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How does iPhone X improve the user experience?

Mark Holmes

Mark Holmes

macrumors regular
Original poster
Sep 22, 2010
144
631
San Diego CA
Watching the release and now reviews of the iPhone X has me looking over and over again trying to figure out the appeal. I know it's cleaner and sleeker, and has less ports and buttons, that it has an OLED screen.... etc.
What's lost in all this is the question that keeps coming to my mind: how does the continuing removal of buttons and ports from Apple products improve the user experience? I still carry a iPhone 6S Plus, and I constantly use the home button in a way that the iPhone X does not provide an alternative means of achieving. I turn off alarms and reminders by reaching in my pocket and pressing the home button. I hold down the home button, still in my pocket, to activate Siri through my AirPods. I use the headphone jack in my oldest car to play music through the car stereo, and sometimes on jobs to play back wired speakers, as part of my videographer occupation.
The continuing removal of ports and buttons on iPhones and other Apple products has me looking at other options. Do the people in charge at Apple remember that we have hands and fingers? The way something works, in the physical world, is as important, if not more important, than the way it looks.
 
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The real reason for iPhone X, was to show that they could "innovate" and to come out with an anniversary edition device. With not many other cosmetic changes to be done, they removed the home button and in the process of "innovating" added a notch at the top.
iPhone X is a concept/experimental phone with nothing that improves ease of use, if at all it really deteriorates the iOS experience.
 
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Mark Holmes said:
Watching the release and now reviews of the iPhone X has me looking over and over again trying to figure out the appeal. I know it's cleaner and sleeker, and has less ports and buttons, that it has an OLED screen.... etc.
What's lost in all this is the question that keeps coming to my mind: how does the continuing removal of buttons and ports from Apple products improve the user experience? I still carry a iPhone 6S Plus, and I constantly use the home button in a way that the iPhone X does not provide an alternative means of achieving. I turn off alarms and reminders by reaching in my pocket and pressing the home button. I hold down the home button, still in my pocket, to activate Siri through my AirPods. I use the headphone jack in my oldest car to play music through the car stereo, and sometimes on jobs to play back wired speakers, as part of my videographer occupation.
The continuing removal of ports and buttons on iPhones and other Apple products has me looking at other options. Do the people in charge at Apple remember that we have hands and fingers? The way something works, in the physical world, is as important, if not more important, than the way it looks.
Click to expand...

I feel like people have to stop living in the past and embrace newer technology.

Yes, you still use the headphone port in your older car, but at some point all of those cars are going to be replaced by cars that have Bluetooth. Bluetooth and wireless audio are the present and the future, it's calling pushing technology and moving on.

As for the removal of the home button, I actually like what one of the reviewer/first looks I saw said. Because it is all screen now and just a swipe, you can basically now do anything without your finger ever leaving the screen. It makes the device seem more fluid.

Just because you currently do something one way, doesn't mean you cant learn to do it a different way. Just because something currently works doesn't mean we shouldn't replace it with something that is even better.
 
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Well your headphone jack issues started with the 7, so that has nothing to do with the x itself. I believe on the x you activate siri by pressing and holding the sleep/wake button. And I believe the sleep/wake also silences alarms but I'm not sure if it snoozes or turns it off. So aside from the headphone jack, you can still do everything you want to do. And you can always just throw an adapter on your wired headphones or car stereo cable.
 
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Mark Holmes said:
The continuing removal of ports and buttons on iPhones and other Apple products has me looking at other options. Do the people in charge at Apple remember that we have hands and fingers? The way something works, in the physical world, is as important, if not more important, than the way it looks.
Click to expand...


Have you bought a computer in the past 8 yrs or so? This is nothing new and not just Apple doing this. Old technology is being removed from everything.
Why dont you complain to auto manufacturers for not adding 3.5mm jacks to cars anymore? What about lack of lighters and ash trays? Why do you not care that PC's have not come with optical drives standard in years. You are not bothered that ultrabooks no longer even come with something simple like an ethernet adapter ?

