A decade after the release of the smartphone that changed everything, Apple yesterday released the iPhone X, “their most interesting phone in years,” suggests Gizmodo.
And what a way to celebrate their 10th anniversary.
Aesthetically, the iPhone X has lost its bezel sides so the screen is bigger, displaying across the full width. Returning to a design element from way back, it has a glass back nodding to the iPhone 4s:
Around the outside of the screen on what’s left of the tiny bezels that Apple couldn’t eliminate, are tiny black borders that appear to help blur where the screen ends and the rest of the phone begins.
At the top, the black border drops a little to include these features:
The screen has an OLED panel instead of the LCD seen on previous handsets, and its Super Retina Display offers a more colourful display and higher contrast, complete with a 2436 x 1125 resolution.
More on the screen from The Verge:
The screen dictates everything about the iPhone X’s design, including its lack of a home button. This will probably be one of the most controversial things about the phone among iPhone users, but Apple has done a lot of work to make iOS feel natural without a home button.
Where swiping up used to open Control Center, it’s now how you multitask: you swipe up to go home, and swipe up and hold to enter the app switcher. Control Center is now a swipe down from the right top edge, and the notifications shade is a swipe down from the top left.
Then there’s the Face ID component. Using “multi-point infrared sensors to ensure that a simple photo of your face won’t grant access to someone shady,” Apple says there’s a one-in-a-million chance that someone else will be able to unlock your phone.
The system is so smart, it can even tell when you’re simply looking directly at it or just in its direction.
And, because of Face ID, the front camera is the most important:
That front camera system powers a whole bunch of stuff, including new animated emoji that react to your face and some extremely impressive new filters in Snapchat. Portrait Mode is now also available on the front camera, as is Apple’s new Portrait Lighting effect. We’ve reached the point where the front camera on the iPhone is now more important and interesting than the rear one.
The rear camera on the iPhone X hasn’t been ignored, though, and it’s largely the same as the new dual-camera iPhone 8 Plus. It’s dual lens, but with a brighter f/2.4 telephoto lens that has OIS just like the f/1.8 wide-angle camera.
Yes, yes, it comes with wireless charging:
The addition of wireless charging is a big deal. Not only is it the first time Apple has included it on an iPhone, it’s a nod to the future and a boon to everyday usability. And with the success of Apple’s AirPods, it’s not inconceivable that an iPhone X could now go its entire lifetime without ever being plugged into to anything or having anything plugged into it. It also goes without saying that Apple didn’t bring back the headphone jack.
Ready to see the iPhone X in action? Take a look:
Pretty sweet, hey?
Price-wise, the iPhone X will start at $999 (R13 000), and will be available in 64GB or 256GB capacities – no messing around, huh?
You can pre-order the phone from October 27 and shipments will go out on November 3, although no word on whether these dates are applicable to South Africa.
Keep an eye on Digicape for all the latest and greatest, of course.
