I wanted to like the X, but...

[rasputin1969]

Yeah, having the fastest phone with the most accurate screen and an amazing camera from a company with the best customer service makes them not even remotely competitive since they don’t throw on the latest gimmicks ans fads.

Yes - it looks like Samsung did a great job with that screen.

 

[michial]

That's my concern, I'd rather not be on the bleeding edge with my phone.
[doublepost=1505302040][/doublepost]
they need space for the front camera, so its either a notch, or a bezel - pick your poison.

Rather have a straight bezel. That notch is very ugly and distracting.

 

[jkozlow3]

Exactly. The iPhone X should start off with at least 128GB for the price. I was a bit shocked to see that they kept the iPhone 6S in the lineup. I think iOS is going to become much more glitchy with Apple trying to optimize the software for 5 different phones, all of which have different capabilities.

Keep in mind that they'd have to optimize iOS for all the phones regardless of whether they keep them in the lineup or not. iOS 11 is supported as far back as the 5S.

 

[Marshall73]

I paid £900+ for my iPhone 7 256GB so £1149 this year for the X isn't an issue.

 

[cardfan]

It's an OLED iphone. I would've taken an iphone 8 plus with OLED...take my money now. But I think Apple felt pressure to go full screen which of course brought up home button issues.

This is the future they've set for themselves and it looks pretty cool. Is it worth 1k? It's an Apple device. Apple always operates in the higher end. What we get is great integration between hardware & software. Apple tv, watch, mac, iphone, ipad. If you don't see the benefits of this then perhaps you really should switch to something else like a bloated forked android device, windows laptop, etc. You'll save money but you get what you pay for.

 

[dexterie]

It's an OLED iphone. I would've taken an iphone 8 plus with OLED...take my money now. But I think Apple felt pressure to go full screen which of course brought up home button issues.

This is the future they've set for themselves and it looks pretty cool. Is it worth 1k? It's an Apple device. Apple always operates in the higher end. What we get is great integration between hardware & software. Apple tv, watch, mac, iphone, ipad. If you don't see the benefits of this then perhaps you really should switch to something else like a bloated forked android device, windows laptop, etc. You'll save money but you get what you pay for.

Nah, I'm keeping the 7 Plus. As for the rest of the devices, I'm still happy with them.
And not all Android devices are forked or bloated.

 

[rasputin1969]

I paid £900+ for my iPhone 7 256GB so £1149 this year for the X isn't an issue.

Using that logic I assume you’d be ok with £1399 next year? Serious question - what would your limit be?

 

[dexterie]

Other factor that is important for me and in which Apple takes the crown: environment respect.
They try to manufacture their devices without (many) harmful chemicals. So, this is a plus.

 

[LostMyMarbles]

I feel the same way with what many of you said. The price in general for both phones is ridiculous to me. Apple testing out how loyal and how much people will buy a phone for future pricing. I'm honestly not even excited for the iphone. I'm excited for the Watch series 3. Innovation from apple died when Steve Jobs died. Now, it's all about catching up and raising the price on devices which will lead a path to higher priced phones as we already seen with the Samsung Note 8. I'm still on the fence with upgrading to iphone 8 or waiting out for the LG V30.

 

[pbonitati]

I’m sorry, but you obviously don’t want to be taken seriously if you’re going to say that the iPhone 8 and the iPhone 6 are the same phone.

He's right! It's the same basic design since the 6. I'd be ashamed to even present that. Look at the design changes made to the S line from Samsung over the last 4 years

 

[rasputin1969]

I feel the same way with what many of you said. The price in general for both phones is ridiculous to me. Apple testing out how loyal and how much people will buy a phone for future pricing. I'm honestly not even excited for the iphone. I'm excited for the Watch series 3. Innovation from apple died when Steve Jobs died. Now, it's all about catching up and raising the price on devices which will lead a path to higher priced phones as we already seen with the Samsung Note 8. I'm still on the fence with upgrading to iphone 8 or waiting out for the LG V30.

While I agree with you regarding the pricing I don’t think it’s fair to say Apple aren’t innovating. Promotion is a huge jump for forward, the Xs 3D sensor (if it works as well as Touch ID) is also huge. On the software front you’ve got ARKit. And that’s just this year alone.

 

[leman]

In my opinion there should be no iPhone 8 and we should have only the X as a new model, priced as the 7 was last year. That would be a bit more acceptable, no?

But isn't this exactly NOT the whole picture? The reason why X is so exclusive is simply because its components so advanced that even the richest company in the world can't get them fast enough. Actually, given the state of the tech, we should have gotten iPhone 8 and no iPhone X, since its literally future tech. Still, Apple needs to stay ahead of the curve. A business model of releasing experimental "future tech" at lower availability and higher price in order to give the tech a test run has some merit. It worked very well for Tesla, for instance.

I totally agree with you that paying that kid of money for a phone is silly, but I am still getting one. Not because I want to be exclusive or I have to own the newest, but simply because I like this particular vision of the future and I'd like to be part of it now and not wait few years before it becomes commonplace.

