iPhone X Review in Haikus and Side-by-Side Comparisons to 2007 iPhone [PICS]

Dating back to the first iPhone in 2007 and now the iPhone X in 2017, it’s hard to believe we’ve covered news about Apple’s revolutionary smartphone for nearly a decade.

Apple users finally have their hands on a new iPhone design, after four generations of the ‘same’ design, dating back to the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus from 2014. iPhone X marks the company’s first foray into an OLED smartphone screen spanning 5.8-inches and also Face ID, its new facial recognition system which eliminates Touch ID (and the Home button).

L to R: iPhone 7 Plus; iPhone X, iPhone (2007)

We received our 256GB iPhone X in Silver from UPS late on Friday. Here are some of our thoughts on the device and its features as we flex some Haikus. While we could go into a million details, but less is more (to refresh your elementary school knowledge: a haiku is Japanese poetry with three lines: the first line has 5 syllables, the second has 7 and the third has 5. Better count my syllables and keep me honest in the comments!):

iPhone X is here
Face ID is amazing
Animojis win

What we can tell you though, is despite watching Apple’s iPhone X keynote and also reading and hearing about iPhone X reviews, going hands on with the device for the first time still impressed us. We went into this with high expectations and finally had some “delightful” Apple moments we’ve been waiting for. That says something about iPhone X, especially for someone like myself who has experienced each model and iterative changes year-after-year.

iPhone X Size

Feels great in the hand
Like original iPhone
But much heavier

I can’t get over the size of iPhone X, as it’s by far one of its greatest features. It’s an improvement over a Plus-sized iPhone model, as it’s narrower to hold, which means less chances of it being dropped. It just feels great in the hand.

5.8-inch Super Retina Display

Tall and narrower
Vivid colours holy smokes
Wow it’s so gorgeous

The OLED display is beautiful. So crisp and beautiful to look at, it almost makes me want to cry. Finally, an OLED display designed by Apple and manufactured by Samsung, is here.

Apple needs to do something about the blank space along the bottom of the keyboard, between the emoji icon and Siri dictation button. The blank space looks odd and like an afterthought but after thinking about this, the vertical spacing raises the keyboard from the bottom, allowing users to balance the device in their hands better while typing.

Also, with the lack of Home button now, you may have ‘Apple TV 4 remote’ moments–where you pick up your phone or pull it out of your pocket and have it oriented the wrong way, as it can be hard to tell which way is facing up.

#Notchlife

Odd-looking at first
Disappears after awhile
Now I look for it

Real life usage of iPhone X makes the notch disappear. You won’t even think about it after a few days. Oh, and lining up a screen protector this year will take some more skill because of the notch. When I see an app update and the description reads “iPhone X support”, I feel warm and fuzzy inside, knowing another app will now support my notch. Wait, the iPhone X’s notch.

Glass Back 

Simple yet gorgeous
Still looks bloody fragile
Put a case on it

The back glass looks nice, but glass shatters, despite Apple’s marketing about this being the strongest glass ever in an iPhone. If you’ve got butter fingers, I’d suggest a case from Amazon.ca. We will have previews of Nomad’s iPhone X cases soon.

Wireless Charging

Finally it’s here
Fast charging not here yet though
Look ma, no wires

Check out the top wireless chargers on Amazon.ca here. So far, it’s convenient but you do need hit a sweet spot depending on your charger. Can’t wait for an update to make wireless charging even faster. Oh and one more thing about wireless charging: it’s about freakin’ time (those hurtful Samsung ads have really gotten to me over the years–NOT).

New Gestures

So natural
Feels intuitive and smooth
Peace out, Home button

Like everyone else, it took some time to re-learn new gestures since the Home button is gone. But after a few days, I’m loving them. If you had worries about Face ID replacing Touch ID, there is no problem here. These new gestures make navigating between apps so fast.

Being able to switch apps by swiping along the bottom is brilliant, while sliding up to replicate a Home button press is very natural. The only thing I would like to change is reaching to the top right for Control Center.

As for this new gesture interface? Apple designer, Chan Karunamuni, revealed he spent the past 1.5 years working on it:

The project i’ve been working on the past 1.5 years is finally here. Try out the all new fluid gestural interface on the iPhone X. pic.twitter.com/jlOI5m1ycS

— Chan Karunamuni (@chan_k) November 3, 2017

Face ID

Still blows me away
Don’t forget to look at it
Like AirPods, just works

I’ve had Face ID perfectly work 99% of the time. I pretend like it’s not even there when unlocking. The only time it fails? When I get lazy and forget to look at the phone (or when half my face is covered by my pillow when I’m lying in bed; note to self, don’t use iPhone in bed). Having trouble with Face ID? Consider turning the Attention security feature off in settings (I’d advise against this), or get a new face (harder than it sounds).

Camera

Front-facing portraits
With Portrait Lighting oh yeah
Looking fine, baby

Everyone knows camera iterations with iPhone are always real good. Selfies get Portrait mode and Portrait Lighting which you’ll start to see on Instagram and Facebook. Dual OIS makes for solid photos and videos. DxOMark praised the iPhone X for its still images, calling the camera a ‘top performer’.

Animojis

Feature of the year
Fun, fast and easy to use
Friends will hate you soon

The best part about sending out Animojis? Friends without an iPhone X can only weep, as they can’t respond with an Animoji of their own. Thusly, friends start to get really annoyed with you for hiding behind an animated animal face to troll them, or when you pretend to be a fabulous unicorn. As for Animoji karoake, it can be fun (for now).

Battery Life

15 hours in
Got me to 20 percent
‘Wall hugger’ life soon?

Battery life definitely is improved, as I no longer need to plug in around the early afternoon/evening. Right now my battery is at 51% when usually it’d be around 30% on my iPhone 7 Plus. I’m curious to see how this will hold up over time, but we do know the battery inside iPhone X has a higher capacity than iPhone 8 Plus. Battery life is good and you paid for it in a device that costs $1529 CAD plus tax (!).

2007 iPhone vs iPhone X

Here are some pictures comparing iPhone X to the original iPhone and iPhone 7 Plus:

Here are some pictures of 10 years of iPhone (remember when a charging dock was included?!):

Some sample iPhone X images taken at random. The camera is excellent and the addition of dual optical image stabilization (OIS) helps for taking pictures in low light (iPhone 8/8 Plus only has OIS for the wide lens). Autofocus is blazing fast and exposure is handled very nicely.

We haven’t filmed in 4K, but you can check out other demos shared by others to see what the iPhone X is capable of.

Developers still need to update their apps for iPhone X, so older apps have black borders along the top and bottom of the OLED display. Despite new updates coming daily from various apps, it might be a while until your favourite app supports the iPhone X display.

Also to touch on the iPhone X stereo speakers—they are very loud. Finally we have some decent stereo speakers on an iPhone that actually are balanced (they weren’t great on iPhone 7 Plus). The earpiece can get so loud, one time I thought speakerphone was on when it wasn’t. Apple says the speakers on iPhone X and iPhone 8 are 25% louder compared to iPhone 7 and it’s definitely true.

iPhone X truly is a fantastic phone and I would dare say it’s as revolutionary as the original iPhone, with features such as Face ID leading the charge. Still can’t believe how well Face ID works for an initial launch. Well done, Apple.

So overall, what are the pros and cons of iPhone X (I’m pronouncing OLED as “oh-led” below just FYI)?

Pros:

Face ID, OLED
Size is perfect for one hand
Fast, fluid, just works

Cons

You need money bags
Devastation if you drop
Can’t find one in stores

How are you liking iPhone X so far? #ranoutofhaikus #haikuout #tiredofcountingononehand