iPhone X

The iPhone X (pronounced “ten”) launched September 2017 as Apple’s 10th anniversary flagship, introducing the most radical iPhone redesign since the original 2007 model. The $999 starting price marked the first four-figure iPhone, and pre-orders sold out in minutes despite supply constraints delaying shipments to November.

Design Revolution

Apple eliminated the home button and Touch ID fingerprint sensor for an edge-to-edge 5.8” OLED Super Retina display with a controversial top “notch” housing the Face ID sensors. The notch became instantly meme-able and widely imitated by Android manufacturers. Surgical-grade stainless steel frame and glass back enabled wireless charging.

Face ID Technology

Face ID replaced Touch ID using a TrueDepth camera system that projected 30,000 infrared dots to create a 3D facial map. Apple claimed 1-in-1,000,000 security vs Touch ID’s 1-in-50,000, though twins could unlock each other’s phones. Animated Animoji characters that mirrored facial expressions became a viral marketing phenomenon.

Cultural Impact

The swipe-up gesture replacing the home button required muscle memory retraining for hundreds of millions of users. The notch spawned endless parodies and competitor mockery, yet every major Android flagship adopted notches within a year. The X established Apple’s premium tier pricing strategy that persists today, with $999+ now normalized for flagship phones.

The iPhone X sold an estimated 65 million units despite production delays, and its design language defined iPhone aesthetics for the next six generations. Face ID’s privacy-preserving on-device processing set new standards for biometric security, though mask-wearing during COVID-19 exposed its limitations.

Sources:

• Apple iPhone X press release, September 12, 2017
• The Verge iPhone X review, October 2017
• Counterpoint Research Q4 2017 smartphone sales data