This isn't a review of the iPhone X; there's been plenty of those. I recommend you read Rene's.
I won't go into a long discussion of the geeky tech specs either. For the most part, the X and 8 series share all the same critical features, from the processors to the cameras (with the exception of added OIS on the iPhone X's "telephoto" lens; if you don't know what that means, it clearly doesn't matter to you).
So I'll start simply. The iPhone X is simply the best iPhone ever made. The iPhone X is the best smartphone you can buy today, and likely tomorrow. Apple is now a full generation ahead of their competitors when it comes to every metric. The amount of technology the X puts in your pocket would be unheard of in 2007. Frankly, it would have been unheard of in 2016.
Apple has always been a premium product company. It has never been part of the race to the bottom (see NetBooks). The brilliance of the iPhone line today is that it's reminiscent of the iPod of yesterday. Back then, there were devices that ranged from the entry-level iPod shuffle to the high-end iPod Classic, to the next-generation iPod Touch. At just about all price points, you could enter the iPod ecosystem.
Today's iPhone lineup takes the same strategy. Want to be part of the iPhone ecosystem? You can start with the SE and go all the way to the X.
To me, that's one of the points of the iPhone X that perhaps hasn't been said enough. Is the X worth $1,000 and up? Yes, no doubt. Tech innovation doesn't come cheap. Remember when the original iPhone was criticized as being overpriced?
The iPhone X serves two purposes. First, it delivers those users that want the best device in their pocket and will bear the burden of cost. (New programs that allow users to "lease" their phones help a lot, the same way someone who wants to own a new BMW can lease not buy).
Second, the iPhone X is aspirational. The X reminds a market that sometimes slips into thinking Apple can't innovate anymore that it just might want to think again.
Some of the people who go into Apple Stores to see iPhone X will leave with iPhone 8 or a less expensive iPhone, but iPhone X will be what gets them to go into the store.
Just look at the huge lines outside those doors on launch day. Huge lines. At every store I visited.
Sure Face ID, the fun of portrait selfies, and of course the amazing feat of fitting an iPhone 8 Plus screen in something scarcely larger than an iPhone 8 are wonderful. But the iPhone X is more than that. It's more that simply a product for people who want the latest and greatest. It's a product for people who want the very best.
That tells me quite a bit not only about Apple engineering but Apple's ability to explain a device and an experience. That's called mindshare, and mindshare always translates to market share.
Is the iPhone X expensive? Yes. Are there a lot of people who can't afford it? Maybe. It does seem that the people who might need to stretch to buy an X are buying one. I won't speculate on sales numbers or Apple's next earnings reports. What I will say is I expect this to be Apple's best holiday season ever.
Meanwhile, if you're even thinking of going into an Apple Store to check out iPhone X, you might want to given your credit card to a friend. Otherwise, as soon as you get your hands on one, you'll want to take it home.
That happens with a lot of Apple products and it's going to happen a lot with iPhone X.
