Still Going Strong - iPhone X after Nearly 5 Years: An Irreplaceable Monument

In November 2017, we witnessed the debut of the iPhone X - a smartphone marking the 10-year milestone of the iconic Apple iPhone product line. After almost 5 years, is the performance of the iPhone X with Apple A11 still robust? How does the iPhone X camera hold up? Does the iPhone X battery still have enough stamina to meet daily needs? Join me in reviewing the iPhone X after nearly 5 years to see if it's worth buying at this time!

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Timeless and Elegant Design of iPhone X

Even though Apple has revived the flat frame design that first appeared with the iPhone 4 in its recent iPhone generations, for me, the iPhone X remains an enduring monument that is hard to shake. The device boasts a metal frame with curved edges and a glass back, creating a sense of sophistication and elegance.

In addition to the visual appeal, the iPhone X provides a comfortable grip, thanks to its curved edges that fit smoothly in the hand. The phone's compact size allows easy pocketability, making it convenient for extended usage without discomfort. Plus, the phone's small form factor enables hassle-free transportation without any bulk or hindrance.

However, the iPhone X has a notable downside as its glossy frame is prone to scratches over time. While this can be a bit bothersome, the frame is constructed from steel, enhancing the device's durability, making it more resilient to impacts and bends compared to its predecessors.

Moving to the front, the iPhone X boasts a 5.8-inch display with OLED technology, delivering stunning visual quality. Despite the slightly smaller size compared to current standards, the 5.8-inch display doesn't feel limiting for gaming or movie-watching, especially after prolonged usage.

You might be aware that at its launch, the iPhone X faced criticism for display issues, particularly the appearance of green lines that significantly impacted user experience. Fortunately, my iPhone X has been performing exceptionally well without encountering such problems over nearly 5 years of usage.

iPhone X still delivers impressive performance with the Apple A11 Bionic chip

Before delving into the performance review of the iPhone X, let's take a quick look at the device's specifications.

• Display: 5.8-inch size, OLED panel, Full HD+ resolution (2,436 x 1,125 pixels), pixel density of 458 ppi.
• CPU: Apple A11 Bionic.
• GPU: Apple GPU with 3-core graphics.
• RAM: 3 GB.
• Internal Storage: 64 GB and 256 GB (the model in my hands is 64 GB).
• Operating System: Updated to the latest iOS 15.4.1.
• Battery Status: 100%.
• Battery: 2,716 mAh, supports 15W fast charging, Qi wireless charging.

Most people are aware that iPhones typically have a long lifespan in terms of both performance and software updates (around 5 - 7 years). Personally, I find this to be accurate after nearly 5 years of using the iPhone X. Currently, all tasks I perform on the iPhone X are handled smoothly and stably. To better understand the power of the iPhone X, let's dive into the performance assessment of the device!

- iPhone X Performance Score

To provide the most fair assessment for the iPhone X, I upgraded the iOS to the latest version, iOS 15.4.1, and the current battery status is 100%. If you wonder why this figure is 100%, I had previously replaced the battery for the device.

In this section, I will also use some familiar software such as GeekBench 5, 3DMark Wild Life, and Antutu Benchmark to assess the performance of the iPhone X. The conditions for assessment are as follows:

• Battery level between 90 – 100%.
• No charging during the assessment.
• Conduct 3 consecutive assessments and take the average result after 3 assessments.

The first two software I used to benchmark the iPhone X are GeekBench 5 and Antutu Benchmark. Here are the results I obtained:

• Antutu Benchmark: 322,115 points.
• GeekBench 5: 915 single-core and 2,319 multi-core points. 3,049 GPU Compute points.

Despite its age, the iPhone X still delivers impressive results. Specifically, in the GeekBench 5 test, the iPhone X scored 915 single-core and 2,319 multi-core points, an impressive figure for a 2017 smartphone. In addition, in the Antutu Benchmark test, the device scored up to 322,155 points.

