Man I hate long posts, sorry in advance. Warning: novella below. Preface, I have not been on MR for almost a year. Got tired of being suspended by a particular mod for ambiguous reasons. But all is forgiven because I had to tell anyone that would listen my thoughts on X. I've been exclusively on iOS since the 3g (2nd gen iPhone). I don't care if Android has had certain tech earlier or may be a better value or any other reason. I use iPhones and I could care less if others do or don't. Competition is good for everyone.
Maybe this helps someone, or not. I initially bought the iPhone with full intention on returning it before my window was up (unopened). Reason being, I have an 7 that's one year old and it's great. Also, it cost me friggin $1250 with tax and no insurance, and I just thought I could live another year with a perfectly good phone and hold out for a potential TouchID triumphant return. I left the box unopened for 2 days after I received it and kept reading reviews to confirm I wanted to return it. It just didn't happen and I opened the box.
The X is what it is, a luxury item and the best iPhone ever made at a record breaking price. I use my phone more than any other device so the expense is justified. I realized this is almost everything I ever wanted in a phone. Other phones work just fine and do the same things, just not as well in some cases.
There are definitely a few downsides:
1) Price, like I said, it is what it is and if you can afford it, it's less of an issue. If you can't, there are plenty of great options. Like I said, my 7 still performs great. Also related is the usual memory shafting they give us. Two options, too small and too big. Of course I had to go with the larger and just leave most of the memory unused. Awesome.
2) Size, it got a little heavier and thicker. Not too bad, but definitely a little bigger than my 7. This is definitely a benefit for those coming down from a Plus. More pros regarding size below.
3) Durability, kind of in line with price. If you can afford this phone, not an issue. But I can see how the glass can break with one drop on cement. I actually never use cases, but I'm using one for the first couple weeks or so because it would break my heart if it broke so soon. I got squaretrade insurance for a reasonable premium and deductible costs. First time trying it. In the past I've bought AppleCare.
4) New gestures, minor, but still an issue is learning a few new gestures. Became second nature after literally a couple days. I used my old 7 and naturally went to the new gestures by habit. Learning curve is really short. A bigger issue is that to get to my home screen I need to tap AND swipe up. Used to just be press home. But the more I think of it, that was a little annoying in that my hand wasn't always on the home button to begin with. Tapping and swiping up in a natural holding position may be more convenient and faster. A minor downside, but potential to be a positive.
Jury's still out:
1) FaceID is not a problem with login really, but I haven't used it for ApplePay. The TouchID solution was so elegant that in comparison, this is a little clumsy. Now you have to double click the power button, confirm FaceID, then touch the reader. I'm sure it'll be easy, but how can you beat just placing your thumb on the TouchID and moving the phone to the reader. Not really a downside because FaceID is so fast that you don't even notice it, but the double click is annoying compared to the old ways.
2) Notch is a personal preference. Yeah, I thought it looked fugly at first. Once I started using it, I appreciated it because I would have liked the alternatives less. I like using that extra bit of real estate for key info like time, signal, battery. The alternative would be to get rid of that space and have that key info below the notch. No thanks, I appreciate every bit of screen I can get. Watching videos is not really an issue as you stop noticing it. Also on the regular app screens, I just don't notice it when I'm reading content.
Likes:
1) Form factor: Holy ... this is a nice phone. The 7 was already pretty nice in it's own way, but this is next level. This is no surprise as Apple is always trailblazing in aesthetics. Yes, all the Androids will copy it within a year, but who cares. They just can't ever beat the intangibles, build quality, etc. The best thing about the form is the screen to phone ratio. Marginally larger, but pretty much the size of my 7, but almost the screen of the Plus. That's what I was looking forward to the most and it doesn't disappoint. It's hard to go back to the "standard" screens now.
2) Screen: Win for sure. You get OLED with it's pluses and minuses, but all iPhone screens are always nice. What I notice on the new one is the as advertised contrast. You can't even see where the blacks on the screen merge onto the black borders. Black means black. Screen is great overall, but OLED downside is the angle viewing distorts colors more so than LED. Again, not an issue with me since I don't view my phone at odd angles but YMMV. I'm sure the OLED also contributed to the more efficient battery life since it's lower power and blacks literally turn off pixels.
3) Speakers: Best speakers ever for a phone (I think). I've never heard a phone like this. I'm an audiophile and was just shocked at the sound coming out of this little phone.
