We Got Mindy Kaling to Give Us Her Take on the New iPhone X
The lore surrounding the upcoming iPhone X (out Friday, November 3) has officially reached a fever pitch—from mounting anxiety surrounding a demand that may reportedly outnumber supply to a much-debated new facial recognition feature (a James Bond–ian widget that lets your mug do the unlocking). But while most of us will have to wait until Friday (or longer) to get our hands on the tenth-anniversary iPhone, Mindy Kaling got to road-test one all weekend long. So we got her to give us her take on the glass-backed, wireless, face-enhancing, face-reading, face-contouring mega-phone.
“I usually don’t care about getting new versions of anything,” Kaling admitted. “When I get an update for my computer, I always click ‘remind me later’ until months go by and my computer starts smoking.”
Nevertheless, she tells Glamour the new iPhone is “so legit.” Here are five ways The Mindy Project star thinks the new phone will “upgrade you.”
1. Face ID
Of all the new features in the iPhone X, this one has gotten the most buzz. There’s no Touch ID (nor is there a home button, for that matter); instead, your face unlocks the phone. According to an Apple release, the “TrueDepth camera projects and analyzes more than 30,000 invisible dots to create a precise depth map of your face.” So you can use your face to do everything from unlocking your phone to using Apple Pay.
“Like a villain in a thrilling dystopian science fiction movie, my face is now my password,” reports Kaling. “Face ID works indoors, outdoors and in the dark, so when you have a 3:00 A.M. panic attack, you can be on your phone spiraling even sooner.”
2. Wireless Charging
Both the new iPhone 8 and iPhone X have glass backs, allowing—at last!—for wireless charging. “I can now charge my iPhone wirelessly by placing it on a little puck by my bed,” says Kaling. “This just looks cool.”
PHOTO: Courtesy Apple
3. Portrait Lighting
Apple has seriously bumped up the camera on the iPhone X (as well as the iPhone 8, for that matter), including redesigned rear lenses with improved image stabilization—meaning crisper photos, even in low lighting. On the X, a new feature called Portrait Lighting builds on the previous “Portrait Mode” by offering the ability to adjust any portrait-style photos you may take with shadows, lighting effects, and more. In a nutshell, you’re going to waste a lot of time on this phone taking and editing selfies.
Kaling was officially impressed. “We all love Portrait mode, but this is insane,” she says. “I literally never have to wear makeup or shower ever again, my photos will always make me look like Priyanka Chopra.”
4. Water- and Dust-Resistant
This might seem like a no-brainer, but haven’t we all experienced some water “incident” that resulted feverish, poor decision making to attempt a rescue, like dropping an iPhone into a bag of rice? “I treat my phone basically like a coaster for diet sodas,” Kaling says, “so this is a must.”
PHOTO: Courtesy Apple
5. Animojis
Aside from the Face ID, Animojis is probably the most-discussed new iPhone X feature. In addition to the TrueDepth camera allowing your face to unlock your phone, it also has the ability to animate your expressions in a series of emoji—from the panda to the unicorn to, yes, the poop emoji—dubbed “Animoji.” You can then send these as iMessages to your friends. If you think sending an Animoji of yourself to someone sounds dorky, Kaling disagrees: “Mark my words: Animojis are the future. Imagine how this could take the edge off of tough conversations! ‘Warren, I no longer love you, I’m leaving you’ sounds so much more palatable coming from an animated panda head!” OK, point made.