Apple unveils new iPhone X
Apple’s new iPhone X will have an “edge-to-edge” screen, wireless charging, can be unlocked simply by looking at it — and comes with a $1,000 price tag.
The “ten” — so named for the original iPhone’s 10-year anniversary — “will set the path of tech for the next decade,” CEO Tim Cook said during a product unveiling at the company’s California headquarters Tuesday.
The Home button is gone, and the phone’s entire face is a screen — meaning users will control practically everything by tapping the 5.8-inch display, which will have a higher resolution than previous models at 2436 x 1125 pixels.
Apple is ditching an LCD screen for Organic Light Emitting Diodes (OLEDs), which competitor Samsung has been using for years.
LCDs light up the entire screen and then color selected pixels to display an image, but OLEDs only light up the pixels needed to make an image — meaning they can provide sharper colors, better contrast in low light and a longer battery life.
And the thumbprint sensor is gone in favor of the “Face ID” system, which creates a “mathematical model of your face” that can be used to unlock the phone at a glance, according to senior vice president Phil Schiller.
The Orwellian tech is actually safer than Apple’s previous, fingerprint-based Touch ID, he said. Touch ID had a 1-in-50,000 chance of letting the wrong person unlock your phone, and Face ID’s failure rate is 1 in a million, he said.
And “all processing is done on phone, not sent to a server,” so it will be harder for hackers to steal, he said.
The Face ID feature wasn’t quite camera-ready during the company’s announcement Tuesday: Senior vice president of software engineering Craig Federighi had to try a few times before he got it to work.
“Whoa ho ho,” he stammered as he overrode the facial-recognition lock with a tap of his fingers.
A new camera system that allows for facial recognition will also help people’s selfie game, he said.
The phone will have a dual camera on the front that can mechanically stabilize itself for clearer shots — though they’ll feature the same resolution as current models at 12 megapixels.
And new animated emojis will let people direct the cartoon glyphs’ expressions with their own faces.
“If you ever wondered what humanity would do if it had access to the most advanced facial recognition tech, you now have your answer,” Federighi said as a giant poo emoji aped his facial expressions on screen behind him during the announcement.
Other features include:
- “Microscopic sealing” for water and dust resistance
- Wireless charging through Qi-certified charging mats
- 25 percent louder speakers
- Faster processing and improved graphics
- Glass that is “the most durable ever in a smartphone.”
The Apple X will come in silver or gray, with storage up to 256 gigabytes, and is expected to ship Nov. 3 for $999.
