The iPhone X preorders launch on October 27 and will be on store shelves (ha... yeah right) November 3. A lot of my friends have been asking me if I think they should upgrade to the iPhone X. Short answer: Yes. Why? Here are my five top reasons why I think it's worth the extra cash right now.
1. It's got the best screen of any iPhone
The iPhone X's display screen is 5.8-inches diagonally and sports a 2436x1125 pixel resolution at 458 pixels-per-inch. It's called "Super Retina" because it's so darn clear, it's practically unreal. It supports HDR 10 and Dolby Vision, too. It teeters on the verge of a 2K screen (which is 2560 x 1440) and also adds the clarity and boost of HDR and Dolby. My television set doesn't even have that good of a display.
By comparison, the iPhone 8 line sports a fantastic screen resolution at 1920x1080 for the Plus and 1334x750 for the 8. Not to knock those specs, but the iPhone X is almost one-and-a-half times more pixel-y.
2. The OIS is on both cameras
The iPhone Plus line received an upgrade to the camera system with two separate lenses, one wide-angle and one telephoto. The iPhone X gets those same lenses, but has the added bonus of optical image stabilization on both of them. That means clearer pictures, better low-light imaging, and a plethora of abilities that no other iPhone can do.
The True Tone flash also has one minor but major addition: Slow Sync. Slow Sync on a traditional DLSR camera (also known as "Rear Curtain sync") creates amazing movement impressions in images by combining a slow shutter with a burst of flash. I'm not exactly sure how Slow Sync will work on the iPhone X, but if it makes it easier for me to take awesome action shots of bands in dimly lit clubs, it's going to be the best thing that's ever happened to me.
3. Face ID is only part of the fun
The TrueDepth camera system, which projects 30,000 dots across your face to identify every detail of your features, makes positive identification about 20 times more accurate than Touch ID.
The Face ID system is made up of eight different parts, including a handful of sensors that create a depth map of your face. That dot projector and the multi-camera system on the front of the iPhone X has a lot of potential for creating amazing digital enhancements. Animoji and SnapChat filters are just the beginning, but they are both examples of what's possible with the technology stuffed inside the TrueDepth camera on the iPhone X.
I can't possibly begin to imagine all of the amazing things that the TrueDepth camera could be used for, but some ideas include a facial structure app that plastic surgeons could use, a fun hair design app that could truly show you what you would look like with that new haircut, virtual reality games where your avatar is an identical likeness to you. You get the idea.
4. Gestures instead of the Home button
Without the Home button, Apple focused on standardizing gestures on the iPhone X to replace functions we've grown accustomed to. The thing about these gestures, thanks to Apple developers' incredible ability to understand what makes sense to our brains, is that they're intuitive and actually seem more pleasant than simply pressing a button. I'm sure there will be a learning curve at first, but our brains are more comfortable with gestures, and I have a feeling that the intuitive actions Apple has replaced the Home button with will become such second nature that pressing the Home button will feel archaic in comparison.
5. The largest screen in a small(ish) phone
I've long been a proponent of the 4-inch form factor on iPhone. I still am. I still believe that most people don't need a phone larger than the iPhone SE model. In a perfect world, the iPhone X would actually be the same physical dimensions as the iPhone SE, but it's not. It's bigger.
Here's the thing, though: it's got a display screen that's larger than the iPhone 8 Plus, but the body of the device is just centimeters larger than the iPhone 8. It's still not as small as I'd like it to be, but its close.
The iPhone X is smaller in dimensions without compromising features. Until this model, if you wanted every awesome thing that an iPhone could possible have, you'd have had to get a Plus model iPhone. I've got an iPhone 7 Plus and it's just too big for me.
This compromise in size (it's not as small as I'd like, but smaller than the biggest iPhone) is the closest to getting exactly what I want from an iPhone as I'll probably ever get. I doubt Apple will ever start making 4-inch iPhones with TrueDepth cameras or 3D Touch. So the iPhone X is my baby bear (It's just right ... almost).
Bonus reason: The horns!
It's divisive, I know. Some people hate it. I, however, embrace the horns (also known as the notch). I blaze metal on the daily and love the idea that my iPhone supports my shredding sensibilities. It's special, it's recognizable, and it makes my phone unique, just like my taste in music. I'm just sayin' ... Apple shreds, and now it shows!
What's your opinion?
Are you getting the iPhone X? What are the reasons you think it's worth getting? Let's discuss!
Oh, and if you're thinking about skipping the iPhone X, Mike T has some advice for you.
