Category: Electronics

Best 5 Laptops Under $500 in 2018
Laptops are very essential these days- for school, work, or just personal use. The price of a premium new laptop can cost up to $1,000, which is pricey for anyone. Numerous companies have made laptops more affordable while keeping the quality and capabilities of more expensive laptops.

You don’t have to feel like you’re settling when shopping for a laptop under $500. There are value-priced notebooks that include full-HD displays, solid performance and long battery life, plus all the ports you need. We picked all the best all-purpose laptops in $500 price range which we think are best laptops to suit the wide range of requirements of people. Here is a list of the best five laptops under $500!

1. Dell Inspiron i3567 Laptop

The latest version of this Dell laptop has a powerful system in place with 8GB of memory and a 128GB hard drive and a Intel Core i3-7100U 2.4GHz processor. It has a professional feel in it’s all black look with a 15.6-inch laptop with a screen resolution of 1366 x 768. The operating system runs smoothly with Windows 10 and is backed with a 12 month warranty, with 12 months of tech support.
- A new, powerful hardware system
- Has many ports and slots to use your external devices
- 8 GB Ram
- 7th Gen Intel Core i5 processor
- It is not backlit enabled
- Battery life up to 5 hours
2. Acer Aspire A515-51-50RR Laptop

The Acer Aspire 5 is one of the best budget full-size laptops you can find in stores today. It checks most of the right boxes: well built, slim and fairly light, gets a decent keyboard, an IPS screen and modern hardware, performs well, runs cool and quiet and lasts for a long while on a charge. This slim and sleek laptop is a great all round performing laptop, especially for the price. The visuals are spot on with vivid, bright colors.
- LCD display and is backlit
- 2.50 GHz Intel Core i5-7200U processor
- Storage: 1TB hard disk
- Intel HD 620 graphics
- Battery life up to 7 hours
- All-plastic chassis
3. HP 15-ay191ms Laptop

The HP 15-ay191ms, a signature edition laptops that comes with a seventh-generation Intel Core i3 processor, 8GB DDR4 system memory, 1TB of storage and a touchscreen, but still remains insanely affordable. It’s one of those laptops you’d buy without a second thought if you find inexpensive chromebook attractive, but really, really need Windows. If you love touchscreen, this one’s for you! This laptop contains the Kaby Lake processor which makes this laptop consume little power. Apps are not an issue here, they all run very smoothly.
- Touchscreen
- Intel Core i3-7100U processor
- 8GB RAM
- 1TB hard drive
- Lag-free performance
- Battery life up to 6 hours
4. Dell Inspiron i3567-5185BLK Laptop

Yet another Inspiron made this list! This version comes in different color options and a textured finish. Packed with a large 15.6 Inches display and a decent 7th Gen Intel Core i5-7200U up to 3.1GHz CPU processor. This Dell laptop model would work well for portability with its 4.85 Pounds lightweight design and sleek black look. Great for school work or the family computer. A huge bonus with this laptop is it doesn’t heat up much!
- 2.4 GHz Intel Core i3-7100U processor
- 8GB RAM
- TB hard drive
- LED display with a built-in webcam and mic
- Battery life is up to 6 hours
5. ASUS Chromebook Flip

This is one of the best convertible laptops on the current market. The Asus Chromebook Flip C302 is worthy of its premium stature with a gorgeous screen, tactile keyboard and a classy design that’s equally as comfortable to use in tablet mode or as a traditional laptop. The screen is a full HD touchscreen and can be converted from a laptop to a tablet by turning the screen. A top pick for a college student!
- Intel Core m3 processor
- 4GB RAM
- 64GB of SSD storage
- Battery life of up to 10 hours
April 3, 2018
SmartPhone Spotlight: Sony Xperia XZ
The Xperia XZ Premium features the new Motion Eye a camera so advanced it captures motion that the human eye can’t see. And with its unified design, astonishing 4K HDR display, and intelligent features, it’s Sony’s most groundbreaking smartphone to date.