4) FaceID again: Yeah ApplePay is not a win for me yet, but the rest of it was better than advertised. I appreciate that it's more secure, but still recognizes me regardless of whatever s**t I have on my face or head: glasses, headsets, hoodies, hats, hand over mouth, whatever. It is super fast. I also recall my TouchID failing more than FaceID. Times my hands were a little wet, or super dry, or had gloves on. No more taking off gloves when skiing or boarding. We'll see if it works with my goggles on. That might be wishful thinking. I wish I had a TouchID option, but I definitely want to keep FaceID regardless.
5) Camera: I had the regular size 7. This camera is essentially the Plus camera but has the portrait mode on the front and image stabilization on the back zoom. I can actually visibly see that camera is better in my initial use. The camera is one of the most important things on the phone for me and improvements in camera quality alone easily justify cost for me personally. Amazing pictures for a phone. I have a DSLR, but it's rarely on me. I take far more photos of the family with my iPhone. Great photos of the family are priceless to me. That being said, all of the iPhones 7 and up have amazing cameras.
6) Fast charging: I actually haven't been able to use this yet because I don't have a usb-c to lightning cable. Ironically I have a compatible brick from my MBP. I am really looking forward to this when I get my cable. I prefer short charges over overnight charging. Less interfacing with a cable the better for me. Why not wireless charging you ask? Because wireless charging is slow and you have to put it on the charging pad JUST right. No thanks. I'll wait until the tech gets better on that. I'd rather just super charge once or twice a day for a half hour or hour.
7) FaceID and apps: Most TouchID apps work immediately. Others are getting updated furiously. I've actually only had one non-compatible app, and it is a proprietary work app that very few people use relatively speaking.
Yeah, lot to like, but the price is high. It's just about perfect for me and everything I ever wanted in a phone. We all value different things, and I can justify this, and just as important, I care about the things this phone brings. People who don't care about some of the things I listed, the other iPhones (or Androids) are perfectly capable. This phone is friggin beautiful and you can feel the quality everywhere. Did I mention the stainless steel edges are mirror polished and look way to good to be on a phone. I recall this forum having "trolls" and "fanboys". I don't think I fall into either camp, but I don't care either. This post is just to help anyone that might appreciate/value some of the things that I do (and to get off my chest how much I like this phone). Wow it's beautiful.
Maybe this helps someone, or not. I initially bought the iPhone with full intention on returning it before my window was up (unopened). Reason being, I have an 7 that's one year old and it's great. Also, it cost me friggin $1250 with tax and no insurance, and I just thought I could live another year with a perfectly good phone and hold out for a potential TouchID triumphant return. I left the box unopened for 2 days after I received it and kept reading reviews to confirm I wanted to return it. It just didn't happen and I opened the box.
The X is what it is, a luxury item and the best iPhone ever made at a record breaking price. I use my phone more than any other device so the expense is justified. I realized this is almost everything I ever wanted in a phone. Other phones work just fine and do the same things, just not as well in some cases.
There are definitely a few downsides:
1) Price, like I said, it is what it is and if you can afford it, it's less of an issue. If you can't, there are plenty of great options. Like I said, my 7 still performs great. Also related is the usual memory shafting they give us. Two options, too small and too big. Of course I had to go with the larger and just leave most of the memory unused. Awesome.
2) Size, it got a little heavier and thicker. Not too bad, but definitely a little bigger than my 7. This is definitely a benefit for those coming down from a Plus. More pros regarding size below.
3) Durability, kind of in line with price. If you can afford this phone, not an issue. But I can see how the glass can break with one drop on cement. I actually never use cases, but I'm using one for the first couple weeks or so because it would break my heart if it broke so soon. I got squaretrade insurance for a reasonable premium and deductible costs. First time trying it. In the past I've bought AppleCare.
4) New gestures, minor, but still an issue is learning a few new gestures. Became second nature after literally a couple days. I used my old 7 and naturally went to the new gestures by habit. Learning curve is really short. A bigger issue is that to get to my home screen I need to tap AND swipe up. Used to just be press home. But the more I think of it, that was a little annoying in that my hand wasn't always on the home button to begin with. Tapping and swiping up in a natural holding position may be more convenient and faster. A minor downside, but potential to be a positive.
