Apple’s iPhone X (pronounced “ten”) is now just a few days away from release and there are already some early verdicts on what people think of Apple’s brand-new flagship smartphone.
So far reviewers seem smitten with the iPhone’s first OLED display while the design itself also appears to have been well received.
All anyone wants to talk about however is the iPhone X’s landmark feature: Face ID. This replaces the fingerprint sensor with a new TrueDepth camera that creates a complex 3D map of your face and then uses that to unlock the phone and authenticate payments.
Despite some wobbles over the accuracy or speed of it, the majority of reviewers are sold by the new technology with some even suggesting it’s the iPhone X’s strongest new feature.
Here are just a few conclusions from the reviews that are already out there.
“The iPhone X is clearly the best iPhone ever made. It’s thin, it’s powerful, it has ambitious ideas about what cameras on phones can be used for, and it pushes the design language of phones into a strange new place. It is a huge step forward in terms of phone hardware, and it has the notch to show for it. If you’re one of the many people who preordered this thing, I think you’ll be happy.”
“We’ve had the iPhone X for over 24 hours now, and we’re more impressed than we were expecting for this handset.
The screen is as good as we expected: not as vibrant as the Samsung range, but more natural and true-to-life while maintaining the strong contrast ratios that you’d expect with OLED technology.
The main surprise is how much better Face ID is than we saw in the demo - the accuracy in all the conditions we’ve faced so far has been impressive given the hard times facial recognition has given us.”
“Remember, as cool as the original iPhone was, it didn’t really begin changing the world until Apple let third-party software developers take advantage of its innards—stuff like the camera, GPS, and other sensors. Maybe something similar, albeit not on such a grand scale, will happen with the iPhone X. Those who shell out the cash for this device will enjoy their screen and battery life today. But the real payoff of the iPhone X might come when we figure out what it can do tomorrow.”
“The 10th anniversary iPhone was always going to carry a certain amount of expectation, and boy, have Apple delivered. Face ID is the best facial recognition technology I’ve seen yet in a phone, the display is a significant improvement on LCD, and the lack of home button feels like a step forward rather than a mistake. Apple needed to shake up the iPhone formula to retain consumer interest, and the iPhone X feels like enough of a considered all-round improvement to warrant praise.”
“The iPhone X changes the iPhone experience, but for the most part those changes are for the better. I’m positive that those fearing the loss of the home button will forget about its absence 48 hours ― tops ― after buying the phone. Face ID and gestures are better, more convenient ways unlock and do basic tasks on the phone. That’s progress. Even if you say, “No thanks,” to the iPhone X, this is the future, so just get ready for it.”