The Great
- Nice HDR Screen
- Good Power
The Not
- No 4k Content
- Lot of Bezels
- Poor design
The Conclusion

The square corners won’t appeal to everyone but if you want to watch 4K video and review your photos in as much detail as possible, this is a great phone.

Sony’s 4K-screened phone sounds like a gimmick, but the display is packed with so much technology that it impresses despite that. The color reproduction and pixel quality is superb, and the camera really rewards those that make an effort to get the best out of it.

Battery life

The XZ Premium does pretty well given how many pixels it’s driving on that 4K screen. It’ll last you a full day with a little more to spare on moderate use, thanks to some dynamic screen technology that actively alters how much is being used.

Camera

Sony’s got this new camera gimmick called the Motion Eye. The Motion Eye™ camera with Super slow motion records video at 960 frames per second, for playback four times slower than any other smartphone. Predictive Capture stays one step ahead of the action, as it starts buffering images even before you press the button. I will say the pictures are impressive

Screen

This is the only phone out there with a full-blown 4K screen, and it also comes with HDR tech. The amount of HDR content for mobiles is increasing all the time, but even without that this screen makes even the most mundane image look brighter and more colorful, and the rest of the phone is impressively powerful.

Quick Spec Look
- Weight: 195g |
- Dimensions: 156 x 77 x 7.9mm
- OS: Android 7
- Screen size: 5.5-inch
- Resolution: 3840 x 2160
- CPU: Snapdragon 835
- RAM: 4GB
- Storage: 64GB
- Battery: 3,230mAh
- Rear camera: 19MP
- Front camera: 13MP
The Final Thought

This is one of the top 20 smartphones on the market for 2018. It has its moments of wow, it also falls short in every category next to an iPhone or even top tier android. If a deal and a steal comes your way, Sony’s new phone won’t disappoint and will take you through the next year and half but upgrading will always be on your mind.
April 3, 2018
Smartphone Spotlight: Galaxy Note 9
The 128GB Galaxy Note 9 can be purchased through carriers including AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile, U.S. Cellular, Verizon Wireless and Xfinity, along with Best Buy, Costco, Sam’s Club, Straight Talk Wireless, Target, Walmart, Samsung.com and the ShopSamsung app.

The Great
- Slamtastic Screen
- Instalike worthy camera
- Adequate long battery
- Interesting new S-Pen tricks
- All the Specs needed
The Conclusion

The Galaxy Note 9 is Samsung’s Ultimate cry for tech geek attention. It has all the specs, a gigantic, magnificent, Fortnite worthy screen, a Bluetooth-powered S Pen, and a headphone jack… you know just all the essentials on the checklist for the kind of Android user that Samsung is targeting with a Note update. It’s a Phablets lover’s dream come true!

I’m sure we all remember the note 7 scandle, but that is all history for the Galaxy Note brand. That was two years ago, this is the Note 9 we are talking about today.

Galaxy Note 9 puts powerful technology in the hands of the tech geeks and gamers who demand more powerful and more screen from their smartphones. It certainly boast Innovative features and design make it the only phone to keep up with the next generation of users. Yes the rumors we have been telling you are true. Packed with a huge battery, a massive screen, and a powerful stylus, the Note 9 has more of everything than any other phone on the US market.

How does it look and feel

It’s large, I mean this phone is obscenely large. And when you put it in a case, it will become a liability. This is not a one-handed phone for any but the largest hands. Samsung moved the fingerprint sensor so no longer will the Note 9 fit into Note 8 case. On the bright side no more inadvertently smudging the camera lens.

The Galaxy Note 9 has a 6.4-inch quad HD Super AMOLED curved screen, and USB-C and standard headphone jacks, it is IP68 Waterproof. We have been through this, the checklist of required wants and needs are covered. Not only that but it is stunning, think Charlene Theron on the red carpet elegant.

No 5g on The Galaxy Note 9

We have talked about 5G coming next year, Don’t get hung up on that; it will be another year before 5G is widespread and before chipset makers work out the power-management kinks that come with new wireless data systems. Yes write that down you are hearing it here first. Next year’s Note 10 will be 5G. Wanna wait that long? Anyways, The existing X20 modem get speeds up to 700Mbps with the right carrier setup, showing there’s still plenty of room in 4G. That’ll do, That’ll do just fine.

