After one full month with Apple's bezel-less display, here is my take on the 10th anniversary iPhone. Pros Stunning display Outstanding camera & photos Lightning fast operation Gesture-based actions Bezel-less design Face ID Decent size Wireless charging Loud and clear speakers High quality construction Call quality Animojis Picture editing options and features Fast turn-on True-tone display Excellent battery life Cons Price Glass exterior/fragility Animoji clarity needs work There are very few cons with this phone. As this is my third iPhone, I know what to expect. Even though this was an entirely new version, iOS works as iOS does. Save for new touch gestures as a result of the removed home button, it's the same as other Apple devices. As far as Face ID goes, it works great. It is as reliable as Touch ID has been. I've gotten so used to the gestures that I accidentally use them on the iPhone 7 Plus. The "notch" that so much has been made of disappears quickly. It doesn't bother me and really never did. I like it. Though the battery percentage has been removed from the main home screen, a gentle swipe down from the top right brings the Control Center, where the percentage is shown. There's no need to swipe all the way down as a short swipe does the trick. With the animojis, there's one issue. Not sure if it is my phone, but I've heard others have had the same problem. Unless lighting is really good, the mouth of the animoji will quiver instead of exactly mimicking what the user is saying. It will catch eye and facial movements well, but the mouth is another story. I've heard Apple is working on a software update to fix this issue. Though I would love an iPhone Plus-sized version of the X, I am quite happy with its current size. I thought having a smaller phone would be a let-down. It's not. The display is fantastic and the camera is the best I've ever seen on a phone. I've had friends compliment me on pix I've taken with the device (and posted on Facebook or some other site). Apple may be behind Android phones when it comes to LED displays, wireless charging, and other features, but I could care less. I don't want Android anymore. It doesn't work for me. I don't care how advanced Samsung phones are. They're Android and that's an immediate deal-breaker for me. I just prefer iOS and Apple devices (after years of using Android). I speak for myself here. The Apple ecosystem won me over with its inter-connectivity between all devices (iPhone/iPad/MacBook/iMac/iPod/Apple Watch/Apple TV), something I have not seen on Android (which doesn't mean it doesn't exist, but I'm not aware of any). I am very happy with the iPhone X. It was worth the money for me getting the 64GB version (I was NOT willing to shell out $1150+ for a 256GB model). It's the first iPhone I've gotten at launch. Even before the phone arrived, I purchased a folio case and a tempered glass screen protector. There's no way I would use the phone without anything to protect it. It's too expensive not to protect. Though I wonder which direction Apple is heading with some of their questionable decisions lately, I still love their products. This is not a perfect iPhone, but it is an excellent device I enjoy using every day.
Thanks for the review, M! Yes, for the people who don't need to step outside of the Apple ecosystem it makes perfect sense. For other people it doesn't work quite as pleasantly (adding ringtones is quite a drag, adding ebooks that don't come from iTunes is a pain, etc.). But as much as I like Android I feel almost the same way about Samsung phones. They're Samsung and that's an immediate deal-breaker for me The other day at Costco we walked past the display and my wife picked up the X for a second. The only comment she made was "too small" and put it back immediately. So I see an 8+ in her future I picked it up next, tried to swipe in a few different places to get the list of running apps and failed. So much for being intuitive I guess But while holding it I realized I'm not a big fan of small/no bezels. Thankfully I have another year when I don't have to deal with those myself
Thanks for the detailed review Mike, glad you are happy with Apple products and yes it’s so much easier to be in the ecosystem. Not everyone likes the X, a fellow forumite that we both know but is absent from the board nowadays, got the X and exchanged it for the 8 plus. To each their own. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
My wife has the X (I have a Pixel 2) and I appreciate the smaller size. I agree with most of the review except for the camera. The Pixel 2 is every bit as good as, if not better than, the camera on the X. If the X ran Android I'd consider getting one. The notch on the Essential phone didn't bother me but the notch on the X does. I guess because the X's notch is so large. I find the Apple ecosystem to be a constraint rather than an advantage but that's my take on it. While I understand the desire to go with the premium feel, I wish manufacturers would go back to materials not so easily damaged on such expensive devices.
I agree. Maybe that way I'd stop putting that premium feel inside a cheap plastic case so that I could hold the phone comfortably
After a few months with the X my wife replaced it with the Galaxy S9 and a Gear S3 Sport watch. I just sold the X on Swappa. Now I will sell the Apple Watch. She made an interesting comment by saying if she'd kept using her iPhone 7 she would probably still have it. Face ID was announced for her. It worked well but she liked the option of using a fingerprint reader. I think she got annoyed with the ecosystem in general. We replaced her MacBook with a Windows 10 machine (Lenovo YogaBook) a few months ago too.
I still have my iPhone 7 Plus. My friends have mostly moved on to the X, but I have this inane fear that not only will I hate the X but will definitely miss the 7 Plus big time. I believe you just convinced me that I am making the right decision. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk