Apple went on a launch spree as its executives unveiled three new iPhones at an event held in the new Apple Park headquarters. However, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that the iPhone X largely dominated the excitement and even the early anticipation as it represents the company’s vision of what’s to come for smartphones. This includes a truly wireless experience, an all-screen front, and massive price tags. The iPhone X, as a result, starts at a price of $999 which is $300/$400 higher than the iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus. Here’s what you get for that extra dough.
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Edge-to-Edge Display
The most apparent difference between these two lineups is, of course, the presence of an edge-to-edge panel on the iPhone X. With a pixel density of 458ppi, it’s also significantly sharper than the one you’ll find on the iPhone 8. In addition to that, the iPhone X’s screen is 0.3-inch larger than the iPhone 8 Plus and comes with an OLED panel instead of LCD.
No Home Button
To attain that sort of bezel-less design, Apple had to let go of the legacy home button that has lived on iPhones for years. Instead, you are left with bottom swipes for navigating around the software.
FaceID
Speaking of no home button, the new iPhone X also lacks a fingerprint scanner a.k.a. TouchID. However, it does sports something far more exciting – FaceID. The iPhone X can be unlocked with your face. Although unlike previous implementations, Apple has made sure it can’t be spoofed easily. For achieving that kind of accuracy, the iPhone X is powered by an additional dual-core neural engine CPU which can perform 600bn operations per second. There are various sensors embedded in the top chin that allow it function in low light conditions as well. Apple further mentions that FaceID will continue to work flawlessly even if you switch hairstyles, wear a hat or glasses.
Portrait Mode for Selfies
The iPhone X comes with a TrueDepth sensor on the front which brings the highly-acclaimed portrait mode to your selfies. The feature essentially lets you blur out backgrounds in pictures creating a bokeh effect. Moreover, the newly announced Portrait Lighting mode is available on the front as well. It basically senses the depth of the scene in real time and reworks the lighting, the effect of which you can customize as well.
Animoji
Thanks to the depth sensors, the iPhone X can produce animated emojis called “Animoji” based on your own facial expressions. However, these are currently limited to Apple’s own iMessage app.
Dual Optical Image Stabilization
While the overall rear camera on the setup on the iPhone X is largely similar to the iPhone 8 Plus, it does have a few advantages over it. For starters, the aperture on both the lenses is much smaller – f/1.8 and f/2.4 which should result in substantially better pictures in dimly lit areas. In addition to that, both lenses have their own Optical Image Stabilization modules that will let you click sharper portrait shots even in low light. Oh, the cameras are vertically arranged instead of horizontal on the iPhone 8 Plus.
Larger Power Key
The iPhone X also comes with a tad bigger power button as it plays a key role in authenticating your Apple Pay purchases through FaceID. In addition to that, you can long-press it to invoke Siri as well.