The world tuned in last night for the official announcement of Apple’s latest technological marvel, the iPhone X. While there was also news on the iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 plus, it’s Apple’s most extreme upgrade of its flagship product that has incited rabid hysteria online – and here’s what you need to know.
You’re saying it wrong
As sexy as the ‘X’ sounds, it’s actually said ‘iPhone Ten’. Sorry.
Shock! Horror! There’s no home button!
This is possibly the biggest change in terms of functionality. The home button on previous iPhones was essentially a one-button navigation system, but with the iPhone X (remember, that’s ‘ten’ not ‘X’) swiping up the screen is essentially the replacement and will let you return to the home screen and toggle through your apps. There’s a good reason there’s no home button, though…
The screen basically takes up the whole phone
Yes, the front of the new iPhone X is essentially all screen. Aside from the small area for the front camera at the top, the 5.8 inch edge-to-edge façade is your everything.
Apart from a tiny section at the top for the front camera, the front of the new iPhone is the screen, the whole screen and nothing but the screen. The rather fancy-looking edge-to-edge façade measures 5.8 inches diagonally.
All-glass everything
The ‘all-glass’ design, as Apple has called it, on the iPhone X means that the front and back are glass. It certainly gives is a certain sexiness, but some have already raised concerns about the breakability of the glass, despite Apple claiming that it is the most durable that has ever been used on a smartphone.
It Uses Face ID
First of all, there’s no home button on the phone, so the way in which you unlock it is with facial recognition. You simply glance at the screen, which will then illuminate your face for the infrared to capture it. Apple has claimed that the TrueDepth camera system and A11 Bionic Chip that it uses are so advanced that the facial recognition will still recognize you if you’re wearing a hat, change your hairstyle or even grow a beard. What an age we live in, eh?
You can charge it wirelessly
One of the most talked about new features of the iPhone X is wireless charging. It’s not the first smartphone to have it, with Samsung having included it on several of its Galaxy phones and it’s actually slower than traditional charging. But with Apple’s AirPower mat, all you have to do is place your iPhone (or Apple Watch or AirPod headphones) on it and sit back. The mat is likely to be expensive, but the iPhone X is actually compatible with various third-party wireless chargers.
The Animoji feature is being mocked but everyone will use it all the time
One of the more trivial new features in the iPhone X will allow users to send animated emojis with your facial movements and voice – Snapchat filter style. Why? Because its 2017 and we want to send talking poo emojis, god damn it.
It’s been priced at $999
Sorry to end on a sour note, but – as everyone expected – the iPhone X is rather pricey – and it’s only going to be pricier when it hits these shores. Start saving up from now.
