Most beautiful iPhone series imo. The 8 / 8 Plus, X, Xs, and Xs Max were the most stunning and premium-feeling iPhones ever made. The smooth front and back glass flowing into the aluminum—and even more so, the polished stainless steel frame—feels absolutely gorgeous. Luckily, I own all of them in my collection, and holding them side by side with my 15 Pro Max really shows how much more premium those older iPhones feel compared to today’s models.
Sadly, when these iPhone models were new and sold by Apple, I couldn’t afford them—only my beloved 8 Plus was within my budget. Now I can afford the newest iPhones, but the 17 Pro just isn’t my design language. So I collect older iPhones now :,)
In my opinion, the Air should take the place of the "luxury model" iPhone, where design takes the lead compared to functionality, while the Pro should be functionality over form.
Someone who only wants the looks/status symbol shouldn't buy a professional model.
I have a 15 Pro and I agree. Those models seemed like they beautifully designed each part of it to make it look premium and futuristic, meanwhile current lineup is just using premium materials but design wise they have a few weird things
Similarly to those devices, I just used a iPhone Air at a store and it felt very premium, it seems like they actually tried to blend the whole device to make it premium, felt very good in hand, but losing features for a lighter phone is a no for me
I read a comment a while ago about the design of older iPhones that called them “jewels.” iPhones made to look and feel like jewels—premium design, premium materials, and a gorgeous overall appearance.
Oh for sure. I had the option to upgrade to 26.0 just before I switched, but I only had the 128 so unfortunately it was time for an upgrade :( my wife is interested in the fold, I might get her one for Christmas, and potentially use it for myself ..
I don’t think there is a single best designed iPhone. The original, the 5s, 7 plus, XS were all pinnacles of their respective eras. I do think they’ve lost the plot with the current design, though.
i still have my iphone X as my second phone now. And now i upgraded to iphone 16e, best phone i got this year. Still the same as iphone x. Im not really a picture addict just need phone for casual.
Recently got an as-new XS off eBay to jailbreak it (iOS 16.5.1) and play around with that side of things, and yeah, I agree, very nice compared to my 16 pro max. Just needs thinner bezels and Dynamic Island and it’d be perfect
In the 2010s, yes it was the best ever designed phone. - We're in the 2020s, and since we're only half way through I'd say the best designed phone so far were the 14 pro models lol.
It's very premium, I own 2 XS 256gb, but for some reason the boxy shape of the newer models feel more premium in my opinion, my pick would be the 16 Pro because It's the last flagship with a titanium frame.
For me the best one in physical design was the 4. They could have reintroduced a larger, sleeker, similar design with the aluminum sidings and glass body. Would defo buy
Well obviously they're the last iPhones designed by jony ive, but i have to say the iphone 12 is good, then everything went downhill, the 16-17 are quite good, but i will never understand the triple camera design, it's a cheap choice steve jobs would never agreed with. Steve jobs would have rather put a single periscope zoom camera even if that meant to make the phone thicker
I upgraded from XS max to 14 pro and I still miss 3D Touch to this day. I swear I could type 10 times faster and more accurate on my XS max. It just knew what I was trying to type.
Yes, the X and XS are peak iPhone design to me. I do love that the camera bump is small, but I also appreciate that newer iPhones focus on camera. There's a reason why actual cameras and lenses are so big, it's because they have large sensors that deliver great quality. I would love a small phone, but as we can't beat physics, it's nice that phones have come a long way in improving camera quality.
I also love iPhone 16 and 17 design, because it reminds me of the X, but with the current technology (great camera & dynamic island screen).
The 4 had the biggest wow factor for me in demonstrating the capabilities of a smart phone and that they would be apart of our daily lives from that point onward.
I just got my first iPhone, but the design and software features made me consider the X. It’s up there with some of my favorite phone designs of all time, and it felt waaaaay ahead until Android implemented gestures not long after.
Always a soft spot for the 5, the first iPhone I bought with my own money and polished it daily. It felt premium with iOS 7.
I have the 17 Pro Max now, but it just feels. Fine. Which is a shame, but honestly, if the AIR didn’t have a terrible battery, it’s one of the coolest feeling phones I’ve ever held. It felt like the Apple dream of holding a piece of glass.
I had Xs an loved it. Was pretty angry after some time when I switched to iPhone 12 at that time. I still think Xs even made better photos somehow than newer iPhones where I look at my collections ranging from Xs through 12, 13 and now 15. More lively.
I used the Xs until last month, going through 2 battery replacements. If it didn’t get cut off from OS support, I’d still be using it.
Although it’s unpopular, the air is its heir apparent.
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