The iPhone X is only a couple days away from the hands of the general public (including myself) but the tech press have begun releasing early reviews of the highly anticipated device. So far all the reviews are mostly positive, even when it comes to FaceID (which ‘failed’ at Apple’s press event). I have yet to get my hands on one so at the moment I am relying on early reviewers for their best impressions.

One of biggest changes coming with the iPhone X is the removal of the Touch ID and home button. The device now unlocks by using Face ID, it will open simply using facial recognition. Face ID ‘failed’ during Apple’s press event, the explanation was that too many other people had handled it so it locked out (a security feature). So far the consensus is that Face ID works well enough to replace Touch ID, has the same if not better consistency. Here are what one reviewer had to say about it:

Geoffrey Fowler of The Washington Post - “In my initial tests, it worked nine times out of 10. You really have to hold it in front of your face like you’re taking a selfie. Too close, in particular, and it won’t work. It recognized me in the dark, and when I put on sunglasses — but not when, in the interest of science, I put on a fake beard. (Apple says it adapts to handle beards when they come on more slowly.)”

Then there’s the new display, an all new Apple OLED edge-to-edge (mostly) display. The entire front of the phone is the screen, minus the ‘notch’ at the top which Apple calls the sensor housing. The sis where the True Depth camera system lives (more on that later). As always, Apple’s display is top-notch (no pun intended). 

Nilay Patel of The Verge - “Apple’s using a Samsung-manufactured OLED panel with a PenTile pixel layout on the iPhone X, but it’s insistent that it was custom-engineered and designed in-house. Whatever the case, the results are excellent: the iPhone X OLED is bright, sharp, vibrant without verging into parody, and generally a constant pleasure to look at.”

Back to that notch, this is where the iPhone X houses the True Depth camera system that powers Face ID. But this system also allows for portrait mode selfies, giving the ability to add depth of field and change the lighting with portrait lighting. A lot of people were worried about how it’s going to look and affect the use of the phone but it seems as it really isn’t that big a deal:

Matthew Panzarino of Techcrunch - “In use, I have to say, the notch is just zero problem for me. I don’t give a rat’s ass about it. I know I’ll probably catch heat but I’m not carrying water for Apple here. I think it is absolutely a compromise but, after using Face ID and the True Depth camera for other stuff, I am willing to deal with it.”

I will definitely be posting some pictures and videos on Friday as soon as I get my hands on the iPhone X. If you have any questions about any of the new iPhones feel free to leave a comment!