What do people think of the new iPhone X?

The latest iPhone along with some other products launched last night (local time). The most prominent item appears to be the iPhone X. With a price tag upwards of $1500, it’s certainly Xpensive. New features include an OLED display, wireless charging and “Face ID” security (which failed during the launch).

What are your thoughts on the new iPhone?

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I feel another Apple Lisa coming on ., maybe with the iPhone X :weary:

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Too expensive by far. But I am sure the iPhone fans will be sleeping outdoors of every Apple seller waiting for the opening of the doors when it comes here.

It has become almost like the fashion wheel where when it comes out if you want to be part of the In Crowd you have to have one even if it breaks your bank balance.

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It’s irrelevant for me, way beyond my budget and over-hyped… no interest from me whatsoever! I did have a laugh at the launch fail that was on the news tonight though :wink:

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Pre-orders for the iPhone X start on October 27 in Australia, with delivery from November 3.

By pre-order, is that when people start queuing in the streets?

The high-end device will cost A$1579 and $1829 for the 64GB and 256GB models respectively.
By comparison, the 64GB iPhone 8 and 8 Plus will cost $1079 and $1229 respectively, going to $1329 and $1479 for the 256GB models.

Of course it’s not just a phone - for many this is an investment in a portal to the real world, a ‘life portal’ if you will, without which, life as they know it simply wouldn’t be possible …

I heard someone say yesterday that the generation of people who will buy these devices without question are probably the same generation who complain about house prices …

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I love technology that makes my life easier, rather than for it’s own sake. I use an iPhone (having moved from the deteriorating and diminishing selection of Windows mobile phones) because I use Microsoft Exchange and Outlook. iPhones were/are the only phone platform that allowed me to use all aspects of Outlook easily without having to buy any separate apps. Although on the iPhone it is separated into Contacts, Calendar, Reminders, & Notes, it allows me automatically synchronize with Outlook on our computers. It happens in real time and there is no need to intervene. Life made easier!

I used and iPhone 4s for about 5 years, until it died at the beginning of the year. I replaced it with an iPhone 6s, not wanting to have to deal with the iPhone 7’s wireless earpieces and a phone I thought was too big to fit comfortably in my pocket.

To be honest, I’m not that impressed with the previews I have seen of the iPhone X. It seems to me that Apple is developing new products to maintain the Apple brand exclusivity, and to keep the Apple acolytes enthralled, rather than developing technology to make life easier for everyday users.

I wonder if Apple is losing sight of the fact that the iPhones are phones primarily, and miniature multimedia machines second. How is the phone reception when away from the metropolitan centres? Can I connect it to a cradle with an outside antenna on my car to improve phone reception in the country? NO! The OLED screen is great, but will that be a huge improvement in my experience on a small screen? NO.

It’s great that I can read emails, and look at the internet, but that is secondary. Will the new wider glass and glass back make it more fragile in my pocket? (Even more breakages than before.) Will Apple post error messages on the phone if a 3rd party repairer works on the new more fragile iPhone, or even try and cancel the warranty because they didn’t do the work? Will they stop the phone from connecting to 3rd party accessories?

Aa Brendan said, the facial recognition didn’t work first time in ideal conditions after rigorous and extensive testing to ensure everything worked. If it fails then, what will it be like in the real world?

I hope it is more effective and efficient than the fingerprint scanner, which seems to only work at best 50% of the time over multiple of my fingerprints. I have to regularly delete and re-install my fingerprints as the scanning success seems to diminish with time.

I am concerned about the security of facial recognition embedded in portable device. As it is contactless, if a iPhone X were stolen, the thief could surreptitiously approach the owner (say in a crowded situation), and the phone would unlock. Bingo! Total access to the phone and contents in moments without the owner even being aware their phone is gone.

Is it worth the premium pricing? I guess if you are an acolyte or a video blogger then it is. But for me? No.

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An interesting statement, that. You might be interested in perusing this related thread.

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Thanks Phil. While it is an area of interest to me, somehow I missed that thread. :confused:

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Comments from American sites:

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Life portal :joy:

There are no doubt a lot of reasons people will choose to pay the hefty asking price. Perception of quality, legacy issues when all your stuff is already Apple, status thanks to Apple’s positioning as a premium brand, access to the app store and iTunes, preference and so on.

