In celebration of its 10-year anniversary, Apple unveiled the iPhone X at its keynote event in Cupertino, California, a device that packs in more new features than any one since the original iPhone.
At 5.65 x 2.79 x and 0.30 in., the iPhone X weighs 6.14 ounces and is equipped with a 5.8-in. all-screen 1,125 x 2,436 OLED multi-touch and super retina HD display. This is the first time that Apple has used OLED tech in an iPhone, offering several benefits. On a standard LCD screen, black pixels are lit up, meaning that you never see a true black, but a really dark gray. With OLED, some pixels are lit up while others are not, meaning black pixels stay off. Dark colors seem darker, others seem richer, and text is more visually pleasing.
The iPhone X runs on Apple’s latest processor, the A11 bionic chip that has a 64-bit architecture with a neural engine and an embedded M11 motion coprocessor. In addition to a powerful processor, the smartphone is equipped with 3 GB of RAM. Both will be needed for artificial intelligence and augmented reality, which appears to be a large part of why Apple created the iPhone X.
As far as battery is concerned, it has improved in the X model, offering up to 21 hours of talk time, 12 hours of internet use, and up to 13 hours of video playback. The battery is also fast-charge-capable, charging up to 50% in just 30 minutes, and will last two hours longer than the iPhone 7. The charger itself has also improved. Apple finally joined the wireless charging game and introduced an inductive pad. The company is using the Qi standard, meaning that it will work with current Qi pads such as the ones offered by Mophie and Belkin. Apple also unveiled its own charging accessory, deemed AirPower, which has room to charge both your iPhone and Apple Watch.
One of its more impressive features is, of course, the camera. The iPhone X comes with a wide-angle and telephoto camera that features dual optical image stabilization and digital zoom up to 10x. Users can capture slow-motion video in a higher definition or shoot film-style 4K. The smartphone also offers Portrait Lighting Mode, allowing you to adjust the flash on the back of the iPhone in an effort to fill it more naturally or let the subject look like it’s lit up by a spotlight on stage. The back-facing camera was rotated 90 degrees and runs vertically. It is a dual 12-megapixel camera with f/1.8 and f/2.4 apertures and quad-LED True Tone Flash.
Probably the most noteworthy feature of the iPhone X release is the new facial recognition tool that you use to unlock your device, deemed Face ID. When you begin using the smartphone, you go through a short setup similar to registering your thumbprint but for your face. Users will look into the front-facing camera, framing their face, then turn left and right so the iPhone’s sensors retrieve a strong look.
Once set up, Face ID replaces the fingerprint sensor since the Home button was eliminated in the iPhone X. You unlock your phone, pay for expenses, and log into apps by holding the smartphone up to your face. Apple noted that it did extensive research and work to ensure that masks and photos are not able to trick the phone into unlocking.
The facial recognition tool is possible thanks to an array of cameras and sensors packed into the tiny spot at the top of the screen. Apple’s 7-megapixel TrueDepth camera projects infrared dots onto your face to recognize it, captures the image, then uses a processor to interpret the face data. The company promises that it will always make sure it’s you looking at the phone even if you’re wearing glasses, change your hair, or grow a beard. The technology that powers Face ID is also used inside the new Animoji, Apple’s iMessage emoji that maps your face so that you can put your voice into the mouth of one.
Available for pre-orders October 27, with shipping beginning November 3, the iPhone X is expected to be extremely limited. The phone comes in two models: a 64 GB for $999 and a 256 B for $1,149 in either silver or space gray.
Source: Wired
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