After a handful of YouTubers and publications posted their thoughts on the iPhone X, major tech publications have now also gone ahead and published their first impressions of the iPhone X. It is a first impression since Apple seeded the units to most of the publications less than 24 hours ago.
Some publications like TechCrunch did get to use the iPhone X for around a week which is why they have published their full review todya.
Considering the hype surrounding the device, 24 hours is still plenty of time to put the device through some major scrutiny. So, what do major tech publications think about the iPhone X?
The Verge
Nilay Patel of The Verge calls the iPhone X design as “gorgeous” but not “flawless.” He praises the overall build quality of the device, though its far from perfect: there is a sharp ridge between the glass back and the chrome frame which one can feel every time they pick the device. This frame will also get all scratched up and dented as one continues to use the iPhone X in their daily life. He also points out that the camera bump at the rear is huge and thus easily draws attention to itself — it is bigger than the bump on the iPhone 8 Plus.
Nilay calls the display beautiful, bright, sharp, and vibrant without stepping into the boundary of over saturating the colors like Samsung does. As for the notch, well it is definitely an issue.
And, of course, there’s the notch in the display — what Apple calls the “sensor housing.” It’s ugly, but it tends to fade away after a while in portrait mode. It’s definitely intrusive in landscape, though — it makes landscape in general pretty messy. Less ignorable are the bezels around the sides and bottom of the screen, which are actually quite large. Getting rid of almost everything tends to draw attention to what remains, and what remains here is basically a thick black border all the way around the screen, with that notch set into the top.
As for Face ID, its a hit and a miss, though mostly a hit.
In my early tests, FaceID worked well indoors: sitting at my desk, standing in our video studio, and waiting to get coffee. You have to look at it head-on, though: if it’s sitting on your desk you have to pick up the phone and look at it, which is a little annoying if you’re used to just putting your finger on the TouchID sensor to check a notification.
TechCrunch
The review is less technical in nature and more about how one uses the iPhone X in their daily life like when they are holidaying in Disneyland.
The review notes that Face ID on the iPhone X is incredibly easy to setup and it worked “the vast majority of times.” A key point to note here is that to Face ID to work, one must look at their iPhone X display or the notch. Otherwise, the facial recognition system will not work. The sensor will also trip up when used under direct sunlight. Apple is also using Face ID for more than just unlocking the iPhone X and Animojis.
With Face ID on, simply open a website or an app that you have a saved password in Keychain for and it will pop the Face ID logo and auto-enter your information. Tap log in and go. Once you see this in action for the first time you’ll never ever want to be without it. If an app requires a password for entry it will even auto log-in for you, creating a smooth transition between opening, authentication and using an app.
As for the camera, the introduction of OIS and a wider aperture for the telephoto lens greatly benefit its performance. It also helps in Portrait mode especially in low-light scenes.
The review praises almost every other aspect of the device including the 5.8-inch OLED panel which is “much, much better” than the iPhone 8’s LCD display.
CNET
CNet’s review of the iPhone X is similar to that of TechCrunch and The Verge. It notes that Face ID works fine, though it does fail sometimes.
By design, the iPhone X doesn’t unlock with just a glance. Once you’ve identified yourself with your face, you need to swipe up with your finger to get to your apps. Not only does the swipe remove the immediacy of Face ID, it means you need your hand to do anything. Quick access to the phone wasn’t quite as quick as I expected.
The reviewer notes that the different aspect ratio of the iPhone X’s display means that videos and other content will always be letterboxed on the device. The circular corners don’t help either as it leads to content being cut off.
I think the X is in the sweet spot that the older iPhone sizes could never perfectly be. It’s a good-feeling phone with a nice, large screen. The shift to Face ID and the removal of the home button feel like changes that some might be fine with, and others will find unnecessary. I’m still learning the X’s design language.
What do you think about the iPhone X based on the above reviews? For what its worth, Face ID on the iPhone X definitely seems to work and the switch to an OLED panel has also gone down well with most reviewers.