Sounds and Stuff

The Note 9 brings the S9+’s dual speakers to the Note line. The two speakers are by the earpiece, and along the bottom. Compared to the previous Note 8’s single bottom speaker, the speakers here aren’t much louder but clarity and treble are off the charts. Outside of the iPhone X I don’t think I have heard a better device speaker.

The Biggest Difference

The Galaxy Note 9’s biggest upgrade is its enhanced and gargantuan 4,000mAh battery hit it with a 10-hour battery test video. Yes you know the one where I leave it on the10 hour loop of He-Man singing 4 non blondes “what’s going on”. Results, 13% left, astounding. This leads me into projecting screen-on battery life out to 12 and half hours. That Destroys all other flagship smartphone on the market. The battery is significantly larger than the one in the Galaxy S9+ (3,500mAh, 10+ hours), the Galaxy Note 8 (3,300mAh, 6 hours), or the Galaxy Note 5 (3,020mAh, 8 hours and 30 minutes).

Quick Speck Look
- Graphics Mali-G72 MP18
- Processor Octa core (2.7 GHz, Quad core, M3 Mongoose + 1.7 GHz, Quad core, Cortex A55)
- Architecture 64 bit
- Ram 6 GB
- Audio Features Dolby Atmos, Dolby Digital, Dolby Digital Plus
- Display Type Super AMOLED
- Aspect Ratio 18.5:9
- Screen Size 6.4 inches (16.26 cm)
- Screen Resolution 1440 x 2960 pixel
The Final Thought

If this thing doesn’t explode in our face we have a monster here. The screen alone will improve your Fortnite results instantly giving you an unfair advantage over any other player on a regular smartphone. It’s the battery though, it’s just too good to be true. Add in their shaky past and it’s something to be weary off.
March 31, 2018
Google’s Wear OS Watch Previewed.

Weeks after Google changed the name from Android Wear to Wear Os, a developer preview for Wear OS is out. One of the major changes that the preview brings to Android wearables is it’s efforts to preserve battery life. Until now, Wear OS, had no battery consumption patterns or give the user ability to manual preserve the battery. However, that’s all soon to change with the upcoming update.

The New News.

Google unveiled the first preview of its new Wear OS wearables which is set to replace the Android Wear brand mentioned earlier this month. Along with preserving device battery life, the re-brand also brings the software in line with the new functions of Android P, the newest update to Google’s MOS, coming in later 2018. Other major changes include restricted Wi-Fi while the watch is not connected to any Bluetooth device. The new update also features Limited background activity along with Low-power mode. With the Wear OS, the background activity of apps will be restricted. In its developers’ blog, Google explains, “To improve power, apps will no longer be allowed to run in the background unless the watch is on the charger.” This is all an effort to increase and extend the battery life a little longer.

Having cell/data connection or Bluetooth switched on over extended period can also lower the battery on smartwatches. After the new update, Wear OS will automatically turn off Bluetooth, WiFi, and cellular connection when users are not wearing the smartwatch. The watch is programmed to know when it is not being worn by the consumer and will automatically shutdown after a short period. Google has not specified the exact time lapse before the feature kicks in, but we can probably assume within a few minutes or less. The Wear OS will restrict smartwatches from immediately switching on WiFi connection after Bluetooth is switched off by users. It will connect to WiFi only if users want to or when it is being charged. This is actually a great little feature to further assist the lazy consumer or the one who forgets to be attentive to such things.

The Summary.

Google will release the finalized version of the Wear OS in the fourth quarter of 2018 and hopefully all the kinks and issues can be resolved by then. Im interested to see exactly how user friendly can get the software. Who knows, could be a real home run for the company on this ambitious new endeavor.

March 31, 2018
RED the Smartphone

In 2017, the cinema camera making company RED announced it was working a smarthphone with a holographic screen Consumers were unsure what this meant until September 2017. Essentially, the phone would provide a 3D viewing experience on screen, projecting things like buildings and landscapes in an interactive map. A user could essentially take a virtual tour via the phone screen, looking around, above, behind, or in-between various objects.