 

[cardfan]

Nah, I'm keeping the 7 Plus. As for the rest of the devices, I'm still happy with them.
And not all Android devices are forked or bloated.

That's fine. IMO, I don't think Apple did a great job selling it or at least selling the potential it has. Also, I've said all along, more ecosystem upgrades/features please. That is Apple's strength. In fact, too much time was taken up with iphone 8 which should've been added quickly at end saying also wireless charging, a11.

We didn't see airplay 2.0. We didn't see what MORE stuff you can do with apple tv 4k and iphone X. More mac/ios integration. Apple watch as well. If they can give sneak peaks, then where was homepod? Would've been nice to see Apple come up with something other than emojis for the X.

If I had to choose wisely and could only upgrade every 2-3 years, this year isn't that year. A 7 Plus is fine in that line. And ideally you'd want Apple's next iteration of the X.

 

[GeoffR86]

I wanted to like the X too, but I really don't understand it as a product concept. What is it's purpose? It's been labelled as the iPhone "X" to mark the 10th anniversary of the original phone, yet doesn't pay homage to the original phone in any shape or form. Far from it, it tears up most of what made the original phone a hit in the first place. It doesn't embody the qualities that SJ conjured in the first iPhone (those qualities being among others simplicity, intuitiveness and capability).

I expected the X to at the very least deliver the best executed version of the 2017 trend in phones - the edge-to-edge display. Just look at the S8. It pains me to say it, but Samsung smashed the form factor out of the park with that one (IMO). The display on the X is not even close to being truly edge-to-edge. I can still see bezels right around the entire screen. And the notch at the top of the phone is something I could never imagine SJ being comfortable with.

And to top it all off, the X's headline features have already been seen on many phones within the past few years. There isn't any vision of the future in this phone. The fact that Cook even had the brass to call it the future of the smartphone is laughable.

I realise that this post makes me seem like a hater, but I couldn't be much more gutted right now. This is the first iPhone release I've genuinely looked forward to since 2014. I am going to be upgrading to the 8, because I can't see what Apple's intentions were with the X.

 

[stockscalper]

No argument, Samsung has had all of these features well before the X, and in fact I will say I like how they handled the lack of a home button better then that silly swiping up that you need to do.

The past few years I've seen a degradation in the simplicity that Apple used to embrace

Agreed. It seems like Apple just keeps releasing features Android phones have had for years, but acting like they invented it. I feel like Jobs would never have let this phone see the light of day with the ugly camera hump and notch in the front. He would have sent the design back. He was all about aesthetics and how the phone felt in your hand. I feel like Samsung's new phone with its slightly curve screen and thin bezels comes closer to something Jobs would have approved of.

In the end, it doesn't matter what I think; this phone will probably sell like hot cakes.

 

[leman]

And to top it all off, the X's headline features have already been seen on many phones within the past few years. There isn't any vision of the future in this phone.

There is a substantial difference between running a face detection algorithm on a photo and having a camera that is able to construct precise 3D representation of your face

Other smartphones might have had this feature earlier, but in fact, what they implemented is a cheap hack. This is also why its defeated so easily. Apple's implementation so far is industry firsts consumer product that attempts to do it right.

 

[cardfan]

He's right! It's the same basic design since the 6. I'd be ashamed to even present that. Look at the design changes made to the S line from Samsung over the last 4 years

If we remember way back when, the iphone 6 plus's screen was a compromise. It also involved rescaling iOS's native resolution. That was the most terrible iphone i ever bought and returned after a month because I couldn't stand the lag or stuttering (the 5S was better). Apple fixed it somewhat with faster 6S Plus and i was happy to keep that phone.

In the iphone 7 Plus, it was still disappointing to see that same compromised screen and rescaling. Better speakers and waterproofing made it a buy for me but just barely. So here we are now with iphone 8 Plus and STILL the same screen and scaling issues as iphone 6 plus. This is nothing more than a 7S (or 6SSS). Every phone after the 6 Plus has been an S version.

Next to this, the iphone X really does stand out.

 

[yanki01]

I wanted to be wowed by the X but gone are the days that I am by their products. i enjoy using them and of course iOS for it's simplicity but the hardware side hasn't done much for me. they're now always late to the party with features. they hold out purposely for the next year when it's already 2yrs too late. there's no bashing samsung now, if their phones could run iOS - i wouldn't hesitate. i've held out since purchasing the iP6 for a "new" design. even last year i still wasn't excited. I'm going to get the X but wished there was more. they're really trying to sell the animoji's, OLED and the selfie camera. the later 2 should have been implemented in the iP7. starting at 64GB...c'mon now. the notch bothered me but i'm hoping i can get used to it. i would have liked to see a top bezel for that to keep it more uniform.

i honestly believe next year will be better. the iP8 was just throwing a bone to a barking dog to see if they'll be quiet. they needed a better name for the "X" also. jumping from 8 to X just doesn't sound right? 2018 is 8s & Xs? 11? XI? keep is simple stupid.

