Time includes iPhone X in its list of '25 Best Inventions of 2017'

Time Magazine has named the iPhone X as one of the '25 Best Inventions of 2017,' calling Apple's flagship mobile device 'arguably the world's most sophisticated smartphone' over its new display, its augmented reality applications, and the inclusion of Face ID.

The annual unordered list by Time Magazine selected by its editors starts off the iPhone X section by calling it "A Smarter Smartphone" as a title. The text starts by quoting Apple SVP of hardware engineering Dan Ricco, who said "I look at the design as something we really wanted to do since day one," which the article then goes on to comment "It's easy to see why."

The initial highlights of the article reference the sophistication of the iPhone X, with its OLED screen "that stretches from edge to edge," and referencing the A11 Bionic Chip and its Neural engine as the "processor optimized for augmented reality." The TrueDepth array and Apple's Face ID system, the "camera smart enough to allow users to unlock the phone with their face," is also highlighted in the opening paragraph.

While complimentary, the article also points out that Apple wasn't the initiator of these technologies, advising "some of these features first arrived on devices from Samsung and LG" as an aside.

A large section is dedicated to the switch from Touch ID and the Home button to Face ID and gestures, with Time likening it to Apple's decision to remove the headphone jack from the iPhone 7. An interview with chief design officer Jony Ive is referenced as an explanation, quoting the drive of the company in "looking to the future," and that holding onto long-standing features, whatever the cost, "is a path that leads to failure."

Ive is also brought up in explaining the high $999 cost of the iPhone X, advising "As you would expect, there's a financial consequence to integrating the sheer amount of processing power into such a small device."

Apple's plans for future iPhones were not mentioned by Ive or Ricco, but Ive suggests "We have a clear vision" for the next device generation, and that the iPhone X is "in some sense a completion of a chapter."

Other inventions and innovations on the list include the self-heating Ember Mug, Halo Top ice cream, elevators capable of moving in multiple directions, NASA's Mars InSight lander, and fidget spinners.

In Time's list of the "50 Most Influential Gadgets of All Time" published in 2016, the magazine gave the iPhone top billing, for popularizing the concept of mobile apps. Other Apple products on the list included the original Macintosh at No. 3, the iPod at No. 9, the iPad at No. 25, and iBook at No. 38.