iPhone X Review Roundup: Face ID Works Well as Life Without Home Button Takes Getting Used To

[syncopy]

The only outlets having trouble with FaceID are the ones who had the X for less than 24 hours. No offense to the Verge, but they have a tendency of over blowing issues that most people don’t have. The claim made about holding it wrong is true, just like you don’t use TouchID with the wrong finger. The TechCrunch review at Disneyland stated that FaceID worked really well outdoors and indoors, in bright sun and dark rooms. So, what is the truth?

 

[KPOM]

TouchID became pretty damn close to perfect in version 2.

It still struggles in humid environments.

 

[Otaviano]

The only outlets having trouble with FaceID are the ones who had the X for less than 24 hours. No offense to the Verge, but they have a tendency of over blowing issues that most people don’t have. The claim made about holding it wrong is true, just like you don’t use TouchID with the wrong finger. The TechCrunch review at Disneyland stated that FaceID worked really well outdoors and indoors, in bright sun and dark rooms. So, what is the truth?

The Verge has become **** in recent years. They so clearly grade Apple on a curve compared to other companies. I was a little irritated in their review how much focus he put on apps that were not updated for the iPhone X screen size. It just seems strange to focus on that when you are reviewing a press release unit. You honestly think apps are not going to be punctually updated for the new screen size?

I have to say I was wrong about FaceID. I was a FaceID skeptic, maybe because I think TouchID works so incredibly well. However having seen FaceID in action I now think it's going to make people forget all about TouchID. I especially like seeing how it integrates with apps. I saw a video of someone unlocking 1Password with it and it just seems so much better than TouchID.

 

[Kingmarz]

iPhone X - the first Apple product released since the TAM that I have absolutely zero interest in buying. Make that negative interest - I'd be willing to pay MORE for an iPhone 8+, 8, or an updated SE (sadface). Can't wait for this rubbish to die off.

You sound like a hater, you probably are bitter you preordered late.

 

[macfacts]

The only outlets having trouble with FaceID are the ones who had the X for less than 24 hours. No offense to the Verge, but they have a tendency of over blowing issues that most people don’t have. The claim made about holding it wrong is true, just like you don’t use TouchID with the wrong finger. The TechCrunch review at Disneyland stated that FaceID worked really well outdoors and indoors, in bright sun and dark rooms. So, what is the truth?

Who's fault is it that some reviewers only got less than 24hrs to review?

 

[john123]

You sound like a hater, you probably are bitter you preordered late.

Good grief, are the personal insults really necessary? (Answer: no.)

He's allowed to not be a fan of it. I'm not a fan either. And I happened to be up and awake when preorders began.

This may come as a shock to you, but different people like and prioritize different things.

 

[dampfnudel]

It still struggles in humid environments.

I don't recall having issues in humid conditions lately. I had issues with first gen of TouchID. I do clean it once in a while to prevent dirt from causing problems.

 

[KPOM]

I don't recall having issues in humid conditions lately. I had issues with first gen of TouchID. I do clean it once in a while to prevent dirt from causing problems.

I still have issues with TouchID. Not as many as before, but it still doesn’t register sometimes.

 

[john123]

What is a lot of money? I’m just saying a grand for a top end smartphone is no big deal. They’ve been $700-$800 forever.

That's a non-argument. First, it's a purchase people make once a year at most, and often less frequently. Not daily or weekly or even monthly. This isn't like going to Chili's and deciding to try the fajitas for the first time because you're curious.

Second, the point was that it's a chunk of money for something sight unseen and untested. With smartphones, we generally aren't talking about major shifts in tech that affect day to day usability.

 

[springsup]

Lol inventing issues that don't exist + plus mentioning you're not buying one.

Look, its OK that there is a great new iPhone that you're not buying. You don't have to invent issues with it to make yourself feel bettter.

