Yes: Jack Cruz-Alvarez

Apple surprised many at their last product launch event when they revealed not one, not two, but three new iPhones. The most impressive of these new models was the iPhone X (which is pronounced “iPhone Ten” contrary to popular belief). The phone includes a variety of new features that Apple customers have been waiting for, including better cameras, better battery life, face recognition and a wider screen. But the upgrade also comes with a new price tag; the iPhone X starts at $999 for the 64GB model, making it the most expensive iPhone to ever go on the market. Regardless, if you are looking for a major upgrade from Apple’s previous models, the iPhone X is worth the scary new price.

The X model offers features the iPhones 8 and 8 Plus, the other two models announced at Apple’s latest product launch event, cannot. It includes portrait mode for the front-facing camera and portrait lighting, Face ID, wireless charging and an edge-to-edge screen as well as generally longer battery life and higher quality images. While other new design features seem controversial at the moment, like the lack of a home button and the use of Face ID to unlock your phone, early reviews have said they are not too difficult to use and Apple has assured its customers that because it analyses faces in 3-D, the chances that someone could fool Face ID by holding a picture of you up to the camera are “one in a million.” Besides, we lost the aux cord with the iPhone 7 and we all seemed to get over that right?

If the price is still too high and you are worried about not being able to pay for data, there are some surprisingly cheap options out there. Sprint’s single-line promotion, offering a free year of unlimited data, has not ended yet and is available to customers switching over from other carriers (customers will have to pay some initial costs for things like activation and some monthly fees, but the total comes nowhere near the amount one would pay normally with Sprint’s $60/month rate). Other companies like T-Mobile and Cricket are offering similar promotions for single and family plans. Phone companies understand that the new technology out there is not cheap and are trying to reel in new customers by lessening a lot of the burden of buying a new phone. Take advantage of the corporate greed!

In our iPhone-dominated society, we all need to keep up with Apple’s upgrades. You do not want to be left behind when your friends start solely communicating in animated poop emojis. If you can, spring for the new upgrade. Treat yourself and let yourself bask in the glory of exceptional technological advancement.

No: Alexis Garcia-Ruiz

Ever since Apple announced the prospective release of three all new iPhone models, the reactions to the iPhone X—marketed as the most revolutionary of the three—have been feverish to say the least. Even some loyal customers are anxious about many aspects of this new gadget, flooding Apple with questions and concerns about the new features. Among the flaunted features are a better camera, a longer battery life, a wider screen than ever and, of course, the infamous Face ID. While all of these technologies may entice some people, the $999 price tag is not so convincing

To any current iPhone owner, Touch ID is a beloved, tested and reliable means of protection. On the iPhone X, the facial recognition software Face ID—which seems to pose a lot of potential issues— will replace Touch ID. Despite Apple’s many bold claims that Face ID will be less prone to hacking than Touch ID, and that it will accurately recognize changes in people’s faces and be able to recognize them in the dark, technology is never entirely unerring. The possibility that people will find ways to trick the phone into unlocking by holding a photo of the owner up to the camera still exists. The undeniably eerie fact that facial recognition—a software that will store detailed, analytic images of faces— will be available on a common gadget also feels like a major invasion of privacy. It seems like maybe people should start more carefully considering just how much personal data they want to keep on their phone.

Beyond the potential faults in the promised technological features, a more concrete deterrent lies in the fact that many of the iPhone X’s “new” technologies are not actually new or unique to the X model at all. Aside from Face ID and a wider screen, the iPhone X lacks the exclusivity its price suggests; wireless charging, waterproofing and high definition camera quality—though great features—also exist in the cheaper iPhone 8 and 8+ models, which go for $300 less than the X. Even the advertised Animoji feature unique to the iPhone X is merely a slightly more sophisticated—and also slightly creepier—version of popular Snapchat filters. In other words, customers would be spending an extra $300 on a phone with virtually identical functions to the more affordable iPhone 8 and 8+.

It seems like the design for the iPhone X pays far more attention to creating a new, luxurious look rather than upgrading its function. Yet, the unprecedentedly high price of this model suggests that perhaps Apple felt its few innovative technological advances warranted a price that reflected them. Though the lavish, sleek appearance may fool some, careful consideration of what features legitimately demonstrate a revolutionary new concept reveals that the iPhone X is not worth the price.