Meet The iphone X! Tools for your studio to increase productivity
Meet the iphone X
Smile for the Face ID!
I was perfectly happy with my iphone 6... until the iphone X was ready to launch, I updated my system, everything started slowing down like it was dipped in molasses. Siri could not take any commands accurately. Text messaging was regularly crashing, even with sufficient memory. My daily battery life had decreased so I could no longer make it through an entire day without getting a second charge off of my Mophie backup battery.
Then, my kids started complaining that they could no longer charge or use their iphone 5 and 4 hand-me-downs. This was a pressing issue for communication, as they walk and bike to school themselves. Also, in today's classroom, kids are allowed to use their phones to "Google" information and do research. When their teachers told them to take out their phones for research, their phones were dead.
The problems with our iphones literally put a kink in our productivity for business and school. I would have loved to have purchased a less-expensive phone, but we are a creative family, and thoroughly invested in Apple products, from my laptop and ipad to run my piano studio, to my husband's 27" imac, to view photos for his photography business. Everything syncs beautifully, from phone to ipad, to computer and backups. It had been 3 years since we upgraded our phones, and it was definitely time for a new phone... but which one?
iphone 8 vs. iphone X
Better distance videos!
We decided on the X because of the improvements in taking photographs and video. The new rear camera has a telephoto lens. I can really see the difference when I'm taking shots and video from the beach of the kids surfing. The new front-facing camera system, the TruDepth camera, is also used for the face ID, which, by the way, is amazing. I no longer have to swipe or enter in passwords when I reach for my phone. I just hold the phone in front of my face, and voila, it recognizes my face ID and opens automatically. Yes, the price of the iphone X is outrageous, but in the scheme of things, it has brought technology stasis and ramped our productivity back to light speed, or at least feels that way.
iphone X Availability-How to Get Your Hands on One
With all of the rumors swirling that while the iphone 8 launch wasn't too hot, but the iphone X would be hard to purchase, we though that we would wait until after Christmas to get the phone. However, my husband, who is an expert in asking the right questions and purging all kinds of information from people, found out a hot little secret: Apple stores don't know how many of each phone they will get in their daily shipments. They receive their phones very early in the morning. Check online at apple.com and query about the device you are looking for very early in the morning, between 6am and 7am. If you see the device you want in your local store, buy it online and pick it up the same day at the store! One Sunday morning, when we were at our wits ends with our iphone 6's freezing up, my husband went online and found that there were a few iphone X's available at our local Apple store in silver. It wasn't the color he preferred, but we nabbed both of those, set up an appointment to pick the up right after a soccer game, and dragged in the whole family, so we could do the handoffs of our old phones, wipe them, and make sure that our service would be set up for the entire family before leaving the store. That took about an hour with a very patient and knowledgable Apple employee...I do appreciate the high level of competence and knowledge in general that the Apple employees have.
Pricing
The price difference on a 256 MB iphone X (About $950 for the iphone 8 vs. $1,150 for the iphone X, about $200 more for the newest generation of iphones (*prices may vary). The purchase options are to buy it outright, or making monthly, no-interest payments. Oh, how I miss the days where the upgrade price was about half of the full price of the phone! Service agreements are so competitive that users are no longer locked down into 2-year service agreements. In fact, everything is pretty much month to month now. So, companies like AT&T are making money from the phones instead. If you are still locked into a service plan, you may want to see if there are other plans available to you that may cost less monthly. I added on a phone line for my daughter, got out of my current plan, and saved $100 a month, while gaining use of a personal hotspot from my iphone, and ditching my wireless mobile hotspot device.
Favorite Features
Portrait Mode
Portrait mode
Shallow depth of field
Crisp images
Blurred background
Hey Siri, unplugged
It works without being plugged in...and finally understands me!
Goodbye, home button
Just swipe up
Siri got smarter!
Siri now opens apps and notes!
Battery life
The battery life lasts until the last student plays at my recitals, and student photos are more focused and better lit!
Lighting adjustments! I took this shot from another iphone x. Love the lighting!
So far, I am very happy with my iphone X. The little things, like using Siri for opening apps, sending texts, dictation, and the Face ID recognition are all improvements that help me to save time and make things run smoothly. I am so grateful for the improved batter life. So, say cheese for the handsfree Face ID!
