Review of the Apple iPhone X smartphone: the latest flagship with an almost frameless OLED screen. IPhone X: full review of the new product
It just so happened that the iPhone 10 lost the “Home” button, beloved by many, and now a number of questions arise - how to control the smartphone? How to reboot and turn it off? We have collected iPhone 10 features that you may not have known about. They will help you use and manage your smartphone more competently.
We previously wrote:
1. How to bring 10 out of its sleeping state
There is no button! What to do if your smartphone is “sleeping”? The answer is incredibly simple: just “tap” on the display and it lights up. It’s surprising why this feature, which has been successfully used in Android gadgets for a long time, was only used in iPhone 10? Why isn't it on 7, 8 Plus? We can only guess.
However, there is a second option for getting tens out of sleep - you need to press the power button and raise the smartphone in front of you. The screen will light up, it will recognize your face (if the owner, of course) and blink happily at you.
2. How to quickly scroll through applications
Actually, we have already written about this, but we should also mention it as part of the “trick” article. To quickly switch between applications on iPhone X, just swipe at the bottom of the screen, from the left or right corner. At the same time, switching occurs simply with lightning speed. That's how it works.
3. How to see running applications
Previously, you had to press the Home button twice, but since there is no longer one, the new flagship uses a different method. To open the application manager, just hold down the bottom panel and swipe up, approximately to the center of the display.
This way you will see a list of running programs appear and you will be able to switch between them.
4. How to return to the home screen in iPhone 10?
Yes, how good it was before - you pressed the button and you were already home, but now it’s gone, what can you do? There is a special gesture for this case too. All you need to do is hold down the bottom bar on the iPhone 10 display and swipe up. Returning to the home screen will work, it happens quite quickly.
5. How to open Control Panel and Action Center
To get to the control panel, you need to swipe your finger from upper right corner display down, and only that way, and not as before from bottom to top! The picture above shows this.
In turn, to open the notification center, you need to swipe from top left corner down.
6. How to call Siri to account on iPhone X
To summon Siri, just rub the right side of your iPhone 10 3 times! (joke) In fact, you just need to hold down the Power button and the assistant will immediately appear and be ready to answer right away.
or like this
We have already compared the Eights and Sevens, it’s time for the older smartphone.
The difference between iPhone 8 and iPhone X is twenty three thousand rubles. A decent amount, with this “change” you can buy your first Apple Watch, and you’ll still have some left over for protective glass. iPhone 8 Plus lags behind the “ten” by fifteen thousand rubles, which is also a lot.
This kind of money is not being asked for a new design; There are several cool features that are missing in the eighth iPhone. Are they worth it? Everyone decides for themselves. Here is a list of all the advantages of the iPhone X over the Eights.
Luxurious building
This is the first thing that catches your eye. Finally, they don’t sell us another candy in the same wrapper; for the first time since 2014, the iPhone has received a completely new design.
Controversial, hunchbacked, big-eared - you name it. The main thing is that it's new.
And if we put aside this ill-fated “island” with sensors (which is not so bad), the iPhone X mesmerizing. The Apple magic has worked again, the device makes you fall in love with it from the first tap.
Almost all hands-on reviews say one thing: the line between glass and metal is absolutely invisible, the iPhone seems solid, despite the fact that its body consists of two different materials. The smartphone fits differently in the hand and does not slip out.
Regarding size: iPhone X is the golden mean between iPhone 8 Plus and iPhone 8. We are for accuracy, here are the numbers.
iPhone 8+: length - 158.4 mm; width - 78.1 mm; thickness - 7.5 mm; weight - 202 g.
iPhone X: length - 143.6 mm; width - 70.9 mm; thickness - 7.7 mm; weight - 174 g.
iPhone 8: length - 138.4 mm; width - 67.3 mm; thickness - 7.3 mm; weight - 148 g.
Conclusion: the new design gives the iPhone X +100 charisma. Eights with minor changes in the body were not even close. The size is the most optimal; a larger display was shoved into a smaller body than in the Plus.
Completely different interface logic
Yes, the same iOS 11 is on board the iPhone X. But the absence of one single button has turned all the old postulates upside down. If you put all the changes into a list, you get a normal “sheet”:
- the screen unlocks differently;
- return to the Home screen - through a new gesture;
- another gesture for the multitasking panel;
- The control center moved to the upper right corner;
- a Notification Center;
- long pressing the lock button will call Siri;
- iPhone X turns off differently;
- an additional swipe from left to right will open the previous application.
And this list is still being added to. For example, it is still unclear where “Easy Access” went. Or how the status bars and curtains of additional panels will behave when the screen is flipped 180 degrees in one of the applications.
Conclusion: for the “Old Believers” this is more a disadvantage than an advantage. But such changes are the future. Any drastic change in iOS raises a wave of negativity. Time shows that new solutions are much more convenient than previous ones.
Face ID is a revolution in authentication systems
The killer feature of the new iPhone, one of the culprits of the grandiose interface update. Apple convinces us that touch is a thing of the past, now all it takes is a quick glance.
And it looks like they succeeded. A new front camera with a bunch of 3D sensors played its role. It literally draws a map of your face, and the system is capable of learning.
Of course, we need to wait for the first field tests, but none of the journalists present at the presentation had any problems with the new function.
Apple assures that facial information is securely encrypted using the Secure Enclave module and stored in the device itself. All data is processed by the A11 Bionic chip.
No photos or Face ID masks can fool you; 3D sensors scan the owner in detail and perfectly understand the depth of the image. For those who are always on alert: the iPhone X cannot be unlocked by showing the face of the sleeping owner; you definitely need to look at the smartphone. The same cannot be said about Touch ID.
Conclusion: The iPhone 8 and 8 Plus simply do not have this function - another point towards the “ten”.
Finally. Super Retina display
Behind this name lies a cool OLED display, head and shoulders above the IPS display found in the iPhone 8 and 8 Plus. Moreover, its dimensions are larger than the screens of both G8s. Marketers tell us about a dizzying 1,000,000:1 contrast ratio. In fact, this indicates deep black color, previous models are simply unable to show it.
And this display is huge. Really from edge to edge (with a small deduction, well, you get the idea), and Cupertino assures us of the increased strength of the glass, which, coupled with metal (not aluminum!) ends, should protect the device if it falls.
