“All Screen. All yours” – you’ve been telling me this morning as you herald the arrival of your iPhone X (pronounced iPhone Ten). All screen you say, ALL screen. Well, that’s clearly a lie, isn’t it Apple? The Galaxy S8 - now that’s a device which is all screen - it actually goes around the edges of the phone, truly blurring the edges between the digital and real world. And they did it first!
The iPhone X, Apple, is a lot of screen and you have fallen short… perhaps you should have said "mostly screen. All yours."?
Credit: @Stephen McConkey
But let’s move on and ignore the obvious deception. Turn a blind eye from the comparatively enormous bezel and take look at the price. £999! Let’s not kid ourselves, we are talking a grand here. My car cost less! Granted it is old - but it’s amazing, carries 7, goes off road, is easy to fix and arguably infinitely more useful than a digital, time eating, window.
Apple, you are taking the p**s. One thousand pounds!?
Therefore, Apple, I suggest: “Mostly screen. Possibly yours (subject to you being the prince of Dubai).” Not as catchy, but more accurate wouldn’t you say?
In fairness, if we cast our minds back to the 80s and Nokia’s Mobira Cityman used by the likes of Mikhail Gorbachev. The Cityman cost £3,578 on launch and if when taking inflation into account we’re looking at almost £10k. In this light, your iPhone X looks like a bargain. But Gorbachev ran a nation and helped bring an end to the cold war. That investment on a phone looks fair. Whilst I run a software development firm…
Credit: @Angryprussia
Anyway, the comparison isn’t really fair, is it Apple? Let’s look at the S8, shall we? Oh, it’s a mere £670! That’s £330 still in my pocket, Apple!
And don’t try to tell me I am getting more for my money with the X. There’s not much between to two phones from a hardware or a OS perspective. The choice is surely clear for people in the market for a new phone and who don’t have a particular allegiance to you, Apple. The only differentiator is cost. They will choose the S8.
So perhaps you should be saying, “Mostly screen. All yours, but only if you’re an Apple fan-boy.”
Sometimes it’s questionable if you’re even sane, Apple. Can you really keep continuing to rip folk off, just to be part of the brand? These complaints are valid and the question is, do you even have an answer?
Well, let’s slow down and take a closer look at your iPhone X.
iPhone X Factor
There is a certain ‘X’ factor (I know, I know, that was too easy) to the iPhone X which is not all about the brand.
Putting all your sickly hyperbole aside, Apple, you do care about quality and design and deliver on both those fronts in a way that no other company can compete.
You build both the hardware and software - and that is a very, very powerful combination and ignored by Apple critics at their peril. Designing and developing both hardware and software in tandem allows you to use seemingly inferior hardware, but get better performance using software optimisation that the likes of Samsung cannot achieve.
With your iPhone X and its kick ass A11 chip, the hardware point seems moot since it packs the same punch as the S8. Apply the gains you will achieve at the software level, and it is almost guaranteed that the iPhone X will outstrip the S8 in terms of performance.
Chances are, most people won’t appreciate the subtle (but important) differences between the S8 and iPhone X until they have one in their hands; noticing how quick the X camera loads and takes pictures, how blisteringly fast Safari is, and how common tasks such as messaging, and searching practically become second nature, with no thought required.
When I incorporate these small but significant improvements into my day to day life, that’s when I start to realise how well you do things, Apple. And let’s not forget, you’re the pioneers of large screen touch, before it was even a twinkle in Samsung’s eye. The X is an important step in the journey that you started in 2007.
So, what if it was released after the S8? You’ve have proven time and again that releasing features only when they are ready (the whole Maps fiasco excepted) is the only way to truly innovate and produce quality.
What does this mean for the future?
Your iPhone X is set to move us forward again on the road of mobile innovation with features such as FaceID and the massive evolutions in the camera and software.
And if I’m pragmatic and take a look at your iPhone X’s screen; yes, it falls short of the edges, but it is consistent bezel around the whole device and that’s something the S8 cannot boast. It bezel top and bottom of the S8 is vast in comparison - so perhaps I was being disingenuous here too.
The truth is, Apple, I want an iPhone X, even after using an S8. And so, it seems, do thousands of others when you consider the waiting list if you order today is 3-4 weeks.
It also seems “Mostly screen. All yours soon” isn’t as catchy, so I think I’ll leave the marketing to you guys.
If you're interested in finding out how much it'd cost to build an app for the iPhone X, find out in our app development cost breakdown!
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