iPhone X Review: Still Worth A Buy In 2024?

Is the iPhone X worth buying in 2024? Let’s investigate, shall we? 

iPhone X Review – UPDATED FOR 2024

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Is The iPhone X Worth Buying? 

The iPhone X is no longer a recommended option – not in 2024. Apple ended official support for the phone back when iOS 17 launched in 2023, ending a six year run of solid support. 

Without official support for iOS updates, you run the risk of apps not working properly and sluggish performance.

Outdated software is also much easier to exploit as well, so there’s a security concern too. 

My advice? If you’re looking at the iPhone X because it is cheap to buy in 2024, do not be fooled by its lowly price tag – it is cheap for a reason. 

There are plenty of viable, cheaper alternatives that’ll get iOS support for years to come. The iPhone 13 is perhaps one of the best value options you can acquire right now (even more so if you go refurbished). 

Is The iPhone X As Good As The iPhone 11? 

The iPhone X is older than the iPhone 11 and neither of these models support 5G (that happened on the iPhone 12).

The iPhone 11 is the superior phone in this context; it has a faster CPU, a better camera, and a more modern design. 

The iPhone 11 is still supported by Apple too, but it is approaching its Apple-sanctioned end of life – the six years’ worth of support mark.

The iPhone 12 is worth a look, but the battery life on all of the models in this series is terrible (Apple really messed up the implementation of 5G). 

Need A Cheap iPhone in 2024? Get The iPhone 13

Again, my advice, if you need a new iPhone in 2024 would be to get either a new iPhone 15 series phone or, if you want to save some money, grab yourself a refurbished iPhone 13. 

The iPhone 13’s battery life is rock-solid, it has an OLED display, and the camera is very good – even by 2024 standards.

I know this because I actually own one and run it as my daily driver (and have done since it came out). 

The reason I didn’t upgrade to the iPhone 14 or the iPhone 15 is because, put simply, I didn’t need to – my iPhone 13 is working fine.

And you know what? It probably has another good couple of years left in it too. 

Full iPhone X Review (Original Review From 2017) 

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Design

The iPhone X was the iPhone that broke the mold. It was the first iPhone NOT to have a Home button, setting the trend for years to come. On top of this, it was the first iPhone to carry an OLED panel; in this case, a beautiful 5.8in 1125×2436 slab of awesomeness.

Physically, the iPhone X looks, unlike anything that came before it. The Home button is gone, so the entire frontage of the phone, save for the notch at the top, is all display. This means Apple can fit a larger display into a smaller space. And that makes the iPhone X great for users that don’t want a huge phone.

Physically, the iPhone X cuts a commanding presence with its bright, OLED panel and smooth lines. The size of the handset – 143.6 x 70.9 x 7.7 mm – and its weight (174g) will take you by surprise; it is both smaller and lighter than the iPhone 8 Plus. Again, this is what you can do when you get rid of buttons.

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Available in black or white, unlike the iPhone 8’s myriad color options, the iPhone X feels almost more akin to Apple’s first-ever iPhone. By limiting color options, Apple has kept things simple; it clearly had a vision for this handset’s aesthetics and it didn’t want anything messing with it. I respect that. And I love the way both color options look.

The bulk of the iPhone X’s chassis is made from glass in order to improve the efficiency of its built-in Qi wireless charging. On top of this, the glass finish gives the iPhone X a truly otherworldly look and feel when compared to older iPhone models, which used metals like aluminum for their construction.

Beyond this, you have full water and dust resistance which means the iPhone X can survive underwater. Having IP67 water and dust resistance is a big deal. How Apple did it with this design, however, I have no idea. I also love the fact that the power and volume rockers remain in the same place. Even Apple Pay and Siri are still accessible via a physical button on the iPhone X; there’s a dedicated button located on the side.

Many reviewers were critical of the iPhone X when it first came out, but I think they were too harsh. As a new design language for Apple, the iPhone X’s look and feel is near-perfect from a visual and ergonomic perspective. It’s ideally sized for hands of all sizes, there’s a ton of screen real estate to work with, and the fit and finish is akin to a Swiss watch.

