After a series of announcements of new devices that felt to some people like rehashed versions of the same phones, this keynote was always going to be special because of its location.
In the Steve Jobs Theatre, Cook told the audience of 1000 the iPhone X "will set the path for technology for the next decade."
Cook was talking big game after recapping the past ten years of iPhone, and teasing the top-end model with the phrase "One more thing..."
Apple diehards in the crowd let out whoops and cheers throughout the keynote announcement, but the cheering when the phrase, one of Jobs' favourite, was used was on another level.
It's easy to forget how revolutionary the full touchscreen of the iPhone was in 2007 and how much it has changed since then.
But, reporters who were at that announcement at Macworld ten years ago remember how exciting it was for them. One of those reporters said this announcement was the most exciting he had attended since.
The thing about the iPhone X that will carry it through the future will be its technological advancements, particularly in facial recognition and augmented reality.
The facial recognition technology used for security and to unlock the phone is so advanced it would only be fooled 1 in 1 million cases, Apple said today.
The possibilities with augmented reality are increasingly going to be part of the world we live in, and the technology in the cameras of the iPhone X and iPhone 8 Plus will make it easier and better to experience.
- Sophie Ryan travelled to California courtesy of Apple