By Luis Mila

At Apple’s annual iPhone event, which took place on Sept. 12, three new iPhone models were revealed: the iPhone X, iPhone 8, and the iPhone 8 Plus. Those who attended Apple’s event were given a preview of the new phones, and even had the opportunity of having a hands-on experience with the new devices. Many of the reviews thus far are positive, raving about the upgrades in both technology and appearance.

One of the new features that the media has been buzzing about is the iPhone X’s facial recognition. Apple posted a video on twitter which demonstrates how the iPhone X no longer has a home button, meaning that there’s no more touch-ID, which many people made use of to easily input pass codes when needed. With facial recognition, it is now possible to unlock, pay, and even use the new ‘Animoji’ feature through iMessage, just by looking directly into the device’s improved cameras.

Say hello to the future. iPhone X.

— Apple (@Apple) September 12, 2017

The iPhone X has its speaker, microphone, and camera lenses all at the top of the screen now, allowing for a more “immersive” experience on the screen, as stated by tech guru Marques Brownlee in his video reviewing the three new iPhones. Instead of just a front camera, people now have access to a dot projector, an infrared camera, a flood illuminator (used to project artificial light over large areas), a proximity sensor (to detect depth), and an ambient light sensor.

On the back of the iPhone X, you have stabilized, vertical dual 12 megapixel cameras (allowing for over 12 million pixels in a single photo), slow-motion at 1080p, with up to 240fps (frames per second), optical zoom, a greater, more uniform flash , and portrait lighting. Apple’s video shows more characteristics of portrait lighting, and another new feature on the iPhone X of augmented reality.

What about features from older iPhone models such as the control center, going home, and multitasking which required the physical home button? Well, now iPhone users have gestures to get used to. Going home is swiping up from the bottom of the screen, multitasking is swiping only half-way up, swipe down from the middle-top section of the screen to view notifications, swipe down from the upper right corner for the control panel, and swipe down from the center of the screen to search. iPhone X users have a lot to learn, but critics have said they got used to these gestures very quickly after a few minutes of using them.

Many people have been commenting about the striking similarities in appearance in everything except the glass cover on the back between the iPhone 8 and 8 Plus and the iPhone 7 and 7s. However, there are multiple upgrades that the iPhone 8 has undergone, which CNET covers in a short video. Just like the iPhone X, the iPhone 8 features portrait mode, and better cameras. Portrait mode has diverse sensors, and a variety of lighting effects that can optimize a picture to make it look stunning without any professional equipment. A new processor in the phone, along with an upgraded GPU (graphics processing unit) and enhanced tracking makes augmented reality better and smoother than it ever was before.

To no surprise, Apple fanatic iJustine attended Apple’s annual event. She documented her experience and reviewed the new iPhones on YouTube. Immediately when she held the iPhone 8 in her hands for the first time she mentioned how “It has an awesome feel to it.” As Justine got the chance to hold and toy with the iPhone X, she mentioned how surprised she was, taking note of how it was a lot smaller when compared to the iPhone 7 Plus. This is made up for with it’s massive screen, and lack of buttons. She laughingly comments about how photographers will go out of business from the portrait mode feature, since it enhances photos to a whole new level, and can make them look as if they were taken in a professional studio. Justine concludes her review of the new iPhones stating that she will be purchasing the iPhone X for sure (in silver), as it has a much better display and camera, and how she’s excited for other devices that Apple will release in the future.

Both the iPhone 8 and 8 Plus come in gold, silver, and space gray, with a capacity of either 64 GB or 256 GB. The difference between the sizes of the phone is about an inch, with the 8 being 4.7 inches, and the 8 Plus being 5.5 inches. The iPhone X only has two color variations of silver, and space gray, with the same capacity as the iPhone 8 and 8 Plus. Pre-orders for the iPhone 8 and 8 Plus start on September 15th, and phones will start shipping on September 22nd, with a starting price of $699 for the 8 and $799 for the 8 Plus . Pre-orders for the iPhone X will start on October 27th and will ship on November 3rd, with a starting price of $999.

Do you think you’ll be buying one of Apple’s newest iPhones?