Apple's IPhone X Has OLED Screen, Glass Back, Facial Recognition

(Bloomberg) -- Apple Inc. unveiled its most comprehensive new iPhone line up to date, introducing three new models to take on growing competition from Samsung Electronics Co., Google and a host of Chinese smartphone makers.

The high-end iPhone X is the most-important Apple product for years, representing a complete redesign and higher price to boot.

• The Name: Apple executives call it the iPhone "ten," but it’s written as "X."
• New Design: This is the most obvious change – so your friends know you have the latest gadget. As expected, almost the entire front of the phone is screen, save for a cutout at the top for the earpiece, selfie camera, and sensors. The sides have a continuous stainless steel band and the back is glass -- like the iPhone 4 from 2010.
• Edge-to-Edge Screen: With no bezels and no borders on the top and bottom, the focus is on the new screen: an OLED display that more accurately reproduces colors and makes content much crisper. You’ll be able to see more texts, videos and website information without scrolling down because the screen is taller than those on previous iPhones.
• Face ID: There’s a 3-D facial recognition sensor instead of a fingerprint scanner for unlocking the phone, approving payments, and creating animated emojis based on facial expressions. It works in the dark and learns who you are, even if you put on a hat and glasses, or grow a beard. It improves your Snapchat experience, Apple says.
• No Home Button: Swipe up from the bottom of the screen to quit apps or open multitasking. 
• Battery power: This new phone lasts two hours longer than the iPhone 7, Apple said.
• Processors: The model has a new chip called the A11 Bionic, with motion sensors and other features optimized for Apple’s ARKit augmented reality software. There’s also an Apple-designed graphics processing unit that the company said is 30 percent faster than previous GPUs in iPhones. There’s a new chip Apple calls Neural Engine for running machine learning algorithms, a popular type of artificial intelligence software. 
• Cameras: The rear cameras are vertically, not horizontally aligned, for better augmented reality apps. A "TrueDepth" camera system includes the front camera, 3-D sensor and infrared sensor.
• Photos: There’s a new feature called Portrait Lighting that lights up parts of a person’s face while a picture is being taken.
• New Charging: This phone, like the Apple Watch and many competing smartphones, has inductive charging. Put the iPhone X on a wireless charging pad and it will fuel up the battery. The company is using the Qi industry standard, which is already used in some stores and cars. Apple will release its own AirPower charging pad in 2018.
• Pricing and Storage: The iPhone X starts at $999 and comes with 64GB and 256GB storage.
• Availability: Pre-orders begin Oct. 27 and the high-end device will be available starting Nov. 3, Apple said.

The iPhone 8 and 8 Plus, successors to the iPhone 7 and 7 Plus, also include some new features:

• Updated Design: They have glass backs in silver, space gray and a new gold finish. On the front, they look similar to last year’s iPhone 7 models.
• Cameras: The dual cameras have been upgraded with a new sensor that reproduces colors better, Apple said. They were designed to capture AR images and video. The resolution is still 12 megapixels.
• Pricing and Storage: The iPhone 8 starts at $699 for a model with 64 GB of storage.
• Availability: Pre-orders begin Sept. 15 and they go on sale Sept. 22.

To contact the reporter on this story: Mark Gurman in San Francisco at mgurman1@bloomberg.net.

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Tom Giles at tgiles5@bloomberg.net, Alistair Barr, Andrew Pollack