On September 12, 2017, Apple hosted its first launch event at Apple Park, with media from around the world gathering in Cupertino for the 10th anniversary of the original iPhone. During the event, Apple CEO Tim Cook unveiled the iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus. Just as it appeared the presentation was coming to an end, Cook returned to the stage under the familiar “One more thing” banner.
That surprise announcement was the iPhone X, with the “X” representing the number ten and marking a decade since the original iPhone debuted.
The phrase was a tribute to Apple co-founder Steve Jobs, who had become known for using “one more thing” to introduce major products after audiences thought an Apple keynote had concluded.
The location and timing of the announcement carried additional significance. The iPhone X was introduced at the Steve Jobs Theatre at Apple Park. Cook said that, a decade after the first iPhone was launched, it was fitting to unveil at that location and on that day a product that would shape the future of technology for the next decade.
The iPhone X was radically different from smartphones of its time, and Apple believed it could transform the industry just as the original iPhone had in 2007. Cook described it as “the biggest leap forward since the original iPhone.”
Nearly nine years later, Apple has classified the iPhone X as “obsolete”, meaning it is no longer eligible for official Apple service or repairs. Yet the device's impact on the smartphone industry remains evident. Many of the features and design choices introduced with the iPhone X have become standard across modern smartphones.
When the iPhone X arrived, the smartphone market looked very different. LG was still producing smartphones, Sony remained a major global player and BlackBerry was still around. Samsung's flagship lineup at the time consisted of devices such as the Galaxy S8 and Note 8.
The iPhone X immediately stood out because of its display. Apple marketed it as an “all-screen” iPhone, and while the claim was not entirely literal, the phone had extremely slim bezels for its era and virtually no bottom chin. The notch at the top housed its facial-recognition hardware.
The iPhone X's all-screen display established a new benchmark for smartphones. (Photo: Apple)
Apple's then-chief designer Jony Ive was particularly proud of the achievement. He said the company's goal for more than a decade had been to create an iPhone that was entirely display, describing the iPhone X as the realisation of that ambition.
Prabhu Ram, VP of the Industry Research Group at CyberMedia Research, said the iPhone X represented more than another iPhone upgrade. Its anniversary redesign made the device feel closer to an entirely new category of product.
The 5.8-inch Super Retina OLED display, combined with the colourful wallpapers Apple used in its marketing, quickly became one of the phone's defining features.
The move to an all-screen design also meant Apple removed the familiar Home button for the first time. Instead, the iPhone X introduced gesture-based navigation, requiring users to swipe up to close apps or return to the home screen. That navigation system has since become commonplace across smartphones.
Apple also replaced Touch ID with Face ID. Rather than relying on a conventional facial-unlock system, Face ID used a TrueDepth camera setup capable of projecting and reading more than 30,000 infrared dots on a user's face.
Apple said the odds of a random person unlocking an iPhone X using Face ID were one in a million, compared with one in 50,000 for Touch ID.
The transition was a major gamble because users had to abandon two familiar elements — the Home button and fingerprint authentication — in favour of gestures and facial recognition.
“At the time, removing the familiar Home button and Touch ID was a huge gamble,” independent technology analyst Yogesh Brar said. “Apple was asking millions of people to get used to gestures and Face ID, both of which were still relatively new concepts.”
Face ID itself had an awkward moment during the launch presentation when Apple's senior vice president Craig Federighi was unable to unlock the demonstration iPhone X and had to switch to another device. Apple later explained that the phone had reverted to passcode authentication after being handled by several members of staff at the event.
iPhone X introduced Face ID, which remains a key part of the iPhone experience today.
Apple has continued refining Face ID over the years, and facial recognition remains an important part of the iPhone experience. The original notch has also evolved into the much smaller Dynamic Island.
Another aspect of the iPhone X that generated considerable attention was its price. It was the first iPhone to start at $999 in the US and was priced at Rs 89,900 in India. Although today's flagship smartphones can cost substantially more, the iPhone X was Apple's most expensive iPhone at the time.
Prabhu Ram said Apple took a major risk with both the design and pricing of the device, breaking away from nearly a decade of established iPhone design while introducing it at a premium price.
Despite the cost, the iPhone X represented a dramatic departure from the iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus launched alongside it. More importantly, its design and technology established the foundation for many of the iPhones that followed.
The iPhone has received significant upgrades since then, including additional cameras, stronger performance and improved battery life. But many of its fundamental design principles can be traced back to the iPhone X.
Its influence extended beyond Apple's own products. Modern smartphones from companies such as Oppo, Vivo and Samsung feature slim-bezel displays, gesture-based navigation and similar design philosophies. The iPhone X was not the first device to introduce all of these ideas, but it arguably played a major role in making them mainstream.
“Almost every design cue since the iPhone X — the notch, face-scanning unlock, and a screen that runs edge to edge with no physical button — shaped iPhones and Android devices alike,” Prabhu Ram said.
Brar similarly believes the iPhone X felt unusually futuristic when it launched. Its departure from the phones people were accustomed to helped make it one of Apple's most memorable and influential models.
With Apple now designating the iPhone X obsolete, Brar sees the move as the closing of an important chapter in the company's hardware history.
The timing is notable because the iPhone X is becoming obsolete just weeks before Apple is expected to unveil its next generation of iPhones. The company is rumoured to be preparing its biggest iPhone design change since the X, potentially with a foldable model.
That device, which could reportedly be called the iPhone Ultra, may ultimately play a role similar to the iPhone X — setting the design direction for Apple's smartphones for another decade.
