Everyone is talking about the new iPhones – especially the iPhone X, the largest leap forward in the iPhone’s design since its invention.
You can read every last technical specification for the new phones elsewhere, but the most important question is: Should you buy one?
The answer, of course, is complicated and will change from person to person. But this short comparison of features should help with that decision.
The displays
The iPhone X has a few small upgrades and one huge upgrade. That huge upgrade is the display.
This is the best display you’ve ever seen on an iPhone, perhaps on any phone. OLED screens display darker blacks and higher contrast ratios, and they save battery life in the process. This is a serious improvement from past iPhones’ LCD screens. The screen also picks up more pixels per inch, and the display itself is larger than ever. This means more detail for everything you do on your phone.
When it comes to the design aspects of the display and the entire phone, they are by far the best we have seen on an iPhone, and they compete with those on the best Android phones, as well. The bezels are practically nonexistent, which makes whatever you’re doing on the phone flow right into the environment.
The iPhone 8 provides nearly the same displays we saw on the iPhone 7.
The cameras
The cameras on both the iPhone 8/8 Plus and iPhone X saw only a few upgrades, though this is probably because of the vast improvements that came last year.
The iPhone 8 Plus and X have added image stabilization to the telephoto lenses, and the sensors got slight upgrades in all the new iPhones. Photos will be better, with deeper color saturation and less noise, but it’s hard to determine how much improvement these small changes will offer.
When it comes to the camera software, there are small changes to improve low-light focus and noise reduction. Again, it will be difficult to tell the level of improvement photos will actually see from these changes.
Wireless charging
In all the new iPhones, wireless charging will now be standard. Some users may find this more appealing, but it comes at a cost: an all-glass phone. The back of the phone, as well as the front, will be made of glass, making the phone even more prone to cracking than before. Apple assured the masses that it would be the strongest glass ever in an iPhone, but a case is probably worth your money. Wireless charging still works through many cases and skins, but you might want to try it before you buy.
No more home button
The iPhone X will not have a home button. Instead, the front-facing camera will recognize the owner by using Apple’s new Face ID. It’s hard to tell how this feature will turn out until it’s in the hands of the consumer, but it’s probably safe to say it will be well-received, given some time.
The sensors required for Face ID also allow for a few new features, like portrait mode on the front-facing camera and Animojis, which turn your face into that of an animal for iMessage. It’s very similar to Snapchat or Instagram story filters, but it’s much higher quality.
Cost
Starting at $999, the iPhone X will be the most expensive iPhone ever. That’s a lot of money, but it’s probably a better buy than the textbooks you’ll get for around the same price.
The iPhone 8 and 8 Plus start at $699 and $799, respectively.
Should you buy it?
These phones are expensive, but if it’s time for an upgrade, now is a good time. The processors got the standard improvement across the lineup, meaning the phones will be more “future-proof” than previous models.
If you have the money, the iPhone X will probably be one of the best smartphones you can buy right now.
Whether or not to buy the iPhone 8 or 8 Plus is a harder decision. The improvements are minimal and specific compared to those in previous models. If you need a really fast processor, the best possible camera or wireless charging, maybe these phones are good mid-range options. If you’re willing to spend the money on a new iPhone 8 or 8 Plus, it would be tempting to spend a bit more to get the best of the bunch, the iPhone X.
