iPhone X Named One of the '25 Best Inventions of 2017' by TIME

[jonnysods]

Is the iPhone X an invention or an iteration?

 

[gavroche]

I'm a fan of apple but c'mon give me a break. One of the best inventions? What about all other phones that look a lot like the iPhone X? Man, it's gotta be nice to have enough money to change the narrative/influence of a product.

No different than someone being named Sexiest Person of the Year. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and everyone has different tastes.
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So an iteration of the iPhone makes it to the best inventions of 2017? Time Magazine is really hurting this year.

If someone invents a viable hover car, will it just be another iteration of a car?

 

[KPOM]

Is it really considered inventing something if all they did was buy an Israeli facial recognition company for $2B?

People said the same about TouchID. It’s not like Apple just slapped a prepackaged module into the phone. They had to develop and miniaturize it and integrate it with the rest of the hardware.

 

[jdawgnoonan]

That whole list is kind of bogus, actually.

 

[npmacuser5]

Nice to see Apple taking risks and innovating again. Was it not many folks ripping Apple for not innovating. Here we are, they get some innovation recognition, and many still complain.

 

[fmalloy]

The end of bezels and Touch ID

The end of bezels? What do you call that black border that runs around the thing?

 

[gijoeinla]

The end of bezels? What do you call that black border that runs around the thing?

Gee how bout the elimination of the home button? Thankfully mine shipped yesterday. Saw one at an Apple Store last week and it’s a beautiful piece of innovation.

 

[Delgibbons]

Monobrow. No headphone Jack. qi charging.

Innovative my ass
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The end of bezels? What do you call that black border that runs around the thing?

Massive bloody border that every review conveniently ignores

 

[dukeblue219]

Man, imagine a phone that's powered by light, kind of like those EcoDrive Citizen watches. I realize watches are a really small sample size but THAT would be revolutionary. Could be used as a way to increase battery life a little bit more not necessarily as a way to run the entire phone.

If you covered the entire back with solar cells you could get about a watt of solar power in direct sunlight. That's probably enough to make a noticeable difference in battery life, but not enough to actually keep your battery charged. Of course, you wouldn't be able to use your phone.

For normal usage, even if you assume you leave your phone out on a coffee table or desk during the day, indoor lighting won't give you enough power to do anything. Maybe at the end of the day you have 31% left instead of 30%. Just not worth the tradeoffs in complexity, cost, thickness, and so forth.

 

[Breaking Good]

Do people still actually read TIME magazine?

 

[NoThanks2U]

Time magazine... do you have any subscribers? Or are you just trying to please Apple fans?

 

[waquzy]

I still think the iPhone's FaceID is the game changer and of course the phone is bloody stunning

 

[jdmachogg]

'Invention'? Lol. Thats what is considered an invention now?

 

[apolloa]

Well, if they consider this to be an ‘invention’ then I shudder to think what they class as a evolution?

Yes Time, Apple has ‘invented’ the bezelles smartphone, that’s what this stories title says to me

 

[Boatboy24]

I invented the spreadsheet this morning. Oh wait, I just created a new one that I thought was pretty cool.

 

[adnbek]

Ok, let's not throw around the "depth mapping of the face" PR BS. If you believe all that crap, I have a bridge to sell you.

It's a face scanner, same as LG, Samsung, Microsoft and numerous others. They all unlock by scanning your face at the same rate of speed. I've been unlocking my Surface Book with my face just as quickly for 2 years now.

Sounds like you have no clue how Face ID works and, what’s worse, you have the nerve to spout off as if you had a clue. Which you don’t. Sorry to burst that ignorance bubble of yours. I’m sure it was very warm and comfy in there.

It’s like you saying “oh we’ve had touchscreens before” when comparing resistive and capacitive screens.

 

[mmm1345]

Again, "Face scanner" is not the invention in question. Please cite "plenty of smartphones" that use depth mapping of the face to do face scanning.
[doublepost=1510859604][/doublepost]Sure, just as soon as you accept that the design of all the other Android phones is a ripoff of the iPhone that has been on the market for 10 years.

If you are applying that stupid logic then accept the fact the original iPhone ripped off all of its ideas from Microsoft's original Surface Table project. Go look it up and educate yourself.

 

[CarlJ]

Ok, let's not throw around the "depth mapping of the face" PR BS. If you believe all that crap, I have a bridge to sell you.

Well, if we're throwing out the facts, then I'll have to decline your bridge offer, because I don't have room for it in my flying saucer.

 

[Wowereit]

First I thought: iPhone? In 2017? Really? What's the new invention?
And then I saw fidget spinners and a battery powered mug...
Wow, just wow. I guess iPhone X is one of the most deserved ones on this list, although it shouldn't have made it in the first place.

 

[5105973]

If you covered the entire back with solar cells you could get about a watt of solar power in direct sunlight. That's probably enough to make a noticeable difference in battery life, but not enough to actually keep your battery charged. Of course, you wouldn't be able to use your phone.

For normal usage, even if you assume you leave your phone out on a coffee table or desk during the day, indoor lighting won't give you enough power to do anything. Maybe at the end of the day you have 31% left instead of 30%. Just not worth the tradeoffs in complexity, cost, thickness, and so forth.

I think @dLifeHD meant if someone would invent or iterate a much more efficient and effective form of the technology and then make it affordable for mass production. Clearly we aren’t at that level, yet. But we can dream.

 

[ET3SW]

We live in heady times folks. iPhone X named as 25 Best Inventions of 2017, Colin Kaepernick named "Citizen of The Year" by GQ...

Haha i knew someone would mention this! It's heady times indeed..lol

 

[doelcm82]

If someone invents a viable hover car, will it just be another iteration of a car?

Some will say yes, and some will say no.

One of the other inventions on the list is an iteration of the elevator.

 

[ke-iron]

I'm a fan of apple but c'mon give me a break. One of the best inventions? What about all other phones that look a lot like the iPhone X? Man, it's gotta be nice to have enough money to change the narrative/influence of a product.

You’re another one of those who are about looks I see.

 

[dampfnudel]

Replace the word “best” with the word “popular” or “trendy” and it’s true.

I bought one and I love it! Still not sure if it was worth the money but selling my unlocked 6s for $250.00 helped. I didn’t quite pay a grand for it and it is my primary computing device and will be for the next several years.

The line between "best" and "popular" often gets blurred these days, especially with a 20th Century media organization trying to stay relevant in the 21th Century.

 

[iLLUMI]

"Invention"? How do they define 'invention'?
I would put the iPhone X in the top 10 best product "evolutions" of 2017.
The iPhone X is an evolution but not an invention. Or are the number of changes in the iPhone X significant enough to warrant it being named as an "invention"?