The coolest drop tests will appear in two months, so we’ll see.
iPhone X was the first Apple smartphone to have an HDR display, allowing you to watch videos in Dolby Vision and HDR10 formats. We'll have to wait for scrupulous tests, but at first glance, the “ten” shows a gorgeous picture that gives a head start to the iPhone 8 Plus. In addition, improved color rendering and the aforementioned contrast seriously improve the AR capabilities of the device.
Everything can be learned by comparison, here are the main parameters:
iPhone X: diagonal - 5.8in; permission - 2436×1125 px; pixel density - 458 ppi.
iPhone 8+: diagonal - 5.5in; permission - 1920×1080 px; pixel density - 401 ppi.
iPhone 8: diagonal - 4.7in; permission - 1334×750 px; pixel density - 326 ppi.
Conclusion: Almost all modern flagships have cool OLED displays, and now Apple has joined their club. G8s with an IPS matrix are a thing of the past.
Upgraded front camera
All Instagram bloggers in the world will buy the new iPhone X precisely because of the TrueDepth camera. Yes, even if there were no other changes. Its main feature is the presence of the already beloved “Portrait” mode with the ability to adjust portrait lighting.
The front camera of the iPhone X is responsible for Face ID, so it’s packed with a bunch of sensors. It is tightly linked with an IR emitter, an IR camera and a point projector, which allows you to adjust previously inaccessible shooting parameters in real time.
iPhone X received an exclusive feature, Animoji. Now you can make a smiley with your own facial features. New face scanning technologies - pop for geeks. The ability to leave messages in the form of a talking poop is nirvana.
Conclusion: If Animoji looks like a fun addition, then the TrueDepth front camera is the real reason to opt for the iPhone X, especially for selfie lovers.
The rear camera is slightly cooler than the iPhone 8 Plus
The rear camera is almost the same as in the 8 Plus - these are the same two lenses, producing a 12-megapixel image. But this time, both “lenses” received optical image stabilization. In addition, the “ten” has a fast telescopic lens with an aperture of ƒ/2.4, versus ƒ/2.8 in the iPhone 8 Plus.
Conclusion: You don’t have to be an extreme athlete to test the new camera; improved stabilization will show itself even when shooting video for the family archive.
iPhone X beats iPhone 8 almost dry
Apple released the iPhone X at the very beginning of November, but insiders and designers are already speculating what the company's flagship will look like when it debuts in 2018. Pavel Gorodnitsky collected all the rumors about new smartphones from Cupertino.
Different sizes
The first reaction to the iPhone X was: "Where is the iPhone X Plus?"
For three years, Apple has learned that an enlarged version of it comes out along with the main gadget, but the frameless device came out in a single modification. Most likely, this is due to the fact that the American corporation simply did not have enough time to develop the phablet - it was necessary to bring the 5.8-inch “ten” to the market as quickly as possible, and not think about fans of giant screens.
Now the time has arrived, time pressure is gone, so we can expect a large iPhone from Apple without frames around the perimeter of the screen.
Apparently, the screen diagonal will be 6.4 inches - which means you need to count on QHD resolution. The boldest analysts claim that Tim Cook may break up and introduce a 6.7-inch iPhone Plus, but for now this looks like nonsense. This diagonal turns even a frameless flagship into something like a tablet, and Apple really doesn’t like it when ergonomics suffer.
It’s much more interesting to talk about the mini-flagship. There are three facts to take into account here. Firstly, Apple has long been required to continue the super-demand iPhone SE. Secondly, many fans of the company dream of the return of a compact glass iPhone (the memory of the iPhone 4S is still alive). Thirdly, rumors have already appeared that Samsung is going to present not only the classic Galaxy S9, but also a 5-inch mini version.
All this suggests that Apple can expand its model range and introduce three frameless models to the market: small, standard and large. Then it will be very difficult for Android competitors.
Unclear name
Apple went all out in 2017. Apparently, Tim Cook was so scared by the hype around the Galaxy S8 that he dumped all his marketing cards on the table. Apple CEO not only ruthlessly destroyed the frigid letter S (instead of the iPhone 8, the iPhone 7s was expected), but also used the Roman “ten” to:
a) emphasize the uniqueness of this iPhone;
b) celebrate the tenth anniversary of the release of the first Apple smartphone.
The short-term effect was decent, but Tim blatantly upended Apple’s entire naming philosophy. In 2018, he will have to gracefully get out of this situation, although there seem to be no truly elegant ways to solve the problem. iPhone 9 is a step back. iPhone XI is bulky. iPhone 8s is absolutely clinical.
Usually, when reaching a dead end, Apple simply introduces a new designation. It can be anything: iPhone X (2018), iPhone Air, iPhone Pro, iPhone Edition and anything in that style. There is nothing wrong with this - sooner or later Cook would still have come to abandon the usual sequential numbering.
Next generation Face ID
Apple has been highly praised for its facial recognition system, but Face ID has some critical flaws:
1. iPhone X reads faces very poorly if the owner is lying on his side (or even lying down).
2. The flagship is disgusting at recognizing faces even at a slight angle - regular refusals are incredibly infuriating.
3. “Ten” gets confused not only in twins, but also in relatives - for example, the iPhone X of a younger brother can easily be unlocked by the older one.
4. Face ID is not at all suitable for people with strabismus. For them, on average, every third attempt to unlock an iPhone ends in failure.
5. People with burns and other facial injuries should not even try to set up Face ID - it still won’t work.
At one time, Apple significantly improved Touch ID: the scanner not only learned to respond to a wet finger, but in general became much faster and more accurate.
It will be great if Apple pulls off a similar trick with Face ID, because now this system delights only those who are ready to constantly bring the iPhone 30–35 centimeters to their eyes, maintain the desired angle and be happy that the device has finally recognized the face.
Seven more predictions that will probably come true
1. At the presentation, Tim Cook will announce that the 2018 iPhone is much more powerful than the one introduced in September 2017. It’s impossible to miss here: Cupertino is focused on equipping the iPhone with the most powerful chipset.
2. The camera will also get better anyway. Apple, unlike Samsung, will not allow itself to supply the same module two years in a row.
