Apple iPhone X review

It lacks a 3.5mm headphone jack—a move more common with recent flagships. But Apple includes an adapter so you can use your favorite headphones.

Heading around front, you’ll see some of the biggest changes from previous flagships. There’s no home button or fingerprint scanner. There’s also a nearly bezel-less 5.8-inch OLED panel running at 1125-by-2436 pixels. All reviewers praised it for its inky blacks, rich colors and excellent brightness.

Raving about the display, BGR said, “The star of the show, the screen, is perfect in every way. It is a beacon of embarrassment to all other phone manufacturers.” MacWorld echoed this sentiment, saying, “I can say it’s gorgeous, but that feels like an understatement.”

One controversial bit—the notch at the top of the display that houses a range of sensors—concerned reviewers. However, all felt that after a day or two of use, they rarely noticed it.

A lack of home button also means you must learn gestures to perform common operations like close apps, take screenshots and access settings. Fortunately, reviewers found most gesture controls intuitive.

Powering the phone, you’ll find a six-core, 2.4Ghz Apple A11 Bionic processor. Reviewers had zero issues with slow response times, stuttering or heat—even when multitasking. Paired with 3GB of RAM, everyone reported silky smooth performance. TechRadar said, “We’ve seen nothing during our tests to suggest this is anything other than an incredibly powerful phone.”

The iPhone series is known for its cameras and the iPhone X is no exception. The dual-lens 12MP rear camera includes optical image stabilization on both lenses and a slight optical zoom built in. Reviewers found the camera dependable in both fast-action and low-light shots, producing crisp, detailed images with a tap of the screen.

The front-facing 7MP lens packs in a range of sensors Apple calls TrueDepth technology. This allows the camera to scan faces and sense depth for improved selfies and portraits. Overall, reviewers loved the portrait feature but found some of the presets to look a little cheesey.

The phone can also shoot 4K up to 60 FPS, though MacWorld noted if you plan to use that setting often, you’ll want to opt for a model with higher storage as there’s no external storage support.

TrueDepth technology also powers one of the other major differences with the iPhone X—FaceID phone unlocking. While many reviewers worried about how well the system would work, most were pleased. MacWorld said, “When it works, Face ID works really well. At first, I had a tendency to wait for the lock icon on the screen to unlock, but the key is to not wait. You should swipe up to get to the Home screen as you’re looking at the iPhone X. It takes some practice, but before too long, unlocking the phone feels effortless.”

One scenario in which reviewers found FaceID frustrating was while using their phone to check messages at work. Unless your face is in range of the camera, you must pick up your phone to check notifications instead of using a fingerprint sensor like with previous models.

Of course, a phone is useless if you can’t keep it charged. The 2716mAh battery kept most reviewers running for a day—if only just. You’ll still want to charge every night. However both fast charging and wireless charging support means top-offs are always quick and convenient. USwitch noted, “Using the iPhone X as we would on an average day, we got between nine and a half and ten hours out of the battery. That’s pretty standard for a smartphone in 2017.”

Overall, reviewers loved the iPhone X for it features and design. Many even called it one of the best smartphones ever. Yet, all of this comes with a major condition—the price. However, for those with the budget (or those who don’t mind phone financing plans and contracts), reviewers agree it’s a compelling choice.