The Two most important features on a Smartphone (without being accused of stating the obvious).
• Screen
• Battery life
Therefore to design the perfect smartphone ALL of the screen incl. egde will be display real estate.
Is iPhone "X" No
Battery 48 hrs+ medium to heavy use
Is iPhone "X" I very much doubt it
Based on competition (see below) apple would have been better delaying iPhone X by 2 months.
Xiaomi to Debut Mi Mix 2 on Monday bazel-less
Huawei Mate 10 release 16/10/17
bazel-less
Roll the clock forward 5 years all of the device will be screen incl. the rear.
These
https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/gemini-pda-android-linux-keyboard-mobile-device-phone#/ will also make a come back and by then the outer case will be screen.