By Floriane Charles
Every year, Apple generates quite a buzz with the new model of its iPhone. This time, Apple proposes not two, but three new iPhones: the iPhone 8, iPhone 8 Plus, and the iPhone X (ten). Along with some minor changes, the three main additions are wireless charging, Face ID and an edge to edge screen. But what else does this new phone offer? And most importantly, how does it compare to its competitors such as the Google Pixel 2?
iPhone X features
The iPhone X proposes numerous new elements, mostly aimed at creating new navigation methods to compensate for the removal of the home button. Different gestures open up features such as Siri, the multitask panel, and the home screen. For example, the latter can be accessed by swiping up on the bar at the bottom of the screen. The multi task panel appears when the user swipes halfway up the screen, and Siri is accessed by pressing continuously on the side button. The most notable change is the Face ID as a method of unlocking the phone in place of the Touch ID. While Android users have long had access to face unlock, Android and Apple versions of the feature differ greatly. Android’s face unlock is done through the camera’s face recognition, but Apple’s Face ID projects and analyzes over 30,000 infrared dots to create a map of your face, even reading below the skin. This is designed to recognize the difference between your actual face and a photo of it. It’s estimated that the accuracy will be 1 in 1,000,000 compared to the 1 in 50,000 of Touch ID, or 20 times more accurate.
The iPhone X has an 18:9 ratio and it also has 3D touch and true tone technology, meaning it adapts to its surroundings. It has a 5.8 inch Super Retina OLED display and a pixel density of 458 ppi. The pixel 2 offers a 16:9 ratio, and 6-inch AMOLED display with a quad HD+ resolution, along with a pixel density of 538 ppi.
Apple’s iPhone X offers dual-rear camera made of two 12 megapixel sensors, one telephoto with an f/2.4 aperture and one wide-angle with f/1.8 aperture. Additional front camera features include light adjustments and effects, like a portrait mode for selfies and several adjustments including ones for saturation, contrast, tones, or intensity. The Google Pixel 2 has one front and one rear camera. The latter comes with 12.2 megapixel resolution and an aperture of f/1.8. This camera also includes pixel phase detection autofocus, laser detection autofocus, as well as optical and electrical image stabilization.
The Google Pixel 2 runs on 4GB of RAM, and is available in 64GB and 128GB of storage with a battery which can last up to around 7 hours. The iPhone X runs on 3GB of ram, available with storage of 64GB or 256GB. Apple claims that the battery will last up to 21 hours of talking time, and apparently offers a charging time of 50% in 30 minutes. The charging is possible either through a lightning cable like the previous iPhones, or wirelessly with a Qi wireless charger. One huge downside is that neither the iPhone X nor the Google Pixel come with a headphone 3.5mm jack, but they do both come with adaptors in their box: Google includes a 3.5mm USB type-C adapter and Apple including a 3.5mm to lightning.
Software
We reunite with Android for the Google Pixel 2 and classic IOS with Apple. They both now come with their own assistances: Google Assistance for the Pixel, and Siri for the iPhone. The processor benchmark test results show a huge advantage for Apple’s software, with a score of 4213 compared to the Pixel 2’s 1920.
In terms of price, the Google Pixel 2 starts at $899 on their online store (only available for pre-order) compared to the iPhone X’s $999.
Overall, Apple has made some significant improvements to their technology, but their competitors are not far behind.
*This article has been revised*
