Apple iPhone X review

Wrapping it up

The iPhone X is special in so many ways. The anniversary one. The first with an all-screen front. The premiere of the Face ID. The Home key slayer. The start of a new iPhone generation built from the ground up by Tim Cook's team. But it is also the most controversial iPhone to date, for better or worse.

The iPhone X excels in design and build, it has one of the best smartphone screens, unmatched performance, and top-notch camera experience. It also aced our audio lab test and has one of the best stereo speakers right now. The Face ID exceeded our expectations and the mini Kinect inside the notch works great and may as well become the next industry standard. Apple did great in picking and packing the hardware for the iPhone X.

It's iOS where Cupertino failed to deliver for the first time in years. Everything in the custom iOS 11 feels last-minute, rushed, so un-Apple-like. There is no sign of Apple's unmatched attention to detail, only remnants of things which could have been great but were not given enough attention. Instead of embracing the notch and the new wide screen, Apple barricaded those like obstacles instead of features. The result is illogical gestures, weird interactions, and most of all - wasted potential of the 3D Touch while it finally could have had a more prominent role in the user experience.

We are sure Apple will work things out with iOS and the X exclusive gestures, and eventually all the pieces will come together. But right now, the iPhone X feels like a rushed product with beta software, overhyped and overpriced. Not to mention it only comes in one screen size which would mean users looking for a proper large-screen experience hardly have an option in Apple's portfolio.

Apple iPhone X key test findings:

• The iPhone X is smaller than the 8 Plus while offering a similar screen surface area. The design hasn't changed on the back, but front looks unreal without the well known chunky borders. Still, the notch is an eyesore.
• The iPhone X has a class-leading AMOLED in terms of brightness, color calibration, and sunlight legibility.
• Battery life is above average with an Endurance rating of 74 hours but it's lower than the iPhone 8 Plus. Wireless charging is finally here as is fast charging.
• The connectivity is improved with Cat.12 LTE support, and for the first time ever, reading standard NFC tags is also supported. The lack of analog audio port is a turn-off.
• Performance-wise, the A11-powered iPhone X is arguably the most powerful smartphone in the world right now. Its CPU and GPU performance, as well as the overall experience, are unrivaled (unless we count the iPhone 8 and 8 Plus, which are even more powerful due to lower screen resolution).
• Apple iOS 11 is a nice step forward with a refined interface. It still lacks any customization options such as themes or alternative dark skin. The new gestures for the iPhone X aren't the best Apple could have come up with and you can feel it in every new trick you will have to learn. The iPhone X interactions need to be reworked completely and 3D Touch could be given a more prominent role.
• The stereo speakers scored a Very Good mark for loudness and offer the richest and deepest sound we've heard on an iPhone.
• Audio output quality through the audio adapter is the best of any iPhone over the past few years. It's very clean both with an active external amplifier and with headphones, but this time the loudness is excellently high, too.
• The main camera shoots photos with great level of detail, superb processing and class-leading dynamic range. The low-light shots are better than last year's with lower noise, sharper, better color and white balance.
• The now OIS-stabilized telephoto camera produces a bit softer images than the regular one, but they are great nonetheless. It has a neat Portrait mode which offers one of the best, if not the best, photos with artificially defocused background on any smartphone. If only Apple enables this cam in low-light mode, that would be great.
• Both 4K videos at 60 and 30 fps turned out great with lots of detail, superb processing, and once again class-leading dynamic range. They still come with mono audio recording though. 1080p videos provide high enough quality to be considered usable in the age of 4K. Finally, the HEVC codec uses less storage for videos and doesn't hurt the quality, so we recommend it.
• The front 7MP selfie camera takes nice images though not the best we've seen. The bokeh effects in its Portrait mode are nearly as good as on the main camera, so we'd imagine the bokeh selfies will be all over the social networks very soon.

Noteworthy alternatives

The Galaxy S8 is the logical Android alternative as it has a similar bezel-less screen, curved, and notch-free. It's one of the fastest Androids and the only thing it lacks is a dual-camera. But not everybody needs bokeh shots, right? And it's almost half the iPhone X price, so there is that.

If Samsung's display is a must, but also a dual-camera, then there is the Note8 for you. In addition to one of the best AMOLEDs and a great telephoto camera, better than the X's, you'll also get the magic of S-Pen. And for less money than the iPhone X, that's for sure.

Samsung Galaxy S8 • Samsung Galaxy Note8

The Android purist should check the Nokia 8 and OnePlus 5. They both come wrapped in metal, pack the latest Qualcomm chips, and offer dual-camera setups on the back. Much cheaper than the X, those two are surely some sensible offers to consider.

Another pure Android is Google's own Pixel 2. It has a regular AMOLED screen, fast processor, and a great single camera on the back, which can do most of the things the iPhone X can do with two (like the Portrait mode).

Nokia 8 • OnePlus 5 • Google Pixel 2

Huawei Mate 10 Pro and LG V30 are some of the best Androids out there with great almost bezel-less OLED screens, unique dual-camera setups, and highly customizable Android OS. If you like the idea of native monochrome shots, or super wide-angle photos, then you may want to check the Mate 10 Pro or the V30.

Huawei Mate 10 Pro • LG V30

Finally, the iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus. If the screen is not your cup of tea you can always grab the iPhone 8 Plus. It's pretty much the same phone sans the AMOLED screen and the Face ID. If the Plus is too big for you, then the iPhone 8 is your only option, but no Portrait mode for you.

Apple iPhone 8 • Apple iPhone 8 Plus

Final verdict

It's an iPhone, a special edition at that, so it will sell in millions, break records, and score some impressive revenue for Apple. And there is not a single test, video, review, or an opinion online to change that. Unless it battery starts exploding, the X is bound to be a blockbuster. Bound by blood if you will even.

Make no mistake, the iPhone X is an excellent iPhone. It has every technology breakthrough available right now and then some. It offers an enjoyable experience and the best specs on an iPhone yet. But it's an imbalanced experience, one that’s not yet found the equilibrium between embracing the new and jettisoning the old. We guess, in due time we will get used to its UI quirks and content letterboxing but we'd rather not be beta testers - not at this price point anyway. As far as iPhones go, the iPhone 8 family delivers better value at a lower price point - not to mention a better choice of screen sizes.

So if the iPhone X is indeed the start of a new generation of iPhones, we already can't wait to see what's next. That's the thing about it - the unrealized potential and the promises it holds for the future are much more exciting than the product we have in our hands today.