6. The 64GB version will die. It will be replaced by a 128 GB modification. There is still a chance that Apple will announce a half-terabyte iPhone X. This is the ideal volume to spin the frameless phablet (6.4 inches), positioning it as an ultra-versatile device.
7. The most important item on the wish list is a screen with a refresh rate of 120 GHz. This hasn’t really been implemented on smartphones yet, but in vain. When you use the new iPad Pro (which has such a luxurious display), it seems as if you are literally touching the content with your hands.
This effect must be transferred to the most expensive iPhone - then everything will turn out absolutely perfect.
According to established tradition, every September, Apple introduces the world to a new generation of smartphones. This year, the event was held at the company's new headquarters, located in the heart of the famous Silicon Valley. At a presentation in Cupertino on September 12, Apple showed three models at once: the updated iPhone 8/8 Plus and the new, revolutionary iPhone X. Today's review is entirely dedicated to the latter. Not yet available to consumers, it has already become a trendsetter in the world of mobile technology for the next few years.
Leap in numbering
2017 is a big year for Apple. Exactly 10 years ago, the world saw the first iPhone, which marked the end of the era of push-button smartphones. The Cupertino team approached their anniversary responsibly. According to Jony Ive, design director, the development of the “ten” took place over five years. The company had to solve a lot of complex technological problems, but the new product turned out to be really interesting and quite worthy of an anniversary issue.
Face ID
It has been known for a long time that the new Apple phone will have an analogue of the “unlimited screen”. The main “battles” flared up over the placement of the fingerprint scanner. Most analysts and insiders agreed that it would be built directly into the display. However, this time, Apple managed to maintain the intrigue. At the presentation of iPhone 10, a completely new user identification mechanism was demonstrated. The technology is called Face ID. The smartphone recognizes its owner by face, or rather by a three-dimensional face map consisting of 30 thousand control points.
Less than a month has passed since the presentation date, and Taiwanese analysts from KGI Securities Co. Ltd. have already recorded a threefold increase in orders for 3D face scanners from Android software developers. There is other news that is disappointing for fans of the “green robot”. Preliminary expert estimates indicate that the creation of a similar recognition technology and the implementation of the necessary APIs in the Android OS will take at least 2.5 years.
Stated characteristics
Let's take a look “under the hood” and study the technical characteristics and parameters of the new “Apple” product. Let us examine in more detail what was emphasized during its official presentation together and supplement it with well-known materials.
SoC A11 Bionic
The device received a new, six-core SoC, produced using a 10 nm process technology - A11 Bionic. Two Monsoon cores work with tasks requiring high performance, and four Mistral cores are responsible for energy efficiency. The introduction of neural mechanisms into the crystal allows flexible use of available power. Departure from the cluster structure makes it possible to use from one to six cores simultaneously to solve problems. The operating frequency of the SoC is 2.34 GHz.
The A11 was the first processor to use a GPU developed directly by Apple. It does not yet have its own name and it is only reliably known that it has three computing cores. At the presentation, a 30% increase in graphics processing speed was announced, compared to the GPUs produced by Imagination Technologies used in the A10.
The main feature of the new processor is the built-in machine learning technologies, which made it possible to develop and implement 3D facial recognition technology.
It is quite difficult to judge the performance of the new model. So far, there are only screenshots of test results appearing on the Internet. Their reliability can be questioned, but the results are impressive:
- GeekBench (version 4.1) ≈ 4400/9900 points;
- Antutu (version 6.3) ≈ 240000 points.
By the time sales officially start, when the updated version of iOS 11.1 is released, the already high performance may be improved.
Display and appearance
iPhone 10 became the company's first smartphone to receive a display using OLED technology. Until this point, Apple used IPS matrices in its products. At the presentation it was designated as Super Retina Display. With a resolution of 2436x1125 pixels, the diagonal is 5.8". As a result, the highest dot density in the entire line of Apple smartphones has been achieved - 458 ppi. According to Phil Schiller, vice president of marketing, the Super Retina screen is devoid of the traditional disadvantages inherent in OLED. It has improved brightness, increased depth and saturation of the color spectrum. The standard contrast is now 1,000,000 to 1, 70 times higher than that of the iPhone 8. Additionally, support for HDR technologies and adaptive color change True Tone has been introduced. As a result, the smartphone received a completely redesigned screen, in which only 3D Touch remained from previous models, allowing it to recognize pressing force.
Thanks to the lack of a Home button, either physical or virtual, it truly extends from edge to edge of the front panel. Only a small area in the center of the top of the screen remains occupied, where the front camera and sensors responsible for Face ID are located.
Dimensions, materials and autonomy
If we evaluate the physical dimensions, then in the updated line of smartphones for 2017, the iPhone 10 occupies an intermediate place. With a length of 14.4 cm and a width of 7.1 cm, it weighs 174 grams, slightly larger in size than the “eight” and inferior to the “eight plus”.
The body materials have been completely updated. The new model has a frame made of corrosion-resistant alloy steel, similar to surgical steel. The front and rear panels are made of tempered glass, with seven layers of colored coating applied.
The golden and pink colors beloved by the fair sex will not be in the top ten. At least, the start of sales is provided in only two tones: silver and “space gray”.
Despite the available support for fast and wireless charging, the standard package, in the example of the eighth model, does not provide a special adapter.
Cameras
The main camera is double, with vertical lenses. The matrix resolution remains the same - 12 Mpx, the aperture is f/1.8 for the wide-angle lens and f/2.4 for the telephoto lens. The main improvements affected the software part. The speed of photo processing has been increased, new color filters have been applied, and adaptive backlighting technology has been introduced. The latter affects the quality of pictures taken in low light conditions. The stated ability to shoot video in 4K quality, at a rate of 60 frames/second, and slow-motion video, at a rate of 240 frames/second.
The front camera, which received its own designation True Depth, has the usual 7 MP matrix from last year’s flagship, which has received image stabilization. The ability of the new processor and Face ID sensors made it possible to use it to create a new generation of emoticons - Animoji. Read from the user's face, a 3D mask conveys facial expressions, allowing you to animate preset animated characters and create short videos.
The range of software capabilities of both cameras is quite large. The neural unit of the new A11 Bionic allows you to expand the capabilities of image pre-processing and use shooting technologies adapted to external factors.
