Provocative title, easy article to dismiss, but take the time to make your way through.
Sam Byford, The Verge:
Yes, the iPhone X has a 5.8-inch screen compared to the iPhone 8 Plus’ 5.5-inch display. It’s also true that the X’s is higher resolution. But the 8 Plus’ screen is actually bigger. The X uses a narrower aspect ratio, so while it’s longer on the diagonal, you still get more surface area on the Plus overall — and that’s before you account for the notch and the rounded corners.
And:
Apps, websites, and so on have 414 horizontal “points” — the unit of measurement that the screen is divided into for design purposes — to fill on the Plus, while the X has 375, the same as the regular iPhone 8. The X has more vertical points, of course, because of the taller screen, but a lot of that will be occupied by the notch and home button bar.
This would not be an issue if Apple had released an iPhone X Plus at the same time as the iPhone X. This is a bit like comparing Apples and bananas, but since there is no iPhone X Plus, this is a worthwhile point.
The X’s screen may well be better quality — we’ll have to see how Apple’s first attempt at an OLED phone turns out, but I have high hopes for the panel itself. Obviously, there’s also no denying that the X makes far better use of available space; the iPhone 8 Plus’ chunky bezels are pretty anachronistic for a phone at this price in 2017. But I’m too used to the Plus layouts, and the accompanying information density, to go back to what’s often going to feel like a smaller phone in actual use.
All fair points.
The other point that Sam makes that struck home for me concerned availability:
Even if you’ve read all of the above and still want an iPhone X, good luck actually getting one. Supply chain reports suggest that Apple is only able to produce the device in alarmingly low quantities, meaning that you could be waiting for several months before you’re able to pick one up.
The use of the word “alarmingly” aside, the availability question is something to consider. Of course, we won’t know for sure until at least Friday.
won’t click. why do you bother linking to this troll trash? verge is a troll site.
as for screen surface area, it’s a smaller sized device than the Plus. so?
and yes, the X is supply constrained. just like the 7 was. just like the 6 was. etc… this is neither new nor noteworthy.
just more FUD concern trolling. The Loop doesnt need to participate, we get enough of that elsewhere..
This falls along the lines of the classic fable of the blind men describing an elephant after each examines only one part of the beast. Yet another “features” critique which seems to miss the much larger and much more valid point of the iPhone X being the first of a new generation of iPhone.
I’ve frequently found myself at the leading edge of technology, always hungering for the next new thing. Ten years ago, it was the first iPhone which was admittedly lacking many features we take for granted today. But I’ve never regretted buying or any other iPhone since.
You always have to start somewhere. I want a X so I can be there at this new beginning—just like our next car will be a Tesla!
“Even if you’ve read all of the above and still want an iPhone X, good luck actually getting one”
Yea, like ever!! What a stupid article. I only read what you quoted, that’s enough for me.
The comment on the horizontal points is interesting in that the X acts like a 6/7/8 and not the Plus models, in that you don’t get landscape mode in apps, etc. Although I currently have a plus model, I’m going to try and get an X. Not sure I use the landscape mode that much. We’ll see what the transition is like.
Garbage article. Why did you point at this? The Verge is usually full of shit.
did you get a retraction fromLauren Goode when she savaged the Apple Watch and Apple released a fix?
Crickets.
I’m thinking the iPhone 8 for two reasons. Price ($300 is too much for the differences),and my concer that the iPhone X’s screen might end up like the Google Pixel 2 -screen burn in. To tell the truth, think my iPhone 6 can get me through to next year once I have the battery replaced. So even better!
From what I read today, the burn-in issue appears to be affecting the Google Pixel 2+ (LG OLED screen) but not the regular-sized Google Pixel 2 (Samsong OLED screen). But still…I haven’t talked about screen burn-in since the 1990’s. We all had to have screen savers then! Good times.
I enjoy reading The Verge, actually. It’s the comments sections that I find upsetting (so why do I read them? Fascination with the abomination? Perhaps I’m no better and enjoy getting riled, but I hope that’s not it).
Perhaps, as I age and as my interest in staying on the cutting edge has waned, I am less thrown by columnist opinions that don’t match my own. I generally think they do a pretty balanced job. I miss Walt Mossberg, though.
“You don’t get landscape mode in apps,” pardon? I think you probably meant something else. 🙂
Pretty sure this is a possibility – that the 8 could provide a better ownership experience for some uses – but I’m also pretty sure that if someone starts with the X and doesn’t like it they will do just fine in the aftermarket. Might even pay for two 8s.
Yes, god help us all if someone has to wait a few months for the latest shiny. Maybe you can use the phone you’ve got in the meantime.
I’m quite happy with my iPhone SE for now, though now that Xcode supports wireless debugging I probably need a battery pack!
Although I’m not thrilled at AMOLED, screen burn-in shouldn’t be a problem as Apple has gone with Samsung panels.
I still have a 5S. My world should have imploded by now, strange!
No. Landscape mode on the Plus models is where, for example, mail shows in two columns. On the non-Plus models, it just shows a wide inbox. In this case, the iPhone X will be like a non-Plus model. Not sure the official name, but that’s what I’ve seen it called (also referred to as split screen).
Ah, yeah, that’s split screen master/detail. I dunno what Apple calls it, either, but I get it. I might be able to live without it on the iPhone X, since it isn’t as big as the Plus. Certainly I’d never buy a Plus without it, though
There are places I’m not sure it makes sense on the iPhone X, but it seems an obvious fit for Mail. Weird.
My wife’s iPhone 5S is basically useless, but that’s because it’s only 16GB. 🙂
It’s still missing the c or h. 😉
This one’s 32, so it’s not too bad. I just keep it lean. Only music I really want to hear and pics get backed up on my iMac.
I kind of like the fact I have to keep it small. It forces me to deal with the files, as in backing them up etc.
I’ll be getting the X (ten).
I am sure It”l feel like a huge upgrade for me!
The Verge is a Troll Site.
I’ve been waffling between a 8 Plus and X; I think I might just wait until the 9/X2/11.
I’m quite happy with my SE, but it feels like that 5S needs replacement and if I’m going to replace it I should probably get the new one. I use the camera a lot more than my wife does.
Why should she retract her article? She was right and Apple had to fix it.
lol
I got the 8 Plus for similar reasons. Seemed a no brainer for someone who upgrades yearly and doesn’t want to sacrifice the horizontal points. $1,300 to have a phone for approximately 9 months nuts.
I’ve been flipping this around in my head – what does the X have to offer me that the Plus does not?
So far it’s this:
OLED screen. Fine but the Plus screen is pretty damn good.
Truetone. Useful outdoors, but other than that, a refinement, not a game changer (for me. For people who mostly use their iPhone outside this might be different).
Smaller package for same/more screen area. This is a nice to have for me. I’m 6’6″ so hands are big, pockets are fine.
I dont mind them offering the X but I really feel like they haven’t made a good argument for the price gap yet. Next year? We’ll see.
I’m tempted to wait, but I think my 5S is old enough to warrant the update. Besides going through a carrier I can buy the phone on contract and have service for almost what I pay for service alone now. Kind of a no brainer.
What if the iPhone 8 is a better than the iPhone X for a person? Why, the person should buy the iPhone 8 instead!
I bet Apple even thought of that.