The executive summary of this iPhone X Diary piece – almost a week in – is that I still love it, and I have found very little more to complain about.

Let’s start with the look and feel. I still love it. It still feels like a single slab of glass, and it has a really great tactile feel in the hand.

To me, the large size is a compromise. I do still really like the iPhone SE size, but it’s a compromise that pays off. The screen is large enough for content to feel immersive – I’ve even watched some Netflix on it – while still remaining reasonably pocketable. I can also comfortably hold it in my hand …

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Back in the summer, when rumors of Apple working on augmented reality glasses gained momentum, I wrote an opinion piece addressing the question of whether the Cupertino company could succeed where Google failed.

I ran through the six reasons why I believe Google Glass failed as a consumer product, and looked at the lessons Apple would need to learn.

We heard earlier today that Apple is working toward a target date of no earlier than 2020 for its rumored augmented reality headset, or glasses. And that date gives me more faith in the idea that Apple could indeed pull it off …

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My first impression diary pieces are usually exactly that: based on just taking it out of the box, setting it up and playing with it for an hour or three.

This time, however, my iPhone X didn’t arrive until the end of the day on Friday, by which time I was already out for the evening. So this time I’ve had a weekend of use, and have a bit more to say.

I previously outlined the reasons I was buying it, despite my fondness for the iPhone SE. As someone who loves the design of the classic iPhones (iPhone 4/4S/5/5S/SE), and who isn’t a fan of the 6/6S/7/8, the first question I had was what I’d make of the design of the iPhone X …

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The run-up to the launch of the iPhone X has been a long one. We got the first sure-fire clue that Apple was shaking up its iPhone line with last year’s iPhone 7. Instead of the familiar tick-tock pattern of a new design one year and new internals the following year, the iPhone 7 was a second tock: a relatively minor external refresh of the iPhone 6 design.

That was, of course, an interim move while Apple got the iPhone X ready for launch. But instead of two new models this year, we got three.

There were many who wondered whether Apple knew what it was doing …

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Updated with TechCrunch review, at the bottom.

We talked yesterday about how Apple is this year taking a different approach to pre-sale reviews of its flagship iPhone. Instead of giving all publications and sites the same embargo date, so that all the reviews hit the net at once, it’s layering them, with different people allowed to post different pieces at different times.

We saw some written pieces and several hands-on videos by YouTubers, and we’re today seeing some more first impressions pieces by writers who were apparently given their iPhone X models just one day ahead of their embargo time …

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They say when life gives you lemons, make lemonade, and it looks to me like Apple may be doing just that with the delayed launch of the iPhone X. The company appears to be taking a new approach to marketing this year’s flagship phone.

Apple normally has a very regimented approach to the way they the press – and hence the public – get exposed to a new iPhone, with two distinct phases …

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If you’re looking to shoot 4K video from a sedate position, your iPhone already has you covered. The latest iPhone 8 and upcoming iPhone X both offer 4K video recording at up to 60fps for buttery-smooth slo-mo. But if you’re looking to ride a mountain bike (or, indeed, a commuter bike on London’s potholed streets), abseil off a building or do anything else adventurous, you probably want a dedicated action cam.

You know a company has really hit the big time once people start using the brand name as a generic name for the product category. Biro and Hoover are the obvious examples from years gone by, but one of the best examples in today’s world is GoPro. Half the time people refer to ‘a GoPro,’ they really mean it as a generic term for a compact action cam …

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This year’s Adobe MAX conference was dominated by chatter about machine learning, artificial intelligence, and specifically, Adobe Sensei. The importance of these emerging technologies was repeatedly reinforced not only in the conference’s opening keynote, but on the show floor and in sneak peaks of upcoming products.

9to5Mac sat down at MAX with Tom Hogarty, Adobe’s Director of Photography Product Management, to talk about the rise of computational photography and how products like the iPhone and Mac have played a role in redefining how we think about photos.

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The $64,000 question of the moment seems to be: How well (or badly) is the iPhone 8 selling?

We’ve been hearing conflicting answers. A KGI report stated that the iPhone 8 Plus, at least, was selling better than expected. Foxconn financials also seemed to support that idea.

But there have been more negative reports than positive ones. AT&T said that it had seen almost 1M fewer upgrades this year. A carrier store survey suggested more people were buying last year’s iPhone 7 than the iPhone 8. A major Canadian carrier said iPhone 8 sales have been anemic. And a supply chain source claims that Apple has ordered its iPhone 8 suppliers to cut production in half.

