The most-anticipated Apple smartphone has finally been unveiled and as speculated, some of its features are ground-breaking. According to Apple, it’s the biggest deal.
Key features include:
Design
Apple’s iPhone X, like the new iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus, comes with a brand new design, ditching bezels and opting for a glass front and back. Apple says there is a deeper strengthening layer in the glass that makes it the “most durable in a smartphone.”
Thanks to this new design, the iPhone X is sealed for water and dust resistance.
It’s made from surgical-grade, stainless steel and comes in two finishes: space grey and silver.
Display
Following the current trend in smartphones, Apple has done away with the bezels on the iPhone X, offering an edge-to-edge 5.8-inch display. In fact, Apple is upgrading quite a bit in that department, offering an OLED display for the very first time, calling it the Super Retina Display. This brings with it all the standard benefits of OLED, including more accurate colours, better image uniformity across the screen, etc.
The iPhone X Super Retina display supports 2046×1125 resolution, with 455 PPI, and HDR in both Dolby Vision and HDR.
The company is reportedly paying around $125 per panel, which is part of the reason for the reports of a more expensive iPhone.
FaceID
This is also the first iPhone that will not have a home button, with the new screen reaching across the entire front of the device. Users can wake up their device by picking it up or swiping across any part of the screen. To close an app, simply swipe up on the screen and throw it away. Users can also reach Siri by simply saying “Hey Siri” or by pressing the side button.
Given that the home button has historically been central to the iPhone’s security, the replacement comes in the form of a depth-sensing front camera that will unlock the phone by detecting the user’s face. Apple is calling it FaceID.
Cameras
As far as cameras are concerned, the iPhone X is about as locked and loaded as one can get. The rear camera features a 12-megapixel sensor, with dual-lenses at f1.8 and f2.4 apertures (which is brighter than the 7 Plus telephoto). It comes with dual-image OIS quad-LED TrueTone flash.
Specs
The iPhone X, as well as the other new iPhones announced today, comes with wireless charging capabilities, thanks to that new glass back. Wireless charging is supported by Qi, which is considered as the standard in the wireless charging industry.
Plus, battery life is two hours longer than the iPhone 7, with most of the improvement coming by way of software enhancements. But because Apple likes to take things to the next level, the wireless charging on the new iPhones is coming with a new accessory called AirPower. It’s a larger mat that lets users charge their iPhones, Apple Watch and AirPods all at the same time.
Pricing and availability
The iPhone X starts at $999 for the 64GB model, with a larger 256GB option.
Pre-orders begin on October 27 and regular sales begin November 3, just in time for the holidays.
