First impressions of iPhone X

By Gadjo Cardenas Sevilla

New York, NY - It's been a whirlwind 24-hours with Apple's latest iPhone. The iPhone X, which begins shipping and appearing in stores on Friday, was previewed to a handful of media in Cupertino and here in New York. The iPhone X is as important to Apple as the original iPhone was simply because it is the realization of some of the company's ideals for the smartphone. Hit jump for my first impressions.

With a nearly all-glass display, the hardware fades into the background as the experience of interacting with apps, photos and movies becomes even more intimate. Apple has taken a huge gamble with the iPhone X, it eschews the Home button and Touch ID, two conventions which competitors have just started to standardize.

The tradeoff is Face ID,  a ballsy new feature that relies on a user's facial structure to offer access and sign transactions. With the Home button gone, iPhone X introduces a new language of swipe and touch-based gestures to get around. They can be confusing at first, confounding even. But once you stumble through the motions, they become the new normal and anyone who has used legacy platforms like the venerable webOS or even BlackBerry 10 will feel oddly at home.

It is far from perfect, though. Few apps are ready for the new display parameters and while I am sure developers are rushing to be iPhone X compliant, early adopters will be burdened to share in the R&D of this new fork of iOS.

First Impressions

Having had less than a full-day with iPhone X means I can only offer first impressions at this point. I am coming from an iPhone 7 Plus, which has been my main work phone where I shoot various product and event photos and videos, record interviews, manage writers and contributors, schedule as well as access online services. 

The iPhone 7 Plus has great battery, a nice readable display and is nearly perfect for all my personal and work-related needs. If it was a vehicle, it would definitely be an SUV or a station wagon. A great mix of reliability and spaciousness. 

The iPhone X, on the other hand, is pure sportscar. Even among premium smarpthones, it can be considered one of the more exotic looking devices. I have the Silver version, which looks exquisite with an almost iridiscent pearl-finished glass back and a generous 5.8-inch OLED display that's easily the best you've ever seen on an iPhone. Everything is held together by a shiny chrome alloy that's every bit as luxurious as some of the more expensive Apple Watch models.

Glass and steel give the iPhone X a sturdy density. Apple says the glass wrapping the iPhone X is the strongest and most resistant they've made. I don't doubt that, but if I were to buy one of these premium items, I would quickly invest in some protection.

iPhone X is a thing of beauty and was clearly built to an exacting degree. The placement of the rear camera bump might be unnatractive to some users, but honestly, with a gorgeous display like this one, why would you spend much time looking at the rear.

New display, new opportunities and challenges

Two things about the OLED display on the iPhone X. It is the first OLED used on an iPhone, which has relied on LCD based designs and avoided sickly-saturated PENtile displays which are the bread and butter of LG and Samsung. It is also the first to feature a TrueDepth camera. That said, Apple's worked on this display to suit their exacting needs and high standards. 

Featuring 1,000,000 to 1 contrast ratio, high resolution and brightness, wide color support, and the best color accuracy in the industry. The Super Retina Display is also HDR10 for content that supports this standard. There are outstanding displays in the premium smartphone space, the Samsung Galaxy Note 8 comes quickly to mind, the iPhone X can now count itself among the very best in the business.

This new display is immersive, responsive and 3D Touch works on this as well. The TrueDepth Camera, which is nestled in the top cutout on the display is really the only break in what aims to be a bezel-free design, in order to bring in some new innovation.

Face ID 

Face ID, which uses sensors in TrueDepth camera It projects and analyzes more than 30,000 invisible dots to create a precise depth map of your face. Face ID can be set up in 20 seconds, faster than Touch ID ever was even on second generation sensors.

More importantly, Face ID seems to work really well, even in dim or dark conditions (thanks to an IR sensor). Apple says your face data, which is locked into a secure enclave in the hardware of the iPhone X and never shared. More importantly, there's a neural engine in the iPhone X that constantly recognizes and vets the user.

That means if you change your hairstyle, grow facial hair, use glasses and even makeup. 

Raising the iPhone at an angle is enought for it to recognize you and unlock (there's a lock icon that animates when it is unlocked), you swipe up and you're in.

One neat touch is that notifications are shown but you can't read them until Face ID authenticates you. Once I've used iPhone X for a few weeks, I'll be able to better determine accuracy through time. One thing I won't miss is not being able to unlock the iPhone with Touch ID when my fingers are damp.

Cameras

One of the more important innovations coming to iPhone X are the front and rear cameras. These are similar to the 12 megapixel shooters on the iPhone 8 Plus, the difference is that both the wide angle and telephoto cameras have Optical Image Stabilizations (Apple says 7 motors each to stabilize). This doesn't only compensate for hands shaking, it makes it possible to take better photos in darker conditions and generally better accuracy.

The portrait lighting and portrait mode features are now available for the front-facing TrueDepth camera which means better selfies and the ability to get more satisfying and shareable shots from the front facing camera.

 

I've not had much chance to really test the cameras at this point but managed to get some shots which are above. A new Apple-designed video encoder enables faster frame rates and high-quality 4K video up to 60 fps. I look forward to testing this as well.

Animoji

Another benefit of the TrueDepth camera and the sensors is that you can use it to map your face to animate various characters called Animoji. From playing with the Animoji feature, I can say the capturing of facial expressions is pretty spot on and while I feel this is a novelty feature, I can see various applications using this technology.

That's it for now. The iPhone X is as impressive as an object of luxury as it is a harbinger of exciting new technology. Now, lets see how apps and ecosystems realign to put Apple's vision for the future right at the centre.