Why your next Smartphone should be the iPhone X

As you probably know by now, Apple unveiled not one, but three new iPhone models at their latest typically stripped-back presentation at the Steve Jobs theatre last night. The models in question, of course, were the iPhone 8, the 8 Plus, and most interestingly, the iPhone X.

Skipping over the 7S completely and jumping straight to the 8th generation of iPhone was a surprising move for Apple. Even more surprising, however, is the iPhone X. Made to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the original iPhone, it’s quite a radical departure from previous models, and it’s also our pick for your next smartphone. But why bother choosing the X over the abundance of competition on the market?

From a technological perspective, the X is unquestionably better than both the iPhone 8 and 8 Plus, and you’d expect it to be, considering Apple have slapped an extra couple of hundred quid on its price tag. If you can afford it, though, the extra tech is well worth it. You get over an extra inch of edge-to-edge screen size compared to the 8, a better camera, longer battery life, and Face ID recognition. The latter of these might be the most intriguing, but it’s not the only smartphone on the market to offer this kind of technology.

A couple of weeks ago here on Ape, we gave a round-up of the new Samsung Galaxy Note8. It’s an amazing phone with some seriously impressive tech- it’s got an even bigger screen than the iPhone X, a camera that’s just as good, and a competitive, if still hefty, price tag. Most importantly though, it’s also got facial recognition.

This feature on the Note8, however, has been met with mixed reception- with some users discovering that they were able to unlock their new Samsung with a photo of themselves on a separate phone. There is another, more secure facial recognition system on the Note8, but it’s so slow that using it daily simply isn’t practical. Apple, we’re hoping, will have learnt from this and ensured that the same mistakes won’t be made on the X. Oh, and on the iPhone X you can also use this technology to create your own Animoji, an emoji that matches your facial expressions, but the less said about that, the better, frankly.

We could debate all day about the technical minutiae of the iPhone 8, 8 Plus, X, and the new Samsung – they all have their own individual strengths and weaknesses. But when it comes down to it, they’re all outstanding phones with more than enough state-of-the-art features and party tricks to hold their own on the market. The real question is, what other factors influence a buyer’s decision when choosing a new smartphone? Other than tech, brand value and ‘cool factor’, as much as many of us may hate to admit it, weigh highly in the equation.

With that being said, the iPhone X is easily the coolest of all these phones. It’s the one that you’d be most proud to say you had when you took it out of your pocket and someone asked you what model it was, and it’s the one that you’d be most jealous of if you saw a friend, family member or colleague with one. More than anything, this may just be a strong testament to Apple’s marketing genius over the years, and the legacy of the brilliant Steve Jobs, but the X is a range topper, and you’ll be envious of everyone unless you have one. It’s an emotional thing.

Sure, the new features are extremely cool – the wireless charging, supposedly coming in 2018, looks particularly impressive. The new glass back of the X was added to support this, although you might be less impressed if you drop it and have two broken glass panels instead of one. The ditching of the ‘home’ button, too, is a true step forward. But above all, the iPhone X is simply the hottest new phone on the market. It’s the one everyone wants, and it’s the one we think you should want, too.

The iPhone X, from £999, by APPLE