Apple's iPhone X is a premium smartphone being sold at a premium price

by Blaine Kyllo on September 12th, 2017 at 4:58 PM

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Audio of Steve Jobs talking about Apple's philosophy was used to open the theatre that bears his name today (September 12).

The 1,000-seat Steve jobs Theatre is at Apple Park, the company's new campus in Cupertino, south of San Franciso, which converted asphalt into a 70-hectare green space.

The first public event in the theatre was a media event to announce new Apple products, including the highly anticipated 10th-anniversary edition of the iPhone.

iPhone X has facial recognition

Pronounced "ten" (not "ex"), the new handset has a steel-reinforced glass front and back with a stainless-steel band.

The new display is called Super Retina and uses OLED technology that supports high-definition range (HDR) and True Tone, which adapts the colour and brightness of the screen depending on the surroundings.

The edge-to-edge display is 5.8-inches in a handset that is taller and narrower than recent iPhones, sized between the iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus.

As expected, there's no home button on the iPhone X, so the home screen is accessed by simply swiping up from the bottom of the screen.

Side button activates Siri, and unlocking the device uses facial-recognition technology that Apple calls Face ID. Face ID uses a TrueDepth camera system under the screen at the top of the display that uses an IR camera to take a picture of your face.

It will adapt to your changing facial features over time, and if your eyes are closed or you're looking away from the device, Face ID won't work.

Apple is confident that Face ID is more secure than Touch ID, and the data about your face is kept secure on the device.

The iPhone X also supports wireless charging.

What an iPhone X is going to cost you

The talk in days leading up to the event focused on the price of the device, and the rumours were realized today.

The iPhone X will cost $1,319 with a 64 GB model and $1,529 for a 256 GB model.

Compared to other premium handsets, the iPhone X isn't so far out of whack:

Essential Phone: $1,050
Google Pixel: $899 or $1,029 with more memory
Google Pixel XL: $1,049 or $1,179 with more memory
LG V20: $1,000
Samsung Galaxy S8: $1.035
Samsung Galaxy S8+: $1,115
Samsung Galaxy Note8: $1,300

You can preorder the iPhone X starting on October 27. They will be on shelves on November 3.

Segmenting the mobile market

Market research has shown that the number of people who buy the newest, greatest phone hasn't really changed. Most people upgrade their mobile device when they need to.

So Apple and other device manufacturers are simply creating a different category. They tried to have a budget device with the iPhone 5C, which was discontinued within a couple of years.

With the iPhone X, Apple is looking to make more money through the sale of fewer devices. The iPhone X will sell to the people that are always going to buy the new phone. The iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus are for everybody else who's going to upgrade when they need to.

iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus

iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus are, as expected, upgraded versions of the existing handsets from Apple.

They have 4.7-inch and 5.5-inch displays, respectively, a new A11 Bionic chip, and are water- and dust-resistant. The Touch ID fingerprint sensor is still here.

The new design has steel-reinforced glass on the front and back and an aluminum strip. It also supports wireless charging and a True Tone display.

The two iPhone 8s will be available for preorder on September 15, for release on September 22.

Pricing for the iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus is as follows: