iPhone X review: Apple's new £999 flagship smartphone really does live up to the hype

The Evening Standard has been given a first hands-on with the new iPhone X

Reuters

31 October 2017

If you're an Apple fan, you’re probably holding your breath for Friday’s release of the new iPhone. Even if you’re not, you’ll be aware that Apple is about to launch its most advanced — and at £999 the most expensive — smartphone.

This is Apple’s biggest and most important product launch in years. It’s been talked about as a game-changer that will have other phone manufacturers scrambling to catch up.

The iPhone X (pronounced Ten) finally goes on sale on Friday, six weeks after its announcement. Though many photos of it have been seen, many more details have been kept tightly under wraps. We had an exclusive first try, but does it live up to the hype — and should you buy one?

Forward-facing design

One of the biggest innovations is the design of the front of the phone. Where most handsets have wide areas at top and bottom for A front-facing camera, speakers (which are an improvement on past models), microphone and control buttons, the iPhone X is nearly all screen.

Sure, there have been other phones that have this, such as the Samsung Galaxy Note8, but the iPhone X looks strikingly different. At the top of the phone is a collection of sensors that take a small chunk out of the screen but everything else is pure display. This bar of sensors is actually less distracting than expected, especially after a day or two.

The bezel that frames the screen is wide enough to be noticeable but the screen follows the curve of the phone’s body so perfectly that this is clearly a design statement.

The new iPhone will cost £999

The frame of the phone is polished stainless steel, which makes the iPhone X look like a sumptuous, elegant object of desire. The glass back is smooth and gleaming so that you’re in no doubt this is an expensive object: less like a gadget, more like jewellery.

The display itself is the first OLED screen on an iPhone — a technology known for its strong contrast levels. Onscreen colours are bright, punchy and vivid. This display is higher resolution than previous Apple devices so everything looks rich and pin-sharp.

It’s capable of displaying High Dynamic Range (HDR) content: that is, it can show detail in bright skies and dark shadows at the same time, to dramatic effect.

Does it live up to the hype? It’s a real head-turner.

Face ID

The biggest casualty of losing the bezels was that there was no place for the fingerprint sensor, called Touch ID, which has been in the Home button for several years.

Where other companies have moved this sensor to the back or side of the phone, Apple has done something more audacious: it’s thrown it away.

In its place Apple has introduced Face ID, a facial-recognition system which Apple says is 20 times more secure than a fingerprint. The chance of somebody else being mistaken for you by the phone is a million to one, apparently, though identical twins are warned not to use this system.

Again, other phones have facial recognition but this version is more reliable. Once you’ve registered your face with the phone — a one-minute, one-off activity — then every time you raise the handset to your face and look at it, it unlocks, fast. It works whether or not you’re wearing your glasses, contact lenses and some sunglasses. It even works in pitch dark.

The new phone features a facial ID recognition system

What’s more, everything you used Touch ID for, including Apple Pay, automatically reconfigures to allow Face ID to do the same.

You now activate Apple Pay with a double-press of the side button while looking at the phone. This means you can pre-arm the system quickly if, say, you’re using it as your Oyster card.

Losing the Home Button means the way you interact with the phone is different, with a swiping-up gesture from the very base of the screen replacing where you pressed the Home Button before. It took me well over a day to get used to the new system but it’s now second nature.

Apple has used Face ID cleverly. For instance, when the phone rings, it spots when you’re looking at it and lowers the ring volume.

Does it live up to the hype? It feels as intimate and personal as Touch ID.

Super-selfies

It uses a camera system called TrueDepth to check your features for Face ID. It sprays 30,000 invisible dots on to your face, creates a depth map and then decides if it’s you.

This system has two benefits. You can take a photo on the front-facing 7-megapixel camera in what Apple calls Portrait Mode so it can make sure your subject is in sharp focus while artfully blurring the background.

Does it live up to the hype? It makes for superbly good selfies (though whether anything that encourages selfies is a good thing is a matter for debate, frankly).

Emojinal depths

TrueDepth paves the way for Animoji. These are animated faces of a dog, cat, unicorn, rabbit and other animals, not to mention an alien, a robot and, er, A smiling pile of poo. As you raise an eyebrow, frown or gurn, the creature onscreen matches your face in perfect time. Animoji are possible because of years of expensive research and development, a powerful processor and precision-crafted components. All this just to make a poo smile.

A woman tries the iPhone X during a presentation for the media in Beijing

Reuters

But, it must be said, these are amazingly entertaining, especially when you send your recorded Animoji in messages to friends.

Does it live up to the hype? Apple’s implementation of the camera is flawlessly done and THE Animoji are fantastic.

Rear of the year

The iPhone X has twin rear 12-megapixel cameras to provide, effectively, 2x optical zoom as you switch between lenses. Since optical zoom is always better than digital zoom, this is a good thing. But you can also use both sensors together to create the depth-of-field Portrait Mode effect also found on the TrueDepth camera.

The iPhone 8 Plus has a similar twin-camera set-up, though on the X the telephoto lens has an aperture that lets in more light. On the newest handset both sensors are equipped with Optical Image Stabilisation to keep your images steady even when you’re not. This is especially useful in low light.

Does it live up to the hype? The best iPhone camera yet, but the iPhone 8 Plus snapper is pretty close.

Charged up

Battery life is noticeably better than the iPhone 7. It includes wireless-charging capabilities: place the phone on a compatible pad, usually even with the case still on, and it charges.

The processor is fast, it’s called A11 Bionic and ensures a responsive phone.

Does it live up to the hype? Although wireless charging sounds modest it’s actually a big benefit that will streamline your life.

The Verdict

The iPhone X has been preceded by a tsunami of hype. In almost every case it lives up to it. The headline improvements such as Face ID and the all-over screen don’t disappoint — though the “notch” of sensors at the top of the display won’t please everyone.

The price is high, and the iPhone 8 and 8 Plus include many of the X’s components and features at lower prices.

But the balance of big screen on not that big a phone, thanks to the tiny screen surrounds, is hard to beat.

This is the best iPhone yet, with show-stopping features, immaculate build quality and gorgeous design. It puts Apple ahead of its rivals, by a distance.

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