iPhone X: The good, the bad, the ugly, this week on The CultCast

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CultCast 308
While many agree that the X is pretty terrific, it's not perfect.
Photo: Apple

This week on The CultCast: The reviews are in! We’ll tell you what people love and don’t about Apple’s very hot, very new iPhone X. Plus: How to speed up Face ID; and we’ll tell you about the clever new strategy Apple used to build massive hype for the iPhone X launch, and why it really pissed a lot of folks off. And stick around for another episode of What We’re Into, where we reveal the weird and wacky stuff we’ve been doing that you should try too.

Episode

CultCast #308 – iPhone X: The Good, the bad, the ugly
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This week’s stories

Siri, before Siri

Massive iPhone X lines form at Apple Stores worldwide

  • Fans have begun lining up outside Apple Stores around the world to get their hands on iPhone X.
  • The X makes its official debut on November 3. Apple has promised that units will be available for walk-in customers, but just like pre-orders, they’re expected to disappear quickly.
  • Some lines have already turned chaotic, while latecomers are offering money for precious spots near the front.

Why Apple short-circuited the media machine for iPhone X reviews

  • Anybody who thinks Apple can’t innovate should look in awe at the fecal hurricane whipped up by the company’s unorthodox iPhone X marketing plan.
  • By giving popular YouTubers early access to the next-gen iPhone, and allowing them to “scoop” the old-school journalists traditionally granted such preferential treatment, Cupertino upended the typical review cycle.
  • Apple apparently bruised a few fragile egos in the process. Frankly, it’s hilarious watching the ensuing media meltdown.

iPhone X meta review: Setting Apple up for the next 10 years

Face ID Unlocks an iPhone More Slowly Than Touch ID, but is Faster in Day-to-Day Usage

  • Mark Spoonauer of Toms Hardware compared Face ID and Touch ID unlocking times with a stopwatch.
  • When using Raise to Wake and swiping up on the display as the iPhone is recognizing a face (as Face ID is meant to be used), unlocking took 1.16, but touchID stock only .91 seconds to accomplish the same job.
  • TechCruch said that while Face ID is slower when placed head to head with Touch ID, it’s “much more fluid and faster to actually ‘do things, ‘“ like opening notification takes fewer steps with faceID.
  • In the Verge’s review, Nilay Patel said that he had trouble getting FaceID to work in bright environments. He postulated it was became the bright light interfered with the dot projector or infrared camera.
  • Hidden benefit of FaceID, can be used with gloves on.

Face ID can be slower than Touch ID, but you can speed it up

  • There are some things you can do to make Face ID faster, though. The first is to ensure the Raise to Wake feature is enabled in Settings. This shaves off precious time by eliminating the need to swipe or tap the iPhone X’s display before you unlock it.
  • Another thing you can do is disable attention detection. This means Face ID won’t wait until your eyes and face are looking directly at the display before unlocking your iPhone. But be warned: It does make Face ID a little less secure.

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