So, this day has come: the iPhone X, the brightest, most sensational and long-awaited flagship of the year, has arrived for testing. Many criticized Apple and Tim Cook for the decision to release first the iPhone 8/8 Plus and only then the iPhone X. There was a lot of talk that Apple did not have time to produce the required number of “dozens” on time. The latter is partly true: the shortage of iPhone X will continue at least until the end of the calendar year. However, this shortage only confirms that Apple is still "on top" and can still produce sensational products. We will tell you how iPhone X deserves this status in our article.
Let's take a look at the characteristics of the new product.
Apple iPhone X Specifications
- SoC Apple A11 Bionic (6 cores, 2 of which are high-performance and operate at 2.1 GHz, and 4 are energy-efficient)
- Apple A11 Bionic GPU
- Apple M11 motion coprocessor including barometer, accelerometer, gyroscope and compass
- RAM 3 GB
- Flash memory 64/256 GB
- No memory card support
- Operating system iOS 11
- OLED touch display, 5.8″, 2436×1125 (458 ppi), capacitive, multi-touch, support for 3D Touch technologies and Taptic Engine response
- Cameras: front (7 MP, video 1080p 30 fps, 720p 240 fps) and rear with two lenses (12 MP, optical zoom 2x, video shooting 4K 60 fps)
- Cellular: UMTS/HSPA/HSPA+/DC-HSDPA (850, 900, 1700/2100, 1900, 2100 MHz); GSM/EDGE (850, 900, 1800, 1900 MHz), LTE Bands 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 12, 13, 17, 18, 19, 20, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 38, 39, 40, 41, LTE Advanced support
- Wi-Fi 802.11b/g/n/ac (2.4 and 5 GHz; MIMO support)
- Bluetooth 5.0 A2DP LE
- Face recognition with TrueDepth camera
- NFC (Apple Pay only)
- Universal Lightning Connector
- Supports Qi wireless charging
- Li-polymer battery 2716 mAh, non-removable
- GPS with A-GPS, Glonass, Galileo and QZSS
- Dimensions 144×71×7.7 mm
- Weight 174 g
Let's compare them with the iPhone 8 Plus and iPhone 7 Plus to clearly demonstrate how the characteristics of current large-format Apple smartphones differ.
| Apple iPhone X | Apple iPhone 8 Plus | Apple iPhone 7 Plus | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Screen | 5.8″, OLED, 2436×1125, 458 ppi | 5.5″, IPS, 1920×1080, 401 ppi | |
| SoC (processor) | SoC Apple A11 Bionic (6 cores, 2+4) | Apple A10 Fusion (4 cores, 2+2) | |
| Flash memory | 64/256 GB | 64/256 GB | 32/128/256 GB |
| Connectors | universal lightning connector | universal lightning connector | |
| Memory card support | No | No | No |
| RAM | 3 GB | 3 GB | 3 GB |
| Cameras | main (12 MP; video 4K 60 fps) with two lenses and front (7 MP; shooting and transmitting Full HD video) | main (12 MP; video 4K 30 fps) with two lenses and front (7 MP; shooting and transmitting Full HD video) | |
| User identification sensors | Face recognition with TrueDepth camera | Fingerprint's scanner | Fingerprint's scanner |
| Housing protection | IP67 (water and dust protection) | IP67 (water and dust protection) | IP67 (water and dust protection) |
| Battery capacity (mAh) | 2716 | 2675 | 2900 |
| operating system | Apple iOS 11 | Apple iOS 11 | Apple iOS 10 (upgrade to iOS 11 available) |
| Dimensions (mm) | 144×71×7.7 | 158×78×7.5 | 158×78×7.3 |
| Weight (g) | 174 | 202 | 189 |
| Average price (for version with minimum flash memory) | T-1732181846 | T-1732171530 | T-14206637 |
| iPhone X (64GB) Retail Deals | L-1732181846-10 | ||
| iPhone X (256GB) Retail Deals | L-1732210983-10 | ||
The main difference is, of course, the screen. Not only does the iPhone X have the largest and highest resolution, but also for the first time in an Apple smartphone it is made using OLED technology. The second key innovation is the user identification system: instead of a fingerprint scanner, there is a TrueDepth facial recognition camera. One last thing: despite the larger display, this is the lightest of Apple's large smartphones. It is almost 30 grams lighter than the iPhone 8 Plus and 15 grams lighter than the iPhone 7 Plus. At the same time, Apple retained moisture protection and other characteristics.
Well, let's get acquainted with the smartphone live.
Packaging, accessories and Folio case
The iPhone X box is made in the traditional Apple style, but with one caveat: the image of the edges of the iPhone is painted with silver paint. It's a small thing, but it looks impressive (you can't see it in the photo, of course).
However, using a case with an iPhone X is a dubious idea, because you won’t feel like you’ve upgraded to a new iPhone if you previously had an iPhone 7 Plus. Of course, the main innovation in terms of design is the glass back surface.
The package is no different from the iPhone of the previous two generations: a 5 V 1 A power supply, a Lightning cable, an adapter from Lightning to a minijack (3.5 mm), EarPods with a Lightning connector and a set of leaflets.
It would probably be logical to add something different - something that would be a pleasant bonus for owners of a premium product. But alas. Even a new Folio case will have to be purchased separately, and its cost, by the way, is rather high: 7,490 rubles. However, the case makes a really nice impression.
It is made of soft genuine leather, very pleasant to the touch, with fine thread stitching. Inside, where the case comes into contact with the body, there is a microfiber pad. Folio protects your smartphone from all sides, including the screen. However, in addition to the protection and unlocking function, the closing flap also has the function of a wallet with two compartments: you can store cards (no more than 4-5), business cards, photographs, etc. there.
In general, this solution is not for everyone, especially because of the price, but we really liked the Folio case. Moreover, even with it, the new iPhone does not become bulky, and the frame around the screen does not become too wide. But this is the topic of the next section of our article.
Design
When you pick up the iPhone X, you experience a forgotten feeling that Apple smartphones have not pleased us with for a long time. I want to exclaim: “This is the future!” Indeed, a screen that almost evenly covers the entire frontal plane is perceived as something unreal.
