I've enjoyed my first week with the iPhone X more than I've enjoyed my first week with any other iPhone except perhaps for my first iPhone, the iPhone 3G back in 2008. I've picked up my iPhone 7 several times this week, and it now seems so dated because they lack the huge screen. The larger screen on the iPhone X quickly feels like this is the screen that was always supposed to be on an iPhone, and I'm sure that in a few years almost all iPhone users will feel the same way. The screen in the standout feature, but Face ID runs a close second because it is so incredible to have the iPhone unlock without my having to do anything. And thanks to the release of the new Clips app (discussed below), we are now starting to see new and interesting things that can be done with all of the front-facing cameras the sit in the notch at the top of the screen. And now, the news of note from the past week:
- California attorney David Sparks gave some of his initial thoughts about the iPhone X.
- South Carolina attorney Justin Kahn explains what he likes about the iPhone X on his iPad Notebook website.
- Jason Snell of Six Colors discusses the iPhone X after using it for a week.
- Michael Gartenberg of iMore discusses what makes the iPhone X so special.
- By default, you need to look at an iPhone X to unlock it. With earlier iPhones, you can unlock with a fingerprint, even if someone else puts your finger on the device while you are asleep. That led to some chaos this week when a woman on a Qatar Airways flight put her sleeping husband's finger on his iPhone to unlock it and discovered that he was having an affair. The woman, who reportedly had been drinking, then became disruptive, and ultimately the flight had to be diverted to get her and her husband off the plane. Saurabh Sinhai of The Times of India has additional details.
- Nick Compton of Wallpaper interview's Apple's Jony Ive to discuss Apple's new Apple Park building, and other Apple design issues. The photography in this article is impressive.
- Now that we all know what the new iPhone looks like, what will the next iPad look like? Mark Gurman and Alex Webb of Bloomberg have some ideas, and Jason Snell of Six Color notes that these predictions seem reasonable — stuff like Face ID on an iPad and a new Apple Pencil.
- Peeking further into the future, Michael Simon of Macworld discusses a possible wearable device by Apple that could be targeted for a 2020 release. Apple CEO Tim Cook does love to talk about Augmented Reality, and as cool as it is on an iPhone, it does seem like Apple has additional applications in mind for this technology.
- Apple may be working on a second edition Apple Pencil, but what are the best styluses today? The GoodNotes Blog selects some favorites, and I agree with this list. The Apple Pencil is by far the best choice, but if you don't have an iPad Pro there are some other good ones to choose from.
- John Gruber of Daring Fireball discusses the new Clips app by Apple, which is now at version 2.0. As Griber notes, it is a major upgrade. One of the fun new features is to use the iPhone X TrueDepth camera to place yourself on the Millennium Falcon. I showed off a little by making this short video right after the app was updated, but then Rian Johnson (the director of the upcoming Star Wars movie The Last Jedi) posted this video and immediately put mine to shame.
- Speaking of the front-facing cameras on the iPhone X, Jason Snell wrote a good article for Tom's Guide explaining how to use Face ID on the iPhone X.
- The visitor center at Apple Park opens a week from today, November 17, according to Chance Miller of 9to5Mac. It's nice that Apple will finally have a designated area for the general public to visit the Apple campus. I've visited Apple's Infinite Loop campus in the past with an Apple employee escorting me, but having that friend on the inside was always critical. That changes next week.
- Jessica Smith of Business Insider reports that the attempted merger between T-Mobile and Spring is now called off.
- Tomorrow, November 11, if you exercise for 11 minutes with your Apple Watch, you'll earn a Veteran's Day badge. iMore has the details.
- David Pogue of Yahoo compares the Apple TV, Roku and other streaming boxes. He says that the Apple TV is the best, but the Roku is a great value because it is less expensive. If you have lots of other Apple devices, however, I think that the Apple TV makes the most sense.
- And finally, Joanna Stern of the Wall Street Journal discusses how to use the iPhone X, but does it by taking on the personality of the new Animoji in the Messages app. The video is amusing and informative:
