9-13-2017, CNET -- The brand new iPhone X -- that's pronounced "ten," by the way, not "ex" -- is Apple's iPhone zenith, the priciest, boldest iPhone the company has ever made. It already tops the iPhone 8 ($849.00 at Apple) and iPhone 8 Plus in some pretty specific ways. So far, we like the design and specs, but it also leaves us with questions.
For Apple, the iPhone X is a phone of firsts. The first to have a 5.8-inch screen with ultraslim bezels. The first to use an OLED screen, a different technology than the typical LCD panels, which Apple says will make colors absolutely pop. The iPhone X is also the first iPhone to completely do away with the iconic home button -- you know, the one Apple popularized on its very first iPhone. It's the first to offer Face ID as a new way to securely unlock the phone and pay in the check-out line (Apple has no more use for your fingerprints).
Finally, the iPhone X is Apple's only new device to nab a portrait mode on the front-facing camera (despite having just one lens and not two), optical image stabilization for both rear 12-megapixel camera lenses, and -- more breezily -- a new feature to animate poop.
You won't get the iPhone X's large, OLED screen or face unlocking on the more traditional iPhone 8 ($849.00 at Apple) and iPhone 8 Plus, which were also announced Tuesday. And that's by design. The iPhone X's boldness is exactly what makes it Apple's extra-special cherry on top to mark the 10th anniversary of the very first iPhone in 2007, which revolutionized at that time everything a smartphone could be, and hurled us on the path that led to what smartphones are today.
Apple in no way abandons the iPhone 8 and 8 Plus. All three new handsets for 2017 get a major feature that Apple's been lagging on for years: Qi wireless charging (pronounced "chee"). Wireless charging is now a Samsung staple that already works with both Qi and PMA standards. While Apple only mentioned Qi support and not PMA, it's nevertheless a key addition that could kick up demand for wireless charging in a way that Samsung, LG, Nokia and Microsoft hadn't been able to accomplish before.
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