Next, I'll move on to the benchmark test with the 3DMark Wild Life software. In this test, the iPhone X demonstrates a fairly stable score with a total of 989 points and an average frame rate of 5.9 FPS.

In addition, I also conducted a stability test of the device when performing heavy tasks for an extended period using the 3DMark Wild Life Extreme Stress Test. This is a demanding test that repeats 20 times in a row to assess the stability of the smartphone when handling heavy tasks over an extended period. The results are as shown in the image below, and please pay attention to the Stability section!

Based on the test, it seems that the current version of the software is not well-optimized for iOS 15.4.1, so my iPhone X achieves stability of only 34.4% with the frame rate fluctuating from 1 to 31 FPS. During the test, I noticed that the device quickly heated up, causing the battery level to drop by 10% (from 93% to 83%).

Although the iPhone X delivers impressive benchmark scores, these figures are only for reference. After real-world testing with tasks such as video editing or playing games, I found that the iPhone X performs significantly better. Therefore, for a more specific insight into the processing performance of the iPhone X, let's explore the gaming experience below!

- Gaming Experience on iPhone X Still Quite Good after Nearly 5 Years

In this section, I'll use the iPhone X to play popular games such as Arena of Valor, PUBG Mobile, Call of Duty Mobile, Genshin Impact, and a visually stunning MOBA called Onmyoji Arena. Unfortunately, my usual FPS measuring tool, Perfdog, doesn't yet support iOS 15.4.1. Instead, I'll provide short video clips of gameplay for you to get an idea of the iPhone X's processing capabilities.

• Arena of Valor:

For the popular Arena of Valor game, I can set the graphics to the highest level for an immersive experience. Check out the images below.

In terms of the gaming experience with this title, I find that the iPhone X handles it quite well. The device provides a smooth gaming experience with frame rates ranging from 50-60 FPS. However, in scenes with intense spell effects, the iPhone X tends to generate more heat, causing a drop in frame rates. Using cooling methods like a cooling pad or not using a phone case can help keep the device cooler and maintain more stable frame rates.

• PUBG Mobile:

Next, let's dive into PUBG Mobile, a famous survival shooting game that has been a dominant force in the mobile gaming market for quite some time. This game allows my iPhone X to set graphics to the highest level, which is HDR (Ultra HD and UHD are not available on this device), with the frame rate set to Ultra as shown below.

In the game PUBG Mobile, the iPhone X still delivers an incredibly smooth gaming experience. I can perform all touch gestures, movements, aiming, etc., conveniently without being hindered by any lag or frame drops. Moreover, the graphics in the game are beautifully crafted, detailed, and the lighting angles are well-reproduced, along with an average frame rate that remains extremely stable, ranging from 45-60 FPS.

• Call of Duty Mobile:

Alongside PUBG Mobile, another visually stunning shooting game that I thoroughly enjoy is Call of Duty Mobile. This game allows me to set the image quality and frames per second to the Very High level, as shown in the image below.

When experiencing some intense Call Of Duty Mobile action on the iPhone X, I'm completely satisfied. The device handles the game smoothly with crisp visuals, and the frame rate remains relatively stable, ranging from 50-60 FPS. Despite continuous aiming and shooting actions, the device doesn't experience much stuttering or lag, which proves to be very beneficial during intense combat moments.

• Onmyoji Arena:

Besides Liên Quân Mobile, Onmyoji Arena is another MOBA game that I adore for its more diverse gameplay and appealing graphics. For this game, I'll experience it with graphics settings at the Healthy level. You can have a clearer view in the image below.

During the experience, I find that the iPhone X can handle Onmyoji Arena smoothly with smooth movements and skill executions. The frame rate will maintain stability at 60 FPS; however, in intense combat scenes with many complex effect skills, the iPhone X will heat up quickly, impacting the frame rate. Therefore, I'll continue to use the cooling method with a cooling pad, as I did when playing Liên Quân Mobile, to unleash its inherent performance.

