By: Soraya Herbert
Apple has kept us waiting long enough…the iPhone new generation is here!
This is the best time of the year, Apple press conference season. Apple has just shaken the world with the launch of the new iPhone 8/8+ and iPhone X(a.k.a. iPhone 10, “X” just sounds super cool). Before you shell out your rent money on these new devices, there are somethings you need to know before buying.
My main focus will be on the new features, good and bad for the iPhone X and a little bit of the iPhone 8. To be honest there aren’t very many changes between the iPhone 8 and iPhone 7. With the digital world going crazy over these cool new features I wanted to break down the most important ones consumers should be aware of.
iPhone 8 and 8+:
I know we all were not expecting this phone to come out just yet but here it is. In my opinion, nothing is that new and crazy about the iPhone 8 compared to the iPhone 7, but there are a few changes worth taking a look at.
Obviously, the biggest change between the iPhone 8 and iPhone 7 is IOS11, but IOS11 will be available to you on all previous models of the iPhone. So essentially purchasing an 8 or 8+ isn’t really isn’t that much different. I think that you should stick with your current device if you aren’t upgrading to the iPhone X. One thing to take into account before upgrading your current models to IOS11 is that they make the new software for the new models of phones. Which means sometimes if you upgrade your software on a phone that it wasn’t necessarily built for (iPhone 5, 6, 7, etc.), over time it can decrease the lifespan of your device. Symptoms can include; device freezing in applications, slower speed overall, not responding to touch sensor, etc. This happens because the software is outperforming the device since the software was built for a high-powered model.
Okay now on to the good stuff…
iPhone X or 10 (or whatever you want to call it)
First and foremost the biggest change on the iPhone X is that the home button is no more! There is now going to be a software built in called FaceID. The iPhone X will come with a True Depth Camera Sensor, meaning that through a lot of complicated hardware, it will recognize your exact facial features to be able to unlock your phone. In order to unlock your phone, instead of using your finger from Touch ID, you will just raise your phone to your face and swipe up!
Now, this sounds super cool in theory, but in my opinion, it’s not necessary. There are pros to having Face ID over Touch ID, for example, it will protect from people trying to get into your phone. * Face ID is supposed to be mask, picture, and spoof-proof, because the technology is claimed to be that powerful.
With Touch ID the chances of someone accessing your phone was 1 in 50,000, but with Face ID the chance of someone accessing your phone who isn’t you is 1 in 1,000,000!
This feature is obviously more secure, you have less of a risk of someone accessing your personal phone, but overall its something that that is completely revolutionary, it’s just something different.
I know there are those out there who are skeptical about Face ID actually working. You may get a haircut or look completely different in the morning than you do in the evening, but Apple has made it very clear that this new technology learns to adapt and learn your face no matter what you look like or the lighting.
Let’s talk Animoji’s, this is the name that Apple is calling the emojis that are animated. Not only can you send your friend an Animoji with a simple movement, but you can send them a video with audio. Animoji uses the Truth Depth Camera Senor to map out your face to mimic you to the emoji! This is a fun and interactive idea and I am low-key excited to play with it, but once again not a necessary feature.
Another cool feature in the iPhone X is that instead of performing a movement or pressing the home button to wake your phone, you can simply tap the screen and it will wake up!
Siri has also gone through some changes. Instead of holding down the home button to access Siri (don’t worry you can still say “Hey Siri”) you can push the side button to activate Siri on the iPhone X.
You’re probably wondering, “well if I can’t press the home button anymore, then how do you go home”, on the iPhone X you will just swipe up from the bottom to go home. Which is interesting but not something revolutionary.
Next, you can now swipe along the bottom for multi-tasking in order to go from app-t0-app, which Apple is calling Multi-Tasking. This is a different feature than the iPhone 7 and other models but, on those models, you were able to use Force Touch to click on the left side of a page and scroll between the apps you had open. Multi-Tasking has always existed it’s just different.
Apple is introducing Two-tone flash on the iPhone X, which means that the flash will allow for better photography all around! In low-light, in bright-light, in half-light…the iPhone X has got you covered! There will also be a stage lighting feature built into the camera that will give you the option to turn your pictures into professional portraits.
This is probably my favorite part about the iPhone X, the fact that it will now have a battery life that is 2 hours longer than it was on the iPhone 7! Which is a great marketing tactics from Apple, because if the battery sucks then people want to buy a new phone. Apple always increases the battery life which each new model they launch so that consumers will get the next phone.