The RED smart phone is currently available for pre-order, for the fairly hefty price tag of $1,195. No official release date has been announced, but the company says its Hydrogen One smartphone will ship this summer. Jim Jannard, RED’s CEO and founder, gave the update in January. RED says that the Hydrogen One phone is still months away from being released. But it does at least have a timeline: the phone is supposed to enter mass production and then ship sometime this summer.

What Is It?

There have been a few basic details about the phone around since last July, and Jannard has now revealed a few more: it’ll run a Snapdragon 835 processor (Jannard writes that it’s an “835x,” which doesn’t currently exist, so it’s unclear if that’s a typo or some upcoming variant), have a dual SIM slot, and include a 4,500mAh battery, which is relatively huge. (The Note 8, for comparison, has a 3,300mAh battery.) The downside to this phone being released a full year after it was announced is that, while the 835 is a top-of-the-line chip, it’ll be succeeded by the Snapdragon 845 by the time the Hydrogen One actually makes it to market. That’s not necessarily a huge deal, but for a phone this expensive, it’s not great, either.

This 4V — or ‘four view’ — tech is what makes the Hydrogen One exciting on paper. With it, the phone can handle normal 2D media, stereo 3D, augmented reality, virtual reality and augmented reality, without additional glasses or headsets. The company hasn’t been forthcoming in explaining how this will work, although it did offer a slightly bemusing description in its update: “The 4V files match the pixel resolution of a traditional 2D file, which is great for downloading. The resolution perception is just different. The horizontal resolution of 2D is now split into depth layers. It gives a completely different feeling. All the pixels are there… but instead of ‘looking at’ a pic, you are immersed in the image. It is quite spectacular.” RED is best known for its high-spec camera, so if it pulls this off, it certainly will be quite spectacular. At least both skeptics and supporters will only have to wait a few months to find out.

The Final Thought

Alot of anticipation, hesitation, and skepticism are surrounding the. good be peaches, could be lunch meat we wont know till this summer. Ill with hold any true judgement until then, stay tuned.

March 30, 2018
Hands On the New iPad
If the computer were invented today, what would it look like? It would be powerful enough for any task. So mobile you could take it everywhere. And so intuitive you could use it any way you wanted — with touch, a keyboard, or even a pencil.¹ In other words, it wouldn’t really be a “computer.” It would be the new iPad.

The Great
- Fast A10 Fusion performance
- Works with Apple Pencil
- Fun augmented-reality apps
- Good battery life
The Not
- Thick bezels
- Apple Pencil
- keyboard and cover at additional cost
The Conclusion

The new 9.7-inch iPad provides plenty of power, long battery life and Apple Pencil support, all for a really great price. What are you waiting for..? Go update.

The iPad still packs a sharp, 9.7-inch display into a compact and lightweight aluminum package. But the overall aesthetic is a bit tired in an age of shrinking bezels on phones; the thick black border around the screen feels somewhat antiquated even for the iPad’s relatively low price. The budget iPad from 2017 has been updated – Apple says it’s an iPad for education, but it’s actually a really impressive tablet for the general user who wants to get a great experience – and having the Apple Pencil support on there as well is great

The Design

The design feels solid, and I didn’t feel that much strain when holding the device up to browse the web, check my email and play with AR apps for long stretches. The iPad weighs a very manageable 1.03 pounds for the Wi-Fi version (the LTE model weighs 1.05 pounds), and it measures just 0.29 inches thick.

The trusty old Home button sits beneath the screen to handle Touch ID for logging in, and there’s a Lightning connector on the bottom for charging and a headphone jack up top

The 9.7-inch display on the iPad packs 2048 x 1536 pixels, so it’s plenty sharp for watching movies, playing games and working on reports. It’s also bright and colorful; as I watched the trailer for Avengers: Infinity War on this panel, I could make out individual wisps of the Scarlet Witch’s red hair dappled in sunlight, and the details of her leather jacket didn’t get lost in the shadows.

