Apple’s iPhone X is the best iPhone yet because it gets out of your way; makes all other iPhones frustrating

“I know the iPhone X and future iPhones are going to be a success because it has completely changed the way I use an iPhone … for the better,” Todd Haselton writes for CNBC. “Sometimes, as a reviewer, I return to older devices — or in the case of the iPhone 8 simply a device that uses older technology — to understand how groundbreaking new developments are. And frankly, returning to the iPhone 8 is frustrating.”

“I’m used to swiping up from the home screen on the iPhone X to return to my main screen, for example, or double tapping a side button to bring up Apple Pay,” Haselton writes. “Hitting the home button on a traditional iPhone or double tapping it and trying to use my fingerprint for Apple Pay seems almost archaic.”

Apple's revolutionary iPhone X
Apple’s revolutionary iPhone X

 
“I’ve felt this about products before,” Haselton writes. “The original iPhone, for example, felt light-years ahead of the Samsung Blackjack with Windows Mobile I’d been using before it… It’s also how I felt about the Amazon Echo. Now, instead of pulling out my phone and trying to pair it with a Bluetooth speaker, I just ask the Echo to play any song I can think of. Instead of walking around the house to turn off lights at night, I just ask Alexa to do it for me… It’s a reminder yet again that products that get out of our way are the ones that have the biggest impact.”

Read more in the full article here.

MacDailyNews Take: Yup.

After a month plus with iPhone X, our iOS devices with Home buttons seem like antiques. — MacDailyNews, December 12, 2017

Will the Home button begin to go the way of the dodo on iPad, too? After a month with iPhone X, we certainly hope so!MacDailyNews, November 28, 2017

34 Comments

  1. Not to mention a single swipe along the bottom to move between each app in the task manager (rather than a double click, AND a swipe, AND a tap to get there).

    Not to mention the fact that a single swipe down from the top right NEVER fails to get me to the control panel, even when I’m in apps (where the former gestures often would NOT).

    Loving ALL the new gestures.

  2. Could not agree more. My iPad Pro 10.5, once my beloved pride an joy, now seems almost unresponsive (okay, a bit of an exaggeration). I was planning to keep it for at least a couple of years, but if Apple ships a Face ID Pro, it’s gone in a heartbeat.

  3. It makes other iOS devices frustrating because it retrains you in terms of gestures and how to use the phone without the home button.

    The first thing that happens is you grab the old phone and start swiping up. Nothing. You keep staring at the phone wondering why the hell it won’t open because usually facial ID opens so fast.

    And that’s just the beginning of fumbling around.

  4. For most terminals with Apple Pay, all you need to do is hold your phone up to the terminal to get Apple Pay to initiate. With Touch ID …if you hold you phone with your thumb on the home button..it’s automatic..no double click. It’s actually easier with touchID. Not sure why people think they need to double click.

    With Face ID, you have to double click even though it turns on automatically when you put your phone next to the terminal.

    1. I nearly always use my Apple Watch for Apple Pay, so makes little difference there. I too love the gestures and screen on the X, and don’t even miss the wider screen of my previous 7 Plus. The size of the X in my hand and pocket is much better.

  5. Just got my X yesterday and although I was leery to upgrade from my 6S (yup, the battery life was sucking and was a significant factor in the upgrade) I must say I love everything about the X except, perhaps, the audio dongle (I wear Etymotic noise reducing earbuds while riding motorcycles). The screen is killer and the interface is fabulous. I love it !

  6. Forget the iPhone X. All the news media wants to talk about is Apple deceiving customers. Unbelievable. Someone is definitely out to get Apple. Apparently, no other smartphone except iPhones have battery depletion problems. It’s going to take a couple of weeks for this to blow over. Apple is definitely going to be stuck in a rut for the remainder of this year thanks to Batterygate. Man, you’d think someone died from having a slow iPhone.

  7. I haven’t tried the iPhone X yet but I’m interested in how well swiping up from the bottom works compared to pressing a home button while driving.
    I’m not talking about distracted driving, I’m referring to using it for GPS navigation etc.

    I use mine daily for work as a driver and I find myself poking at the home button fairly often. Seems to work well when dash mounted.

    1. There’s little difference, if anything the swipe is easier than a press, like a tap is easier than a click. It really would help for some of the UI elements to be bigger than they currently are, especially for driving situations. It’s almost impossible to see your battery percentage when the phone is in a mount at arm’s length. When using Google Maps the blue “return to navigation” bar that used to cover the entire top of the home screen when it was active, is now limited to just a button to the left of the notch. If someone does a lot of driving/navigating, an iPhone Plus might be a better option.

  8. Adapting to the iPhone X was very easy. I still need to learn more about the gestures. My biggest mistake is hitting the side button instead of swiping up to get out of an app. Of course that just locks the screen.

  9. Despite all my years as Hollywood honcho, making movies you people wouldnt believe, not even the wildest of sci-fi dreams dreamt up anything as good as the iPhone X

  10. Guess I’ve missed something then, my original iPad (Oct 2010) is still working fine for me. And when it breaks down eventually, I have another spare one to last me the next 7 years or so…

    Stepped off the “must have the latest and greatest” bandwagon years ago. No regrets at all. Apple builds products to last, and that’s how I use them..

      1. Well yes, I’m running 5.1.1 (and it’s not slowing down the OS to save the battery…lol…)

        But seriously, there’s a few simple tasks I use the iPad for. News and some forums, quick scan of emails in the morning, and the occasional card game..
        Light use, but absolutely serves my needs..

        Overall, I’m a light user of software. No heavy crunching of numbers or graphical options. So I have hardly a need to update.
        Of course it’s always nice to have the latest gadgets, but nowadays for me, the money for the latest and greatest can be better spent on family..

        Cheers,
        Luc

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