Finally, Apple caught their life because they now have the option to charge your devices wirelessly! It’s about time, that they launched a wireless charging mat for their devices because Samsung has had one out for a few years now. Users will now have the chance to charge their phone, Apple watch, and earpods at the same time! I just hope they later expand that into iPads and other Apple products. What’s also amazing is places like Starbucks, airports and other retail stores will be switching up their furniture to accommodate for wireless charging.
Okay, so we talked about the pros and now let’s spill the tea on some cons!
First things first, the price...$999 for 64gb and $1149 for 256gb. So the question is do you pay your bills or be a baller with no home.
The iPhone X starts at $999 for 64gb and $1149 for 256gb. So the question is do you pay your bills or be a baller with no home. This pricing is RIDICULOUS, this is the most expensive iPhone that has come out, it’s way too much in my opinion. Especially considering how high-powered this phone is your going to want a lot of storage, so paying $1000 for 64gb of storage wouldn’t cut it! Not to mention that this is just the pricing in America if you live in other countries with a not favorable conversion rate the price is astronomical!
On top of not paying your rent to buy this phone, you also can’t buy groceries! Since you need to purchase a USB-C adapter because they are going to be switching to USB-C chargers which can range from $50-$80, which is just annoying.
All glass, all the time. The new iPhone will have an all-glass back. No one quite knows how this will play out, but something tells me that it will be a lot easier to shatter the entire back of your phone if you drop it. I feel like this expensive phone is a bit too fragile for you going without a roof over your head and food in the fridge.
This is also the first generation of the iPhone X, which means that there is bound to be some hiccups to be discovered along the way that will need to be fixed in the next model. This is the first time that they have tested this product and if you saw the press conference you saw that even the Apple representatives were having a hard time using the Face ID. Often times, it’s not always the best to get the new phone right when it launches because of glitches and hiccups. You want to give the developers time to see where there could be improvements and gauge what consumers like and don’t like.
Another thing I didn’t even think about until I saw a video about it was that the Dim Retina Display is kind of dark, even at its full potential. When you compare it to the Samsung Galaxy S8, the screen of the iPhone is very dark in comparison.
The next major difference in this phone is the screen, mainly the top notch of the screen which they call the Sensor Housing. This is actually super annoying, I was expecting more of a square screen with tiny little dots on the top portion, instead of this not aesthetically pleasing hole at the top. My main reason for not liking it the Sensor Housing is that it can get in the way when you’re looking at apps and scrolling through pages since the housing is just there. It cuts into whatever content you are looking at. Also if you are upgrading from an iPhone 7+ you need to realize that your screen is actually going to crop in a little bit, so the width you are used to seeing on your 7+, you will no longer have. This is going to affect some apps that haven’t updated yet.
This one is going to bother me the most! Since you have the weird cut out on the top of your screen it will cut off video content. The video that you physically take and watch will be in the same 16:9 ratio, which is completely normal, however…if you are watching something full screen it is going to crop the video because the corners are rounded and the sensor housing is going to cut off some of the content. If you don’t full screen your video content you can see the entire picture it will just be cropped in and I do not like the look of that at all! I would prefer to watch my content full screen, but the sensor housing is going to irritate me.
Another con is that you can only put in one Face ID, which is okay if you are the only user of your phone. For those who may share a phone with a child or partner or others, this can be a problem. This won’t affect everyone, but this is something to consider if you’re someone who shares a phone or allows others to have access to your phone. LOL! Good luck to all those couples out there who like to snoop on their significant other’s phone, because that is no longer an option.
Poor Reachability, what I mean by that is when you are looking at your phone and holding it with one hand your ability to reach from the top to the bottom is going to be compromised. The reason behind that is, the notification bar will now be on the top left and you have to pull all the way down (Similar to the Android Interface). If you’re holding with one hand and you can’t reach the top of the screen you will have to use your other hand. Same goes for the Control Center, currently, you swipe up to get to the control center but now the control center will be on the top right corner, which isn’t a HUGE deal, but it is something we will all have to get to used to.
Overall, I didn’t think that this phone was as revolutionary and different as I thought it would be. I really expected something with a TON of new features, but really it’s mostly the just the external design that’s a lot different and the Face ID versus the Touch ID. Other than that, I am not finding the iPhone X to be this crazy different phone that everyone needs to have. I just wanted to get some information out there to you in the basic form possible about the new iPhone, so you can make an educated decision if you are considering upgrading.
I hope you found this information helpful, I haven’t decided if I am going to upgrade to the iPhone X yet, I may get the iPhone 8 and wait for the second generation of iPhone X.
What are your thoughts?
xoxo,