Apple cofounder Steve Wozniak was very outspoken about the iPhone X from the beginning: he didn't like it that much. It's a great phone, sure — but how much greater than Apple's other iPhone models from last year, and the year before that?
While Wozniak's observations were debatable, he actually had a point. Smartphone design and innovation has come to a standstill not because companies have run out of ideas but that there's simply not that much room for improvement left.
Smartphone Innovations
The battery could be increased, sure — but that would thicken the phone overall, which is simply bad design. The screen-to-body ratio could be improved, but how much further? The cameras could be better, but they're already pretty excellent. Because the typical flagship of the modern era is already very good, consumers end up with things such as Face ID, two cameras, and all sorts of things that could easily be branded as gimmicks. So it's not such a surprise that Wozniak himself was unimpressed by the iPhone X.
At least at first he was. When Apple sent him one, he had a slight change of heart, saying he liked it.
However, Wozniak has shared new comments about the phone, criticizing its usability. As Business Insider reports, Wozniak brought something up during his talk at the Nordic Business Forum that makes him angry, which is "when computers and machinery tricks you," using the iPhone X as an example.
"The power button on the side does different things if you click it quickly, or if you click it twice, and a different thing if you click it a third time," said Wozniak.
Apple's Design Principles
Such a complicated method of clicking infuriates Wozniak because, as he explains, he likes gadgets to be simple and direct. He goes as far as to argue that the issues of the iPhone X go against Apple's vision of creating simple, intuitive, and easy-to-understand devices, and that it's an affront to Apple's core design principle of "modelessness."
Wozniak also mentioned the different actions triggered by pressing the iPhone X's side button in various ways:
"And if you push it with the volume button it does another thing. And if you push and hold the volume button it does another thing. Just, ugh!"
Wozniak's frustrations with the iPhone X doesn't stop at the button actions, however. Right after the phone launched, he shared skepticism over its Face ID feature, saying he wasn't sure if it would work as intended.
What do you think? Is the iPhone X too complicated? As always, feel free to sound off in the comments section below!