 

[willmtaylor]

Yes - it looks like Samsung did a great job with that screen.

Sure, and they charge Apple a pretty penny for them. They have made more money supplying Apple than from selling handsets.

 

[mickeydean]

It's difficult to truly innovate. What can Apple really do that would have been the equivalent of hitting it out of the park?

I think the price is excessive and when you include video/whatever emojis it's a bit gimmicky. Much like the live photos deal with force touch, very gimmicky. I haven't found force touch useful since iphone 6/S.

FaceID and loss of homebutton, we'll adapt but is it better? Hard to say without extensive use. It seems the way of the future.

Screen and the compromise with the sensors up top, well I'm not sure what else would have been better.

The biggest progress will be iOS 11 I hope and that will work on my 6s plus.

 

[QCassidy352]

As a colleague of mine just put:

"In a different world, where all manufacturers have the same OS (be it iOS or Android), would you pay the extra for the an iPhone X?"

With all due respect to your colleague, that's just a silly comment. Everyone knows that one of the reasons you pay a premium for Apple devices is software that is arguably superior but undeniably better integrated with the hardware. Of course an iPhone is going to look like less of a good option if you take away that advantage, but doing so makes no sense. The advantage is there and it's real.

 

[GeoffR86]

There is a substantial difference between running a face detection algorithm on a photo and having a camera that is able to construct precise 3D representation of your face

Other smartphones might have had this feature earlier, but in fact, what they implemented is a cheap hack. This is also why its defeated so easily. Apple's implementation so far is industry firsts consumer product that attempts to do it right.

I admit, I was generalizing a little bit. And I agree FaceID looks like it will genuinely be useful, unlike other past attempts at a similar idea.

However FaceID is something that doesn't really excite me. The system it replaces was far more discreet. Can you imagine dancing in front of your phone at the supermarket to get it to recognize you so you can pay for the milk?

Everything else - OLED screen, wireless charging etc has all been done before. Which is fine, but don't bill the phone as the future of phones.

 

[willmtaylor]

He's right! It's the same basic design since the 6. I'd be ashamed to even present that. Look at the design changes made to the S line from Samsung over the last 4 years

Throw **** at the wall and seeing what sticks is easier than purposeful change for innovation. Different strokes for different folks I guess.

 

[dexterie]

With all due respect to your colleague, that's just a silly comment. Everyone knows that one of the reasons you pay a premium for Apple devices is software that is arguably superior but undeniably better integrated with the hardware. Of course an iPhone is going to look like less of a good option if you take away that advantage, but doing so makes no sense. The advantage is there and it's real.

It was just an "idea/hypothesis". Just to show that their hardware alone isn't that compelling anymore.

 

[cardfan]

I wanted to like the X too, but I really don't understand it as a product concept. What is it's purpose? It's been labelled as the iPhone "X" to mark the 10th anniversary of the original phone, yet doesn't pay homage to the original phone in any shape or form. Far from it, it tears up most of what made the original phone a hit in the first place. It doesn't embody the qualities that SJ conjured in the first iPhone (those qualities being among others simplicity, intuitiveness and capability).

I expected the X to at the very least deliver the best executed version of the 2017 trend in phones - the edge-to-edge display. Just look at the S8. It pains me to say it, but Samsung smashed the form factor out of the park with that one (IMO). The display on the X is not even close to being truly edge-to-edge. I can still see bezels right around the entire screen. And the notch at the top of the phone is something I could never imagine SJ being comfortable with.

And to top it all off, the X's headline features have already been seen on many phones within the past few years. There isn't any vision of the future in this phone. The fact that Cook even had the brass to call it the future of the smartphone is laughable.

I realise that this post makes me seem like a hater, but I couldn't be much more gutted right now. This is the first iPhone release I've genuinely looked forward to since 2014. I am going to be upgrading to the 8, because I can't see what Apple's intentions were with the X.

I get what you're saying but have a hard time caring about what Samsung is doing. If you want latest hardware, that's where you go. But for me, it's about hardware/software along with ecosystem. In fact, software is probably more important in that ratio. It makes Samsung a nonfactor for me and probably will continue to.

Apple had a hard time going to big screens earlier because of iOS. The aspect ratio and resolution of apps were set in stone and didn't auto adjust. (imagine these first apps on the iphone 6 Plus..they'd look terrible) You had a 3.5" screen at 3:2 (i think). To go bigger, they had to get that aspect ratio fixed and did in iphone 5. Iphone 6 allowed them to go bigger but even then still had resolution problems with the Plus.

And now iOS has that home button dependency that gave Apple a headache going with the latest craze..full screen OLED. To get around it, Apple had to go crazy with front camera scanning. iOS is looking even more like webOS now with the gestures. That home button was important though for simplicity. Older people know they can press it and get back to home screen. I dont' know if i'll like it til i use it.

Samsung never had these problems. Android isn't home button dependent. Android rescales automatically. Android allows Samsung to be a lot more flexible.