Katsmeow
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
- Joined
- Jul 11, 2009
- Messages
- 5,308
I got my new iPhone X on Friday and thought I would post for the benefit of any pondering whether to get it. (This is not for those of you who never in a million years would even consider getting the phone).
I have to say that I already love this phone and it is just a huge improvement over what I thought was a really good iPhone 7 plus. I didn't expect it to be such an improvement.
And, yes, I know how expensive it is. We do the Apple Upgrade program so upgrading for us is simply turning in the old phone. Yes, we have to pay every month for the new phone (For those who don't know, basically you pay for it over 2 years and then don't owe any more. Or after a year you can simply trade in for the new phone). But, for those who like to upgrade this works well. Before I had upgraded on a 2 year cycle usually, now I can do it annually.
Anyway - things I really like about the phone:
1. The size - I had never been happy with the 7 or the 7 plus. I felt the 7 was too small and lacked some of the features of the 7 plus so I had the larger phone. I liked the larger screen and the better camera. But, the larger size was undeniably a bit awkward. The phone usually required 2 hands. Also, it wouldn't fit in some pockets and would easily fall out. At the gym, it would often fall out of my pocket. I put up with it because of the larger screen but didn't love it.
The iPhone X gives you a larger screen than on the iPhone 7 plus but in a much smaller phone. This is because of the lack of the bezel. It is much easier to use the phone and carry it in a pocket with the smaller size. I honestly didn't realize how much I had given up to have the larger 7 Plus when I was suddenly not inflicted with it.
2. The OLED display - I expected it to be better, but it is so much better than my 7 plus it is shocking to me. I looked at the same screen on them side by side. Until Friday, I thought the 7 plus had a great display. I had no issues with it. But, compared to the X the 7 plus is washed out and dim. The X is much brighter and just more vivid.
3. Face ID - I was very skeptical of Face ID. I was worried it would slow and difficult to use. But, it is already so wonderful. Basically it is as if your phone wasn't locked at all. I pick up the phone and by the time I have it where I am going to swipe up it has already unlocked. It just does it. I don't have to do anything except pick it up. Yes, there are situations where it doesn't do it. This morning when I first woke up in dim light it failed. But, I tried again and it worked. To put it in context, Face ID fails far, far less than Touch ID failed. This is just a huge quality of life improvement.
4. No home button - I was very skeptical of this as well. But, actually, I adjusted to it in a few hours. I've found out how to do most things that required the home button and it has mostly been very easy. Now that I have gotten used to it, the idea of a home button seems archaic and a waste of space.
5. The camera - The camera is better. I haven't done any serious picture taking yet, but have done enough to see it is a measurable improvement for both the front facing and regular cameras.
6. Processor - Yes, it is very fast.
I realize all of the above may seem like small things, but overall if you use your phone a lot it just improves quality of life. Things are easier to do. It is more intuitive. The size is perfect and the screen is great. I've had an iphone for many years and this phone is by far the largest incremental improvement.
Things I don't like - these are all minor compared to the above
1 - The back can get warm - Some tasks seem to warm up the back. I didn't have a case yesterday and there was a time when it was almost painful to hold (this was while my backup was being restored -- once that was done it cooled down). For most of my use of it this was fine -- a little warm but not awful. Still this is one reason to favor the case. Another is that the back of the phone is glass so it is really more fragile than past phones. I went out and bought a case this morning.
2. You can't stealth use Touch ID to unlock your phone and surreptitiously check email or texts under the table. - Face ID requires lifting up your phone so it can see your face. Typing in a password if you have a 10 digit password like I do is not something I can do under the table. So, I just can't stealthily use the phone. This isn't something I commonly do so it is something I am willing to give up for the much greater convenience of Face ID.
3. There were a couple of apps where when I went to the app the keyboard didn't come up and I didn't figure out how to get it up. I suspect there is a way to do this but I haven't learned it yet. I was able to work around it by going back an earlier step and then going back to the place I needed the keyboard. But, this was the only lack of home key thing that bothered me.
Things that might be important to you that aren't important to me:
1. I don't care about Animoji. I spent like 30 seconds on it and was bored.
2. The notch at the top of the screen for the camera and stuff. Didn't bother me at all. A very fair tradeoff to get rid of the bezel.