Yes, of course, Samsung flagships also have a very impressive screen, “climbing” even onto the side edges. But below and above there are still quite large areas not occupied by the screen. On the iPhone, the frame has almost the same width around the entire perimeter. From the bottom and top it is several times smaller than that of the Samsung Galaxy Note 8, and from the side it is about twice as large. But due to the uniformity of its width, this is not noticeable.
Of course, because of this, we had to sacrifice something without which the iPhone seemed unthinkable - the round Home button, which became one of the symbols of the entire line and was patented. This decision seems even more daring, since Apple several generations ago expanded the functionality of the button with a fingerprint scanner, and then quite quickly brought this function to almost perfection.
But now Apple is offering something even more innovative and, according to the company, secure: Face ID facial recognition technology. You just need to pick up your smartphone and look at it - and the device will perform identification (we will talk in more detail about how this function works later). Haters, of course, will again remember Samsung with its iris scanner. But Apple has a big advantage: you don't have to look at the iPhone while holding it directly in front of your face.
Face ID is powered by two cameras: infrared and TrueDepth. The first determines that there is a living person in front of the camera, and the second projects 30 thousand invisible dots onto your face, after which this information is processed by the processor. It is to accommodate two additional cameras, in addition to the traditional front camera for taking selfies and video chats, that a black notch is made at the top of the screen. But it cannot be said that this notch greatly spoils the impression. On the contrary: the cutout in the screen looks impressive. We understand that it is very difficult to implement this technologically, and this enhances the “techno-charm” of the model.
The round smooth edges of the device are made of a special steel alloy developed by order of Apple. Not only is it very durable (although we, of course, didn’t dare test it), it’s also really beautiful. We tested the Silver model, and here the frame looks just like polished metal, but in the Space Gray variant it has a deep dark shade that perfectly matches the color of the case (we got the opportunity to check it out with our own eyes).
However, it cannot be said that the Silver version looks less interesting. The most important thing here is the very noble pearlescent shade of the back surface. He's truly amazing. The photographs, of course, do not convey this impression, but they also show that it is not just white.
As for the arrangement of buttons and connectors, it is the same, with one exception: the side button, which was previously responsible mainly for turning on/off, has now become longer - apparently this is due to the fact that after the abandonment of the Home button, it has more functions, and therefore it is now especially important that the user can quickly find it.
Another difference from previous generations of iPhone (including the G8) is the vertical arrangement of the module with rear cameras. Many joke that this is necessary so that it can be immediately seen which iPhone a person has. Seriously, the explanation is purely technical: the saturation of components in the upper central part of the body (all the cameras for Face ID are there) forced the remaining elements to be moved closer to the edges. But it is obvious that this does not spoil the appearance.
The last thing I would like to mention regarding the design, but far from least important, is the size and convenience of the device. Despite the largest display area of any Apple smartphone, the iPhone X is much smaller than the iPhone 8/7/6s/6 Plus, and only slightly larger than the iPhone 8/7/6s/6. Below is an iPhone X next to an iPhone 6s.
It lies very comfortably in the hand, although the edges and glass are slippery, and the device itself is a bit heavy (especially for its size). But some users may even like the latter: you immediately understand that it’s a thing! :)
Screen
As has been noted many times, the main feature of the new iPhone is its screen. Made using OLED technology, it has a 5.8″ diagonal and a resolution of 2436×1125, which gives the highest pixel density in the history of the line, but not a record for competitors, 458 ppi. We have before us the largest update in the entire history of the iPhone, comparable only to the advent of Retina displays in the iPhone 4. A detailed test of the new display was carried out by the editor of the “Monitors” and “Projectors and TV” sections. Alexey Kudryavtsev.
The front surface of the screen is made in the form of a glass plate with a mirror-smooth surface that is scratch-resistant. Judging by the reflection of objects, the anti-glare properties of the screen are better than those of the screen (hereinafter simply Nexus 7). For clarity, here is a photo in which a white surface is reflected when the screens are turned off (on the left is Nexus 7, on the right is Apple iPhone X, then they can be distinguished by size):
The screen of the Apple iPhone X is slightly darker (brightness according to photographs is 109 versus 115 for the Nexus 7). The ghosting of reflected objects in the Apple iPhone X screen is very weak, this indicates that there is no air gap between the layers of the screen (more specifically, between the outer glass and the surface of the matrix). Due to the smaller number of boundaries (glass/air type) with very different refractive indices, such screens look better in conditions of intense external illumination, but their repair in the case of cracked external glass is much more expensive, since the entire screen has to be replaced. The outer surface of the screen has a special oleophobic (grease-repellent) coating (effective, better than that of the Nexus 7), so fingerprints are removed much more easily and appear at a lower speed than with regular glass.
With manual brightness control and when the white field was displayed in full screen, the maximum brightness value was about 620 cd/m², the minimum was 1.9 cd/m². The maximum brightness is very high, and, given the excellent anti-glare properties, readability even on a sunny day outdoors will be at a good level. In complete darkness, the brightness can be reduced to a comfortable value. There is automatic brightness adjustment based on the light sensor (it is located somewhere in the front in the upper part), which is turned on by default. In automatic mode, when external lighting conditions change, the screen brightness both increases and decreases. The operation of this function depends on the position of the brightness adjustment slider - the user uses it to set the desired brightness level for the current conditions. If you don’t change anything, then in complete darkness the brightness drops to 1.9 cd/m² (very dark), in an artificially lit office (about 550 lux) the screen brightness is set to 120 cd/m² (acceptable), in a very bright environment (corresponds to lighting on a clear day outdoors, but without direct sunlight - 20,000 lux or a little more) rises to 620 cd/m² (to the maximum, as needed). We were not entirely satisfied with the result, so first in the dark, and then in the office, we slightly moved the brightness slider to the right, and for the three conditions indicated above we got 20, 180-270 and 620 cd/m² (ideal). It turns out that the auto-brightness function works adequately, and it is possible to adjust the nature of the brightness change to suit the user’s requirements. At any brightness level there is modulation with a frequency of approximately 60 or 240 Hz. The figure below shows brightness (vertical axis) versus time (horizontal axis) for several brightness settings:
It can be seen that at maximum and close to it brightness the modulation amplitude is not very large; as a result, there is no visible flicker. However, with a strong decrease in brightness, modulation appears with a large relative amplitude; its presence can already be seen in a test for the presence of a stroboscopic effect or simply with rapid eye movement. Depending on individual sensitivity, this flickering may cause increased fatigue.
