Opinion: 5.8-inch display in a smaller footprint makes iPhone X an obvious choice

When comparing Apple’s new iPhones side-by-side, the biggest difference that calls out to me is that beautiful iPhone X display. The bezel-less device fully immerses you in content, and compared to the iPhone 8 and 8 Plus’ bezels, it seems otherworldly.

I don’t know why I’d go for any other iPhone. By shrinking those bezels down, the iPhone X gains a significant display size increase, while remaining smaller than the iPhone 8 Plus. Outside of price, I can’t find a reason why I wouldn’t go for the iPhone X.

Thanks to the shrunken bezels, the iPhone X’s display rivals both the iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus. The iPhone X packs a 5.8-inch display in a device that stands at 5.65-inches tall. Compare that to the iPhone 8 Plus with a 5.5-inch display at a 6.24-inch height. This difference equates to a 0.3-inch larger display on the iPhone X than the iPhone 8 Plus, while still being 0.59-inches shorter in height. For fans of smaller devices, the iPhone X’s size is not drastically larger than the iPhone 8 either. Being 0.2-inches taller in height than the iPhone 8, it still manages to sport over a full inch larger display.

That really is where the iPhone choice conversation goes for me this year. It’s not so much about how one phone might be superior to another, but rather which phone has the larger display. I’ve been envious of the Essential Phone’s display design since it was first teased months ago. A large display, even with a camera cut-out, seemed like the next step forward in mobile devices. I’ve wanted this for so long that the seemingly new iPhone 8 already looks archaic next to the iPhone X for me.

Of course, there are plenty of features I’m excited for in the new iPhones regardless of the display. Wireless charging is welcome and overdue, 24 and 60 FPS 4K recording in the camera is marvelous, and I always love a camera spec bump. But when it comes down to it, I just really want that big display.

Even with the use of a larger display, the iPhone X still gets comparable battery life to the iPhone 8 Plus. Using an OLED display versus a traditional LCD may be the contributing factor here. The iPhone 8 ranks in at up to 14 hours of talk time by Apple’s estimates, while both the iPhone X and iPhone 8 Plus get up to 21 hours. Though battery mAh and capacities have yet to be dissected, it is very likely that the iPhone X is using a battery at the same mAh capacity of the 8 Plus or slightly smaller.The iPhone X does present some new experiences that I’ll have to get used to though. In removing the home button, Apple has implemented a gesture-based navigation system instead. Watching the experience in videos makes me wary of how much I’ll enjoy it. I’m all for swiping through navigations, especially on a mobile device, but I’m worried Apple might’ve changed too much too quickly.

Combining this with the iOS 11 lock screen and notification center changes, I know I’ll have to relearn some navigation on the device. Whether I’ll enjoy it, in the long run, is the question. Still…that screen is just gorgeous.

These subtle differences in sizing make the iPhone X all the more attractive to me, even with the lack of Touch ID. Many 9to5Mac voters agree, the iPhone X was on their list of items to buy from yesterday’s announcements. Time will tell how the general public responds to the device’s differences, and if its price point is justifiable. For me? I can’t wait to get my hands on that screen.

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