Display & FACE ID

As noted earlier, the iPhone X was Apple’s first-ever OLED iPhone. It is also the first iPhone to not have a home button. Instead, you have FACE ID, which lives inside the notch located at the top of the display. Much was made of this notch when the iPhone X first landed, but its utility is brilliant in everyday use.

FACE ID is quicker as well. Apple’s technology is very, very impressive. Even more so when you consider that it is the first iteration of FACE ID. Once you get used it after a few tries, you’ll never understand how you lived without it. Even adding your face to FACE ID is simple; just a few seconds and it’s done. Compared to setting up TouchID, which could take up to three minutes, it is a breeze.

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FACE ID isn’t perfect. Unlocking your phone when it is laying flat on a table is tricky, and it does, on occasion, not work in super-dark conditions. Other than that, I don’t have any real complaints about FACE ID or the fact that it has replaced TouchID. And as an added bonus, the tech that powers FACE ID can create animate emoji versions of your face too. Apple calls these Animojis.

As for how Apple’s OLED display performs? It’s fantastic. It makes the outgoing iPhone 8’s LCD display look utterly archaic. The brightness and detail is incredible. And the blacks? They’re void-like, which further improves the contrast of the display and you will notice this when watching movies and/or playing games.

DisplayMate, an independent phone display tester, said the iPhone X has the best display it has ever tested, surpassing even Samsung’s OLED panels. My own experiences with the phone match these claims; colors are utterly vivid and lifelike, viewing angles are brilliant, unlike on the Google Pixel 2 XL, and the colors are natural and engaging. Essentially, it’s the perfect display.

Performance

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Apple’s A-Series SoCs have been dominating the mobile space for years now, and the A11 Bionic chip is no different. Paired with 3GB of RAM, Apple’s outstanding A11 chipset delivers blistering performance across the board. At the time of initially reviewing this phone, it was the fastest on the market – by quite a margin.

Nowadays, that title goes to the iPhone 11 range. But the iPhone X is still just as powerful as the latest and greatest Android phones. How so? Simple: Apple has its A11 chipset and iPhone perfectly optimized to work together. Nothing was left to chance. And the result? Seamless performance that not only kicks ass but is also extremely power efficient.

If you’re worried that the iPhone X is older than current-generation iPhones and that this will affect its performance, DO NOT worry – this phone will still deliver the goods with respect to power for years to come. That’s how Apple designs phones: they’re built to last and run for a long time. And the iPhone X will be good to go for years to come.

Cameras

The iPhone X’s camera is a very capable beast. Apple has been making solid, reliable cameras for a good few years now. But with the iPhone X, it has come to market with something very impressive, indeed. And the shots you can capture with it have never looked better.

You have two 12MP rear cameras packing OIS (optical image stabilization) and phase-detect autofocus. One is a wide-angle f/1.8 camera and the other is a 2x telephoto camera. The big idea here is better depth perception, better low-light performance, and more detail inside your shots.

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The iPhone X’s camera is not quite as good as Google’s Pixel 2 or Pixel 3, but it is damn close and is easily on a par with Samsung’s Galaxy S10 and Huawei’s Mate 10. For most users, the iPhone X camera will be more than enough to capture beautifully detailed images that look professional and polished.

You also have things like Portrait Mode for capturing framed shots of people and objects, whereby the background is blurred out. On the front, you have a 7MP camera that can be used for selfies and video-calling. Performance here is decent, though I’d prefer to have seen a higher resolution camera on the front given how much the iPhone X cost at launch.

Verdict – Should You Buy The iPhone X?

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If you’re shopping around for a new iPhone in 2021 and beyond, and you want to save some money, I can wholeheartedly recommend the iPhone X. For me, the iPhone X is the best value iPhone you can currently buy – it’s now A LOT cheaper than it was when it first launched. And you’re still getting A LOT of phone.

I do really love the iPhone XR, but the iPhone X does have a better display and much the same overall performance. I think if you’re torn between the two, the iPhone X is the one to go for – it’s cheaper, has a better OLED display, and is just as powerful. Plus, Apple will be supporting the iPhone X – the phone that replaced the iPhone 9 – for years to come, so you’re covered for updates until, well… probably the mid-2020s!

And then, of course, there is the iPhone XS, which came out alongside the iPhone XR. You can check out the full details of how the iPhone X compares to the iPhone XS here.