Top 10 iPhone X Tips and Tricks: Reachability, Face ID, Screenshots and More

[Krysha Nair]

How is the battery?

Krysha Nair

 

[OneMike]

I don’t see a need for reachability but it feels better on the X than plus to me.

 

[skillwill]

I remember when similar things were said about the iOS 7 redesign, for example, and yet there are apparently examples of tech illiterate people picking up phones (like 5c) with iOS 7 (or later) and using them just fine.

I agree but I was talking specifically about the iPhone X. Not sure of the relevance of your iOS 7 example (It's design changed but not the functionality), but we're talking about the X?

And to prove the original point, which you've somehow missed, iPhone X is the first iPhone in a long time to include an instruction pamphlet in the packaging and also, Apple released a 4 minute how to video on its YouTube channel.

 

[jonnysods]

Saw my first X in the flesh today.

Shouldn't have done that!! I'll filled with temptation, it's a great piece of tech.

 

[Recognition]

I love the fact that double clicking the side bar takes you to Apple Pay from wherever you are on the phone.

The old method with home button meant you could only double click the home button from the lock screen, otherwise you would have to hold the phone up to the NFC reader first and authenticate or navigate to the wallet app to pre-authenticate.
[doublepost=1510058476][/doublepost]

Its not intuitive if you need to be told how to use it.

If (for example) a person has never used an iPhone, and you asked them double click the home button, what action would they expect to happen?

 

[iapplelove]

I really haven’t had this much fun with a phone in a long long time. Maybe it’s the fact I held onto my 6 plus for 3 years lol I dunno.

But the iPhone X is a blast!
[doublepost=1510058883][/doublepost]

Saw my first X in the flesh today.

Shouldn't have done that!! I'll filled with temptation, it's a great piece of tech.

It’s sooo much fun. And I never say that about a smart phone. Best iPhone I ever owed and I’m on number 5 lol

 

[riverfreak]

I remember when similar things were said about the iOS 7 redesign, for example, and yet there are apparently examples of tech illiterate people picking up phones (like 5c) with iOS 7 (or later) and using them just fine.

Without a doubt, the downward slide in usability started with iOS7 with its overly precious, delicate, and cramped designs and arcane icons. I’ve been using tech since the mid 70s and I *still* feel confused about elements of iOS or it not doing what’s expected because it’s trying to be too clever for its own good.

I’d add that picking up a device and using it and using it effectively, efficiently and in a frustration-free manner are totally different things.

 

[Jimrod]

On my phone swipe up for control centre, now you have to swipe down from the upper right corner - talk about consistency

I remember when iPhones worked equally well for left or right-handed people, now you need to be a basketball player to get to the control centre as a left-hander...

 

[johngordon]

There is nothing accessible about iPhone X. Apple did away with a lot of user friendliness just to remove a home button. What a gimmick.

Nothing accessible sounds like a bit of a stretch.

What exactly isn't accessible?

 

[atxknepp]

For what it's worth, assistive touch can be accessed just by triple clicking the side button. And yes, there are people who need it and some people who like to use it.

 

[mrklaw]

There is nothing accessible about iPhone X. Apple did away with a lot of user friendliness just to remove a home button. What a gimmick.

Its more than just removing a home button

- removing the button gives you more screen, so bringing the content to the fore.
- FaceID is more than just unlocking - it removes some of the conscious actions you need to take - eg pressing touchID to validate a password manager, with FaceID it just does it while you're using the phone. And other use cases will develop over time I'm sure. It is a much more transparent UX by not having a button
- the gestures might seem like a lot to learn, but thats partly because you're so used to the home button. Those took some learning originally - you still have some complexity there like triple clicking, or double touch vs double click for reachability vs task switcher.
[doublepost=1510060826][/doublepost]

The magic of the iPhone was not needing instructions. I remember giving my 62 yr old, totally tech illiterate mother an iPhone 5C for the first time, she couldn’t believe how intuitive it was, everything you did ended up doing what you’d expect it too. Now it’s just a mush-mash of inconveniences. Sad.

The core 'press a button to go home' is now just 'swipe to go home'. Just as easy to understand IMO. The iphone has plenty of complex button/key combinations that need learning.

 

[jbizzybeetle]

pinch to zoom not available so far in any of my abc cbs nbc apps. only nbc expands to full screen and this is auto in landscape. abc cbs remain bezelled/pillar/ltr-boxed in landscape. p2z works fine in safari.

 

[mrklaw]

Yes, but you very much notice the video being extremely cropped.

I want apps to have smart zoom. Zoom to the extent of the black bars (if any). Also let me override and fill the screen if I want.

 

[doelcm82]

I've got a feature that was missed:

The suspension of awareness that would allow you to realize you just spend $1,000+ on a phone.
Sheesh.