• Genshin Impact:

Genshin Impact - a true hardware killer, is also the last game I'll experience on the iPhone X. I can still raise the graphics settings to the highest level, but the performance is extremely unstable. Therefore, to balance graphics and performance, I'll set the configuration to the lowest level with a frame rate of 60 FPS, as shown below, to experience Genshin Impact in the most stable way.

In terms of gaming experience, I find the iPhone X can handle this game quite stably with the frame rate fluctuating around 50-55 FPS. However, in some moments when I unleash skills with complex effects, the frame rate in the game drops to around 30-50 FPS, and the device also heats up after a long gaming session.

iPhone X battery can still provide nearly 6 hours of continuous usage

At the current moment, how long can the iPhone X work after being fully charged to 100%? To find out, I will check the device's battery with some familiar battery tests following the standards of The Gioi Di Dong. The specific conditions of the battery test are as follows: 

• Experience 4 rotating tasks: Playing Liên Quân Mobile (configured as shown below), watching YouTube, browsing Facebook, and using the web with the Safari browser.
• Each task will be performed for 1 hour.
• Screen brightness is set to 100%.
• Wired headphones are plugged in and the volume is set to 100%.
• Turn on Wi-Fi and social media notifications.
• Do not enable power-saving mode, adaptive brightness, GPS, and Bluetooth.
• Check from 100% to 0%.

Note: The iPhone X I'm using for battery evaluation has a 100% battery status (battery has been replaced), so if your device has a lower battery status, the performance may be lower (depending on the battery condition).

The results after the test are as follows:

After only 5 hours and 36 minutes of continuous gaming, watching movies, scrolling through Facebook, and web browsing, the iPhone X's battery is completely depleted. Part of it may be due to suboptimal battery optimization from the latest iOS 15.4.1 update, as well as the ambient temperature conditions shortening the iPhone X's usage time compared to before.

Therefore, it is advisable to limit high screen brightness during use. Additionally, regularly update the operating system to fix bugs and minimize the use of thick phone cases to prevent excessive heat that could impact battery performance.

Assessing iPhone X Camera Performance After Nearly 5 Years

Before delving into the evaluation of the image quality that the dual-camera system on the iPhone X can deliver, let's quickly review some key specifications:

• Wide-angle Camera: 12 MP resolution, f/1.8 aperture, 28 mm focal length, PDAF support, OIS stabilization.
• Telephoto Camera: 12 MP resolution, f/2.4 aperture, 52 mm focal length, PDAF support, OIS stabilization, 2x optical zoom.

iPhone X Camera Excellence Even After All These Years

When capturing images in low-light conditions, I observed that the photo quality on the iPhone X is slightly affected by glare and noise, sometimes creating an uncomfortable feeling when taking photos. I also tried shooting with the HDR feature in such conditions, and I found that the issues with noise and glare have been somewhat addressed. Additionally, the color quality of the images has also improved.

As of now, what is the current price of the iPhone X? Is it worth buying?

The iPhone X is no longer officially sold at The Gioi Di Dong, but you can purchase the Apple iPhone X from overseas and bring it to Vietnam with prices ranging from approximately 8 to 10 million VND for the 64GB version. For iFans with a limited budget but wanting a good iPhone for photography or gaming, the iPhone X might be a suitable choice for you in 2022.

So, what are your thoughts on the iPhone X? Leave a comment to let me and everyone else know! Thank you for your interest and following my article. If you are interested, the store TopZone is currently selling genuine Apple iPhone products at attractive prices. You can place an order by clicking the orange button below!

BUY GENUINE IPHONE AT TOPZONE

In addition to 24h Cong Nghe, readers can also explore more reliable information about Apple, such as hot promotions, iPhone usage tips, iPad, etc., on the TekZone page under TopZone. Especially for iFans, it's hard to ignore, click the orange button below to access if you're interested!

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