Has Apple’s iPhone X silenced the critics?

53 Comments

“Critics of Apple have often pointed to the supposed inferiority of the iPhone’s screen and rear camera to substantiate a bear case,” Mark Hibben writes for Seeking Alpha. “It was claimed that the iPhone’s faults made it vulnerable to competition from better performing Android devices. Samsung’s Galaxy series was often extolled for its superior OLED technology, while Google’s Pixel smartphone had the better camera.”

“Such deficiencies must constitute a defect in the value proposition of iPhone, it was assumed. Consumers would ultimately come to their senses and choose superior competing devices, or ‘good enough’ commodity devices at a lower price,” Hibben writes. “Apple would succumb to commodity smartphones, as it had commodity PCs. The smartphone market, which had somehow been capsized by Apple, would right itself at last.”

MacDailyNews Take: Apple’s indomitable Mac, of course, never succumbed to commodity PCs. Apple’s Mac just posted its all-time sales record last quarter. Apple’s Mac doesn’t even compete in the same market as commodity PCs. Unit share is one thing. Profit share is quite another. Anyone can move PC units. No one can generate revenue from personal computers like Apple.

“But iPhone didn’t succumb to commoditization, and critics can’t even assert its inferiority, now that iPhone X has arrived,” Hibben writes. “iPhone X has scored top marks for both its display and its rear camera. These ratings come from sources that often provided fodder for the bear case, DisplayMate and DXOMark.”

“Will these scores be enough to silence the critics? Probably not, but then Apple’s critics have not understood the value proposition of iPhone,” Hibben writes. “iPhone’s appeal is less about benchmark scores and specs and more about the overall user experience. User experience is admittedly hard to quantify, but it’s driven by Apple’s excellent hardware/software integration.”

Read more in the full article here.

MacDailyNews Take: Apple’s critics, who seem to look only at spec sheets and thereby proclaim doom for iPhone, have at least one screw loose.

SEE ALSO:
Michael Gartenberg: iPhone X is the best smartphone you can buy today, and likely tomorrow; Apple is now a full generation ahead of their competitors – November 10, 2017
T3 reviews Apple’s iPhone X: Brilliant, five stars, 2017’s best smartphone – November 8, 2017
DisplayMate: Apple’s iPhone X has the most color accurate display we’ve ever measured; it is visually indistinguishable from perfect – November 8, 2017
Ars Technica reviews iPhone X: Easy to recommend if you want a glimpse at the future – November 3, 2017
iMore reviews iPhone X: The best damn product Apple has ever made – November 2, 2017
TechCrunch reviews Apple’s iPhone X: ‘Like using the future of smartphones, today’ – November 1, 2017
Tim Bajarin’s first impression of Apple’s iPhone X: Face ID worked flawlessly – November 1, 2017
The Verge reviews Apple’s iPhone X: Clearly the best iPhone ever made, despite being marred by its ugly notch – November 1, 2017
Above Avalon’s first impressions of Apple’s iPhone X: ‘An entirely new iPhone experience’ – October 31, 2017
The Independent reviews Apple’s iPhone X: ‘This feels like the future’ – October 31, 2017
David Pogue reviews Apple’s iPhone X: ‘The best thing is its size’ – October 31, 2017
Forbes reviews Apple’s iPhone X: Opulent, gorgeous, classy; the best iPhone yet – October 31, 2017
CNBC reviews Apple’s iPhone X: ‘The best smartphone on the market’ – October 31, 2017

53 Comments

        1. The “smart” company makes the most profit with products people are willing to buy and pay for. Try rubbing those two brain cells of yours together and generate a clue.