I've owned iPhones since the gen 1 (not all of them, I upgrade every 2/3 models like most people). I was really looking forward to this device and really intent on buying one. Really, even though I'm sceptical of FaceID, I was still considering buying one (basically, because I can afford it, and I enjoy technology, and it's a radical change to the device I've used every day for the last decade, so why not?)

But after seeing these reviews? I was wrong - FaceID isn't the biggest issue, the home button is. If I imagine performing those gestures on my iPhone 6s, especially while walking, distracted, drunk, (or all of the above...) I would worry about it flipping out of my grip. Additionally, the clicking action of the home-button doesn't give me those worries.

So yeah - FaceID looks like something which might be good in gen. 2, but I'm worried about gestures replacing the home button.

Try to use reachability.

The reachability gesture looks like a joke - it requires a fine degree of motor precision that I won't always be able to give, otherwise that phone is going to end up flat on the ground.

Specifically it’s the lack of a bottom bezel that makes it more difficult to reach the bottom of the screen (whether there’s a home button on it or not).

Bezels are useful, people seem to not realize or care. The top bezel houses the camera, sensors, and earpiece/speaker. The bottom bezel elevates the screen from the comfortable palm position so that it’s easier to reach the bottom with your thumb, and it can optionally house a touch id/home button and a front-facing speaker (if Apple were so inclined). Either the top or bottom bezel allows you to more easily grip the phone in landscape. Even the tiny side bezels help prevent accidental touches of the palm when reaching across with your thumb, not to mention protective cases need something to overlap. They’re all functional. (The top bezel could have stood to be slimmer in past iphones but I understand Apple wants symmetry.) And palm/accidental touch rejection isn’t 100% reliable like a bezel, and it doesn’t help with your fingers covering the screen.

As I see it, getting rid of bezels ultimately puts form over function.

Absolutely. I feel you understand my concern better than the others who replied. It's weird, because this would mean that Samsung actually has a better-designed device than Apple. I'm not giving up iOS, but still, that's pretty shocking.

As for putting form over function? The notch. They could have blacked-out the background on either side and blended the status icons in to the device bezel (especially tempting on OLED, with the super-deep blacks). But no - Apple couldn't stand to have a single bezel on the device, so they extended the App content with these weird "ears" that make everything look crap.

 

[Kingmarz]

Good grief, are the personal insults really necessary? (Answer: no.)

He's allowed to not be a fan of it. I'm not a fan either. And I happened to be up and awake when preorders began.

This may come as a shock to you, but different people like and prioritize different things.

If you aren’t a fan why were you up for the preorder?

 

[john123]

If you aren’t a fan why were you up for the preorder?

Work. I'm a night owl.

 

[Kingmarz]

Work. I'm a night owl.

Ok well then idk why you even made the connection between you being up for preorder for work. My comment was because I don’t understand how someone can insinuate that the iPhone SE and 8 plus is a better product than the X. IMO that person is a hater if not please help me understand the logic

 

[john123]

Ok well then idk why you even made the connection between you being up for preorder for work. My comment was because I don’t understand how someone can insinuate that the iPhone SE and 8 plus is a better product than the 8. IMO that person is a hater if not please help me understand the logic

I said it because you accused the other guy of being bitter because he "preordered late." My point is that as I was up and awake, and as I don't want an iPhone X, you can't say I'm bitter for that reason. Clicking a few buttons at midnight would have been trivial.

The logic for preferring an iPhone 8 is really, really simple. Some people don't like the notch. Some people don't like losing Touch ID. And some people don't like losing the physical button. It all comes down to how you use your device and how you WANT to use your device. In product development the various scenarios are referred to as use cases. There are several use cases that favor the old design. That doesn't make someone who prefers the 8 to the X a hater, just as it also wouldn't be fair to call everyone who prefers the X to be a "fanboy."

 

[MEJHarrison]

It all comes down to how you use your device and how you WANT to use your device.

First of all, I agree with that statement. It's nice that they came out with the 8 line for those who still prefer that.

