iPhone X: a latecomer’s review

Ah the classic curse of the iPhone. Once you buy one, there really is no turning back. You are now destined to spend your life waiting for your contract to run out so that you can upgrade to the slickest new member of the apple family. Because let’s face it, who really wants an android?

Jokes aside, it cannot be denied that as a nation, as an entire race, we are fully invested in Apple, and perhaps even wrapped delicately around the company’s metaphorical little finger. I mean I’m not complaining, I love my phone just as much as the next person. So of course, when my two year contract came to an end I simply had to see what shiny new model was on offer, and this came in the form of the iPhone X.

I did actually love my pretty little 6s, but after a couple of years it was becoming a bit tired and quite frankly, the ‘storage full’ notification popping up every five minutes was driving me stir crazy. With me becoming more invested in my blogging these last months, a new phone with more storage, more data, and most importantly, a better camera was needed. Unfortunately, I am not one of those people who can simply upgrade to the latest model as soon as it’s released, so I’m aware that I’m very late to the party with this. Nevertheless, I wanted to do a little review of my new phone for anyone, particularly any bloggers, thinking of taking the plunge and upgrading their model! So, is the iPhone X really worth it?

*Disclaimer: I’m not a technology expert in any way, shape or form. This is just my personal thoughts on the phone as your average consumer.

OVERALL LOOK

There’s no denying that this phone is b-e-a-utiful. As far as iPhones go, aside from the rose gold ones that I’ll always be obsessed with, this is one of my favourites looks-wise. It comes in all black or silver and personally I thought the silver was the nicest. With an aluminium edge and a glass black, this phone looks really slick, so slick that I almost didn’t want to buy a case for it…but my lack of phone insurance told me otherwise.

Slightly bigger than the 6s, this phone still fits comfortably in your hand which is one of the main reasons I preferred it to the practically iPad sized 8 plus. With the bezel-less screen, there’s no need for the phone itself to be bigger as there is more screen space overall!

SCREEN

I must admit I was pretty skeptical about the screen of the iPhone X, mainly because of the absence of the home button. I felt like this would make the phone somewhat less reliable and I didn’t know if I would be able to get used to it. However, I found that it is actually SO easy to use.

Instead of the home button, you simply swipe up to exit apps. There are a few new gestures to learn, but to be honest, anyone who has a basic grasp of technology won’t find this difficult. As well as the lack of home button, I was unsure how I felt about the Face ID feature, as again I didn’t think it would be that reliable. Fortunately since having my phone I have realised that there was nothing to worry about.

Personally I feel that Face ID is equally, if not more reliable than the thumb print sensor! With a fast set-up where you simply do two full circles with your face, face ID is quick and easy. I read that it relies on depth sensors rather than the camera, making it more reliable and enabling it to recognise your face in a variety of situations- such as wearing makeup and even sunglasses. One of my favourite things about Face ID is the attention feature. This means that your notifications are not previewed on the screen unless you yourself are looking at them, this allows for more privacy and makes it easy to check notifications without unlocking your phone.

Overall I love the screen of this phone as it has a very seamless look. It took me a while to get used to the black bezel at the top and I wasn’t sure if I liked it at first, but now I don’t even notice it!

CAMERA

So here we have the main reason I decided to purchase this phone. Running my blog and blog Instagram, I am taking more photos than ever at the moment, and my iPhone 6s simply wasn’t cutting it. I have been envious for a while of my friends’ iPhone 8 Plus and its amazing camera. So I was super excited to get my own phone for better pictures.

As far as taking photos goes, I’ll be the first to admit that I’m no professional photographer. So buying a crazily expensive camera simply wouldn’t be worth it for me, and if anything it would just be insulting to all those actual photographers out there. For ease of use, portability, and quality, this iPhone camera is perfect for your typical day to day blogger. You can take clean, crisp photos which can easily be enhanced through editing apps such as VSCO and Snapseed! What’s more, one of the main things I love about this camera is portrait mode, a feature that allows you to take professional looking photos without needing the talent of a professional photographer- easy peasy!

Example of a portrait mode photo

COST

So even though I have wanted a new phone for a while, I was so reluctant to shell out the ridiculous amounts of money that the newest iPhones can cost. When I first looked on the O2 website, the idea of getting this phone seemed pretty impossible, with the best contract I found being over £40 a month for a period of 3 years AND a large upfront fee. However, this is when Mobiles.co.uk came to the rescue.

If you have never looked on Mobiles.co.uk then you seriously need to check it out. Ever since purchasing my phone from here I have wanted to tell everyone and anyone about their deals. This website allows you to get deals on all the major networks but at a cheaper price as it isn’t directly through the provider.

I managed to get an O2 contract giving me 15gb of data (5x more data than I had on my old phone!!) and unlimited texts and calls for just £34 a month over two years. There was an upfront fee of £199 which admittedly is quite a lot, but I preferred a higher initial cost to keep the monthly bill lower. What’s more, I purchased the phone through a reliable cash-back website called Topcashback.co.uk meaning I get between £50-£60 back! If that wasn’t good enough, mobiles.co.uk also provides free next day delivery. I ordered my phone in the evening and it arrived before 8am the next day- bearing in mind that it was during Christmas time which is always such a busy period!

If there’s one thing you take from this post then it should definitely be to check out this website because you can find some great deals on some of the latest phones!

So there’s my fairly simple, very un-techy review of the iPhone X. Overall I love this phone more than I ever thought I would and I think it’s perfect for blogging and general daily use! If you use other blogging equipment, this can be a great little alternative for when you don’t want to carry everything around with you or you want a quick fix. In general I think it’s a great phone and despite all the shiny new models that will be released, I’m sure that I will continue to love it for the next couple of years!