3. Wireless charging. I think it is a nice feature and will probably buy a wireless charging pad but isn't really that important to me. I haven't tried it. Note that you can use this with most cases and still wirelessly charge.
I have to say that I already love this phone and it is just a huge improvement over what I thought was a really good iPhone 7 plus. I didn't expect it to be such an improvement.
And, yes, I know how expensive it is. We do the Apple Upgrade program so upgrading for us is simply turning in the old phone. Yes, we have to pay every month for the new phone (For those who don't know, basically you pay for it over 2 years and then don't owe any more. Or after a year you can simply trade in for the new phone). But, for those who like to upgrade this works well. Before I had upgraded on a 2 year cycle usually, now I can do it annually.
Anyway - things I really like about the phone:
1. The size - I had never been happy with the 7 or the 7 plus. I felt the 7 was too small and lacked some of the features of the 7 plus so I had the larger phone. I liked the larger screen and the better camera. But, the larger size was undeniably a bit awkward. The phone usually required 2 hands. Also, it wouldn't fit in some pockets and would easily fall out. At the gym, it would often fall out of my pocket. I put up with it because of the larger screen but didn't love it.
The iPhone X gives you a larger screen than on the iPhone 7 plus but in a much smaller phone. This is because of the lack of the bezel. It is much easier to use the phone and carry it in a pocket with the smaller size. I honestly didn't realize how much I had given up to have the larger 7 Plus when I was suddenly not inflicted with it.
2. The OLED display - I expected it to be better, but it is so much better than my 7 plus it is shocking to me. I looked at the same screen on them side by side. Until Friday, I thought the 7 plus had a great display. I had no issues with it. But, compared to the X the 7 plus is washed out and dim. The X is much brighter and just more vivid.
3. Face ID - I was very skeptical of Face ID. I was worried it would slow and difficult to use. But, it is already so wonderful. Basically it is as if your phone wasn't locked at all. I pick up the phone and by the time I have it where I am going to swipe up it has already unlocked. It just does it. I don't have to do anything except pick it up. Yes, there are situations where it doesn't do it. This morning when I first woke up in dim light it failed. But, I tried again and it worked. To put it in context, Face ID fails far, far less than Touch ID failed. This is just a huge quality of life improvement.
4. No home button - I was very skeptical of this as well. But, actually, I adjusted to it in a few hours. I've found out how to do most things that required the home button and it has mostly been very easy. Now that I have gotten used to it, the idea of a home button seems archaic and a waste of space.
5. The camera - The camera is better. I haven't done any serious picture taking yet, but have done enough to see it is a measurable improvement for both the front facing and regular cameras.
6. Processor - Yes, it is very fast.
I realize all of the above may seem like small things, but overall if you use your phone a lot it just improves quality of life. Things are easier to do. It is more intuitive. The size is perfect and the screen is great. I've had an iphone for many years and this phone is by far the largest incremental improvement.
Things I don't like - these are all minor compared to the above
1 - The back can get warm - Some tasks seem to warm up the back. I didn't have a case yesterday and there was a time when it was almost painful to hold (this was while my backup was being restored -- once that was done it cooled down). For most of my use of it this was fine -- a little warm but not awful. Still this is one reason to favor the case. Another is that the back of the phone is glass so it is really more fragile than past phones. I went out and bought a case this morning.
2. You can't stealth use Touch ID to unlock your phone and surreptitiously check email or texts under the table. - Face ID requires lifting up your phone so it can see your face. Typing in a password if you have a 10 digit password like I do is not something I can do under the table. So, I just can't stealthily use the phone. This isn't something I commonly do so it is something I am willing to give up for the much greater convenience of Face ID.
3. There were a couple of apps where when I went to the app the keyboard didn't come up and I didn't figure out how to get it up. I suspect there is a way to do this but I haven't learned it yet. I was able to work around it by going back an earlier step and then going back to the place I needed the keyboard. But, this was the only lack of home key thing that bothered me.
Things that might be important to you that aren't important to me:
1. I don't care about Animoji. I spent like 30 seconds on it and was bored.
2. The notch at the top of the screen for the camera and stuff. Didn't bother me at all. A very fair tradeoff to get rid of the bezel.
3. Wireless charging. I think it is a nice feature and will probably buy a wireless charging pad but isn't really that important to me. I haven't tried it. Note that you can use this with most cases and still wirelessly charge.
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