BusTalk: Will You Pay S$1888 for a Smartphone?
Apple announced a bevy of new products at their launch event this morning, including the sexy the iPhone X. With a beautiful “bezeless” OLED display, facial authentication and an animated poop emoji, the iPhone X is Apple’s biggest leap since the first gen iPhone.
How much will it cost you to get the latest and coolest iPhones? The 64GB iPhone X will cost users S$1648 in Singapore. Meanwhile, the 256GB variant will cost you a whopping S$1888, making it the costliest iPhone til date. Nope, that is not a typo. S$1888!
On one hand, the pricing seems fair as the X is unlike any iPhone we have seen thus far. On the other hand, S$1.9k is an absurd amount for a phone. Why is the iPhone X priced so high? Let us take a look at its features.
Let’s begin with the display. Of all “bezeless” phones available right now, the iPhone X is the closest to a truly bezeless phone, featuring a stunning 5.8” OLED display by Samsung.
Due to the unique shape of the display, the cost to build one is definitely higher than regular 16:9 displays. iOS also had to undergo some modifications to fit the unusually shaped screen. So it makes sense to price the iPhone X higher than regular iPhones right?
However, we have seen similar odd-shaped display on significantly more affordable devices, Xiaomi’s Mi Mix 2 and the Essential phone for example. These phones are a little bit costlier than their regular display counterparts, but not SS$340 costlier,
That said, if all you want is a phone that will turn heads or start a conversation, there is no better phone to get than the iPhone X. In a way, the iPhone X is a symbol of status and wealth, so a premium pricing kind of makes sense.
Moving on, the iPhone X is equipped a dual 12MP sensor with OIS on both cameras, very similar to what we see on Samsung's Galaxy Note 8. The sensors are larger than before, which should theoretically result in better low-light photos.
The star of the show would be iPhone X's front facing True Depth camera(s), which brings the portrait mode feature from the dual rear cameras to the front. Learn more about the True Depth camera setup here.
But True Depth has more to offer. A feature that really intrigued a lot of people is the Animoji, which uses depth-sensing technology to create emojis with your facial expression. Animated poop emoji? Yes!!! Gimmick or not, only time will tell.
The iPhone X does not have a fingerprint scanner, but makes up for it with Face ID, Apple's secure facial recognition authentication process. It is not as fast as Touch ID, but if Apple is confident enough to let you use it for Apple Pay, it should be quite secure.
Think about how awkward it is to scan your face every time you pay though.
Apart from the cameras and display, the iPhone X is not too different from the iPhone 8 and 8 Plus, which were also announced at the event. All of them sport the new glass back design, support wireless charging and the new A11 processor.
The iPhone X will only hit stores sometime in November. Meanwhile, both the iPhone 8 and 8 Plus will be up for preorder this Friday and go on sale in a week. The 8 and 8 Plus will be available in Silver, Gold and Space Grey, while the X will only come in Silver and Space Grey.
Here are some questions to consider before choosing between the iPhone X and the iPhone 8/8 Plus: Is the iPhone X worth waiting 2 months for? Is the S$340 price difference between the iPhone 8 Plus and the iPhone X justified? How much is too much for a smartphone?
