HN Explorer

Why I Returned my iPhone X After 1 Hour

25 points by travelhead ↗ HN
-Smaller keyboard compared to Plus.

-Nearly all apps adding black bar to top and bottom which severely reduces screen size.

-Videos sized to full screen chop off the bottom, or if you don’t expand to full screen the video feels very small.

-FaceID didn’t work when phone was positioned on center console of car.

-FaceID takes 1+ sec to unlock compared to instant Touch sensor.

-No headphone jack unlike 6s Plus.

-No noticeable speed increase in web browsing and normal (non-gaming) activities compared to 6s Plus.

-If you lock phone using right side button, you need to click right side button again (?!) and then use FaceID to unlock.

-Weird (bad) glare in sunlight when wearing polarized sunglasses.

-Screen resolution and quality didn’t seem that much different/better then my 6s Plus except when looking at Photos.

-Corners of X chop off precious real estate from phone.

-Annoying to have to position fingers/hand at top left and right of phone to swipe to access menus.

-2716mAh battery of X compared to 2750mAh of 6s Plus.

-174gram weight of X compared to 188 grams for 6s Plus, so practically the same weight but much smaller screen.

Only positive was the camera did take nice pics.

17 comments

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gigatexal
you're an early adopter and you were surprised?
travelhead
yes.. surprised at how much I disliked it.
gigatexal
And you didn’t try reselling your displeasure with the phone for profit?
travelhead
The original idea was to buy the phone and sell it, so I listed it on ebay but a scammer tried to buy it. Then listed on FB marketplace but had people saying they wanted it then cancelling. In the end I decided to get it for myself and once I realized I didn’t like it, I didn’t want the hassle of trying to sell it again.
serf
buying a product at release is 'early adopter' status now?

it's a cell phone, not some new technology.

iDemonix
> not some new technology

You are aware new devices tend to contain new technology?

karmakaze
So the weights about the same but the battery difference is significant? Seems like an emotional review.
dchuk
You really care about a 34mAh difference in battery on two completely differently specced devices? Give me a break
segmondy
I believe the point is that the battery didn't improve.
dchuk
Because it didn't get bigger? There are other ways battery life can "improve" than just adding mAh.
mstolpm
There are literally hundres of updates for apps that make them iPhone X screen and FaceID friendly. Pretty prematured reaction to return a device because third party software isn't updated in the first hours of release.

Moreover, you were using it wrong: You don't have to click th button to use FaceID to unlock the device.

ajeet_dhaliwal
The X width matches the 6/6S/7/8 and not the Plus models even though the screen is diagonally longer due to a change in the aspect ratio. It’s not really a replacement for people who like Plus (like me, and it appears you).
tomwilson
If you lock it with the side button you don’t need to hit the side button again. You can tap anywhere on the screen on the X to wake the screen up while locked.

And with the “one second to unlock”. You don’t have to wait for it just swipe up and usually it’ll be done by the time you finish gesturing. There are also scenarios in which it is faster eg when you tap on a notification on the lock screen it goes straight into the app instead of having to tap then Touch ID.

I’ve had a plus 6/6S/7 and yeah the screen is a bit smaller but I am kind of enjoying having a screen that is almost as big but it’s not so huge in my pocket. That said if they make a X Plus next year I would love that.

iDemonix
Wow. Were you hoping it'd do your laundry too? I'd recommend avoiding pre-release indie games and new tech in general.
mrfusion
Are you allowed to cancel orders that haven’t shipped?

I hadn’t thought about not being able to unlock when it’s in a car holder.