Wait: this * no * a review of iPhone X! If you are looking for information, technical evaluations and objective considerations, wait for the detailed opinion we are preparing.
This is an opinionated, argumentative and highly subjective text.
Without further ado, iPhone ten.
Ten years went by very fast.
I remember like it was yesterday, the renders and concepts of what the iPhone would be.
IPhone only, the original.
Click Wheel it was envisioned as a possible interface (and was even internally tested for it), but the Multi-Touch won, and with a giant screen.
At that time, the 3.5 inches were considered to be exaggerated and large.
Time has changed, scenarios have changed and so have screens.
And that brings us to the first reason why the iPhone X is such a hit.
The screen of the future: size, quality and accuracy
At the time of the launch, Apple stated that its goal was to create the trend for the next decade with the iPhone X, and if there is one thing that is really of the future at that moment, the iPhone.
In every imaginable aspect, the screen of the new iPhone is a work of design and engineering.
Starting with touch sensitivity, the basic foundation of Multi-Touch.
Unlike the new iPad Pro launched even three months before the new iPhones, the Super Retina HD screen is not equipped with the new ProMotion technology, which makes the screen more responsive to the touch.
However, the fluidity of the animations was high, and this added to the increase in pixel density, and the quality of a state-of-the-art OLED screen, make its use unique: definitely as if, with each touch, your fingers enter the screen and touch the bars and cones.
The swipes to drag, pages to zoom, and the simple swipe to close an app are so fluid and natural.
When using an LCD screen with the old technology, it is even more noticeable how much it is lacking and, in everyday use, it was one of the things that most enchanted me.
The overall quality of the Super Retina HD screen is also quite impressive.
I've always been very skeptical about display updates for iPhones and devices generally.
Apart from migrations to the Retina world, the only time I remember noticing a significant improvement in quality was from the first Apple Watch for the Series 2, while in * all * generations of iPad, iPhone, etc., Ma cite how big are the updates on your screens.
Meh.
This difference in color quality, contrast and brightness is evident from the first use, but when you watch a video it becomes a landmark.
I saw all the episodes of “Designated Survivor” on iPhone X and I confess that about 20% of my love for the series was due to the quality of the audio and video delivered by the iPhone.
As for size, they couldn't be happier, either.
In fact, they could (and will be): launching a Plus model on the body of the iPhones Plus.
Since they came into existence, I have become a fan of giant models, unlike my colleagues who write on this site.
And, despite being pleasant and satisfying, I belong to the group that expects “the bigger the better”.
For today, it is ideal and sufficient until the “X Plus” arrives.
Finally, a detail that made all the difference for me is the curves of the canvas, but I will comment on that shortly.
ISight camera
The camera, or rather the set of rear cameras on the iPhone X, is incredible, and that's a statement from someone who likes to complain about the cameras.
One thing that always bothered me on iPhones was the time to take the photo, those two eternal seconds between opening the app, focusing, adjusting the exposure, clicking and repeating everything because it was possible to get better.
Those days are over, and the photos are more fluid, balanced and beautiful than ever.
The test of fire was to repeat the process in low light and see if it is still round, and continued.
I was positively surprised, and I have been using iPhone X to take more pictures than ever before.
If each year the camera evolves, I say that we evolved about three years with the iPhone X camera.
A practice that I always like to do, when I am in the critical analysis period, is to repeat the examples presented by Apple.
So, as a classic, I took several pictures of flowers (like they do every year), but my favorite was to recreate a video in the beach water and it was amazing, just like the one shown.
TrueDepth Camera
At selfies dominated the world and, despite having the front camera since the iPhone 4, today we can say that we have reached the advanced level of the front cameras.
The first novelty that, due to the 3D sensors, the new camera, the sensors and the quality of the photos are incredible.
While heavy-user Twitter and Stories from Instagram, I use the front camera all day, and I couldn't be happier.
Low light environments, in particular, were the ones that evolved the most in relation to the iPhone 7 Plus.
The photos in Portrait Mode with the front camera were the second coolest point for me, as shown in the photo below:
It would have been difficult for me, some time ago, to believe that this is a photo taken from a cell phone.
What about a front camera for a cell phone.
The Animojis, although they look like mere bullets from the ones you use in the first days and then forget, they are much cooler than we can imagine.
