14 DAY TRIAL // The iPhone X is projected to hit the shelves on November 3 as the most dramatic overhaul of the iPhone in its 10 years on the market, and the Apple designer in charge of the device says it was all a huge effort for the company to finish this project.
Jony Ive says in an interview with Japanese design magazine Casa Brutus that the iPhone X took no less than two years to build, explaining that features like Face ID and the TrueDepth camera required additional work to make sure that everything works flawlessly.
Ive reckons that the iPhone X was the most difficult model the Cupertino-based tech giant ever developed, adding that it was just a coincidence that Apple actually finished work on the device in time for the tenth anniversary of the iPhone.
Discussing the addition of facial recognition cameras and the removal of Touch ID, the Apple design chief explained that Face ID offers a substantially improved experience to the user and, what’s more, helps the company get closer to an interface with less input from the user.
Production struggles
The iPhone X indeed represents a departure from the traditional design of the iPhone and reports from people familiar with the matter indeed indicated that Apple had to deal with several issues before starting mass production of the device.
One particular component that caused a production delay was the display. Apple originally wanted to embed the fingerprint sensor into the screen and thus retain Touch ID on the new model, but the project eventually failed due to reasons that weren’t detailed, including scanning accuracy. Eventually, Apple decided to give up entirely on Touch ID, with sources indicating that the company even considered moving the fingerprint sensor to the back of the phone.
The iPhone X is projected to become available next month, but analysts already forecast a new delay to December due to limited supply. Apple hasn’t yet commented on any potential delay.