Technology moves on. They take away things to make these slimmer more powerful devices everyone wants. I can tell you I rarely miss any of these things except onboard ethernet to be honest.

If you want buttons and old tech, I hear Blackberry is making a comeback.
 
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You can activate Siri by a double tap on the AirPods or by holding the remote button on the wired headphones.

I agree with the above posters. Eventually people will need to learn to embrace change. You can learn how to do the same things in a new way. It’s actually sort of exciting to get something all new. We haven’t had that opportunity to learn all new ways to use the iPhone since 2007.
 
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Mark Holmes said:
Yes, I understand alll your points, but how does the removal of the home button, and on the 7, the headphone jack, and on the MacBook Pro, the SD card port, usb a, usb 2, MagSafe, etc., IMPROVE the user experience?
Click to expand...

The deletion of ports and buttons leads to extra space in the device to improve battery lif... Nevermind..

The deletion of ports and buttons on the device reduces components and increases speed of production both of which lower cos... Nevermind..
 
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Mark Holmes said:
Watching the release and now reviews of the iPhone X has me looking over and over again trying to figure out the appeal. I know it's cleaner and sleeker, and has less ports and buttons, that it has an OLED screen.... etc.
What's lost in all this is the question that keeps coming to my mind: how does the continuing removal of buttons and ports from Apple products improve the user experience? I still carry a iPhone 6S Plus, and I constantly use the home button in a way that the iPhone X does not provide an alternative means of achieving. I turn off alarms and reminders by reaching in my pocket and pressing the home button. I hold down the home button, still in my pocket, to activate Siri through my AirPods. I use the headphone jack in my oldest car to play music through the car stereo, and sometimes on jobs to play back wired speakers, as part of my videographer occupation.
The continuing removal of ports and buttons on iPhones and other Apple products has me looking at other options. Do the people in charge at Apple remember that we have hands and fingers? The way something works, in the physical world, is as important, if not more important, than the way it looks.
Click to expand...


Multitasking is way, way, way, wayyyyyyyyy faster on the X thanks to the lack of the home button. This is honestly what I'm most excited about.

You can activate Siri by saying "Hey Siri" or tapping on your AirPods. Apple isn't going to keep giant bezels in so people can use the least convenient of three ways to activate Siri.

You can turn off reminders and alarms by squeezing the sides of your phone in your pocket. This has always been the case - hit the side button or either of the volume buttons (or both, it doesn't matter) to do the same thing you're doing with the home button. This works with the phone facing in, out, upside down, etc. With the home button you must first figure out which way the phone is oriented, with the side buttons you just passively squeeze.

The headphone jack is long gone. We're two generations in. You can get a $15 bluetooth adapter for your car (so when you step in, it automatically is ready to play), or carry the adapter like the rest of us videographers do. You're carrying a whole bag full of camera gear, what's a 0.01oz lightning to 3.5mm jack adapter add to the kit that's so overwhelmingly negative? In my video bag I keep a handful of lightning and USB-C accessories, card readers, HDMI outputs, etc. Always be prepared.

Honestly - this is a stretch. I really implore you to hit a store on Friday afternoon and try it for yourself. I bet most of your qualms will go away. If not, luckily they still make and sell the 6S for those who aren't interested in the progression of this tech. Grab a new battery and keep going.
 
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Combo with the remaining buttons
  • Wake: Click Side button once.
  • Siri: Click and hold Side button.
  • Off/SOS: Click and hold Side button and either Volume button. (Just squeeze.)
  • Apple Pay: Click Side button twice.
  • Accessibility: Click Side button three times. (If enabled in Settings.)
  • Screenshot: Click Side button and Volume Up.
  • Reset: Click Volume Up, Volume Down, then click and hold Side button.
 
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Better screen (makes everything better that you use the screen for, which is um, everything). Face ID, no more user input require for authentication. This opens a whole bunch of user awareness features. New design, no more unsightly bezels and chins, also reducing the overall size. Gesture based UI, this opens up system wide gestures for phone interactions. Multitasking for instance, is much faster. I am sure there is more, but we really don't need another thread. If you don't like it, don't buy it and move on. How does the iPhone 8 improve the user experience? It doesn't. You can make this argument a lot, it's tired.
 