The Pencil

The main feature of the new iPad is the fact that it’s Apple Pencil-compatible, something that’s not been seen since the launch of the iPad Pro range. Apple’s entry-level iPad now supports Apple Pencil, which means you can use the $99 accessory to draw, take notes and interact with a growing number of Pencil-enabled apps. This is the first ‘normal’ tablet from Apple to take advantage of the accessory, and it’s designed to give students a chance to ditch the notepad and use only the iPad for class.

A tool so precise that Disney animators use it, the Apple Pencil felt completely natural to use in my testing. Writing with it will be hard to actually input though, and that’s partly down to the fact that most people have forgotten how to actually write words down, and partly because the feel of the screen under the Apple Pencil still feels too slippery to write properly.

If you slow down it’s not too bad, but you can’t note-take as fast as with a pen and notepad.

The Final Thought

With a power upgrade and the support for the pencil all at a cheaper price whats not to like. The ipad is already best in class, there are tablets then there is the iPad. Speaking as someone who worked the front retail lines in the mobile universe, you cant give tablets away but everyone wants an iPad.
March 30, 2018
Low Cost iPad for Students, Gracias Apple

Big news everybody, Apple has introduced a new 9.7-inch iPad. It supports the Apple Pencil, which means students will be able to take notes, draw and more on a growing array of apps. Starting at $329 ($299 for schools), the 1-pound iPad has an A10 processor that offers faster speeds than Apple’s previous generation slate. At $299 there is no reason any student would buy a different tablet.

The new 9.7-inch iPad closely resembling the existing iPad Pro It’ll feature 10 hour battery life and LTE support along with an 8-megapixel HD camera, 9.7-inch Retina display, and the same Apple A10 Fusion chip that powers the iPhone 7. They have added a new dedicated apps for schools, starting with the new Apple School Manager tool that will allow education admins the abilities to manage everything. Apple also teased software features such as smart annotations to help teachers mark up papers, and augmented reality support which will “enable new ways to learn.

Apple also revealed a series of apps for the classroom, such as Schoolwork, and a progress tool called Apple Teacher, allowing users to see what other teachers are working on in the classroom. Meanwhile, its new ClassKit platform allows developers to create puzzles, tests and lesson plans for students.

The new iPad works with the Apple Pencil to support art projects — similar to what comes packaged with the higher-end iPad Pro tablet. “Instead of dissecting frogs … students can dissect frogs with Apple Pencil,” Apple executive Greg “Joz” Joswiak told attendees. This should solve the age old debate and the students holding out in science class once and for all.

What Did Tim Have to Say

Tim Cook took to the stage to discuss Apple’s focus on education, saying: “At Apple we care deeply about education because we love kids and we love teachers”.

Cook said education has been a big part of who Apple is for 40 years. “We had a unique insight into how technology could inspire kids to unleash their creative genius. And we believed that technology could help teachers deliver a unique and personalised learning experience to all kids. We’ve never stopped believe this, and we’ve never stopped working on it.”

He added: “We know our products can help bring out the creative genius in every kid”.

In fact, ”Macs and iPads are used throughout schools by students for everything from music to language arts and even advanced robotics”.

The Final Thought

All in all this is an exciting announcement and should pay dividend in our school systems for years to come. At $299 a vast majority of america can afford to make this jump to better learning. This could be the start to the overhaul our school systems need.

March 27, 2018
Best 5 Laptops Under $500 in 2018
Laptops are very essential these days- for school, work, or just personal use. The price of a premium new laptop can cost up to $1,000, which is pricey for anyone. Numerous companies have made laptops more affordable while keeping the quality and capabilities of more expensive laptops.

You don’t have to feel like you’re settling when shopping for a laptop under $500. There are value-priced notebooks that include full-HD displays, solid performance and long battery life, plus all the ports you need. We picked all the best all-purpose laptops in $500 price range which we think are best laptops to suit the wide range of requirements of people. Here is a list of the best five laptops under $500!