Jury's still out:
1) FaceID is not a problem with login really, but I haven't used it for ApplePay. The TouchID solution was so elegant that in comparison, this is a little clumsy. Now you have to double click the power button, confirm FaceID, then touch the reader. I'm sure it'll be easy, but how can you beat just placing your thumb on the TouchID and moving the phone to the reader. Not really a downside because FaceID is so fast that you don't even notice it, but the double click is annoying compared to the old ways.
2) Notch is a personal preference. Yeah, I thought it looked fugly at first. Once I started using it, I appreciated it because I would have liked the alternatives less. I like using that extra bit of real estate for key info like time, signal, battery. The alternative would be to get rid of that space and have that key info below the notch. No thanks, I appreciate every bit of screen I can get. Watching videos is not really an issue as you stop noticing it. Also on the regular app screens, I just don't notice it when I'm reading content.
Likes:
1) Form factor: Holy ... this is a nice phone. The 7 was already pretty nice in it's own way, but this is next level. This is no surprise as Apple is always trailblazing in aesthetics. Yes, all the Androids will copy it within a year, but who cares. They just can't ever beat the intangibles, build quality, etc. The best thing about the form is the screen to phone ratio. Marginally larger, but pretty much the size of my 7, but almost the screen of the Plus. That's what I was looking forward to the most and it doesn't disappoint. It's hard to go back to the "standard" screens now.
2) Screen: Win for sure. You get OLED with it's pluses and minuses, but all iPhone screens are always nice. What I notice on the new one is the as advertised contrast. You can't even see where the blacks on the screen merge onto the black borders. Black means black. Screen is great overall, but OLED downside is the angle viewing distorts colors more so than LED. Again, not an issue with me since I don't view my phone at odd angles but YMMV. I'm sure the OLED also contributed to the more efficient battery life since it's lower power and blacks literally turn off pixels.
3) Speakers: Best speakers ever for a phone (I think). I've never heard a phone like this. I'm an audiophile and was just shocked at the sound coming out of this little phone.
4) FaceID again: Yeah ApplePay is not a win for me yet, but the rest of it was better than advertised. I appreciate that it's more secure, but still recognizes me regardless of whatever s**t I have on my face or head: glasses, headsets, hoodies, hats, hand over mouth, whatever. It is super fast. I also recall my TouchID failing more than FaceID. Times my hands were a little wet, or super dry, or had gloves on. No more taking off gloves when skiing or boarding. We'll see if it works with my goggles on. That might be wishful thinking. I wish I had a TouchID option, but I definitely want to keep FaceID regardless.
5) Camera: I had the regular size 7. This camera is essentially the Plus camera but has the portrait mode on the front and image stabilization on the back zoom. I can actually visibly see that camera is better in my initial use. The camera is one of the most important things on the phone for me and improvements in camera quality alone easily justify cost for me personally. Amazing pictures for a phone. I have a DSLR, but it's rarely on me. I take far more photos of the family with my iPhone. Great photos of the family are priceless to me. That being said, all of the iPhones 7 and up have amazing cameras.
6) Fast charging: I actually haven't been able to use this yet because I don't have a usb-c to lightning cable. Ironically I have a compatible brick from my MBP. I am really looking forward to this when I get my cable. I prefer short charges over overnight charging. Less interfacing with a cable the better for me. Why not wireless charging you ask? Because wireless charging is slow and you have to put it on the charging pad JUST right. No thanks. I'll wait until the tech gets better on that. I'd rather just super charge once or twice a day for a half hour or hour.
7) FaceID and apps: Most TouchID apps work immediately. Others are getting updated furiously. I've actually only had one non-compatible app, and it is a proprietary work app that very few people use relatively speaking.
Yeah, lot to like, but the price is high. It's just about perfect for me and everything I ever wanted in a phone. We all value different things, and I can justify this, and just as important, I care about the things this phone brings. People who don't care about some of the things I listed, the other iPhones (or Androids) are perfectly capable. This phone is friggin beautiful and you can feel the quality everywhere. Did I mention the stainless steel edges are mirror polished and look way to good to be on a phone. I recall this forum having "trolls" and "fanboys". I don't think I fall into either camp, but I don't care either. This post is just to help anyone that might appreciate/value some of the things that I do (and to get off my chest how much I like this phone). Wow it's beautiful.
