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The problem with the iPhone X is its only selling point is the huge screen. It looks cool, perhaps. But it doesn't really bring anything new or useful to the de

The problem with the iPhone X is its only selling point is the huge screen. It looks cool, perhaps. But it doesn't really bring anything new or useful to the design, and requires so many compromises: the (less secure and less convenient) Face ID instead of Touch ID, no home button, all the basic OS functionality having completely different gestures or button sequences than before, the notch at the top covering the screen, reduced status bar size… It's the epitome of form over function.

abakker 9y ago
As someone who bought one for ARkit stuff, I was ready to have all the complaints you mention, but honestly they haven't turned out to be true for me. FaceID is more reliable than touch ID, and only 2 gestures really change. The status bar size is silly, but, the notch itself barely registers after the first few days of use.
- deleted 9y ago
  [deleted]
dilap 9y ago
As the very happy owner of an iPhone X, I couldn't disagree more. The (nearly) full screen display is fantastic. The notch and rounded edges don't bother me at all; it gives the phone screen an organic shape, previously only seen in sci-fi movies. FaceID is fantastic; it's super reliable and incrdibly seemless. Touch ID was far worse. Swipe motions instead of the home bar works great. I've never been happier with a phone. Truely a phenomenal device.
- ben_jones 9y ago
  Counter point: I haven't thought about Touch ID since picking up the 7 (my first iPhone). Screen is good. Camera is good. I don't use gestures. I have an extra $1000 in my bank account from not buying the X.
  - dilap 9y ago
    I think I may have been somewhat of a special case for Touch Id -- I could never get it to work reliably for me. And yeah, the 7 is a very solid phone. But the X is really special. And I sold my 7 for $400, so hey, my bank account is only out $600 for the X. :-)
- torstenvl 9y ago
  "Reliable" and "seamless" don't really go together when you're talking about a combination authentication/authorization mechanism. To know you truly have the user's authorization to do something, there needs to be a discrete, conscious act. Touch ID had that. Face ID got rid of it. That's a net loss for users.
  - dilap 9y ago
    I guess it depends on what you want. For me, it means if I lose my phone I can be reasonably confident someone is not going to be able to log into it. It means I can leave my phone out on the counter and not worry about someone peaking at my incoming notifications, or snooping on my phone. So for me, that's reliable enough. The seemless part is when I'm using my phone, I barely notice that I'm authing it with face ID. So, pretty seemless.
whoisjuan 9y ago
I hate the freaking Face ID... With my iPhone 7 unlocking was second nature. Almost never had to enter the pin. With the iPhone X I found my self, entering the pin at least 50% of the times. Usually when I'm in bed and this thing can't get a good shot of my face (because my face is smooshed into my pillow) or when I'm at work and I have the phone flat on my desk. They can try to defend Face ID as much as they want but it's a total UX nightmare.
- Aloha 9y ago
  I'm having exactly the opposite with FaceID - it works brilliantly and more consistently than TouchID
- jakobegger 9y ago
  It really depends, I guess. Touch ID often failed for me. Every time my hands were ever so slightly damp or sweaty, Touch ID failed. Face ID almost always works. It works while running, while cooking, when wearing gloves, and even in the bath tub. It does fail when I‘m wearing a dust mask, but it‘s probably not a good idea to bring the iPhone to the workshop anyway.
  - rconti 9y ago
    FaceID only fails for me when laying in bed and my face is half covered by the pillow. It works brilliantly while riding my bike. Yup, sunglasses, helmet, looking down at the phone while moving 15mph, flawless. TouchID also almost always worked for me but failed when my hands were wet. My wife has endless problems with TouchID on her phone.
- malyk 9y ago
  Face ID works perfectly for me every time. Sunglasses, hoodie, beanie (the unibomer look, basically) and it works perfectly. The only annoyance is when it's laying flat on my desk and I want to turn on some music when it isn't currently playing, but I can just tilt it 30 degrees and it opens. The swiping gestures on X also feel really great over trying to double click the home button all the time.
rock_hard 9y ago
This couldn’t be farther from the truth! Happy iPhoneX user here. FaceID is a complete game changer IMO...a paradigm shift! Not just for unlocking the phone but the fact all of my apps (banking, etc) also support it makes authentication be a problem of the past...all friction gone! It’s amazing and can probably only be expierenced in person...which might be why sales have been weak.
- jedberg 9y ago
  > Not just for unlocking the phone but the fact all of my apps (banking, etc) also support it makes authentication be a problem of the past...all friction gone! Those all work with TouchID too. But with TouchID I can add my wife's fingerprint, so when I'm driving she can unlock my phone and use it to do banking or set up the navigation for me or whatever. Or when I'm showering. Or bathing the kids. Or cooking, or working in the yard, or....
- tolmasky 9y ago
  A paradigm shift indeed. Anyone can pick up your phone, point it at you, and then get access to all your apps (banking, etc). I recently went to Disneyland and the way it works with normal passes now (not year round), is that they point an iPhone at you and take your picture. If you enter a new country, they take your fingerprint and take a picture of you. We are training people to use the two pieces of information that most companies and countries are now readily collecting from you, your thumb print and your face picture, as the password to your most sensitive information.
  - scarface74 9y ago
    A paradigm shift indeed. Anyone can pick up your phone, point it at you, and then get access to all your apps (banking, etc). You have to be looking at the phone. How much that helps is another question.
rconti 9y ago
Absolutely cannot disagree more. It brings more real estate in a smaller package, it looks better, and it works better. The gestures are far better than the home button, and I adapted almost immediately (seriously, within 5 minutes). It feels far more natural now than the button ever did, and when I look at an older model it looks dated as hell. This feels like the statement of someone looking for something to complain about rather than an actual user experience.
on_and_off 9y ago
I am curious to see how this gesture based UI will be received. Apple is probably the only company that can push such an UI (with people willing to take the time to learn it) but I have still rarely seen it work for normal users : if a button is not visible; it won't be used. If I were to buy an iPhone X; I would just wait a generation or 2 for this notch to hopefully disappear (also hopefully to have a more resistant frame even though I doubt it will happen , form over function).
- rconti 9y ago
  Where do you think they're gonna put the earpiece or camera if the notch disappears? You're either gonna have the notch, or a taller phone with a huge band of wasted real-estate. I think the notch was the perfect solution. shrug
  - on_and_off 9y ago
    No, the perfect solution would be to not need a notch. Since that's not possible right now, only compromises can be achieved. So you don't have front facing speakers and have a notch in the screen. Whether you are ok with this is subjective and I am not.
JimDabell 9y ago
> The problem with the iPhone X is its only selling point is the huge screen. The iPhone X is basically an iPhone 8 Plus in a smaller form factor and a better screen. For those of us who don't like the larger form factor, it's ideal. Otherwise, I'd have to choose between a better camera and bigger screen, or the smaller phone I wanted. With the iPhone X, I don't have to choose. That's the selling point of the iPhone X – you don't have to make those compromises.
melling 9y ago
Wasting all that space for the Home button was crazy. Anyway, you're entitled to your opinion but please don't speak for everyone. My girlfriend and I love our X's. FaceID doesn't seem to work well when I'm in bed, but touch id was lot more painful. Now you can say "Hey Siri, open mail" without touching your phone. My only real [iOS] complaint with Apple is that Siri isn't getting smarter. Amazon or Google is going to deliver the first voice UI: https://h4labs.wordpress.com/2017/12/13/voice-as-a-user-interface-is-almost-here/ https://h4labs.wordpress.com/2017/12/13/voice-as-a-user-inte...

