The truth behind

If you had asked me a year ago; “Which iPhone is your most favourite?”, I would kindly respond with “iPhone 4, without a doubt!”. A few months ago, I bought an iPhone X and I have to say I find it really exciting to use. If you currently observe the market, you can also realise how successful it is, when you see that lots of tech companies are launching copycats of X’s design and features. Jony Ive did a great job once again by designing Apple’s latest and most valuable product.

When reading reviews of the iPhone X, it’s clear as day that some of them are strongly biased against it. When most reviewers look at pieces of tech, they tend to focus too much on Hardware and Software, very often overlooking things like Ergonomics and Accessibility. I’ve personally faced a wide range of issues when it comes to those two. While you could find complaints about the same issues in several support forums, these are slowly becoming serious de facto problems of X. Some of them are actually.. funny! I cannot tell this is the best iPhone ever and I will explain further below.

Buggy iOS 11

I know.. I just mentioned software and hardware are really common in reviews. That’s why I’m not going to discuss them in detail. Let’s see instead only an abstract synopsis of them. A good software could transform a piece of shit into gold. iOS is definitely the soul of many Apple product lines and one of the most beloved mobile device operating systems out there. During the past year, we had to deal with an iPhone with a soul as black as the Jet Black iPhones!

Bugs and glitches are everywhere, making the phone seem like it’s struggling and decreasing the quality of X’s user experience. Some of them are really common, some not so much. There are buttons disappearing from the lock screen, battery indicators showing low battery levels when unlocking a fully charged iPhone X, unresponsive touch screen issues, control centre or notifications panels coming up with wrong interactions (like sliding down the screen to search for something), along with many other bugs and glitches which can be found on every iOS 11 device.

We can only hope that Craig Federighi (Apple’s senior vice president of Software Engineering) and his team will develop an iOS 12 fixing all those issues and make iOS great again! iOS 12 has the capability to enhance the user experience of X, making X the most fun iPhone to use.

Sorry, I cannot hear you

iPhone X is basically a smartphone that every business person should have. But when it comes to phone calls, this is maybe the worst option to buy! X has poor microphone quality during phone calls. This is something that nearly everyone is facing right now. It’s not clear yet if it’s something that came by design or  because of a software bug/glitch. The person on the other end cannot hear exactly what the X’s user is saying, because of the low volume. Some people blame hardware, others blame software and iOS’ noise cancellation feature. Come on Apple, no one has super hearing… deal with it!

“We’re here to put a dent in the universe . Otherwise why else even be here?” ~Steve Jobs

I cannot recognize your face, you’re just someone else

TouchID has recently replaced by FaceID in iPhone X version. Sure, FaceID is a great feature but it isn’t always as good as you think. There are times when it becomes unresponsive or it can’t identify your face. Unfortunately, this is the least of your problems. For example: You’re sitting in a lecture room. It’s rude to look down at your phone. You have to raise the phone or move your eyes and head while looking at the phone, just so it can identify you. All this in order to get the phone unlocked and read or answer the message. This is definitely an accessibility issue that a lot of users face in different ways. It would be better to just turn your eyes and look at the message instead of turning, angling and positioning your head.

Thicker, not thinner

Apple is obsessed with shrinking their devices and making them more ergonomic and easy to use, hold or carry. “Thinner and lighter” are the most common keywords someone could hear during their keynote presentations.

We heard nothing similar for the iPhone X or iPhone 8. Obviously, X is in fact a bit thicker at 0.30 inches (7.7mm) as iPhone 8 has 0.29 inches (7.3 mm) depth and iPhone 7 is even thinner at 0.28 inches (7.1 mm). X’s tech specs also show how heavier is in comparison to the other models of the same line. iPhone X weighs 6.14 ounces (174 grams) while iPhone 8 is 5.22 ounces (148 grams). The iPhone 7 is even lighter at 4.87 ounces (138 grams).

Holding X in my hands for the first time, I instantly realised the difference as it felt really uncomfortable. This can be worse especially when a thin case is applied. X isn’t a phone you can use with one hand. Gestures can make the holding scenario worse and increase fall rates. For example: Imagine you are holding the iPhone X using only your right hand. You can’t click at the top left corner and you need to lower the screen down. Previously, this could be done by double-tapping the Touch Button. But on the iPhone X, you need to slide down the bottom bar until the edge of the screen, increasing your chances of dropping your phone on the floor.

The X’s front and rear soft-rounded edges add a slip feature making the possibility of your phone taking a tumble, higher than ever. An expensive smartphone with high risk of breaking isn’t that good, right?

Accidental Screenshots everywhere

I really want to be in front of Jony Ive and ask him “WHY?”. He placed the power and volume buttons in a way that you can’t avoid taking an accidental screenshot when using the phone in a normal, everyday scenario.

Did you just take the phone outside of your pocket? Here’s a screenshot. Are you trying to mute an incoming call? Here’s another one! Are you trying to increase the phone’s volume? Here’s a screenshot of your favorite song artwork! While this can be interpreted as a “feature” of “taking memories of  your iPhone X interaction” it’s really funny and annoying at the same time as you are usually dealing with this in times of hurry or when a critical task must be done.

I really want to believe this could be included in the list of “fixes”in the next iOS version and apply a logical workaround to avoid accidentally screenshotting everything!

It’s time for waxing

This is something funny I have to deal with a lot. The thing is that many users also complained about in several forums, discussing their dissatisfaction and pain with this.

I love my beard. Using iPhone X made me hate it. Usually, when I end a call, moving the iPhone away from my ear, hairs from my beard or head always end up being pulled out and stuck between the empty space of iPhone X’s edges and any case I use. Maybe, this is because of the soft-rounded edges mentioned before, I am not sure. But trust me, the pain is real!

In addition, this can be ugly and disgusting when you realise that a piece of hair is waving in the edge of your or others’ iPhone X. Ew.

X…? Let’s wait for an XI

iPhone X is definitely one of the great smartphones in the market for now. There are some improvements that need to be applied or some strong rethinking of some aspects of it. This is maybe the first step for a perfect smartphone in the upcoming versions. I personally suggest X because it can increase your productivity in various ways and because the tech behind it is really good.

We would love to hear from you, especially if you dealt with funny issues like those described above. What’s your opinion about iPhone X? Would you recommend it to your friends? Discuss your thoughts in the comments below! 🙂