Something tells me you'd object to spending $4000 on one of these:

Even if we sweetened the deal by telling you it could store thirty numbers in its memory.

 

[mrklaw]

I have used it.

So it is intuitive to swipe up from the bottom and pause until the app switcher appears.
Apart from not being intuitive, its also slower than double clicking the home button.

Its intuitive to press and hold the side button to get siri?
Double press it to get siri
Press same button plus volume to take a screenshot
press a bit longer to get the power off screen to appear.
To force reset instead press the volume down rather than up button
App gliding - tap and hold then move your thumb in an arc

On my phone swipe up for control centre, now you have to swipe down from the upper right corner - talk about consistency

You have to read the manual to figure out all these things or view a website so hence not intuitive...

sorry, my 62 year old grandmother called. She isn't sure how to get siri to work on her 5c. Whats that? long press a button you say?


Most of these are identical if you think about how 'obvious' they are to first time users. They all take some getting used to.

 

[dilbert99]

I love the fact that double clicking the side bar takes you to Apple Pay from wherever you are on the phone.

The old method with home button meant you could only double click the home button from the lock screen, otherwise you would have to hold the phone up to the NFC reader first and authenticate or navigate to the wallet app to pre-authenticate.
[doublepost=1510058476][/doublepost]
If (for example) a person has never used an iPhone, and you asked them double click the home button, what action would they expect to happen?

I wouldn't because I never said either approach was intuitive which was the point I was making.
The double clicking on home button is faster though once learned.
[doublepost=1510061437][/doublepost]

After reading this comment I started to think about the logic behind it and it actually makes a lot of sense.

• Swiping down on the the time brings you to the Cover Sheet which is basically a screen with the time really large and with missed notifications.
• Swiping down from the cell signal and Wi-Fi bar and battery indicator brings you to Control Centre which has all kinds of toggles to make changes to cellular data, Wi-Fi, battery saving, etc.
• Swiping up to go back home also makes sense from an animation standpoint.

So to me it even makes more sense now! In a couple of years all iPhones and iPads will adopt these gestures and we've forgotten about how all previous iPhones worked

it makes sense now? So it is not intuitive then.

 

[mingravity]

I keep seeing the camera's over there in the video flashing (red) every time u use the face ID while mine doesn't (I own an iPhone X ) so im really wondering if theres a problem with my phone ?

its just coz of video recording frame rate. its too quick to be detected by human eye directly.

 

[tuan time]

I've always used the assistive touch button ever since the iPhone 4. So many options in that one place, i.e. screenshot, multitasking, notification center, control center, etc. It is an eye sore at times, but I put up with it for its convenience.

 

[dilbert99]

sorry, my 62 year old grandmother called. She isn't sure how to get siri to work on her 5c. Whats that? long press a button you say?


Most of these are identical if you think about how 'obvious' they are to first time users. They all take some getting used to.

Exactly, I was pointing out that someone said they were intuitive. They are not, they are a learned behaviour.

 

[deuxani]

[doublepost=1510061437][/doublepost]
it makes sense now? So it is not intuitive then.

Well, to be honest, Control Centre and Notification Centre on all other iPhones are also not intuitive as there is no indication that something is there. The only intuitive thing on older iPhones is the home button, that's it. So by that logic nothing apart from physical buttons are intuitive. And even those, someone still needs to tell you to press that button to make it do what you want. If I wouldn't tell a tech illiterate anything about the home button they would probably just press the power button to try to close an app.

 

[ftf]

I've got a feature that was missed:

The suspension of awareness that would allow you to realize you just spend $1,000+ on a phone.
Sheesh.

I'm not defending the $1000+ cost but just lol if you still think in terms of this, or any smartphone being only a phone. Stating the obvious but it's gone way beyond that now. For me personally, making cellular calls is probably my least-used feature.

 

[Recognition]

I wouldn't because I never said either approach was intuitive which was the point I was making.
The double clicking on home button is faster though once learned.

Sorry, I was under the impression you thought the original home buttons actions are intuitive straight out of the box.
All actions on the iPhone, both old and new need to be learnt, if something feels intuitive its probably only because we've learnt it from another device previously.

 

[mark34]

i guess you don't have one. it actually feels more natural to use after just a few hours.

This.

 

[C DM]

11.0.1

Didn't realize iPhone X came with 11.0.1. In any case, as I recall, you need 11.1 or newer for reachability to be there.

 

[mark34]

The new gestures are easy to learn and allow for much quicker interaction with the device, as the finger doesn't have to travel to the home button and back.

This is Smartphone UI 2.0. After 10 years of training, people are ready for something a bit less intuitive but way faster. Anyhow, my 6 yrs old daughter, raised since she was 1 with the iPad, adapted in literally one minute to the new UI.

I agree. I am surprised, but it feels so much more natural so quickly.