesthetics and build quality from previous phones. And the retina display was unbelievable.

The launch of iPhone X is on the scale of these momentous iPhone launches of the past. It was impossible not to get sucked in by the excitement.

Materials

Like iPhone 4, iPhone X feels like a big step forward in build quality. The steel frame, the glass front and back, the weight and rigidity of the phone, it all feels great. And it looks great. It's a very desirable looking phone.

I chose the silver model for its polished steel frame. With Apple Watch, I much prefer the regular silver stainless steel over the space black DLC-coated model, and so I made the same choice here. In the past I've bought black or space gray phones for the black bezels, and fortunately for me both iPhone X finishes have that.

Display

Of course, the banner feature of iPhone X is its edge-to-edge display. It's also Apple's first OLED display. Could Apple have made iPhone X with an LCD panel? I don't know, probably not. I've read that OLED can bend and flex, which is necessary for this design.

The "wow" factor of this phone really cannot be overstated. And this is primarily due to the edge-to-edge design. Use iPhone X for awhile, then pick up any other iPhone; it feels like part of the display is broken. iPhone X might ruin other iPhones for you.

I was skeptical because I've never been a great fan of OLED phones for all the reasons people typically cite. Colors look blue, oversaturated, and the screen seems chromatic or shimmery with slight movement.

But, Apple has nailed its OLED display. It holds its own against Apple's latest P3 wide color LCD displays. I don't think it necessarily looks better, as some do, but it matches the high bar Apple has set when it comes to color accuracy and white balance.

Viewing iPhone X from an angle does produce a blue tint, but comparing this to iPhone 8, neither phone looks ideal off-axis. iPhone X has tint, iPhone 8 has some dimming. In real world use, it's not an issue. I just don't look at my phone from any other angle than straight on.

The pixel density is greatly increased at 458 ppi compared to 326 ppi on iPhone 8. I can't say I notice it, and I've read the diamond pentile pixel arrangement somewhat reduces the display's resolving power. It's supposedly comparable to about 400 ppi on a typical dual-domain pixel LCD, like in iPhone 8 Plus. All that matters to me is if the display looks sharp and crisp, and to my eyes iPhone X does.

The only complaint I can make is that I really wish this display had Apple's 120Hz ProMotion as in the latest iPad Pros. I suspect the pentile layout is a limiting factor here.

One clear advantage I can give to OLED is watching video. This is where its deep blacks really pay off. Watching a movie (especially one with Dolby Vision HDR) looks fantastic. Still, the LCD in iPhone 8 already produces very nice blacks. The difference here is subtle but noticeable.

Oh, and I also have to mention what may be the nicest new feature with this display: tap to wake.

Size

iPhone X is the first new size iPhone since iPhone 6 and 6 Plus were released in 2014. And it's the first new aspect ratio since iPhone 5 in 2012. For me, that meant I felt much more uncertainty about moving to this device.

Every time I've picked up an iPhone 6/7/8 Plus, it's felt absurdly large to me. Holding it, typing on it, is almost like an iPad mini. I just don't like it. I have an iPad for the times that I want an iPad. The phone needs to fulfill a different purpose, which includes using it one-handed.

Moving from an iPhone 8 to iPhone X feels a lot like the move from iPhone 4 to iPhone 5. The width is about the same, but it's taller. The difference now is that a 4.7-inch phone is already pushing the limits of how far your hand can reach.

Extending the display to 5.8-inches makes iPhone X harder to use with one hand. It's just harder. Typing can still be done comfortably one-handed, but it's impossible to reach anything near the top, and anything positioned near the bottom of the phone can be uncomfortable to reach as well.

Reachability, the feature that lets you slide the UI lower to more easily reach things near the top, still exists on iPhone X. Now it must be specifically enabled in Accessibility settings. Once enabled, it's not quite as easy to invoke as it once was, requiring a small downward swipe on the "home indicator" instead of the previous double-tap on the home button. It's not the most comfortable or easy to execute gesture, and it's not something you want to do often.

Landscape mode is really changed by this new size and aspect ratio. Because the phone is wider, content is stretched wider, and so the new ratio results in less content visible on screen vertically. And the presence of the home indicator along the bottom edge further reduces the vertical content area while in landscape.

If you're coming from an iPhone 6/7/8 Plus with a 5.5-inch display, iPhone X, despite it's seemingly-larger 5.8-inch display, is actually smaller. It's narrower, and thanks to "the notch" and the sweeping corner radii, it has less usable area at the top and bottom.

I've never spent much time with a Plus so I can't speak from experience, but I suspect some fans of the iPhone Plus may feel constrained on iPhone X. Rumors of an "iPhone X Plus" next year may tempt iPhone Plus users to wait.

User interface

Eliminating the home button seemed like a dubious choice at first, but it's clear to me now this was an inspired choice. Apple has fully embraced a new gestural UI for moving in and out and between apps. This direct manipulation changes the equation just as the move from a mouse to a multi-touch display did. The home button was a layer of abstraction; iPhone X is more fluid, more vital, and more delightful because of this new model of interaction.

