The unprecedented, uncontested, king of the smartphones has made it to South African shores. Having been released already in other countries with mixed to high praise from consumers, the Apple iPhone X is a winner. This is owing to the fact that Apple is benefiting from having sold out the device across the globe. But will this device catch on in our South African market? Is there anyone that you know who will be willing to fork out just over R20,000 for a cellphone?
The iPhone X comes in a beautiful, premium package and is without a doubt the best ever iPhone Apple has ever created. What we get is a new device with some new features that may seem a bit experimental and underwhelming to some people. And in typical Apple fashion, the iPhone X ditches some important features such as the home button and fingerprint scanner and is replaced by gestures and Face ID.
Below, I talk about some of the main standout features that everyone seems to be talking about.
Price and Release Date
The iPhone X is currently available for pre-order at your local iStore. You can expect to pay:-
R 20,499 - iPhone X 64GB
R 23,999 - iPhone X 256GB
The 64GB variant works out to about R955 pm over a 24-month period on an iStore card. The official South African release date was November 24. Cellular contracts were also available on that day.
That Notch!
Whether you mind or not, you will have to make do, as is always the case when Apple releases a new product. Another major design element that you will have to make do with is the notch at the top of the display. It just doesn't look right and has been met with much criticism over the past few months. But it is what it is and that is an area of the phone which is reserved for a host of cameras and sensors. The most important item being Apple's impressively powerful TrueDepth Camera.
Face ID
Face ID is Apple's latest proprietary software and main authentication method. The iPhone X uses facial recognition software to scan your face and unlock the phone. There is no fingerprint scanner as a backup, just password lock. The move to go without a fingerprint scanner was initially met with poor reactions from consumers. That has since changed with owners reporting that they don't mind just keeping to Face ID.
Display and Battery
Apple products are well known for their brilliant retina displays. Even older generation iPhones have amazing displays that have continued to serve us well right up until the latest iPhone 8 and 8 Plus. But now, the iPhone X has included OLED technology in the display. This "super retina" display is similar to the OLED screens that we see on most flagship Samsung smartphones.
With the inclusion of an OLED screen and the efficiently optimised iOS operating system, the iPhone X battery is setting new records for an on-screen time. The battery is smaller than most flagship smartphones. It comes in at 2716 mAh, as compared to say an LG G6, which is 3300 mAh.