Apple iPhone X review live blog: FaceID is fascinating, effective

Apple iPhone X review: This 5.8-inch display iPhone is much smaller than you would have thought.

Every Apple iPhone rides a hype machine. But the Apple iPhone X has been unprecedented even by Cupertino standards, managing to stay on top of popular imagination for well over a month when it was first unveiled for the world. While the jury is still out of whether it has impacted the sales of the iPhone 8 series despite the differential in pricing, it is clear that this phone has been able to capture consumer interest across the world. Over the next few days we will look at different aspects of the what is arguably the most premium mass production phone in the world at the moment. 

Apple iPhone X price in India: Rs 89,000+

Apple iPhone X unboxing video

Here is our daily review blog of the Apple iPhone X

Apple iPhone X Design

The first thing you will notice about the Apple iPhone X is how small it is. In fact, is not much larger than the iPhone 8. Actually, at 5.8 inches the iPhone X packs a larger screen than the iPhone 8 Plus but is significantly smaller. So much so that the iPhone can fit easily inside the iPhone 8 Plus and still have some real estate behind. This means the iPhone X will be easy to hold for a lot of users and thus have a better acceptability than Apple’s Plus range phone.

Apple iPhone X on top of an iPhone 8 plus. The former actually has a larger screen.

The phone has a distinct steel frame, which in the space grey model is a dark and blends well into the rest of the phone. In fact, the phone has no edges and this steel frame melds into the edge-to-edge display. But while the phone is touted as bezel-less there is a thing frame that is visible where the screen meets the frame, unlike on the Samsung phones where the screen bends into the curves.

Yes, there is no Home button here. But the power button and the volume buttons stay where they are in the other recent Apple phone. There is a speaker grille at the bottom, flanking the lightning port.

The other significant change is at the rear where the dual camera bump is now vertical, unlike the iPhone 7 Plus and iPhone 8 Plus where it is horizontal. The bump is pretty much the same height as in the iPhone 8 Plus.

This phone too has a glass back where you can clearly see your fingerprints. While this is a significant design diversion from what Apple has been doing for the past few years, it is a necessity for wireless charging to work. Though the phone has the strongest glass ever put on a smartphone, it also means you need to protect the back… just in case.

Apple iPhone X display

The Apple iPhone X is the first iPhone to sport a Super AMOLED capacitive touchscreen. Apple has always wanted to try AMOLED, but it’s become good enough and affordable enough only now. So along with the ~82.9 per cent screen-to-body ratio, the 5.8-display is the brightest ever on an iPhone and has the most PPI density at 458. All this goes on to make the iPhone X’s a stunning screen.

The camera eats into the display of the iPhone X when you are watching video

However, this is not a regular screen for the true depth camera eats into the screen as you are watching most types of videos. This not an issue on YouTube, but for iTunes movies you will need to live with the camera in your frame with the video wrapping around it. But still you will notice that the display is much crisper than the iPhone 8 and maybe a bit mellower and it appears to be warmer. 

Apple iPhone X Face ID

Apple iPhone X FaceID works always

One of the biggest changes in the iPhone X is the lack of a home button. Apple is using gestures to help navigate without the Home button and has replaced the fingerprint scanner with FaceID. The new FaceID feature, which uses the TrueDepth camera to read your face, can also be used to make App Store purchases and to auto-fill forms on Safari. The FaceID setup process is simple and once this is done you realise who fast and convenient FaceID is. As soon as you face the phone it is unlocked for you to swipe and reach the home page. I would have loved the unlock to take you directly to the homepage.

But for me the best use of the FaceID is where it auto fills passwords on most of the apps I have logged into before. This is so convenient for someone like me who struggles to remember passwords. Also, FaceID does not need you to be a well-lit area to unlock the phone and works most of the time. For me, FaceID has worked almost always and is a good enough reason to pick up this phone.