It's clear that iOS still has work to do to take better advantage of bigger phones. There have been some improvements over the years, most notably the swipe-to-go-back gesture, that make it easier to move around the UI one-handed. But there are still far too many UI elements placed at the top of the screen, and that's beginning to feel antiquated on these bigger devices.

Maps is a great example of UI done right. It's oriented towards the bottom half of the screen, and a swipe down anywhere on the list of places can lower the search bar to reveal more of the map. In iOS 11, Maps added a double-tap-and-hold shortcut for zooming the map that works as a nice one-handed replacement for pinch-to-zoom.

The placement of Control Center is a mistake. Control Center is useful because its quick and easy to access; requiring a swipe in the difficult-to-reach far upper right corner of the display reduces Control Center's usefulness.

On iPad, Control Center is positioned to the right of the app switcher. This seems like a much better place for it, and placing it in the same area on iPhone would mean a simple swipe up could still give the user easy access to both multitasking and Control Center.

Of course, many of us use both iPhone and iPad every day, so keeping these features in the same places would help our muscle memory and reduce some cognitive load.

iOS needs to be re-thought, or at least evolved towards an understanding that the user will not be able to reach all parts of the screen easily. That means placing more buttons and toolbars near the bottom, and allowing swipes and gestures for as many actions as possible. One of my favorite actions in apps like Photos, Twitter, and Files is swiping down on an image to dismiss it. This is the perfect kind of interaction for a big device.

The notch

It won't make you go cross-eyed, after all.

I laughed at the notch when I saw the first renderings of iPhone X. It seemed like the least Apple-like thing Apple could make. I thought it was a hideous blemish that I could never live with on my phone.

In reality, it's not bad. It's even kind of cute. I can't explain what shifted in my thinking. Maybe I've been consumed by the hype. Maybe the rest of the phone looks and feels so nice that it makes me not care as much about the notch. I don't know, but it's not a big deal. It just blends in after awhile.

Face ID

Face ID works mostly as advertised. It's good. It's very good. But it's not perfect.

In ideal conditions, it's faster and better than Touch ID. When you're holding the phone in hand, and nothing is obscuring your face, it works very well. I sometimes wear glasses, and glasses have not tripped up Face ID in the slightest.

What about less than ideal conditions? Well, Face ID fails in situations where Touch ID does not. When the phone is laying flat on a table, or is held far away from your face, or at a very low angle, then Face ID probably will not unlock the phone.

I've also started to notice how often I have a hand resting on my face. My hand may be resting on my chin, partly covering my mouth, or I could be leaning my forehead into my hand. Any behavior of this sort can interfere with Face ID.

Most of the time, Face ID is great. It's faster and simpler than Touch ID. But Touch ID never fails. If you're using your phone, your thumb is always there. Unless you're wearing gloves, it's going to work. The latest Touch ID scanners are incredibly fast. To put it simply, Face ID fails in more instances than Touch ID fails.

But, while Face ID sometimes fails, it fails in predictable ways. If it fails, it's because it can't see your face. It doesn't fail in random, arbitrary ways that make it feel unreliable. Face ID feels like a fairly mature technology than you can rely on for daily use. I think most people can and will adapt to Face ID fairly easily.

Animoji

Yes, this phone has Animoji.

Next.

Camera

Nearly every ad for the iPhone camera features athletic, attractive people doing amazing things, like zip-lining or pulling off some incredible skateboard stunt.

My life is not that compelling nor is it particularly photo worthy, and so my use of the iPhone camera is somewhat uninspiring.

That said, this is my first iPhone with a dual-lens setup and it's a great improvement. Switching between the wide-angle and telephoto lenses makes it much easier to compose a great shot without resorting to digital zoom. Low-light performance is noticeably better than even an iPhone 8, and for the first time Apple has included optical image stabilization on both lenses.

Portrait mode is everything it's cracked up to be. It delivers professional-looking portraits without any editing or retouching. It's not perfect, and real photographers will know it's no substitute for a DSLR and a good 50mm lens. But, iPhone X allows people of all skill levels to take incredible looking photos. Having this level of camera always in your pocket and available at a moment's notice is tremendously powerful.

If you want the hands-down best camera available on any iPhone, then iPhone X is the clear choice.

Conclusion

Despite some concerns or criticisms I've laid out here, iPhone X is an incredible device. Anyone who is an Apple or iPhone enthusiast is going to want it.

People who prefer smaller phones, like iPhone SE, probably won't be any happier with iPhone X than they were with any of the iPhone Plus models. But some of those people, like I have, will gradually warm up to a bigger phone.

iPhone X is not all things to all people. Many of my initial impressions from the keynote have held true in real world use. iPhone X requires tradeoffs — some that early adopters may be happy to make, some that others may not. Face ID is an impressive future technology, but it means giving up a proven and reliable technology in Touch ID. The edge-to-edge design is beautiful and provides an expansive canvas for your apps, but it means sacrificing one-handed ease of use.

The sheer expense of this phone will make it hard to recommend to many friends and family. If the initial sticker shock doesn't get you, check out the price for repairs. That may give you pause.

All that said, if you're willing to embrace a little change and spend a little more, iPhone X is a delight to use. It really is tomorrow's iPhone today.