I tend to side with those who think the iPhone 8 is selling poorly. But far from considering that bad news, I think it’s a clear indication that iPhone X sales are going to be far better than expected …

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With the introduction of cellular connectivity in Apple Watch Series 3, it’s now more convenient than ever to leave your phone at home for quick trips and during workouts without consequence – for the most part. When you want to snap that quick photo or have a FaceTime video call, the Watch still won’t cut it. This is the one of the largest remaining friction points in a truly independent Apple Watch experience.

At first it might sound unnecessary, or even a little invasive to have a camera always on your wrist. However, Apple has been putting in place technologies over the last several years that may soon make a camera on the Apple Watch not just a reality, but an essential part of your day-to-day life. Let’s take a look at why now may finally be the right time for all of these pieces to come together.

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Jony Ive said in an interview that the iPhone X was both the realization of a long-held ambition, and the beginning of a new chapter in the future development of Apple’s smartphones.

That much was predictable. Apple always needs to be working towards the next generation of devices, so of course the iPhone X is going to be just the first of a new line of iPhones.

But it was something else he said that I think could suggest a new direction for Apple’s user-interfaces …

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Music has been part of Apple’s soul since the launch of the iPod almost 16 years ago. Launched with the slogan ‘a thousand songs in your pocket,’ it’s no exaggeration to say that the device transformed the way we listen to music. It also transformed Apple into a major mobile device manufacturer, and laid the ground work for the iPhone.

Fast-forward to today, and Apple still places a huge emphasis on music. Its largest ever acquisition was the $3B it paid to buy Beats in 2014. The Beats Music service became Apple Music, a streaming service which has grown to 30M paid subscribers.

Apple’s move into exclusive video content also has a strong emphasis on music documentaries.

But there’s still one odd omission from the company’s music offerings …

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When I first wrote about using solid state drives (SSDs) to radically improve the performance of older Macs, high-capacity SSDs were just beginning to become affordable. Replacing a Mac’s 500GB or 1TB hard drive with a same-sized SSD required at least $250 back then, but the benefits were tremendous: even an aging machine became markedly (5x) faster, silent, and — unexpectedly — more fun to use. All for much less than the price of a new Mac.

Today, high-capacity SSDs are more affordable than ever. Replacing your old 500GB hard drive with a same-sized SSD from a reputable manufacturer costs only $150, while 1TB drives are under $330, each $100 less than only a couple of years ago. Once unthinkably huge 2TB and 4TB SSDs are now commonly available, too, albeit at eye-watering prices.

With this week’s release of macOS High Sierra, Apple has officially made SSDs its preferred Mac storage solution, introducing the new APFS standard to further optimize SSD performance over Fusion and traditional hard drives. So this is a perfect time to revisit the topic of SSD upgrades; if you held out before, now’s the time to jump in!

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We’ve made quite a few feature requests, some of them for important things – like an option to automatically reply to text messages while driving, which Apple granted in iOS 11. Or for broader themes, like helping us with our personal goals.

Other times, we’ve asked for very small things, but ones we think would contribute to a better all-round experience when using our Apple products. Whether it’s multiple timers, identifying where Mac audio alerts are coming from or a way to transfer FaceTime calls between devices.

This request is so small it might seem too trivial to bother with, but it is an issue that annoys me on a regular basis …

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While I’ve never seen myself as a key target for Apple’s fashion-oriented approach to the Apple Watch, I have been surprised. From initially wearing the black sport band full-time, I’ve actually come to enjoy having a variety of bands to change up the look.

I do have one of Apple’s woven nylon bands, as well as a third-party copy of the Space Black Link Bracelet (not available in the U.S. unfortunately), but mostly I like leather bands.

I do like Apple’s blend of the modern and traditional in its own range, but also appreciate more traditional craftsmanship in premium third-party bands. I previously reviewed one from Burkley, and this time I tried out a range of bands from German company BandWerk …

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Apple has just released iOS 11 to the public, for iPhone, iPad and iPod touch users. The major update brings a variety of new features including a redesigned Control Center, a brand-new App Store, the new Files app, Do Not Disturb While Driving, a new Lock Screen / Cover Sheet experience, and much more.

iOS 11 is also a major focus for iPad with new ways to share data and multitask with Drag and Drop, upgraded Split View and a whole new Dock. Read on for our walkthrough of all the new features in iOS 11 …

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You have to feel a little sorry for anyone who has been burning the midnight oil working on the iPhone 8/Plus. A new iPhone would normally be getting a huge amount of attention, but in this case the device has been completely over-shadowed by the iPhone X.

