New Apple Lust Objects for 2010 and onward

On this video, it's clear that the iPhone X is being held to a wall or table at the top and that the hand is working with a physically supported phone. I'm sure they do this with all their commercials, but in this case, I don't think most people's single hands are capable of what they're doing here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cJZoTqtwGzY

Also, why do I have to swipe up from the lock screen to get to the home screen if my face has already unlocked it?

I assume to give you a chance to read your notifications. Otherwise it would make sense to just go to the home screen.

Ah, good point.

One trick I noticed is that if it's on your desk, if you look at it and tap the screen it wakes up (so you don't have to pick it up to do the face ID thing).

My evolved thoughts after 24 hours, it definitely feels like a work in progress in many ways. After some iOS tweaks and the version next year will probably be awesome. No regrets, it’s fun to have the latest greatest. Not sure I would recommend buying outright over the 8/8+, but if you are on an upgrade Plan, well worth the little bit extra a month.

Jeff, are you coming from a Plus phone?

Yep, 7+

So you're used to mainly 2 handed use?

It seems like X makes the Plus phones virtually obsolete going forward. Same screen in a smaller form factor for 20% more $.

get bigger hands

I had a little finger strap on the back of my plus, so I was primarily one handed. I think I do like the x form factor better, but still miss the width of the plus.

I can play piano with stubby fingers but I can't use a large phone

thanks so much jeff & spencer for your impressions. the changes in use and the teething problems are expected, and on the whole it sounds pretty bloody good for a first iteration.

After some iOS tweaks and the version next year will probably be awesome.

otm, ios 12 will be fantastic. even 11.2 might sort out a few of the x niggles, e.g. spencer's comment about the overly high contrast of the home bar.

I see now how to hold it one handed. You don’t actually grip it but let it rest on your fingers.

which is what i did on my 6 but I would actually have some grip on it.

holding it wrong, indeed

All this hand wringing not working.

when i got this 8+ i was worried about the too-big-for-one-hand thing, but it turns out i automatically use it two-handed with no inconvenience and without even thinking about it. perhaps the same will apply with the x.

Yeah, even over the last few hours I'm like it more.

can't use ish two-handed on The Tube

Much prefer typing on my 6 than on my iPad so not sure I want to be forced to switch to two-handed

you can nudge the keyboard to one side of the screen on a +, not sure about an x though

New screen size is more vertical, like a 5 or SE on steroids. Slightly wider than a 6 but slimmer than a Plus.

Also tap to wake is nice, it’s a small thing but It gets frequent use

And speakers and sound when playing music seem good too, much louder than the 6 or 7

I turned on 4K 60 FPS video, because why not. But takes so long to transfer to Dropbox.

2 minute 42 second video, 1 gig.

dang

Also tap to wake is nice, it’s a small thing but It gets frequent use

jeff, how's this different from tapping the home button with 2nd gen touch id? is it just that you can tap anywhere and don't need to aim for the button?

I haven't had used the 2nd gen touch ID, but you can view the X lock screen by tapping anywhere on the screen without your face in front of the phone.

so it sounds like a lot of little things add up to a nice experience

Is battery life good?

I have handled the iPhones X at the local apple store

they seem nice

Battery life is very good, you can read online how they actually fit two batteries inside in a L shaped arrangement

the only gesture that was tricky one-handed was the control center one, which I had to look up (swipe down from top right)

but again, big hands

Had a friend over today with the new X. She was p much like all of you up here: listing a very loooong list of first-24-hours-of-usage problems and complaints: difficult to hold and operate at the same time (small hand/fingers), face ID failing a couple of times, obnoxiously bright lights/contrast (esp when the screen comes on). And yet she was like, not happy, but: "Well, I might get used to it... Yeah I probably will".

Why do we put ourselves through this?