This screen uses a Super AMOLED matrix - an active matrix on organic light-emitting diodes. A full-color image is created using subpixels of three colors - red (R), green (G) and blue (B), but there are twice as many green subpixels, which can be referred to as RGBG. This is confirmed by a fragment of a microphotograph:
For comparison, you can familiarize yourself with those used in mobile technology.
In the fragment above you can count 4 green subpixels, 2 red (4 halves) and 2 blue (1 whole and 4 quarters), and by repeating these fragments, you can lay out the entire screen without breaks or overlap. For such matrices, Samsung introduced the name PenTile RGBG. The manufacturer calculates the screen resolution based on the green subpixels; based on the other two, it will be two times lower. The location and shape of the subpixels in this version is close to the case of the screen and some other newer Samsung devices (and not only) with AMOLED screens. It is worth noting that the artifacts characteristic of such matrices are not visible at the contrast boundaries, and the manufacturer indicates that a subpixel smoothing algorithm is used.
The screen has excellent viewing angles. True, white color, when deviated even at small angles, acquires a slight bluish tint, but black color remains simply black at any angle. It is so black that the contrast setting is not applicable in this case. For comparison, here are photographs in which the same images are displayed on the screens of the Apple iPhone X and the second comparison participant, while the brightness of the screens is initially set to approximately 200 cd/m², and the color balance on the camera is forcibly switched to 6500 K.
White field:
Note the good uniformity of brightness and color tone of the white field.
And a test picture:
Color balance varies slightly, color saturation is normal. Let us remind you that the photograph cannot serve as a reliable source of information about the quality of color rendering and is provided only for conditional visual illustration. In this case, apparently due to the peculiarities of the screen’s emission spectrum, the color balance and brightness of colors in photographs of the Apple iPhone X screen are somewhat different from what is visible to the eye and determined by a spectrophotometer.
Now at an angle of approximately 45 degrees to the plane and to the side of the screen. White field:
The brightness at an angle for both screens has noticeably decreased (to avoid strong darkening, the shutter speed has been increased compared to previous photographs), but in the case of the Apple iPhone X the drop in brightness is much less pronounced. As a result, with formally the same brightness, the Apple iPhone X screen visually looks much brighter (compared to LCD screens), since you often have to look at the screen of a mobile device from at least a slight angle.
And a test picture:
It can be seen that the colors have not changed much on both screens and the brightness of the Apple iPhone X smartphone at an angle is noticeably higher. Switching the state of the matrix elements is performed almost instantly, but at the switching edge there may be a step with a width of approximately 17 ms (which corresponds to a screen refresh rate of 60 Hz). For example, this is what the dependence of brightness on time looks like when moving from black to white and back:
In some conditions, the presence of such a step can lead to plumes trailing behind moving objects. However, dynamic scenes in films on OLED screens are distinguished by high clarity and even some “jerky” movements.
The gamma curve, constructed using 32 points with equal intervals based on the numerical value of the shade of gray, did not reveal any blockage in either the highlights or the shadows. The exponent of the approximating power function is 2.22, which is almost equal to the standard value of 2.2. In this case, the real gamma curve deviates very little from the power-law dependence:
Color gamut is sRGB:
Let's look at the spectra:
Such spectra are typical for OLED matrices - the components are well separated, which allows for a wide color gamut. However, in this case, the color gamut is carefully adjusted to the sRGB boundaries. As a result, visually the colors have a natural saturation.
This applies to those images that have an sRGB profile or no profile at all. However, today's top-end Apple devices are native to the Display P3 color space, with slightly richer greens and reds. The Display P3 space is based on SMPTE DCI-P3, but has a D65 white point and a gamma curve of approximately 2.2. In addition, the manufacturer states that starting with iOS 9.3, color management is supported at the system level, which makes it easier for iOS applications to correctly display images with a specified color profile. Indeed, by supplementing the test images (JPG and PNG files) with the Display P3 profile, we obtained a color gamut wider than sRGB (output in Safari):
Note that the coordinates of the primary colors coincide almost exactly with those specified for the DCI-P3 standard. Let's look at the spectra in the case of test images with the Display P3 profile:
It can be seen that in this case there is a slight cross-mixing of components in the red area, that is, the native color space for the Apple iPhone X screen is slightly wider than Display P3.
The balance of shades on the gray scale is good, since the color temperature is close to the standard 6500 K, and the deviation from the blackbody spectrum (ΔE) is less than 10, which is considered an acceptable indicator for a consumer device. At the same time, the color temperature changes little from shade to shade - this has a positive effect on the visual assessment of color balance. (The darkest areas of the gray scale can be ignored, since color balance there is not very important, and the error in measuring color characteristics at low brightness is large.)
This Apple device has a feature Night Shift, which makes the picture warmer at night (the user specifies how much warmer). For a description of why such a correction might be useful, see the article about iPad Pro 9.7. In any case, when having fun with a tablet or smartphone at night, it is better to reduce the screen brightness to a minimum, but still comfortable level, and only then, to calm your own paranoia, turn the screen yellow with the Night Shift setting.
There is a function True Tone, which, when turned on, adjusts the color balance to environmental conditions. For example, we activated it and placed the tablet under LED lights with cool white light, resulting in values of 3.3 for ΔE and 6500 K for color temperature. Under a halogen incandescent lamp (warm light) - 0.3 and 5200 K, respectively, that is, the color temperature has become lower, and the balance has become closer to the black body radiation spectrum. The function works as expected. Note that the current standard is to calibrate display devices to a white point of 6500 K, but in principle, correction to the color temperature of external light can be useful if you want to achieve a better match between the image on the screen and what is visible on paper (or any other media). , on which colors are formed due to the reflection of incident light) under current conditions.
Let's summarize. The screen has a very high maximum brightness and has excellent anti-glare properties, so the device can be used outdoors without any problems, even on a sunny summer day. In complete darkness, the brightness can be reduced to a comfortable value. It is acceptable to use a mode with automatic brightness adjustment, which works adequately. The advantages of the screen also include an effective oleophobic coating, support for the sRGB color gamut (with the participation of the OS) and good color balance. At the same time, let us recall the general advantages of OLED screens: true black color (if nothing is reflected in the screen), a noticeably smaller drop in image brightness than LCDs when viewed at an angle. Disadvantages include screen brightness modulation that appears at low brightness. For users who are particularly sensitive to flicker, this may cause increased fatigue. However, overall the screen quality is very high.
