Is Apple taking a gamble with the $1,000 iPhone X?
Latest model will use Face ID facial recognition technology for first time
Apple iPhone X reviews hit the web early Tuesday morning, with most of the reviews focused on the upgrades to the iPhone's internals, including its camera.
By and large, the reviews were extraordinarily positive on Apple's latest iPhone, but there were a few hiccups with the device, most notably Face ID, Apple's facial recognition technology. In many cases, the reviewers found that it didn't always work as expected and there were some hiccups.
In September, when Apple announced the iPhone 8, 8 Plus and the X, it said the chances of a random person unlocking your phone via Face ID were 1 in 1 million, compared to 1 in 50,000 for TouchID.
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The iPhone X (prounded "ten") has wireless charging, using the Qi wireless charging standard, a complete redesign, Animoji (animated emoji) and several other new features. The device, which goes on sale officially Nov. 3, starts at $999 for the 64GB model and $1,149 for the 256GB model.
Here are five of the top reviews on Apple's iPhone X.
TechCrunch
In his review, TechCruch editor-in-chief Matt Panzarino took the phone to Disneyland for testing to see how it would fare in the real world use and it worked great.
Panzarino also found Face ID to be incredibly helpful and easy to use, writing, it works "really well" and "it worked the vast majority of times I tried it, it never once unlocked using a picture of myself or another person’s face and the failure rate seemed to be about the same as Touch ID — aka almost never."
The Verge
In his review, The Verge's editor-in-chief Nilay Patel noted that the display, which uses an OLED screen instead of the LCD screen Apple had used previously, is "excellent."
Though he had some problems with Face ID, Patel still said the iPhone X "is clearly the best iPhone ever made."
"If you’re one of the many people who preordered this thing, I think you’ll be happy, although you’ll be going on the journey of figuring out when and how FaceID works best with everyone else," he added.
Wired/Backchannel
Steven Levy, one of the first reviewers of the original iPhone, reviewed the new iPhone X for Wired and was impressed by both the screen and the battery life, something Apple has worked hard to extend.
"I am an avid fan of increased battery life and thus appreciate the iPhone X’s alleged two extra hours of power between charges (compared to an iPhone 7)," Levy wrote. "I had no time to assess this scientifically, but can verify that my unit powered through the usual late-afternoon low-battery doldrums and still seemed to have some juice when it came time for nighttime charging."
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Engadget
Endgadget's senior editor Chris Velazco was generally impressed by the device, even if there were a few issues, like dealing with slowness in apps.
"Tim Cook has made clear that the X is the future of Apple's smartphones, but the future doesn't feel foreign at all -- it feels surprisingly natural, surprisingly quickly," Velazco wrote.
Tom's Guide
Tom's Guide's editor-in-chief Mark Spoonauer reviewed the iPhone X and was incredibly positive on the device, saying its cameras live up to the competition and it feels more natural to hold in your hand, despite the larger screen size.
"You get a fairly large 5.8-inch screen in a phone that’s easy to use with one hand," Spoonauer wrote. "Not only did I have no problem stretching my thumb across the display, the iPhone X is also a lot easier to slip into my front jeans pocket than the iPhone 8 Plus."
Follow Chris Ciaccia on Twitter @Chris_Ciaccia
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