1. Dell Inspiron i3567 Laptop

The latest version of this Dell laptop has a powerful system in place with 8GB of memory and a 128GB hard drive and a Intel Core i3-7100U 2.4GHz processor. It has a professional feel in it’s all black look with a 15.6-inch laptop with a screen resolution of 1366 x 768. The operating system runs smoothly with Windows 10 and is backed with a 12 month warranty, with 12 months of tech support.
- A new, powerful hardware system
- Has many ports and slots to use your external devices
- 8 GB Ram
- 7th Gen Intel Core i5 processor
- It is not backlit enabled
- Battery life up to 5 hours
2. Acer Aspire A515-51-50RR Laptop

The Acer Aspire 5 is one of the best budget full-size laptops you can find in stores today. It checks most of the right boxes: well built, slim and fairly light, gets a decent keyboard, an IPS screen and modern hardware, performs well, runs cool and quiet and lasts for a long while on a charge. This slim and sleek laptop is a great all round performing laptop, especially for the price. The visuals are spot on with vivid, bright colors.
- LCD display and is backlit
- 2.50 GHz Intel Core i5-7200U processor
- Storage: 1TB hard disk
- Intel HD 620 graphics
- Battery life up to 7 hours
- All-plastic chassis
3. HP 15-ay191ms Laptop

The HP 15-ay191ms, a signature edition laptops that comes with a seventh-generation Intel Core i3 processor, 8GB DDR4 system memory, 1TB of storage and a touchscreen, but still remains insanely affordable. It’s one of those laptops you’d buy without a second thought if you find inexpensive chromebook attractive, but really, really need Windows. If you love touchscreen, this one’s for you! This laptop contains the Kaby Lake processor which makes this laptop consume little power. Apps are not an issue here, they all run very smoothly.
- Touchscreen
- Intel Core i3-7100U processor
- 8GB RAM
- 1TB hard drive
- Lag-free performance
- Battery life up to 6 hours
4. Dell Inspiron i3567-5185BLK Laptop

Yet another Inspiron made this list! This version comes in different color options and a textured finish. Packed with a large 15.6 Inches display and a decent 7th Gen Intel Core i5-7200U up to 3.1GHz CPU processor. This Dell laptop model would work well for portability with its 4.85 Pounds lightweight design and sleek black look. Great for school work or the family computer. A huge bonus with this laptop is it doesn’t heat up much!
- 2.4 GHz Intel Core i3-7100U processor
- 8GB RAM
- TB hard drive
- LED display with a built-in webcam and mic
- Battery life is up to 6 hours
5. ASUS Chromebook Flip

This is one of the best convertible laptops on the current market. The Asus Chromebook Flip C302 is worthy of its premium stature with a gorgeous screen, tactile keyboard and a classy design that’s equally as comfortable to use in tablet mode or as a traditional laptop. The screen is a full HD touchscreen and can be converted from a laptop to a tablet by turning the screen. A top pick for a college student!
- Intel Core m3 processor
- 4GB RAM
- 64GB of SSD storage
- Battery life of up to 10 hours
March 23, 2018
Top 4 of the Best Iphone Deals Avilable

SO you have finally decided to make the upgrade and get yourself the newest of the new. Now you have to make the tough decision and decide on the model, size and color. Now to find the best deal possible on your new purchase, everyone wants your iPhone business so lets take a look at the 4 best places to get yours.

1. T-mobile, Apple iPhone X

Switching to T mobile may be the best move right now. Instead of shelling out $1000 for the new iPhone X you can bring your number to Tmobile, pay just $304 for the most powerful and breathtaking smartphone ever conceived. The plan will const you $100 a month, but includes unlimited everything and free Netflix. Plus under the right conditions, there is even a buy one get one free option.

2. Verizon, iPhone X

This option I like, If you have an iPhone 6 or above you can get half off the Iphone X. So for 0$ and only 101.79 a month you will get the IPhone X 64 gb and unlimited service from Verizon. I do recommend paying the extra 10$ for the upgrade unlimited service though. With this particular deal it is best to wait out the 2 years as the half off promotion is paid out monthly for 24 months

3. Best Buy, All iPhones

Through best buy you can buy 2 iPhone 8 and 8 plus at a buy one get one free when you buy both on AT&T Next. Offer eligible for new or upgraded lines of activation. The nice thing about this offer is if you are an existing AT&T customer, you don’t have to switch to a new service. Little insider tip, buy both and take advantage of the bogo and $200 off. Purchase an AT&T iPad from Best buy as well and move it on to the second iPhone line to decrease the cost monthly to $10 and give you connection on the iPad.