Control and use of the screen
Due to the fact that the Home button has disappeared, many familiar commands are now performed differently. The first few minutes it’s unusual, but then you realize that it’s also quite intuitive. For example, to close an application and return to the home screen, simply swipe it up from the bottom. To bring up application thumbnails, you need to move from bottom to top and hold your finger in the middle of the screen.
Another interesting gesture is moving your finger along the bottom edge of the screen: this way you can switch from one open application to another. By the way, at the bottom while applications are running, a long white stripe glows, showing where to swipe your finger (in horizontal orientation, it is naturally located along the long edge that is at the bottom).
In general, all commands are simply redistributed among the remaining buttons and gestures. The most frequently used things are made as simple and intuitive as possible, while some more specific ones will have to be searched on the Internet. For example, to restart or completely turn off your smartphone, you need to press and hold the power and volume up buttons at the same time. And to take a screenshot, you need to press the same buttons quickly.
An interesting question that comes up with the new screen is how do older apps use it? The answer turned out to be simple: they simply do not use parts of the screen from the bottom and top, that is, you see black bars. But since these stripes turn out to be a continuation of the edges, this does not annoy you, it just turns out to be a slightly smaller screen. However, auxiliary elements of the OS itself, such as time and battery charge, end up right there unless they are disabled in the application itself.
If the application is optimized (and these are many popular applications, including Russian ones - for example, Yandex.Maps), then it uses the entire area, and in such a way that useful information does not fall into the notch. However, physically the picture is rendered, of course, without a notch.
Face ID and the use of new cameras
As already mentioned, one of the main innovations is the appearance of new cameras: infrared and TrueDepth. Their main function is to identify the Face ID user’s face. And, it should be noted, it works great. Often, you don’t even think about the fact that the smartphone must perform some operations in order to recognize you - you just pick it up, glance at it, and you’re done. Everything happens by itself almost instantly.
Since we only used the smartphone for one day, we cannot say how recognition will work in difficult conditions and with daily changes in appearance (for example, women with and without makeup, men with different lengths of stubble). However, what we were able to test was unlocking in complete darkness. Indeed, it works.
There is one interesting nuance: in the settings you can disable the need to look to unlock. That is, even if your eyes are closed or your gaze is directed somewhere to the side, the smartphone will recognize you. In practice, this is rather a hindrance, since, hypothetically, random triggering is possible. And of course, this reduces security. But this is a matter of taste.
Performance
The SoC and RAM characteristics of the iPhone X are identical to those of the iPhone 8 Plus. The smartphone runs on the new Apple A11 Bionic platform. This is a 64-bit SoC that includes 6 cores, of which two are high-performance and the other four are energy-efficient. Moreover, at maximum load, all six cores can work simultaneously.
The amount of RAM, like the iPhone 8 Plus, is 3 GB. Therefore, the difference with it in tests may be due, first of all, to a different screen resolution.
Let's start with browser tests: SunSpider 1.0.2, Octane Benchmark, Kraken Benchmark and . The Safari browser was used. Especially for a more clear comparison, we conducted new performance tests on the iPhone 7 Plus, updating the smartphone OS to the latest version.
We see that the difference in the results of the iPhone 8 Plus and iPhone X does not exceed the error. As for the iPhone 7 Plus, compared to it, both new products, of course, show much better results.
Now let's see how the iPhone X performs in the AnTuTu and Geekbench 4 comprehensive benchmarks.
A win in AnTuTu and a slight loss in Geekbench 4 can hardly indicate anything, but at least we see that there is no abnormal spread in the results.
The last group of benchmarks is dedicated to testing GPU performance. We used 3DMark, GFXBenchmark Metal, as well as Basemark Metal Pro, which is designed specifically for Metal-enabled devices.
Let us remind you that Offscreen tests involve displaying images in 1080p, regardless of the actual screen resolution. And Onscreen tests mean displaying a picture in the resolution that matches the device screen resolution. That is, the “off-screen” tests are indicative from the point of view of the abstract performance of the SoC, and the remaining tests are indicative from the point of view of the comfort of the game on a specific device.
| Apple iPhone X (Apple A11) |
Apple iPhone 8 Plus (Apple A11) |
Apple iPhone 7 Plus (Apple A10) |
|
|---|---|---|---|
| GFXBenchmark Manhattan 3.3.1 (1440р) | 26.2 fps | 28.5 fps | 24.2 fps |
| GFXBenchmark Manhattan 3.1 | 35.4 fps | 45.1 fps | 43.0 fps |
| GFXBenchmark Manhattan 3.1, off screen | 39.7 fps | 44.5 fps | 41.0 fps |
| GFXBenchmark Manhattan | 51.0 fps | 64.7 fps | 57.6 fps |
| GFXBenchmark 1080p Manhattan, off screen | 58.9 fps | 67.2 fps | 58.3 fps |
Judging by GFXBenchmark, the iPhone X is inferior to the iPhone 8 Plus, and if in Onscreen modes this is quite understandable (the higher the resolution, the fewer frames the SoC can output), then in Offscreen mode the results should have been identical. But no. It turns out that the new product is slightly inferior even to the iPhone 7 Plus.
| Apple iPhone X (Apple A11) |
Apple iPhone 8 Plus (Apple A11) |
Apple iPhone 7 Plus (Apple A10) |
|
|---|---|---|---|
| 3DMark (Ice Storm Unlimited mode) | 64252 | 64382 | 37093 |
| 3DMark (Sling Shot mode) | 3665 | 4155 | 2536 |
| 3DMark (Sling Shot Extreme mode) | 2640 | 2394 | 2311 |
| 3DMark (API Overhead mode - OpenGL ES 3.0 / Metal) | 338431 / 2283611 | 314323 / 2210261 | — |
Here we see that, in general, the two new iPhones are again at parity. And, most importantly, they are seriously superior to the iPhone 7 Plus.
Finally - Basemark Metal Pro.
The strangest result in our testing. Perhaps the test needs some optimization for the iPhone X.
