By Sammi Dorfan (’18)
Mallrats and cyber nerds pitched tents outside Apple stores all over the country in anticipation of the big reveal during the 24 hours preceding November 3. Enraged citizens around the country who spent one sleepless night on floors that smelled of cleaning spray say that their new iPhones- X-tra smart, X-tra immersive, X-tra resistant- are no longer in their pockets, at their houses, in their handbags, or anywhere, for that matter.
Alan Galicot (‘19) is one of the only iPhone X users at the San Diego Jewish Academy, and luckily for him, he hasn’t yet been victimized by iPhone X uprising of 2017. In fact, he’s more attuned to the reliability of his new phone than to its proclivity for disappearing. Galicot says, “I just turn on my phone, it sees my face, and it just opens really fast. Day or night it always works.”
Galicot recognizes that the new phone “is really futuristic,” but he isn’t aware of just how futuristic it really is. Apple prides itself on the fact that they created an iPhone “so immersive that the device itself disappears into the experience.” While Galicot praises the iPhone X in many other ways, he doesn’t feel like Apple has achieved its goal. In this respect, Galicot is in the minority.
Though they aren’t yet iPhone X owners, other SDJA students feel that Apple has gone above and beyond in achieving their goal. Jarett Grolman (‘18) has witnessed the new iPhone pulling its disappearing act and says, “It’s just gone. It becomes so realistic that you don’t see it as a phone, but rather as reality.”
The interesting thing is that although the phones disappear into reality, they are still somewhat reachable. Users report hearing their iPhones unlock, despite them not being in their possession. This makes sense when we consider what Galicot said about the phone’s extreme reliability. He continued, “It literally just has to see my eyes and the lock in the corner of the screen unlocks.” So as distraught users search in between couch cushions among popcorn kernels and remote batteries, they may not be able to see their phones, but their iPhone Xs can certainly see them.
Sophia Flores (‘18) is also in the know about the iPhone X’s newest stunt and thinks that Apple should have chosen their words more wisely when composing their vision for the new iPhone because using the word “disappear” makes iPhones think that they can do just that. While watching her friend search frantically for her new device, Flores said, “You don’t even realize that it’s a phone anymore. Without it, you grow crazy because you think of it as a necessity.”
While it isn’t just the iPhone X that has become an extension of users’ arms, this is the only phone that portrays reality with such a frightening amount of verisimilitude that the phone itself becomes reality. Daniela Surpin (‘20), who has an older iPhone model, says, “I’m happy for Apple that they have such advanced technology, but I feel bad for the people who’ve paid a lot of money just for their phones to disappear.”
So, look up! Let your iPhone out of your sight voluntarily so that you can see your reality through your own eyes rather than through your phone’s camera lens. In the wise words of Nanny McPhee, “When you need me, but do not want me, then I will stay. When you want me, but do not need me, then I have to go.” Use your phones when you truly need them, not when you want them. Call up relatives, text friends, but don’t become so absorbed in the abyss that your wants become needs.
The Lions' Den 