4. Sprint, Lease option on the iPhone X

There is a pretty decent option here, Sprint service is greatly improved. Especially if you are in some of their big markets like Orlando, Chicago or Kansas City. For $80 up front you can lease the X. The monthly lease is only $20 a month, added to their $60 unlimited plan and you have your self a pretty great deal.

March 16, 2018
SmartPhone Spotlight: iPhone X
Apple wants an iPhone that is entirely screen. One so immersive the device itself disappears into the experience. And so intelligent it can respond to a tap, your voice, and even a glance. With iPhone X, that vision is now a reality. Say hello to the future.

The Great
- Everything
- Great screen
- Premium, strong design
- TrueDepth camera is powerful
- Insanely Powerful
The Not
- The most expensive flagship phone around
- Metal rim can scuff without case
The Conclusion

A great blend of handheld comfort and a big, gorgeous OLED screen. Rear telephoto camera outshoots the 8 Plus in low light, and the front camera snaps impressive portrait selfies. Face ID generally works fine. iPhone X is an overdue and winning evolution of the iPhone, but you’ll need to leave your comfort zone to make a jump into the face-recognizing future.

The X

It’s ten years since the iPhone was first unveiled and Apple has marked the occasion with a new iPhone that doesn’t just jump one generation, it jumps several. Apple has leapt straight from iPhone 7 all the way to X, or the roman numeral for 10. The iPhone X is the handset we’ve been demanding from Apple for years.

The Interface

Gone are the touch ID and home button, this brings about a new interface on the X. One reliant on gestures and swipes. While at first you may think It now takes longer, requires more steps and additional gestures to use and navigate the new user interface of the iPhone X than any of its predecessors, which is a major step backward and the cause of many frustrations. Once you adjust to this interface it is quite intuitive and quick. Jump in and embrace it, it will become second nature.

That Display and the Notch

Turn on the iPhone X, and it’s easy to forget almost every other phone released this year. Apple’s leading the bezel less smartphone design trend, where the edges around the screen melt away to offer an immersive all-screen experience. Technically, other phones may have slightly smaller bezels, but I like the approach Apple took here. They have upgraded to the OLED screen from LED and it is brighter, more beautiful and needs less power.

The notch above the X’s display, which cuts out a small chunk of the upper screen to make room for the phone’s front-facing camera and sensors, doesn’t impact many apps or videos. In fact most I’ve tried put any critical info below that notch by default. But that does mean the effective display area is even smaller, with black bars on the top and bottom. My only issue with the notch is that it now removes the battery percentage icon from the display. Now I have to use the drag down gesture to check the percentage.

The Camera

The Camera is insane, Dual cameras and new facial land marking create dramatic studio lighting effects in Portrait mode. The photos generally turned out great. Low-light gains aren’t as dramatic as I expected compared to the already excellent iPhone 7 Plus, but the photos I’ve been taking have generally looked phenomenal.

Portrait Mode, which debuted last year, now supports flash photography and HDR. The 8 Plus and the X add a new photo technique called Portrait Lighting, a beta feature that adds simulated 3D lighting to faces and even strips out backgrounds to create a studio-shot effect.

Face Id

This is the biggest wow on the phone. The X looks at me, verifies I am me and unlocks. It is slightly longer then not using a pass code, but works great. I’m blown away by how well it works when I am wearing glasses or late at night in dark room. The biggest bonus to this is not just the ability to unlock my phone with my face, but sign in to everything with my face. All the apps, websites and verification that constantly need info from me now just input by verifying my face. Its amazing.

And Animojies. They were fun for like 7 mins.

The Final Thought

This is the Cubans, baby. This is the Cohibas, the MonteCristos. This is the This is my Eiffel Tower. This is the Rachmaninoff’s Third. The Pietà. It’s completely elegant, it’s bafflingly beautiful.
March 16, 2018