Second of all, I recall a fair number of users, much like today, who didn't want Touch ID either. Sometimes we don't know what we want until we have it. The forums these days are quite similar to back then. Lots of people were skeptical, not trusting, came up with outrageous scenarios (cutting off of thumbs for example), etc. Same posts, different technology. I'm excited to see if it has a similar outcome.

I'm excited to try something new. I love new technology and like being on the bleeding edge. Others aren't ready to moved on yet. That's cool. People should keep what they have, upgrade to one of the many other options Apple offers or switch to another phone altogether. Like you said, it's your device and it should do what you want. That's all that really matters.

FYI, I have my own pre-order sob story. Instead of next week like it should have been, I had to go to the back of the line the next morning and order a second time. I'm now looking at mid-December. My 6 Plus will last me just fine until then. Not thrilled of course, but it's not going to spoil my day either.

 

[john123]

First of all, I agree with that statement. It's nice that they came out with the 8 line for those who still prefer that.

Second of all, I recall a fair number of users, much like today, who didn't want Touch ID either. Sometimes we don't know what we want until we have it. The forums these days are quite similar to back then. Lots of people were skeptical, not trusting, came up with outrageous scenarios (cutting off of thumbs for example), etc. Same posts, different technology. I'm excited to see if it has a similar outcome.

I'm excited to try something new. I love new technology and like being on the bleeding edge. Others aren't ready to moved on yet. That's cool. People should keep what they have, upgrade to one of the many other options Apple offers or switch to another phone altogether. Like you said, it's your device and it should do what you want. That's all that really matters.

I agree wholeheartedly. Especially with the notion that some people resist change because it IS change. It has often surprised me how many of those people are Apple users--because as long as I've been alive, Apple hasn't shied away from risks. How long was "Think Different" the primary advertising slogan? A long time.

I always have liked getting the newest and latest and greatest, although I happen to think the criticisms and concerns this time around carry more clout. But I do hope those fade away. I'd like to feel compelled to get a new device.

 

[everythingapplerainbow]

Developers need time to optimize guys

 

[Abazigal]

Who's fault is it that some reviewers only got less than 24hrs to review?

Nobody is forcing these news outlets to release their reviews on day one. That’s like staying up late to watch a late-night movie and then blaming your lack of sleep on the TV station for screening the show at such a time.

 

[Zebraman83]

Can bloggers please stop shooting outdoor photos and boasting about the quality. Outdoor photos with lots of sunlight has been good on every phone since 2007 and point and shoots long before that and is no longer representational of the quality of a camera today. If you can shoot in low light without focus issues or noise, then you have a good quality phone camera.

Hey look, I shot a photo outdoors on my phone that looks like every other photo shot on any phone in the last 10 years, but this one is somehow better because I paid $1000 for it!

The iPhone low light camera shots have not beaten Samsung for years

 

[caesarp]

The only outlets having trouble with FaceID are the ones who had the X for less than 24 hours. No offense to the Verge, but they have a tendency of over blowing issues that most people don’t have. The claim made about holding it wrong is true, just like you don’t use TouchID with the wrong finger. The TechCrunch review at Disneyland stated that FaceID worked really well outdoors and indoors, in bright sun and dark rooms. So, what is the truth?

I'm buying the iPhone X, but I do have an issue with FaceID that nobody has really mentioned -- ApplePay.

Now, with touchID, you can hold your phone to a POS reader and it will bring up ApplePay, you then do TouchID -- bang it's done. With IPhone X, the process is, double click side button, then use Face ID then hold phone to POS reader. AND, if you need to change from default card, you have to use FaceID AGAIN. So the process seems worse. Also, I liked being able to hold phone to reader FIRST, to see if it even brought up Apple PAy -- that way you knew the merchant/hardware took applePay (usually). Now, holding the phone to the reader won't tell you that. Why did Apple change this? I liked not having to do anything to bring up apple pay other than hold phone near reader.