abakker 9y ago

As someone who bought one for ARkit stuff, I was ready to have all the complaints you mention, but honestly they haven't turned out to be true for me. FaceID is more reliable than touch ID, and only 2 gestures really change. The status bar size is silly, but, the notch itself barely registers after the first few days of use.

deleted 9y ago
[deleted]

dilap 9y ago

As the very happy owner of an iPhone X, I couldn't disagree more. The (nearly) full screen display is fantastic. The notch and rounded edges don't bother me at all; it gives the phone screen an organic shape, previously only seen in sci-fi movies. FaceID is fantastic; it's super reliable and incrdibly seemless. Touch ID was far worse. Swipe motions instead of the home bar works great. I've never been happier with a phone. Truely a phenomenal device.

ben_jones 9y ago
Counter point: I haven't thought about Touch ID since picking up the 7 (my first iPhone). Screen is good. Camera is good. I don't use gestures. I have an extra $1000 in my bank account from not buying the X.
- dilap 9y ago
  I think I may have been somewhat of a special case for Touch Id -- I could never get it to work reliably for me. And yeah, the 7 is a very solid phone. But the X is really special. And I sold my 7 for $400, so hey, my bank account is only out $600 for the X. :-)
torstenvl 9y ago
"Reliable" and "seamless" don't really go together when you're talking about a combination authentication/authorization mechanism. To know you truly have the user's authorization to do something, there needs to be a discrete, conscious act. Touch ID had that. Face ID got rid of it. That's a net loss for users.
- dilap 9y ago
  I guess it depends on what you want. For me, it means if I lose my phone I can be reasonably confident someone is not going to be able to log into it. It means I can leave my phone out on the counter and not worry about someone peaking at my incoming notifications, or snooping on my phone. So for me, that's reliable enough. The seemless part is when I'm using my phone, I barely notice that I'm authing it with face ID. So, pretty seemless.

whoisjuan 9y ago

I hate the freaking Face ID... With my iPhone 7 unlocking was second nature. Almost never had to enter the pin. With the iPhone X I found my self, entering the pin at least 50% of the times. Usually when I'm in bed and this thing can't get a good shot of my face (because my face is smooshed into my pillow) or when I'm at work and I have the phone flat on my desk. They can try to defend Face ID as much as they want but it's a total UX nightmare.

