On Nov. 3, 2017, Apple released the iPhone X to celebrate their tenth anniversary of iPhone production. Despite the cost of the iPhone X being Apple’s most expensive asking priced at about $1000, the initial number of sales were high. According to USA Today, within three days, the iPhone X sold out in 20 big cities such as New York, Chicago and Boston.
The iPhone X effectively marks the iPhone’s first major redesign and was released at the same time as the iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus, two upgrades to the iPhone that are more traditional.
Tim Cook, Apple Company CEO, commented in Time Magazine that the iPhone X is setting new standards for technology.
“The first iPhone revolutionized a decade of technology,” said Cook. “Now 10 years later it is only fitting that we are here […]to reveal a product that will set the path for technology for the next decade.”
With the iPhone X, as stated on the official Apple website, “the device is the display.” The new technology makes several revolutionary changes to the iPhone’s standard design such as removing the home button, lengthening the screen, hosting the first OLED iPhone screen for a higher resolution with more vivid colors and incorporating a TrueDepth camera system into the top of the display that allows facial recognition identification, which Apple calls the “most sophisticated technology [they’ve] ever developed.”
The iPhone X, iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus all have wireless charging capabilities.
Emily Petro, senior psychology major, recently acquired the iPhone X model and said that she did not see any significant difference.
“To me, it’s not that different from any other iPhone,” Petro said. “It’s the same size as a normal iPhone. It’s actually more breakable because it’s made of glass. It doesn’t have the metal backing that the other iPhones have.”
Being prone to breakage is only one of the forthcoming problems that some new consumers are facing with the iPhone X. According to Digital Trends, there have also been instances of the product temporarily failing to work in cold temperatures, static getting burned into the visual display and the speakers crackling at high volumes. These incidents have caused Apple to release statements and advice in how to work around the problems such as reducing the volume, using earbuds and simply locking and unlocking the screen.
Petro also found the popularity of the iPhone X surprising.
“I honestly didn’t think it would be in such high demand because it’s so expensive. Obviously, people are going to buy it because Apple is such a big brand name, but a lot more people bought it than I expected,” Petro said.
Dr. Bo Liang, assistant professor of business administration, had her own opinion concerning the new iPhones and how they compared to other smartphones.
“The core technology hardware is the same for the iPhone 8 and the iPhone X,” Liang said. “The only big difference is the iPhone X’s facial recognition. But consumers are used to the home button and for some consumers, the change will be difficult. From the makers’ point of view, it’s a good thing, but some consumers have a problem with it and don’t like the look. The change may be easier for younger people. Some like the facial recognition and think it’s better, but for most, they prefer the fingerprint. They feel more secure with it. Facial recognition might have more difficulty, like needing to take sunglasses off. It’s also a more newly developed technology. I’ve asked my students in class, who are mostly iPhone users, and they are not planning to get the iPhone X. They don’t think the facial recognition is useful.”
Liang also provided a reason for the iPhone X’s quick selling out.
“It’s because for any new product, they have a limited quantity. They don’t mass produce it yet, so that if they get feedback for any technical problems, they can fix it before making more. For a new product, they select new markets for the world and make a limited quantity for testing purposes. Then, they upgrade the version and by that time, they’ve lowered their prices,” Liang said.
Liang also speculated on the potential customers who may be particularly interested in the iPhone X.
“Some people need their smart phones 24 hours a day,” Liang said. “For them, it’s more important than TV or laptop. They may want premium or expensive smart phones to try. Now, only a few customers may try the technology. But I think that if it gets popular or your friends buy it, then you may buy it too later. It’s the trend.”
Photo: Micaela Kreuzwieser