iPhone X Review

The X threw out the home button and Apple's whole interaction model with it. Swipe up to go home, swipe along the bottom to switch apps, look at it to unlock: the TrueDepth array behind the notch projected 30,000 infrared dots and Face ID worked in the dark, with sunglasses on and at a glance, which no Android face unlock could say in 2017. The 5.8-inch Samsung-made OLED at 2436 by 1125 was the best panel on any phone that year, with HDR and True Tone, and the A11 Bionic with its first Neural Engine was faster than anything Qualcomm sold.

Both 12-megapixel rear cameras had optical stabilisation, the f/2.4 telephoto for the first time, and Portrait Lighting turned studio light into a phone trick. It shipped on iOS 11, the buggiest release in years, and some early units stopped responding to touch in the cold until 11.1.2. Apple later ran a display module programme for touch failures and told technicians to cure dead Face ID by replacing the rear camera assembly.

Stainless steel and glass on both faces meant a $279 screen and a $549 back out of warranty. The 2716 mAh cell gave a solid day and Qi charging finally arrived. Updates ran through iOS 16, six versions, before it was dropped from iOS 17 in 2023. At $999 for 64GB it set the four-figure price every flagship has quoted since.