For a while now, rumors have been circulating the world wide web that Apple will ditch the home button to replace it with a facial recognition system upon the arrival of the 10-year anniversary iPhone. With this new technology, the iPhone will study your face instead of recording your fingerprints. And finally, with its recent release, we discover that those rumors actually ring true.
Naturally, this feature got most women wondering: Will the iPhone X (pronounced as 10, BTW) still recognize your face with/without makeup? How about if you wear specs or change your haircut or color? (Because obviously, our choice of makeup, accessories, and hairstyle has the power to change the way we look—which some of us do quite often. Change our looks, that is.)
Therefore, there's now the fear of being locked out of one's phone, should the Face ID fail to recognize you as the owner.
IMAGE Apple.com
In response, Apple execs assure that it's nothing to be worried about because they've worked extensively on the face-matching feature of the phone.
Accordingly, the Face ID makes a 3D scan of the face using the True Depth technology where the phone projects about 30,000 Infra-Red (IR) dots to map your face and later process the data so it learns your facial features. The new iPhone X is so smart that you can't fool it into unlocking someone's device using a printed photo or when they're asleep (sneaky, sneaky)! That's right—Face ID is also attention aware, meaning the phone will only unlock if you're actively looking into it.
This same feature is what powers the new iMessage feature called Animoji, which allows you to animate your favorite emojis! This enables the user to map facial expressions using the iPhone X’s facial recognition system onto little characters like the panda, dog, cat, or even the poop emoji!
IMAGE Apple.com
Another rumor that had been proven true for this iPhone version is its removal of the home button. The new iPhone lets users swipe up from the bottom to get to the home screen, swipe and hold for multitasking; you also just need to tap on the screen or lift your device to wake up the system.
IMAGE Apple.com
IMAGE Apple.com
The control center can now be accessed by swiping from the top right corner of the phone; notification center can be found by swiping down from the top left. The side button also gets more tactile functions apart from closing the device. By holding press, you can access a smarter Siri to assist you.
IMAGE Apple.com
Additionally, the iPhone X features an edge-to-edge 5.8 inch Super Retina display with an OLED screen, giving you 1125 x 2436 pixels of resolution and boasting true-to-life depiction of colors. This means better photos, and not to mention, better selfies!
Speaking of selfies, the iPhone X has an improved front camera, too. Apple's Portrait Mode allows you to artificially blur your background, enhancing the depth of field similar to what most DSLR cameras can do. You can also change the lighting effects to help you snap that perfect selfie!
The developers also paid attention to the back camera. It still features a dual camera system, which was first featured on the iPhone 7 Plus last year, but now, the two cameras are oriented vertically. Both cameras—the wide angle and telephoto lens—have 12-megapixel sensors and optical image stabilization to produce more vibrant, crisp, and detailed images.
Given all these new features, you're probably wondering how much power these would require. One issue that iPhone users often complain about is the battery life. But don't worry, iPhone X runs on Apple's newest processor, A11 Bionic, and has three gigs of RAM. This extends the battery usage per charge of the iPhone up to two hours.
IMAGE Apple.com
Lastly, when it comes to charging, Apple is aware of how you're always on the go and that those pesky wires can sometimes get in the way. They've upgraded to Qi wireless charging, which uses a plate within the back of the phone to accept an inductive charge from a pad or a piece of furniture with wireless charging built in.
IMAGE Apple.com
What a difference a decade makes when you compare the newly launched iPhones—yes, they released three, including the iPhone 8, iPhone Plus, and iPhone X—with the first ever iPhone Steve Jobs released in June 2007. Now, the new iPhone gets a design overhaul coming in an all-glass casing, even dropping the gold and rose gold iterations. And mind you, this new gadget doesn't come cheap. It starts at $999 for the 64GB model with a 256GB option. Meanwhile, the iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus retail at $699 and $799, respectively.
IMAGE Apple.com
Preordering starts this October 27 and will be available in stores on November 3.
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