One way or another, based on the results of all performance tests, we can conclude that there is no significant deterioration in performance due to an increase in screen resolution, and in general this is approximately the same level as that of the iPhone 8 Plus. Well, the superiority over the iPhone 7 Plus is almost everywhere undeniable. On the other hand, gaming applications should still be optimized for the iPhone X in order to get the most out of its hardware.
Cameras
The main camera of the iPhone X has only two differences from the camera of the iPhone 8 Plus: firstly, stabilization has been implemented for the telephoto lens, and secondly, the aperture of the telephoto lens is now larger. However, it was more interesting for us to see what both cameras are capable of in difficult conditions, and also to compare them in practice with the iPhone 8 Plus and Samsung Galaxy Note 8. This section of the article was prepared by Anton Soloviev.
Apparently, the dual module here is the same as in the iPhone 8 Plus - moreover, it can also be found in other famous manufacturers. However, the “plus” camera seems to deliberately work worse, not allowing the module to fully open. Here the detailing is at a very high level, and software processing is practically invisible. But the main achievement is that now the shooting quality of both modules is practically the same.
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Software processing in the photographs of the “portrait” module is still striking, especially when shooting indoors. But in daylight, despite cloudy weather and rain and snow, both modules behave very well. Perhaps we can safely say that such cameras will give compact cameras a head start and even compete with more serious ones. But only in good lighting!
We tried to avoid comparison with he-who-must-not-be-named, but comparison is inevitable, especially since the Samsung Galaxy Note 8 almost certainly has the same dual module as the new Apple smartphones. In good lighting, the mentioned cameras work almost perfectly; there is no point in looking for differences in their images. But we couldn’t help but push their heads together, so we threw the subjects into one of the most difficult conditions - office premises after sunset. This is where all their weaknesses should appear.
Below are fragments of photographs with high magnification. From left to right are the iPhone 8 Plus, iPhone X and Galaxy Note 8.
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Notice how surprisingly inconsistent the cameras are: the Note 8 is better at handling noise and creating soft shadows, but it does overuse sharpening in places, sometimes losing detail. The iPhone X performs better overall than the iPhone 8 Plus, but it's not directly comparable to the Note 8: it performs clearly better in some cases, and clearly worse in others. The Note 8's flash is more powerful (last photo), but without it, in completely wild conditions (when shooting a server), it greatly blurs the noise. In this case, the iPhone X turns noise into a huge grain - and this is a matter of taste.
However, both the “portrait” and “landscape” modules of both flagships work equally well, so here we have to admit that friendship won.
Separately, we can say about the iPhone X camera that it will cope perfectly with many scenarios, especially in good lighting. But you shouldn’t demand the supernatural from her, otherwise you might be disappointed.
We also offer you videos shot on iPhone X cameras. The first two videos are 4K videos shot with the main camera at a wide angle, with the main lens.
Another video is a Full HD video shot using a telephoto lens.
And lastly: selfies can now be taken in portrait mode - with bokeh and other effects.
Autonomous operation and heating
We haven't had a chance to use the iPhone X in real life yet (that's yet to come), so we can't say how long it will last in everyday scenarios. But judging by the gaming test, its result is no worse than that of the “pluses”. It is clear that we are talking about the maximum load, and in other situations the situation may be different. But these numbers are very encouraging.
| 3D Gaming Mode (GFX Benchmark Metal, Manhattan 3.1 Battery Test) | |
|---|---|
| Apple iPhone X | 2 hours 59 minutes |
| Apple iPhone 8 Plus | 2 hours 24 minutes |
| Apple iPhone 7 Plus | 2 hours 13 minutes |
But let’s add a fly in the ointment: the new product gets hotter. This is especially noticeable in games. Below is a thermal image rear surface obtained after three runs in a row (about 10 minutes of work) of the Basemark Metal 3D test:
The heating is highly localized in the upper right part of the device, which apparently corresponds to the location of the SoC chip. According to the heat chamber, the maximum heating was 44 degrees (at an ambient temperature of 24 degrees). The Apple iPhone 7 Plus heats up less in this test.
conclusions
How long have we waited for this! Apple has finally released not just a very good product, but something more. Indeed, in the entire history of the iPhone line, this is perhaps the most striking update. Perhaps something similar in terms of innovation happened in the case of the iPhone 4 - if you remember, it was then that the Retina display first appeared (and competitors could not repeat it for a long time), at the same time the iPhone first had a glass back surface. In 2017, Apple returned to glass as the main material, but made another revolution: it abandoned the Home button and placed the screen on the entire front surface.
Another thing is that this step can hardly be considered innovative if we take the entire industry. The same Samsung Galaxy Note 8 also has no buttons on the front side and also has a huge display, and, of course, we cannot forget about Xiaomi Mi Mix. However, Apple does not seek to formally be the first in something, but to present technologies and engineering achievements in a special way, “building” a new user experience around it. And in the iPhone X we see exactly this.
The new gestures are comfortable and intuitive, and the design of the pre-installed apps takes into account the notch at the top of the front surface so gracefully that we're more likely to admire it than to be annoyed by it. Finally, Face ID will likely become a de facto standard for the industry, just as Apple previously made the fingerprint scanner a de facto standard.
Of course, we need to use the smartphone longer to understand how convenient it is with all this in real life (and we will definitely do this), but so far there is a feeling that everything is done at the highest level. At least, we did not find any significant shortcomings that could be considered a price for innovation and that could deter us from purchasing.
True, there are a number of temporary problems. For example, without optimization, third-party applications cannot use the entire screen area and leave black bars at the top and bottom (in landscape orientation, on the left and right). In addition, various payment applications that use Touch ID cannot yet use Face ID. However, we understand that this is a matter of time. Chances are, by the time you can buy an iPhone X, everyone will already be optimizing their apps.
Yes, yes, ordering an iPhone X is no longer so easy - the next deliveries will only be in December, and only if you’re lucky. On the day sales start - November 3 - only a few lucky ones will be able to buy “ten” from extremely limited quantities in offline stores. This means that the golden (for Apple and resellers :)) times are returning: queues, excitement and other delights of scarcity. And this despite the really high prices! But we can only be glad that Apple has released a product that people (and not just individual fans, but millions) are ready to buy no matter what.