    2. The iPhone X is far from being a runaway success. I’ve had it since launch. Myself and many other real users posting online and YouTube share the following issues:

      -The notch is hideous and affects usability. Look at a full screen portrait image: it’s forced under the notch, so part of the image is obstructed. No way around this.
      -The rounded corners and notch create a mandated forehead and chin: THE BEZELS ARE IN THE SOFTWARE. For instance, menu bars in Apps start at the line where the curve starts on the corners, so menus have to have padding on the top and bottom, making that screen are pretty much useless.
      -The X is tall and narrow, and when combined with mandated forehead and chin, has less usable screen space than the Plus.
      -No iOS Plus mode: no landscape homescreen; no landscape Plus mode in Mail, Notes, and other Apps. In fact, landscape is jarring because of how narrow the device is: hardly any room for content. And the landscape keyboard is stretched thin.
      -Battery life isn’t great.
      -Blue haze on tilt with the OLED screen.
      -Status bar lacks things like battery percentage or cellular carrier info.
      -Accessing Control Center sucks.
      -Much more…

      I like things about the phone but it’s flawed.

      Reply

        1. Weird? Nick, what’s weird is you, after reading a well presented critique of iPhone X, failing to grasp and appreciate the points of analysis. In fact, not only is your level of comprehension so embarrassingly low, it is you who project your own inadequacies by insulting dswe for your inability to understand his post. You know I’m right, Nick. Now apologize.

        1. Sorry to burst your bubbles but all these flaws were judged completely acceptable by Apple. There was a realease date and iPhone X was going to be released on this date. Apple has simply lowered the bar for product quality to meet the release date. Apple has determined that there are enough fanboys eager to rush to purchase. Patience, Apple will correct these errors in time.

        2. That’s disheartening to say the least. With all that top notch talent, the most money in history and the most advanced headquarters … and they settle for a DATE? Sux …

    1. The 231 low star ratings you got is proof of what you said. I

      I heard that most of these (trolls) are poor and lazy people mostly sitting in third world countries making ends meet by generating garbage comments sitting at home with the rest of their family who are also doing the same thing. This might also apply to poor and lazy people sitting in first world countries too.

      Reply

        1. That’s what he is saying you birdbrain! He is saying that those 231 star ratings of a low star are generated by trolls…….ie NOT REAL.

          Now who’s the birdbrain, brainless, village idiot of MDM?

        1. You think people are whining. No, no, little man. People are laughing and mocking. People just love to comment how the most intelligent and pretentious company on the globe keeps jacking things up. Consider it putting the fire under Apple’s ass to get it right. You can thank us later.

        2. No, I observe people whining in this case as part of the criticism. That’s a difference between and observation and speculation, both are part of the thinking process. Criticism can also includes laughing and mocking.

          Where excellence in criticism is demonstrated in my humble opinion is when a viable alternative is presented.

          Now you said “you can thank us later” and that infers that you represent a certain group, so my question is, which group do you represent and why do I have to wait to thank you?

        4. I’d like to see some evidence and perspective regarding what aspect of the truth that you believe I can’t handle.

          That being said I return to my question(s), you said “you can thank us later” and that infers that you represent a certain group, so my question is, which group do you represent and why do I have to wait to thank you?

    1. The iPhone X is the most bestest product Apple has ever produced. In fact, it’s perfect. This is it. The last and final version of iPhone. You are holding in your hand the same iPhone people will be using an eon from now. You will revered as “The First” and “The Chosen” by those you have preceded. Embrace it.

      Reply

  5. Android fans love to point out that an Android phones did something first. However they will not say that no phone put them all on one device. They also won’t say that some of those things sucked, like LG’s fingerprint ID. The one that Samsung used just before Apple came out with their far superior one just so they could say they had it too even though they knew it sucked. When Apple does do something first, like 64bit, they downplay it knowing they are years behind.

    The X is all the pieces together of stuff that a few Android phones have had, and some new things they have not done. I think they are afraid.

    Reply

    1. Let’s be real and remember history.

      Android phone came out 18 months after the first iPhone was released. They copied everything Apple had done, tweaks here and there, and were sued with multiple international lawsuits.

      That said, yes, later they innovated features for years sleeping on their laurels Apple never saw coming. Cut and paste is a classic example.

      But with iPhone X, the shoe is NOW on the other foot … 😀

      Reply

  6. Nope, that’s the simple and obvious answer. Fanboys, of course, will excuse every flaw and foible for the privilege of buying iPhone eXperimental. These tools have to tell themselves that what they own is the most technologically advanced device on the planet. Anything else is unacceptable. Anything else is not real.

    Reply

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