This phone carries with itself great hype and consequently great expectations. In my experience, having had both the 8 plus and this, the main perceivable differences between both are in the size, the edge to edge display, front camera portrait mode, the absence of the home button, the new UI gestures and of course FaceID. How well are these implemented?
• UI gestures- The new way of navigation is very well implemented and I have not experienced any difficulties in adapting to or using them The swipe up gesture to go home, swipe right and hold for multitasking etc are really easy and intuitive. People have been complaining about the control centre now a swipe down from the top right corner. But I ask how is this different from the notifications and quick toggle on Android which is also a swipe down from the top? With the new breed of 18:9 screen aspect ratio Android phones which are taller than ever before, this gesture is none the easier. I give it a score of 7.5/10
• FaceID- Works like a charm. The sensors are very forgiving of the angle but it won’t work if you’re holding your phone upside down or sideways. Apart from that, it works very well. It has a wide range of view. You don’t have to be dead centre in front of the phone for it to unlock. Works with sunglasses and spectacles and has no problem either in pitch dark or bright sunlight as long as the sun is not on your face or behind you. Prospective buyers shouldn’t have any apprehensions regarding it. Apple has given us a very good alternative to TouchID. It scores 8/10
• Front camera portrait- Nothing special. You have to try several times for it to give an acceptable result. Doesn’t compare well with the Pixel 2 phones. Yet, the skin tones on the iPhone are always far more natural than its Android counterparts. Doesn’t deserve more than 6/10
• OLED Display- You really have to look for differences between the IPS LCD of the 8 plus and the X. Apple does such a good job with the calibration of their displays that, frankly, I don’t see much difference in the quality of colours between the OLED iPhone X and the LCD 8 plus. Yes the OLED has more contrast compared to the LCD but if you’re looking to buy a phone purely for the punchy saturation and vividness of an OLED display, this is not it. You’d do well to look at the Samsung Note8. Apple always favours colour accuracy over vividness. The display quality deserves an 8/10
• Battery life is better than the 8 but worse than the 8 plus. There’s no competition. If you’re a heavy user, you will not get a full day’s use out of it. Plus, charging it is even slower than the 8 plus as the battery is actually bigger in size. Wireless charging is on board but is very slow in my experience. I have the Samsung fast charger that comes with the Note8 and use it to charge this phone. The battery scores 6/10.
• Animoji- Fun if you spend too much time messaging people on iMessage. The novelty of it will wear off. The problem is that Apple has made us think it is some futuristic cutting edge tech built into its TrueDepth sensors when it actually isn’t. It is just using the front camera for face tracking and there’s no reason why it can’t be ported over to the 8 or older iPhones. But we know that is never going to happen. Apple will keep updating new characters to keep Animoji interesting. I give it a 5/10 because it is marketed as something which it isn’t.
MY SCORE - 6.75/10
• FAQs-
1- How is the size and in-hand feel?- The size of the phone is much more manageable in one hand. The screen is narrower and gives less screen space than the plus model. It feels solid and premium in the hand. No creaking sounds yet.
2- How bad is "The Notch"? - Doesn’t bother me anywhere outside Youtube videos or other video streaming platforms. It does cut into the video if you decide to expand the video to make full use of the available screen. It’s not noticeable in general usage like browsing, social media or messaging.
CONCLUDING THOUGHTS- In my experience, one has to look at both the iPhone 8/8plus and the iPhone X in isolation to fully appreciate them. If one spends time comparing them, they’re bound to feel frustrated as there are far too many similarities to justify the huge price difference. If you’re someone who must have the shiniest offering from Apple, then the X is for you. But, if you want bang for your buck, then go for the 8 plus, as it is pound for pound the better phone between the two. The differences are simply not enough to justify spending extra. The camera performance, processor, RAM, storage options, apps, software features are the same and the X doesn’t offer as many extras that make it stand apart from its sibling. Maybe next year, Apple?
IS IT WORTH IT?- There won’t be a cop out here. If you're contemplating between this and the 8 plus, in my opinion, to buy this phone, this year, at this price, is not worth it. (My purchase price was 87.5k). Even if you can afford it, or have an iPhone above the 6s/Plus, you can skip it without much remorse. iPhone 7/7 plus are still great phones and if you can hold off another year, then the 2018 lineup of iPhones is shaping up to be pretty exciting. Compared to the iPhone 8 plus, all the features this phone offers either looked at in isolation or even as a whole, do not justify getting it. Going forward, all iPhones are going to be designed like this and improve upon it. It’s not a limited edition model which is a must have.
If this is going to be your first iPhone or if you're looking to upgrade from an iPhone 6 or 6s, go ahead. It is a great phone and you won't regret getting it.
I have put photos of the phone here. For the camera samples, please see my iPhone 8 plus review as there is no difference in photo quality between the two. Here is the link--- https://www.amazon.in/gp/review/R6DSET4ETOTXH/ref=pdp_new_read_full_review_link?ie=UTF8
X vs XS- The hardware upgrades between the X and XS are as follows-
The speakers are slightly better, the camera records video in stereo mode, the water resistance rating has improved from IP67 to IP68, there is 4GB RAM now, the bokeh is adjustable in the portrait shots, Smart HDR takes multi frame pics like the Pixel 2, photos have much improved dynamic range and there’s a new gold colour. Apart from the camera improvements, there is not much that markedly improve your experience if you’ve been using the X the past year. Apple knows this too and have positioned the XS and XS Max as upgrades for people using older iPhones. (6, 6s, 7, 8) If you’re using any of these phones, the upgrade makes sense. iPhone X users are better off waiting till next year.
Price update as on October 9, 2018- Since the 64GB iPhone X is now available at 69,990/- on Amazon, it is a better deal and worth considering for all those who have waited all this while and stayed away from the X due to the high price tag.
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