For me it is really simple. More vertical screen space (which is 95% of my phone usage, viewing lists of things) without being much taller than the normal sized 8, better battery than the similarly sized 8, and dual cameras on a smaller phone than the plus.

Also I'm a big fan of system UI gestures, on my iPad I rarely touch the home button, other than to unlock. I think ultimately the home bar will be more efficient than clicking the home button (Because in the process of swiping, your thumb is now in place to interact with the device, whereas your thumb is below the screen when clicking.)
 
Mark Holmes said:
Watching the release and now reviews of the iPhone X has me looking over and over again trying to figure out the appeal. I know it's cleaner and sleeker, and has less ports and buttons, that it has an OLED screen.... etc.
What's lost in all this is the question that keeps coming to my mind: how does the continuing removal of buttons and ports from Apple products improve the user experience? I still carry a iPhone 6S Plus, and I constantly use the home button in a way that the iPhone X does not provide an alternative means of achieving. I turn off alarms and reminders by reaching in my pocket and pressing the home button. I hold down the home button, still in my pocket, to activate Siri through my AirPods. I use the headphone jack in my oldest car to play music through the car stereo, and sometimes on jobs to play back wired speakers, as part of my videographer occupation.
The continuing removal of ports and buttons on iPhones and other Apple products has me looking at other options. Do the people in charge at Apple remember that we have hands and fingers? The way something works, in the physical world, is as important, if not more important, than the way it looks.
Click to expand...
maybe you could let us use it for a few weeks so we can answer with something other than guesses/second hand info?

(though i think some of your home button worries aren’t going to be problem on X.. you’ll likely be able to do all those things on an X.. different buttons though)
 
Mark Holmes said:
Yes, I understand alll your points, but how does the removal of the home button, and on the 7, the headphone jack, and on the MacBook Pro, the SD card port, usb a, usb 2, MagSafe, etc., IMPROVE the user experience?
Click to expand...

You need to not look at it as what does the removal do, but more so of what these are even used for anymore.

1. Headphone jacks. . . The phones come with lightning headphones as well as adapters. Anyone who cries about this is being petty. I have been using these fine since inception and never once thought my life would improve by using straight 3.5mm ports any longer

2. Home button was a 10 yr old initial design to browse back to home. The physical button was removed last year, Anyone with any common sense could have seen the next step was to remove. It serves little purpose with gestures. More so, everyone wants a full face screen. YOu cant have that with a button on the front.

3. SD card slot should never be in this topic. It was never on any of the Iphones and likely never will be. I can say that connecting a device with an SD card is not as intuitive as onboard storage for car use and other larger devices. SD card slots is another one of those, no one uses. They have external adapters to use via usb.

the rest I cannot comment on as I do not know where you are going with it. USB ports are changed standards for speed mainly. more powah!
[doublepost=1509479306][/doublepost]SImplest way to put this. . .. Everyone wants progression in technology. Everyone complains Apple does not change enough and too far behind on tech.
Apple changes things to please people and then they cry that why did they take away these old things. . . . We want new stuff, but also want all the old stuff too.

You guys are amazing sometimes. Adapt to change. If you want new tech, you will need to give up old tech for it. Keeping some of these options is about as dumb as having a BluRay player/VCR combo.
 
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fs454 said:
Multitasking is way, way, way, wayyyyyyyyy faster on the X thanks to the lack of the home button. This is honestly what I'm most excited about.
Click to expand...

I've found the existing 3D Touch app switcher to be quite faster and better than using the home button. Losing that in 11.0.x (and now we get it back in 11.1) has really made me realize how much I liked that feature. Looking forward to upgrading tonight and getting it back.

