Today the iPhone starts being received by those who pre-ordered both here in NZ and around the world (depending on your time zone). Thanks to NZ seeing the sun first we’re ahead of the rest of the planet. In my case, I’ve been using the iPhone X (pronounced ten) since Wednesday NZ time.
Screen
The OLED screen is gorgeous. That said, we’re already used to great screens on iPhones and the top smartphones from the likes of Samsung. Incidently, Samsung actually produce the screen in the iPhone X.
Face ID – screen unlocking
Face ID (using your face to unlock the phone) fortunately works pretty well most of the time. I’ve found if you hold it too close to your face that can be a problem. I hope software updates improves the reliability in situations where Face ID fails to unlock the camera.
The Lack of a Home button
I’m still getting used to this, but I don’t see it being an issue – I prefer the bigger screen than a button taking up screen space.
Wireless Charging
As a big fan of wireless charging I’m very happy Apple have finally added this across the iPhone 8, iPhone 8 Plus and the iPhone X.
Portrait mode photos from front camera
This is an added benefit of the Infrared camera being used for Face ID – you gain portrait mode (for bokeh effect) which blurs the background on portrait shots. This looks really slick and for most people its not a million miles off what a Digital SLR delivers.
Apps
Most apps don’t yet take advantage of the iPhone X’s lovely big screen that should change before too long for at least the most popular apps.
Overall Performance
No issues on speed, I’m still getting a handle on battery life.
(Stay tuned for a video and more insights over the next 24-48 hours)