So now you have to double-click, authenticate via faceID, and then perhaps find out they don't really accept apple pay at that merchant, despite having the hardware that looks like they do?????? To me, this is a step backward.

See Apple Pay section here (starting at the bottom of page 4):

https://images.apple.com/business/docs/FaceID_Security_Guide.pdf

 

[MEJHarrison]

Also, I liked being able to hold phone to reader FIRST, to see if it even brought up Apple PAy -- that way you knew the merchant/hardware took applePay (usually). Now, holding the phone to the reader won't tell you that.

Really? I've not read that anywhere. Do you have a source for this? I know they were doing it differently in the video, but you can do it differently today as well. I just double clicked my home button and authenticated. All that's left is to hold it up to the reader (not that there's a card reader at my desk). So did they just not demo the other method of doing this or is the other method no longer available?

 

[subjonas]

Absolutely. I feel you understand my concern better than the others who replied. It's weird, because this would mean that Samsung actually has a better-designed device than Apple. I'm not giving up iOS, but still, that's pretty shocking.

As for putting form over function? The notch. They could have blacked-out the background on either side and blended the status icons in to the device bezel (especially tempting on OLED, with the super-deep blacks). But no - Apple couldn't stand to have a single bezel on the device, so they extended the App content with these weird "ears" that make everything look crap.

Completely agree on all points.

 

[syncopy]

I'm buying the iPhone X, but I do have an issue with FaceID that nobody has really mentioned -- ApplePay.

Now, with touchID, you can hold your phone to a POS reader and it will bring up ApplePay, you then do TouchID -- bang it's done. With IPhone X, the process is, double click side button, then use Face ID then hold phone to POS reader. AND, if you need to change from default card, you have to use FaceID AGAIN. So the process seems worse. Also, I liked being able to hold phone to reader FIRST, to see if it even brought up Apple PAy -- that way you knew the merchant/hardware took applePay (usually). Now, holding the phone to the reader won't tell you that. Why did Apple change this? I liked not having to do anything to bring up apple pay other than hold phone near reader.

So now you have to double-click, authenticate via faceID, and then perhaps find out they don't really accept apple pay at that merchant, despite having the hardware that looks like they do?????? To me, this is a step backward.

See Apple Pay section here (starting at the bottom of page 4):

https://images.apple.com/business/docs/FaceID_Security_Guide.pdf

Totally agree with you on this. They should rethink Apply Pay on the X. It works fine, but like you said, the extra steps aren't appreciated. Let's hope for a software update in the future, or at least an option to change it with iOS 12.

 

[caesarp]

Really? I've not read that anywhere. Do you have a source for this? I know they were doing it differently in the video, but you can do it differently today as well. I just double clicked my home button and authenticated. All that's left is to hold it up to the reader (not that there's a card reader at my desk). So did they just not demo the other method of doing this or is the other method no longer available?

Source was in my post: See this document at the Apple Pay section (starting at the bottom of page 4):
https://images.apple.com/business/docs/FaceID_Security_Guide.pdf
[doublepost=1509648626][/doublepost]

Totally agree with you on this. They should rethink Apply Pay on the X. It works fine, but like you said, the extra steps aren't appreciated. Let's hope for a software update in the future, or at least an option to change it with iOS 12.

I don't think they will change it. Supposedly it's a security feature to show "intent". I don't get it though? There is nothing insecure about revealing the wallet unintentionally. It only shows the last 4 digits of the default card. The double click seems like an unnecessary step. If I'm holding it at the reader, isn't that intent?

 

[MEJHarrison]

Source was in my post: See this document at the Apple Pay section (starting at the bottom of page 4):
https://images.apple.com/business/docs/FaceID_Security_Guide.pdf
[doublepost=1509648626][/doublepost]

That still doesn't tell me the old method no longer works. I just tells me a single method of using Apple Pay with the new phone. It doesn't specify that it's the only method. It doesn't say the old way no longer works.

My guess is we'll find out the old way still does work, but that's purely a guess on my part.