RIP home button: Apple launches iPhone X

iPhone X delivers a secure new way for customers to unlock, authenticate and pay using Face ID, enabled by the new TrueDepth camera.

The camera system is made up of a dot projector, infrared camera and flood illuminator, and is powered by A11 Bionic to accurately map and recognise a face. These advanced depth-sensing technologies work together to securely unlock iPhone, enable Apple Pay, gain access to secure apps and customise the new ‘animoji’ - a customisable, moving emoji (see friendly unicorn below).

Face ID projects more than 30,000 invisible infrared (IR) dots. The IR image and dot pattern are pushed through neural networks to create a mathematical model of your face and send the data to the secure enclave to confirm a match, while adapting to physical changes in appearance over time.

All saved facial information is protected, while all of the processing is done on-device and not in the cloud to protect user privacy. Face ID only unlocks iPhone X when customers look at it and is designed to prevent spoofing by photos or masks.

“For more than a decade, our intention has been to create an iPhone that is all display. The iPhone X is the realisation of that vision,” said Jony Ive, Apple’s Chief Design Officer. “With the introduction of iPhone ten years ago, we revolutionised the mobile phone with Multi-Touch. iPhone X marks a new era for iPhone — one in which the device disappears into the experience.”

As well as unveiling the flagship new iPhone X, Apple’s CEO Tim Cook also revealed iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus, an upgrade to its current offering. Both devices have an all-glass design and support wireless charging. What’s more, the screen is made up of what is supposedly the most durable glass ever in a smartphone.

The 4.7” and 5.5” devices start at £699 and £799 for the 64GB versions. They come with iOS 11 software, which will be available to download from 19th September, and an upgraded camera and processor.

Key features for the three new models include: 

• A11 Bionic chipset, 2 performance cores, 4 for efficiency. New ISP for faster low light & hardware enabled multiband noise reduction; 3 core custom GPU design
• Glass industrial design, for better antenna performance & Qi wireless charging
• True tone display, display unchanged from iPhone 7s / 7s Plus
• Portrait photo lighting effects

In addition, iPhone X includes:

• Edge to edge 5.85” Flexible OLED display 458ppi with 2436x1125 pixels  , special aspect ratio as 19.5:9. Flexible OLED with On-Cell touch sensor Dolby Vision and HDR10
• Face ID: uses custom “TrueDepth” camera: flood illuminator, proximity, infrared, dot projector, front camera, ambient light sensor
• Adds portrait mode selfies & animoji
• Dual 12MP f1.8 and f2.4, with dual OIS

Commenting on the new models is Ian Fogg, Senior Director, mobile & telecom at IHS Markit: “While Apple risks losing iPhone 8 sales in advance of iPhone X availability, it is the right decision to announce iPhone X now. Keeping it quiet until a second product launch this autumn would simply alienate iPhone 8 purchasers and damage Apple’s business in the long run.

“Apple has made the right decision for its customers. They have a clear choice: buy an iPhone 8 or 8 Plus now and enjoy Touch ID, wireless charging and improved performance – or wait and spend more on iPhone X in a month’s time.”

These new iPhone models represent the biggest step forward in iPhone design since the iPhone’s debut. iPhone X will set Apple up for impressive iPhone performance in 2018 and into the iPhone’s second decade. And, just as with the original iPhone, every other smartphone maker will aim to copy and improve on Apple’s iPhone X design. In this, it is the true successor to the first iPhone.