I sometimes think of the best computer setup I ever had, which I got to the point I truly loved right at the moment all the hardware was about to become obsolete for my teen gamer/hacker lifestyle. I’d never be able to use it practically today because it was a computer from 1996, but I have warm memories

I totally get that, the tweaking, the buying parts to tailor it to your needs. I did that. Changing ram, video card: not getting the best, most expensive, but choosing carefully what you need for the type of stuff you want to do.

These new phones all just seem disappointing, very disappointing, and yet we put up with it anyway. (because humanity is doomed)

(old crank, I know)

idk then stop chasing new technology and just keep adopting the current baseline

Time to reread http://idlewords.com/talks/web_design_first_100_years.htm

@mh, obv in tech there is no "current baseline", it progresses, as it should. But "new technology" shouldn't be instilled simply because it "can", but because it serves a purpose for the user imo. But I've no clue how Face ID to unlock a phone serves us, as users. It seems more beneficial for the maker, not for the user of the product. It's a major technological improvement of very little use to the consumer. So: why?

I should probably back away from the "New Apple" thread, but seriously..

a classic

the biggest changes in the use of technology and the realization of potential lags further behind the more we build, imo. the greatest gain is in the ability to synthesize all our failings into a few useful things, and accept all the failings.

that’s one of the greatest follies of people praising earlier societies and ways of life. they’re seeing all the successes and failures through the lens of today

on the other hand, for every dozen people skeptical about touchid or whatever is new, there’s a rabid person who reads tech blogs constantly explaining how some one-off phone did it first and better and how apple’s not pushing anything. which is fine, imo, since I don’t have the time to fuck around with broken hardware and things only working half the time and being first

sorry, that was an xpost to caek

best x-post that also worked as not an x-post imo :)

there is always a current baseline! it depends on what you need and what’s supported, but I can go to any site that reviews phones, or my employer’s group that manages business cell phones, and they’d instantly say what features are necessary for different users and what phones they’d suggest. some choices are about necessities when it comes to running software, some are about security, some are about limiting support to a mainstream

faceid seems like it could be a misstep, but it’s just a different take on biometrics as secondary authentication (a desired feature) that adds things in other feature quadrants that apple is trying to get into (augmented reality, etc)

it’s not unproven — apple bought the company that made the first microsoft kinect tech in 2010

that’s most of the wiggling, trying to fulfill new baseline requirements while adding novelty that might become more baseline in the future

it’s worth noting that passwords as a security feature, which is really old, is still constantly being refined as the landscape changes. the canonical password guidelines, which kind of congealed in the early 00s (over 8 chars, special character, upper and lower case) has been cast aside in favor of longer pass phrases

it’s a case where the technology is completely the same when it comes to storing/validating passwords (although it’s evolved independently of how people choose them), but the use case is completely new

kind of like people using a 747 to transport the space shuttle by bolting it to the top

hasn't it changed because the cracking tech has gotten better?
though most sites STILL annoying have those requirements

the ideas about how to brute force passwords got better

some of it has to do with hardware, but the thing was, people thought that was a best practice. and it turns out half the failing was that, given that set of restrictions, people would be more prone to password reuse and would use the minimally sized password, and forget/reset them more, leading to bad patterns

but it was mostly that the ideas and assumptions were wrong. many decisions end up being the equivalent of “well, lead is a great anti-knock agent in gasoline and we can also profit from selling the additive!”

le baueau ivre: face id allows unlocking when your hands are wet, for example, and it removes friction from in-app verification (e.g. for banking you can just keep looking at your screen, you don’t need to perform a physical action). there are definitely benefits for the user.

also, it’s tricky comparing a reasonably mature technology (touch id) with a brand new one. face id will improve.

whom amongst us has reached out of the shower to change the song playing only to have to type in a passcode and get water everywhere instead of just hitting two on-screen buttons to pick a song

I had devices with both first and second gen touch id and the improvement was ridiculous. Pretty much instant now

yeah, 2nd gen is crazy fast. faster than face id going by comparison videos.