However, this doesn’t always necessarily explain why more people don’t tap out when it comes to forking over the hefty asking prices. Personally, I think the ‘handset included’ phone plans that present as a fixed, ongoing monthly cost could in some cases be obscuring the value/cost proposition being presented.

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Is it sensible to spend this much for a phone Apple believes will only last one year?

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You make the same mistake that Choice has always had when reviewing smartphones (especially iPhones). Smartphones are a mobile computer with many computing, photography, message, health, monitoring, etc functions including one function that happens to enable telecommunications.

Because Choice really only reviews and rates the telecommunications function its reviews of smartphones are poor and should be disregarded.

With respect to your mobile reception, the fact that the iPhone works in the city but not in the country is not a phone issue but transmission failure, maybe a carrier issue.

Choice gives 10% of smart phone ratings to a simplistic ‘can it make and keep a call’ test. The rest of the rating is what I would call ‘bells and whistles and usability’.

and a previous thread on .community

If an iPhone cannot lock on in a regional setting, it is the phone as well as the coverage. A good phone can lock onto a weak or varying signal.

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To my knowledge only one iPhone, the iPhone 6s, receives Telstra’s Blue Tick, which indicates that a phone has passed testing to show it works better in poor signal areas such as rural and is recommended for those places. The iPhone 7’s do not get the Tick.

Also I think people buy a phone whether smart or not because they want to have telecommunications and then the other additions and price/budget are what attract to the various models available. If someone didn’t desire the telecommunications side they can easily buy a tablet that will provide all the other services they want including using the web.

But yes the issues can also be the carrier you use or a transmission fault, but having a phone that is capable of working with a weak or poor signal is the first step.

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Counterpoint.
a) phones are smaller than tablets are smaller than cameras, and stand alone GPS is slowly getting passé, as are tablets and computers for those who use them as entertainment / social.
b) phones and tablets have multiple uses, cameras only take photos and videos; even mid range phones take photos and sometimes videos on par with point and shoots. Computers? A few hours of battery life, comparatively heavy and bulky, so why use for email, web browsing, videos, etc just because they are overly-capable? A modern distinction has become bloat-ware.
c) people want to communicate and be on call 24 x 7, including to work… oh wait, maybe not…

Reality is the smart phone is the evolution of the computer → mini computer → luggable → notebook → tablet → [calculator] → phone. People’s use of a ‘computer’ of any generation is dominated by it’s weight, other things being equal. If a smart phone (computer) weighed 10kg it would not be used the same way as it would at 1 kg, or as it is weighing 100g.

A video on the testing.

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Some more reading on the Blue Tick I placed in another topic (sorry it includes the one posted by TheBBG above)

I am not sure if the iPhone 8’s or X’s will make the Blue Tick realm, only after Telstra have run their tests on them will we know for certain.

Optus have a similar rating for their phones and it is a badge called “Top Picks for our Regional areas”. On their site the iPhone 8’s do not receive the badge nor do the iPhone 7’s.

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Both companies would prefer you buying a Samsung because they get a better deal from the supplier.

I know that Telstra also recommend one Xperia and several Telstra badged models, and they do not exclude Apple but again it is only 1 of several phones. If your premise is true that Telstra gets a better deal from Samsung (which it may but I have no proof) then I am sure they would push their models even harder than Samsung’s. If you have that proof, I and others would be happy to see it and pass that proof onto others to ensure that Telstra do not use their marketing in an untruthful way to lure fringe reception users into buying phones that do not suit the purpose.

As a buyer of Smartphones a person does not have to use Telstra or Optus for their purchase and can use many carriers out there including Amaysim, Vodaphone, and ALDIMobile. Telstra makes the Blue Tick information freely available to all as does Optus for their part. Hence someone could use their work and buy a phone but then use another carrier to make their calls, which would provide no benefit to Telstra or Optus.

I’d be much more impressed with the current range of smartphones if the manufacturers were smart enough to provide a battery that could hold a sufficient charge to get through - say 36 hours.

And if there was provision for carrying a spare battery, just in case the one in use fails while you’re out on the road. Camera manufacturers have been doing it for years - the makers of these phones are trying to get us to use them as cameras, anyway - and this is hardly a revolutionary suggestion.

Till they do, I’m sticking with my ancient Nokia tradesman’s phone. It’s small - easy to slip into a pocket - and holds its charge for several days!!!