I can’t believe that the iPhone is more than a decade old. I remember the time when I knew about the iPhone. Apple became the target of my hatred thanks to that big touch screen at the time. Even the iPod didn’t pique my interest at all! Here we are 11 years later and I carry an iPhone X. My, how time flies so fast.
For the longest time, the iPhone always had a home button and big top and bottom bezels. (They’re also known as the forehead and the chin.) We’re all treating it like it was always there. With all the talk of bezel-less displays and small phones with big screens, the iPhone has to evolve. This results to what we have today. These are my iPhone X first impressions.
iPhone X First Impressions
Let me get this one out of the way: I LOVE THE SCREEN. I’ve always wanted a smartphone with a big display but I really DO NOT LIKE big phones. The iPhone Plus models don’t really appeal to me. I love how the iPhone X blends the best of the regular iPhones and the iPhone Plus models.
I know what you’re thinking right now. What about the notch? It doesn’t bother me at all. After having this phone for around 2 weeks, I pretty much ignored the looming notch. I actually find it useful as an indicator to swipe down for Notifications. The gesture for Control Center annoyed me at first. Eventually, it didn’t annoy me as much.
Is the Phone Too Big?
If you got an iPhone 6, 6s, or 7, you’ll only have a slight adjustment with holding the iPhone X. The X is slightly taller and slightly wider than the 7. Despite that, the Plus models are still bigger. I don’t think the phone is too big, but your mileage may vary. Just try holding one at a cellphone store and see if it feels good in your hand.
iPhone X First Impressions on Face ID
Is Face ID really better than Touch ID? If we’re talking about the speed, then Touch ID actually wins out. In terms of the convenience though, I’d give the edge to Face ID. The fact that I don’t need to touch anything for the phone to unlock surprised me. Some people may disagree with me in that manner, but I think the swipe up makes sense. I don’t want to miss out on the notifications that I need to see. I need to use the phone more to see how good Face ID really is, but so far so good.
My First iPhone with a Dual Camera System!
I got SO jealous when only the iPhone 7 Plus has dual cameras. I wanted two cameras on the smartphone so bad, but I really REALLY don’t like how big the Plus models are. When I got the iPhone X, I got super happy because I finally get to try the dual camera system! The first feature I tried is Portrait mode. Since Apple had a full year to improve Portrait mode, taking portrait photos with bokeh is really great!
Here’s some sample portrait photos taken using the iPhone X’s rear camera:
Unfortunately, I can’t say the same for the front camera. I absolutely admire Apple for trying something new with the TrueDepth camera system. Despite that, I think they could work on the kinks they find and make it better in a future update.
Here’s a sample portrait photo using the front camera:
I didn’t like how it misses to focus on my hair. There were other photos I took that look comically bad. Even Portrait Lighting on both cameras still miss the mark for me so far. I hope that Apple continues to improve on this and include it in the next update.
Normal photos from the rear camera really hit the mark for me. I really like how detailed the photo is and the iPhone 7 was no slouch! Here’s one photo:
Last Words
I’m really enjoying my time with the phone so far! Despite some hiccups, my iPhone X first impressions were generally good! I was able to adjust to the gestures right away and I never missed the beat since! I even found the phone super fast when going through a lot of apps. It also helps that it has more memory (3GB compared to the 2GB on iPhone 7). About the notch, it only irks me when I have to watch video. I have to deal with the compromise of watching it with black bars on the side. I’ve only seen a handful of videos on YouTube that take advantage of the new aspect ratio of recent smartphones. I hope we’ll eventually reach the point where most videos adjust to these phones.
And that’s it for my iPhone X first impressions! I’m really liking this phone so far. I’ll be putting this phone through its paces and see if that high price tag is worth it. Watch out for my review on the blog and in other forms soon!
Thank you for this honest review. Though I was initially contemplating of getting myself an Iphone X, I decided to continue being an Android user.
I guess this phone really did not make a good impression on me. I am looking forward a better iPhone in its upcoming model.
A bezel what? What notch? heck! I need to upgrade myself soon! Your post is quite informative – makes me want to jump into the next phone shop I see and get myself an Iphone X. lol! No, but really, haven’t thought about buying a new one for now for fear that my son will just grab and ran away with it. I like that you put little thoughts in the features the new model provides. I might convince my husband to get one instead. Thanks for sharing!
I’ve been giving a fair bit of thought to purchasing X in exchange for my 7, but I’ll give it a rest for some time more now… Thank you for such an elaborative and helpful review.
I don’t know when would I definitely consider myself getting an iPhone, but reading your honest review about the iPhone X seems like i want to own one, if then I can afford. I love that you have elucidated everything about the iPhone x and even comparing it to the previous iPhone models. Truly, iPhone X is not that big, and looks like actually classy and handy. I love the whole style. Thank you so much for sharing this.
Frankly, I’m still unsure about iPhone X. I’ve been an iPhone user for almost 10 years also (first I had was the iPhone 3G) yet I still am not totally impressed by this. Though what I like about this is the display, animoji, and the face unlock. Plus, the fact that iOS phone are hard to hack, unlike Android phone that can be rooted. I wish you could do a gallery with all the photos you captured using this!
This isn’t the full review yet, so I’m working towards that. Thanks to this phone being my current daily driver, I took A LOT of photos with it. Hopefully I can provide said gallery 🙂
I have not owned an iPhone. My phones are usually other brands. I like how my Android phones work so far. But maybe in the future, I would also try a version of the iPhone.
I’m going to give my mother an iPhone X soon (since iOS is indeed easier to use for the elderly), but I wish the prices would go down! She’s been using her iPhone 5 since forever, and I believe she deserves an upgrade. How would you say the Camera compares to a Huawei P20? I tested a friend’s iPhone X in low light compared to my LG G6, but I’m sad to see that the G6 performed better even though it’s not a well-known phone. I wish Apple would step up their game.
The Huawei P20 Pro is actually one of the best cameras out there today. The iPhone can’t even compete with that.
Funny but I never really had an Iphone in my entire life haha. I’ve been using Android phones ever since but never got a chance to experience the iphone. One thing I noticed though is that the iphone’s iconic home button is missing here. It doesn’t look like the classic iphone anymore.. But if I am going to pick between Iphone X and Huawei P20.. i will still go for the p20 because of its incredible camera hehe
Wow!! A lovely sharing about new iphoneX. Hmm…Personally am not fancy about even though am always an iphone user. Am happy with what I have now 🙂 Am saving your post as my future purchase reference. cheers, http://www.siennylovesdrawing.wordpress.com
I am not a fan of iphones, I never had one and i am not sure I will buy one anytime soon. I have been using Samsung for quite some time now and I am thinking about getting the new S9. However, I do like the quality of the photos the new Iphone takes. The portraits you took are really nice.
Thank you so much for the compliment! The S9 is also nice but looks like the S8. If I was looking for a new Android phone, I’d probably go for the OnePlus 6.
I have never really been compelled to get an iPhone, probably because I have always been an android user. This models sounds promising, though. Not to mention, my brother cannot stop gushing about this particular model. I am impressed with the Face ID and the bigger screen time, too. I thought the size is also just about right.