I want to be clear about this Iphone X experience.
I’m not here to tell you what to do, or what to buy, or which phone is better, or whether to get this particular phone or not. I won’t argue with anyone about swipes and notches and two-fingered prompts.
America is sick and bloated – and suffering – from argument. I don’t participate in it, not on the blog, not on Facebook or Twitter, not online, not with my Iphone. The whole premise behind the Army of Good is that we do good rather than fight about what is good.
If I argue with anyone, it will be face to face, or not at all. You can’t argue with a nasty coward who hides behind computers, or a hypocrite, whose roaming ground is often social media.
What I will do is share my experience of the phone with you, and if that is useful to you in any way – people are telling me it is – that I will feel good about doing my job.
Decisions like this are intensely personal and individualistic, my responses and ideas may have nothing at all to do with you, they are not an argument. Because it works for me, doesn’t mean it will work for you.
Take it as you will, and do with it what you want.
After four days, I am now, in fact, loving my Iphone X. I have had a few bumps making the transition, but I have not yet regretted getting this phone for a minute.
Yesterday Apple offered me (and I assume all X buyers) a free 30-minute tutorial to help X buyers learn about the new and different aspects of what seems to me to be a groundbreaking piece of technology. I scheduled it for Tuesday afternoon.
It was easy to set up and useful.
I take seriously the challenge of learning how to use this phone, and understanding how this technology will affect the future, for me and others.I have never done this before but I accepted the offer. I got an e-mail, punched my phone number into a box and Joira called me right on time and entered my computer.
He put up a screen showing the phone with a pointer. I was talking on the house phone, holding my Iphone X and looking at my computer screen.
He showed over the new navigation system of the Iphone X screen and demonstrated how it works. I could ask him questions. He showed me how to navigate the system, move photos directly into my computer, access apps I use quickly.
He showed me the best way to download what they call the Control Center, and to understand what’s on it, from brightness to volume and battery life.
I appreciated this tutorial, he wasn’t selling anything that I noticed. I was pleased that I knew most of the things he was showing me, and had very few questions for him. I had done my homework, I see now why all those teachers were begging me to do my homework. Perhaps I would have amounted to something.
I am, of course, being chastised by some people for spending so much money, for being spoiled and greedy, for exploiting foreign labor, for wrecking the environment, and of obviously using Army Of Good Funds to pay for the phone. This is America, after all, land of the angry and the aggrieved.
In the fourth day, and taking stock, I can say this:
1.I believe the ` X is worth the $1,000 cost, plus two or three hundred dollars for accessories and Apple Care, the support contract. Given the technology in this machine and the way it works, it is fair, although painfully expensive to many, including me. I can hardly even imagine the work that went into it.
2. The phone is not difficult to use, after the first few unnerving couple of hours, I have had no trouble with it, and I navigate it easily and comfortably.
All my data was easily transferred, all the apps I need work well. It has opened up every time I wanted it to.
In fact, I am using it so comfortably that I de-activated my Ipad and will donate it to a needy friend I know, I just don’t foresee a use for it any longer. That is a surprise to me. I count that as a substantial savings which cuts the cost of the X by roughly half.
3. I barely even notice the AI Face ID any longer, it recognizes me instantly and in all kinds of light. It works so well and instantly I forget it is there. And a new benefit. Sites like Paypal and even banks are using Face ID instead of passwords on the X. Passwords may soon be obsolete, and good riddance to them.
4. I appreciate the wireless (cordless) charging. I just lay the phone down in the charging pad and it recharges the battery, and very quickly. The battery last twice as long as my Iphone 6 plus. And I am thrilled every time a cord leaves our home.
5. The sound coming through the Beats phones (also wireless) is rich and clear and better than I have heard before.
6. The phone is fast and powerful. I am beginning to depend on it.
The OLED screen is beautiful, the details on the screen are extraordinarily. I’m glad I started saving months ago when the first new about the phone came out.
I am an older man who wears glasses and enjoy watching movies or series on the phone, the phone is smaller than the plus models, but the screen is bigger and better.
There has been no trouble. I had to call tech support several times the first 24 hours, I have not needed them since.
7. The camera is as good as people say it is, but there are bugs in the system – the black and white program doesn’t work – that are annoying and confusing. I am told bug fixes are coming from Apple soon. When you get a new phone as soon as it’s out, there will be bugs and fixes. I am no geek, but even I know that. This process requires maturity and patience, not always my forte. I am getting there.
I am using the camera for some portraits and scenes, and it has added a rich new dimension to my photography. I wouldn’t say it is better than my Canon, but is very good. And getting closer.
8. I am happy about the new Ai/Face Recognition Emoji’s, I’ve sent several slightly off-color Emoji’s to Maria, who cracks up when she gets. They scan my face and incorporate my image and voice in various animals and Unicorns. She says she likes getting a raunchy text from a Unicorn speaking with my face and voice. I thought it was for kids, but I love it.
It also offers a compelling insight into the future of artificial intelligence. The Iphone X is a teacher, and I seem to be a willing student.
9. I signed up for Apple Pay, I can use the phone to make purchases, I see the very idea of paper cash fading away.I am using it for very little these days, the X will accelerate that process.
10. The new Siri has a business-like voice and responds to a simple “Hey, Siri,” no matter what I am doing on the phone.
She is faster and sharper, and also, using AI, seems to know me better each day. This is not a small or entertaining thing. She is as close to a secretary as I will every get again in my life and helps me keep track of my life. She is also a whiz at research.
And oh yes, I’m getting the phone insured.
So that’s where I am. I like the idea that this is a first-rate smart phone but more importantly, it makes me think. It’s not a better smartphone, it’s a different smart phone. Quite different. I would never say that everyone or anyone needs to buy this phone, that is far too arrogant for me.
People have to make up their own minds about what they want, what they need, what they can afford, and what stimulates and challenges them.
With the display of Artificial Intelligence in the phone, the X seems to be using and learning me, as I am learning and using it. If you watched Space Odyssey, that has terrifying possibilities. I might call my Iphone Hal, it may turn on me one day.
But technology is a big wave, it washes up good and bad. I work hard to not be consumed by it, but also to take from it what I can. I think it’s the future in a number of ways.
As I said, there is a consciousness to the phone, which makes some decisions all on its own, and which seems to repair and organize itself. This is a different relationship than I have had with a phone before.
It dialogues with me at times, which is both unnerving and exciting to me. We are definitely getting to know one another, and we are becoming friends, not lovers.
So that’s where I am. I’m in. More later.