Aloha 9y ago
I'm having exactly the opposite with FaceID - it works brilliantly and more consistently than TouchID
jakobegger 9y ago
It really depends, I guess. Touch ID often failed for me. Every time my hands were ever so slightly damp or sweaty, Touch ID failed. Face ID almost always works. It works while running, while cooking, when wearing gloves, and even in the bath tub. It does fail when I‘m wearing a dust mask, but it‘s probably not a good idea to bring the iPhone to the workshop anyway.
- rconti 9y ago
  FaceID only fails for me when laying in bed and my face is half covered by the pillow. It works brilliantly while riding my bike. Yup, sunglasses, helmet, looking down at the phone while moving 15mph, flawless. TouchID also almost always worked for me but failed when my hands were wet. My wife has endless problems with TouchID on her phone.
malyk 9y ago
Face ID works perfectly for me every time. Sunglasses, hoodie, beanie (the unibomer look, basically) and it works perfectly. The only annoyance is when it's laying flat on my desk and I want to turn on some music when it isn't currently playing, but I can just tilt it 30 degrees and it opens. The swiping gestures on X also feel really great over trying to double click the home button all the time.

rock_hard 9y ago

This couldn’t be farther from the truth! Happy iPhoneX user here. FaceID is a complete game changer IMO...a paradigm shift! Not just for unlocking the phone but the fact all of my apps (banking, etc) also support it makes authentication be a problem of the past...all friction gone! It’s amazing and can probably only be expierenced in person...which might be why sales have been weak.

jedberg 9y ago
> Not just for unlocking the phone but the fact all of my apps (banking, etc) also support it makes authentication be a problem of the past...all friction gone! Those all work with TouchID too. But with TouchID I can add my wife's fingerprint, so when I'm driving she can unlock my phone and use it to do banking or set up the navigation for me or whatever. Or when I'm showering. Or bathing the kids. Or cooking, or working in the yard, or....
tolmasky 9y ago
A paradigm shift indeed. Anyone can pick up your phone, point it at you, and then get access to all your apps (banking, etc). I recently went to Disneyland and the way it works with normal passes now (not year round), is that they point an iPhone at you and take your picture. If you enter a new country, they take your fingerprint and take a picture of you. We are training people to use the two pieces of information that most companies and countries are now readily collecting from you, your thumb print and your face picture, as the password to your most sensitive information.
- scarface74 9y ago
  A paradigm shift indeed. Anyone can pick up your phone, point it at you, and then get access to all your apps (banking, etc). You have to be looking at the phone. How much that helps is another question.

rconti 9y ago

Absolutely cannot disagree more. It brings more real estate in a smaller package, it looks better, and it works better. The gestures are far better than the home button, and I adapted almost immediately (seriously, within 5 minutes). It feels far more natural now than the button ever did, and when I look at an older model it looks dated as hell. This feels like the statement of someone looking for something to complain about rather than an actual user experience.

on_and_off 9y ago

I am curious to see how this gesture based UI will be received. Apple is probably the only company that can push such an UI (with people willing to take the time to learn it) but I have still rarely seen it work for normal users : if a button is not visible; it won't be used. If I were to buy an iPhone X; I would just wait a generation or 2 for this notch to hopefully disappear (also hopefully to have a more resistant frame even though I doubt it will happen , form over function).

rconti 9y ago
Where do you think they're gonna put the earpiece or camera if the notch disappears? You're either gonna have the notch, or a taller phone with a huge band of wasted real-estate. I think the notch was the perfect solution. shrug
- on_and_off 9y ago
  No, the perfect solution would be to not need a notch. Since that's not possible right now, only compromises can be achieved. So you don't have front facing speakers and have a notch in the screen. Whether you are ok with this is subjective and I am not.

JimDabell 9y ago

> The problem with the iPhone X is its only selling point is the huge screen. The iPhone X is basically an iPhone 8 Plus in a smaller form factor and a better screen. For those of us who don't like the larger form factor, it's ideal. Otherwise, I'd have to choose between a better camera and bigger screen, or the smaller phone I wanted. With the iPhone X, I don't have to choose. That's the selling point of the iPhone X – you don't have to make those compromises.

melling 9y ago

Wasting all that space for the Home button was crazy. Anyway, you're entitled to your opinion but please don't speak for everyone. My girlfriend and I love our X's. FaceID doesn't seem to work well when I'm in bed, but touch id was lot more painful. Now you can say "Hey Siri, open mail" without touching your phone. My only real [iOS] complaint with Apple is that Siri isn't getting smarter. Amazon or Google is going to deliver the first voice UI: https://h4labs.wordpress.com/2017/12/13/voice-as-a-user-interface-is-almost-here/ https://h4labs.wordpress.com/2017/12/13/voice-as-a-user-inte...