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Saturday 11 November 2017 technology
A24

X Days With iPhone X: Changing habits to embrace the future

By ANICK JESDANUN should get better once
AP Technology Writer apps design for it.
NEW YORK (AP) — The fu- HOLD ON
ture of the smartphone, as The phone feels more com-
Apple calls its new iPhone fortable than the 8 Plus, but
X, means breaking old hab- also more delicate. I felt this
its. even before SquareTrade,
With no more home button, a seller of protection plans,
this mostly means replacing declared it the most break-
presses with swipes and the able iPhone yet . Part of
fingerprint ID sensor with fa- that feeling comes from its
cial recognition. $1,000 price tag, $300 more
In my 10 days with the than the iPhone 8.
iPhone X, I tried to fool its Apple says the glass on
Face ID feature . I bought both the X and the 8 is
three sandwiches, popcorn stronger than before. But
and a ruler with Apple Pay. accidents happen. If you
I read an e-book and lis- haven’t considered a ser-
tened to podcasts. I ran a vice plan such as AppleC-
marathon. I followed that are before, now is the time.
with a Netflix marathon on Otherwise, screen replace-
the couch. ment will cost $279 , com-
I’m still adjusting. Most of pared with $169 for the 8
the changes aren’t neces- In this Friday, Nov. 3, 2017, file photo, an Apple employee demonstrates the facial recognition Plus.
sarily better — just different, feature of the new iPhone X at the Apple Union Square store in San Francisco. BEEN THERE, DONE THAT?
forced upon me to accom- Associated Press On Sunday, Samsung re-
modate a larger display luted to close unresponsive message to appear. That iPhone 8 and 8 Plus (and leased a television ad pok-
and other forward-looking apps with a combination of means lifting your phone older models), so there’s ing fun at the iPhone and
gizmos. swipe, hold, press and tap; from the desk or tilting wasted black space on the features that previously
SWIPE, SWIPE, SWIPE good thing I don’t need to your head (at least without X’s wider display. appeared on Samsung
Fortunately, the new ges- do this often. changing settings). Where the X screen im- Galaxy phones. Samsung
tures are mostly simple. In- FACE ID But if you’re already look- proves most is in sporting phones, for instance, have
stead of pressing the home Facial recognition works ing at the phone, it’s much OLED technology, which had OLED for years, though
button to return to the fairly well for unlocking faster to log into apps that has no backlight — so early versions weren’t that
home screen, you swipe up the phone, even if you’re used to require a fingerprint. black is truly black rather great.
from the bottom. Swiping sweating and shaking dur- Face ID automatically kicks than simply dark. While From Apple’s standpoint,
up used to get you settings ing a run. It also works in in; no need to move your Samsung made the iPhone what makes the iPhone X its
in the Control Center; now the dark — if you align your thumb. And when buying X’s OLED display, Display- roadmap for the next de-
you swipe down from the face just right. I’m near- things with Apple Pay, you Mate, a tester of screens, cade isn’t any single fea-
top right instead. sighted, so I hold my phone verify a transaction before credits Apple with addi- ture or technology, but a
I knew I’d mastered it when close when checking in tapping the phone at a tional calibration to edge combination of hardware
I thought an old iPhone bed without glasses. I have payment reader; there’s no out Samsung’s own Note and software. The front sen-
was defective because to remember to hold the waiting for your fingerprint. 8 as the best smartphone sors, for instance, enable
I couldn’t swipe. Use the phone several inches back ABOUT THAT SCREEN display. augmented-reality appli-
home button — duh! for Face ID. And I have to The iPhone X screen has What still takes getting used cations, including animat-
It can still be confusing avoid squinting; Apple says about the same surface to is a small, rectangular ed emojis that mirror your
while watching video eyes need to be fully open. area as the iPhone 8 Plus notch at the top edge for facial muscle movements.
horizontally, as the swip- By default, full notifications in a body that’s almost the camera and sensors. I sent friends and family a
ing edge moves to the don’t appear on the lock as narrow as the regular It’s like a sun visor that flips few creepy ones of me ani-
new bottom. I’m used to screen. You might see that iPhone 8. But video isn’t as down, occasionally block- mated as poop.
the home button on the your cousin had sent a mes- large as on the Plus. Vid- ing your view. Fortunately, Taken together, the addi-
right — and tried to swipe sage, but Face ID needs eo tends to be optimized it’s been noticeable in only tions point to where Apple
there. It’s also more convo- to recognize you for the for the dimensions of the a handful of apps — and is heading. q

Hydrogen-powered trains to

run on German rails from 2021

BERLIN (AP) — Commuters The trains will begin oper- mph).
in northern Germany will ating on routes between Hydrogen engines emit
be able to travel on the Cuxhaven, Bremerhaven, only water vapor and are
world’s first hydrogen-pow- Bremervoerde and Bux- considered one of the
ered trains in four years’ tehude from December cleanest forms of trans-
time. 2021. portation. The trains will
French engineering giant Alstom said Thursday that replace diesel vehicles on
Alstom says it has signed the Coradia iLint trains non-electrified tracks.
an agreement to deliver will have a range of up to There are plans to produce
In this Sept 20, 2016 file photo visitors look at an Alstom 14 fuel-cell trains to LNVG, 1,000 kilometers (621 miles) the hydrogen using elec-
hydrogen-powered train at the InnoTrans international trade
fair for transport technology in Berlin. a rail company in Germa- and a maximum speed of tricity from Lower Saxony’s
Associated Press ny’s Lower Saxony state. 140 kilometers per hour (87 many wind turbines.q