Flashback: Apple iPhone X and its hated but poignant bravery

According to an interview with Jony Ive, then chief design officer, Apple spent 5 years developing the iPhone X. And it was worth it because the design it introduced in late 2017 would fit 5 years before Apple didn’t finally remove that notch. . (This is expected to happen in 2022, unless it does – the no-nonsense iPhone rumors have already been proven false.)

Ah, yes, the degree, one of the most controversial features ever offered. In an amazing feat of miniaturization, Apple managed to install a Kinect-like 3D sensor in the phone. But he committed the absolute sin of appearing bad.

Introduce: Notch, a complex solution to a difficult problem that offends the eye

While Android users laughed, Android makers laughed and took notes on how to copy the features that support Face ID. Face unlock is now available on almost all smartphones, in fact it is preferred over cheaper models as the manufacturer can save money on the fingerprint reader while still introducing the biometric unlock mechanism.

Face ID is easy to set up and use

In addition, Animoji have become a rather indispensable feature – those 3D avatars that mimic your facial expressions and while they are fun, we don’t consider them necessary. Look at Oppo’s announcement of ColorOS 12, that “Omoji” was very important to their own department.

Of course, the truth is that the iPhone X’s Face ID was built with structured light and provided a true depth map, while most Android phones use a camera and facial recognition. Without the 3D data, cheating would have been much easier and therefore less secure.

But none of this is new, it happened with the iPhone 7 too. Apple pulled out the 3.5mm headphone jack, Android makers laughed at the Cupertino, and then did the same a year later. It’s cheap and easy marketing, but the mockery of what Apple has done now seems bogus. And it happened again after the notch as well, it was all “haha, no charger” until the major Android flagships started arriving with cable only.

We may have spent a lot of time talking about the notch, but it’s actually an essential part of the technology. The increased number of screens has cut off the edges, which means there is no room for a fingerprint reader on the front.

What to do? Put the reader on the side or back of the phone? Well, yes, it really worked. Side drives still pop up every now and then and they still work great.

Rear-mounted fingerprint readers solve half the problem and work well enough

But the solution that would become the most popular – built-in fingerprint readers – simply wasn’t ready in 2017. The first phone with this technology was introduced by vivo at CES 2018 (see how our first encounter with this phone happened).

There have been legitimate reviews of Face ID over the years. The first is that you have to look at the phone to unlock it. It can be disabled, but make the phone less secure. Another problem was discovered by the epidemic, the system does not work well when wearing a face mask. For what it’s worth, Apple has come up with some solutions and fingerprint readers don’t work with gloves on. None of the solutions alone can cover 100% of the use cases.

It’s not over either, the front camera still has to go somewhere. A variety of solutions have been tested: cracks, punch holes, pop and flip cameras, back screens, etc. However, everyone knows that manufacturers have been waiting for their time for the arrival of screen cameras.

Retractable camera and under-display fingerprint reader Retractable camera

And they arrived last year with the ZTE Axon 20 5G. ZTE launched its second generation system this year, and Samsung had its first chance to solve the problem with the Galaxy Z Fold3. However, while the cameras work as the image quality still leaves much to be desired.

Perhaps next year we will have phones with a selfie camera and fingerprint readers under the screen. Could. But you can see why the notch is so important – it’s been four years of crazy development and the perfect full screen interface solution is still not ready.

Bottom camera technology still needs work

iPhone X may go down in history as one of Apple’s most influential phones. The most impactful for future iPhones for sure. Whether or not the notch is removed in 2022, the X has set Apple on a path it’s still on.

It was the first iPhone with an AMOLED screen. It started with the X, and Apple gradually moved LCD screens to cheaper models. First the iPhone 8 duo, then the XR and 11, there is only the old iPhone SE (2020) that uses a liquid crystal display.

A dazzling 5.8 inch Super Retina OLED display with HDR and Dolby Vision support. And with the bottom edge thinner, it was Apple’s patented design.

The 5.8-inch Super Retina OLED display has a 60Hz refresh rate but also a 120Hz touch sample rate.

The screen was refreshed to 60Hz, like most phone screens at the time. This is something Apple is still struggling with, reluctant to pay the extra cost of displaying a high refresh rate (both in terms of wattage on LTPS boards and cost on LTPO boards). Next year it will likely hit 120Hz, but that’s a bit of consolation for iPhone 13 and 13 mini owners.

However, the iPhone X was the first phone from Apple to feature a high-touch sample rate, 120Hz, and the importance of this has not diminished, in fact, we are seeing other manufacturers announce higher rates.at higher.

The X, along with the iPhone 8 and 8 Plus, was the first Apple phone to support wireless charging. It was basic 5W Qi wireless charging, but it was a start. The beginning that brought us to the reinvented MagSafe charging system last year. A system that has already been imitated by Android manufacturers.

MagSafe charging was the start of something new for Apple — and for some Android makers

It took a while to figure all this out, so the iPhone X came later than the 8 and 8 Plus. It was announced alongside them on September 12, 2017, but won’t be released until early November. And it was the most expensive iPhone ever, starting at $1,000.

It’s easy to laugh at Apple and get annoyed with the vanity it displays at its launch events. It’s rarely the first to do something, damn it, iPhone X isn’t even the first phone with a notch!

But there’s no denying that Apple is the most influential smartphone maker, and its design decisions are being quickly adopted by the competition. As for impact, the impact of the iPhone X can still be felt to this day, especially in Apple’s own designs.

note. The letter “X” in the iPhone X is a Roman numeral, so it is pronounced “ten”. iPhone X is the eleventh generation of iPhone.