The X multi-tasking does look like it might be even better. But I'll have to get my hands on one before I can judge that. Many people don't like the 3DT app switcher, though. YMMV for any of this. For me, a lot of swipe gestures are difficult to use reliably even after years of practice (e.g. lock screen camera shortcut), so I remain skeptical regarding the usability that requires even more swipes, and practice to get the hang of.
 
nilk said:
I've found the existing 3D Touch app switcher to be quite faster and better than using the home button. Losing that in 11.0.x (and now we get it back in 11.1) has really made me realize how much I liked that feature. Looking forward to upgrading tonight and getting it back.

The X multi-tasking does look like it might be even better. But I'll have to get my hands on one before I can judge that. Many people don't like the 3DT app switcher, though. YMMV for any of this. For me, a lot of swipe gestures are difficult to use reliably even after years of practice (e.g. lock screen camera shortcut), so I remain skeptical regarding the usability that requires even more swipes, and practice to get the hang of.
Click to expand...


3D Touch app switching was a game changer for me too. Anything to avoid the whole double tap, wait for the animation to finish, scroll to the desired app, stop, tap it, and done. I'm glad to have it back with 11.1 for the next week.

3D touch allows you to invoke it a bit faster and switch to the last used app without having to go to the whole switcher. The X takes it a lot further just allowing an immediate swipe left/right to cycle apps. There are, I guess, a lot of people that don't mind the added steps, but for me I want to be able to jump through apps as fast as I do on macOS. The X enables that.

From everything I've seen and read, this absolutely nothing like the clunky swipe to camera from the lock screen. It's gonna be responsive and fast.
 
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I'm sure I'll get used to it but I'm a little tired of Apple doing more and more functions with less and less. Press light and this happens, press medium then hard press. Press 1, press 2 press 3. How long will the side button last? I know it is progress but hit the wrong button the wrong number of times and you could wipe every iphone if 6 miles
 
To the OP... I don't think it will improve your user experience, at least not right away. You are attached to the home button and the headphone jack and don't sound ready to learn a new "workflow". Based on your description of how you use your 6S Plus, you would have more adjusting to do than most. I'm not sure how to accomplish some of the things you do now on the X without pulling it out of your pocket, or getting an Apple Watch.

I think it's clear why Apple made these changes. They wanted a more compact design, edge-to-edge screen, water resistant case, etc. so they needed to make these changes to accomplish all that. They also developed a number of new gestures to make it all work well.

If you forget about how prior iPhones work for a moment, I think you would find that the X is a great design. Nothing about it is difficult once you learn it.

But it is very different from past iPhones. It will take getting used to. If you are finding yourself not ready for that, definitely hold off. It's understandable.
 
Mark Holmes said:
Watching the release and now reviews of the iPhone X has me looking over and over again trying to figure out the appeal. I know it's cleaner and sleeker, and has less ports and buttons, that it has an OLED screen.... etc.
What's lost in all this is the question that keeps coming to my mind: how does the continuing removal of buttons and ports from Apple products improve the user experience? I still carry a iPhone 6S Plus, and I constantly use the home button in a way that the iPhone X does not provide an alternative means of achieving. I turn off alarms and reminders by reaching in my pocket and pressing the home button. I hold down the home button, still in my pocket, to activate Siri through my AirPods. I use the headphone jack in my oldest car to play music through the car stereo, and sometimes on jobs to play back wired speakers, as part of my videographer occupation.
The continuing removal of ports and buttons on iPhones and other Apple products has me looking at other options. Do the people in charge at Apple remember that we have hands and fingers? The way something works, in the physical world, is as important, if not more important, than the way it looks.
Click to expand...

Duh. It’s much smaller with almost
No loss in screen real estate
 
serialiphoneuser said:
The real reason for iPhone X, was to show that they could "innovate" and to come out with an anniversary edition device. With not many other cosmetic changes to be done, they removed the home button and in the process of "innovating" added a notch at the top.
iPhone X is a concept/experimental phone with nothing that improves ease of use, if at all it really deteriorates the iOS experience.
Click to expand...

Literally EVERYBODY who has had time with it, disagrees with you.
 
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