The iPhone 8 should, at least, get its own 15 minutes of fame today, as the first reviews go live. We’ve rounded up the early ones, including our own …

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When the original iPhone was unveiled in January 2007, Steve Jobs introduced its signature home button with a succinct pitch: “It takes you home from wherever you are. And that’s it.” Such a simple explanation seems striking today. Not only would the home button evolve into a Swiss Army Knife of functions, but it would become the iconic face of the iPhone itself, making it instantly recognizable even from a distance.

Ten years later, the home button has been put through its paces. It’s old, bloated with features, and taking up valuable space on devices with rapidly shrinking bezels. For the first time this fall, Apple will ship an iPhone without a home button at all — the iPhone X. How did we get here? Let’s take a look back at the home button’s winding history.

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One of the things I like about Apple is the company’s strong commitment to privacy. By making its money from hardware and chargeable services, it doesn’t need to rely much on advertising, and it can therefore afford to take a strong stand on the issue.

Indeed, the legal tussle with the FBI over the San Bernardino shooting was probably one of the best pieces of PR for the company. It demonstrated that Apple felt so strongly about protecting the privacy of its customers that it was willing to take on the might of the U.S. government.

Taking on the advertising industry is likely even better PR, but while I generally applaud Apple’s attitude, I think in one particular case, it is actually taking things too far: Intelligent Tracking Prevention in High Sierra …

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iPhone X may have been the star of yesterday’s big event, but the Apple Watch Series 3 appears to be a hit all on its own. That’s partly because you can do a lot more with Apple Watch all on its own now, and the price for adding LTE was a bit of a surprise.

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Yesterday’s keynote was not without its challenges for Apple. First, thanks to our digging into the leaked code, there were few surprises.

Second, there was the fact that Apple had to kick-off with the understudy. The iPhone 8 – for all the features it borrowed from the iPhone X – looked very much like the iPhone 7, which itself looked very much like the iPhone 6. It was hard to make an iPhone 6sss seem too exciting – especially when everyone was waiting for the main act.

And then there was the failed Face ID demo. The flagship iPhone X feature falling over the first time it was demonstrated. Update: This was because other people were handling it prior to the demo, and the phone was trying to match their face and treating it as a login attempt. After several failed attempts, it fell back to requiring the passcode, as it’s designed to to.

But for my part, the keynote didn’t have much of a job to do …

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Here we go. We’re digging through the iOS 11 GM we received this evening to unpack what we can learn about the D22 ‘iPhone X’ and the rest of the lineup ahead of Apple’s big unveiling on Tuesday. It looks like the infamous HomePod leak left a few surprises for us after all.

The first discovery is a stunning set of new wallpapers coming with iOS 11 and the first look at the LTE Apple Watch. Next up: new and confirmed features coming to the OLED iPhone…

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[UPDATE: We’ve got our hands on an upcoming build of iOS 11 that includes new wallpapers, the first look at the LTE Apple Watch, and plenty of new iPhone 8 details.]

Apple’s first-ever event at the Steve Jobs Theater in Cupertino is happening on Tuesday, and it will be jam-packed with announcements and new products. We’re expecting three new flagship iPhones including a redesigned model which may start around $1000, a new Apple Watch with LTE, a new Apple TV with 4K HDR, and much more. Here’s everything to watch for at Apple’s upcoming keynote…

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Update: While some suggested this might just be a demo mode thing, that approves anything vaguely resembling a face, CNET confirmed on its review unit that the device is indeed fooled by photos.

We tried it on our own Note 8, and sure enough, it’s still possible to fool it with a flat photo. A Samsung rep tells CNET that the company’s guidance remains the same: You’ll want to use the fingerprint sensor or iris scanner for security, and should view facial recognition as a convenient alternative to the simple swipe-to-unlock gesture.

While Apple’s detractors often criticise Apple for hyping features already seen in competitor devices, the Cupertino company doesn’t just follow the market. In particular, it tends to assess which features do and don’t make sense, and then aim to make the best possible version of the ones that do.

The sense of this approach appears to have again been illustrated by not just one but two Samsung devices …

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