I have used it daily, and its only flaw is not being available for third party applications.
But maybe Apple will not open an API in the future, right?
Face ID
Apple took a chance with Face ID.
I can't imagine how many meetings and debates took place in Cupertino until the hammer hit between “yes” and “no” to decide if it was worth it and if it was the right time.
Because I say (spoiler): it was worth it and it was the time.
Day-to-day use is more natural than Touch ID, and after the first 2-3 days you don't even remember it is there.
just you slide up, and there is your iPhone.
However, there are some habits that for some may be a little disruptive.
My fiance has the habit of lying down and using the iPhone and, as we know, Face ID does not work with the iPhone lying down.
Another limitation is the fact that you can only have a face registered (my fiance also thinks this is a problem because he always had four fingers registered on my iPhone, but I have not seen how the problem is like that).
Overall, they outperformed Touch ID.
Throughout the day, Touch ID constantly didn't work at first, so I never forgot that it was there.
In the meantime, I count on my fingers the times when Face ID failed for me.
When I'm cooked, the Touch ID always failed.
Raining, it failed.
Running, it failed.
While Face ID works in all of these and more: low / high / normal light, with dark glasses, etc., situations that I was worried about working.
really amazing the speed and how well it works.
I particularly prefer to use it without requiring attention, but I tested it and it doesn't change the usage much.
The experience with apps, mainly Starbucks, banks and Safari, is very satisfactory, mainly because it doesn’t require (despite having animation), just works greater than with Touch ID.
Face ID is without a doubt the future of security, and I can't wait for it to spread across Ma's entire product line.
Design
Beautiful.
Beautiful.
Beautiful.
The MacBook unibody it was the first product that I, in particular, found a design masterpiece.
The single, solid piece of brushed aluminum was so new, beautiful and unique.
After him, only in 2014 did Jony Ive perform such mastery, with the original stainless steel Apple Watch.
The curved glass and joining the polished stainless steel structure, the details of the side button and the Digital Crown.
It was a unique design again.
In 2017, Jony Ive explored the essence of this beautiful Watch design on iPhone X, and used what was most beautiful about the other generations of iPhones: the iPhone 4 rear window, the curved steel of the original iPhone, the curved screen iPhone 6, etc.
It is interesting because, for me, all iPhones had points of attention and design improvement for example, the original iPhone with that horrendous plastic, or the iPhone 6 with that floor grout.
The iPhone X is not only the most beautiful iPhone ever made, but also one of the most beautiful products in Apple's history.
Another thing that is missing for me, and I think I will solve it in the next generation, are color options.
See, on the iPhone 7 we had six (!) Color options: glossy black, black matte, silver, red, rose gold and gold.
From six, we went to two; regrettable.
Undoubtedly my favorite would be PRODUCT (RED), but, because it is a high-value product, I highly doubt that they would interfere in such a delicate profit margin for such, but it would not hurt to have at least one option of so beautiful "New gold" of iPhones 8.
I can't even imagine this stainless steel finish, without a doubt it would be killer.
But what about the cutout on the screen? It was needed to accommodate Face ID.
Once this became clear to Apple and they simply accepted it, they took advantage of it to create the new basic design of the iPhones, just as one day (up to three months ago) was the screen, the button of Incio, the exit of audio and the front camera.
For me, if there was a chance, in the short or medium period, to give up the clipping, I'm sure they would have done it, or waited for it.
Instead, they took the opportunity to create a canvas that follows the margin, with several curves, and believe me: it was beautiful.
In the first clear use that is strange, we are used to having a whole and clean screen, and out of nowhere two different tabs appear.
But I have no doubt that, in iOS 12, and with the updates of the apps, these tabs will be increasingly used in the interface and will become part of the experience.
The only moment I remember again that it exists when I watch videos, that it stops being an accessory and becomes in fact a cutout in the image, and for that I would like to see in the future a curved mask covering the notch.
In the rest, the symmetry, the canvas following the curves, the glass + stainless steel is really a beautiful piece to see.
· • ·
The iPhone X is not only the best iPhone ever made, but it is probably the best finished product ever made by Apple.
I, despite fanboy stated, I have always been very critical and tough (even with small imperfections or flaws in planning), and for the first time I strongly recommend the new iPhone, which I am sure will be defining the next ten years of the industry.
