iPhone 8 is here, but not in the form many expected it. After months of leaks, Apple performed a switcheroo with the expected iPhone 8 branded ‘iPhone X’ and iPhone 7S and iPhone 7S Plus becoming the iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus. The latter two again look identical to previous generations so should you be disappointed?
In short: maybe. The bad news is continues to push out what are now four generation old designs, but on the flip side there are a lot of internal upgrades which may steer you away from the radical yet jaw droppingly expensive iPhone X.
iPhone 8 (left) vs iPhone 8 Plus (right) look virtually identical to their predecessors, but a lot... [+] has changed
AppleSo let’s break down the crucial differences between the iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus…
Design & Size - More Glass, More Bulk
Anyone hoping Apple would redesign its entire iPhone range is in for disappointment. While the iPhone X got a full overhaul, the iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus are almost identical to every iPhone since the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus. And what they have changed is controversial.
The aluminium backs of their predecessors have been swapped for glass (something Apple had discarded since the iPhone 4S) while the change in materials has made the new models both slightly thicker and noticeably heavier than what came before:
- iPhone 8 - 138.4 x 67.3 x 7.3 mm (5.45 x 2.65 x 0.29 in) and 148g (5.22 oz)
- iPhone 8 Plus - 158.4 x 78.1 x 7.5 mm (6.28 x 3.07 x 0.32 in) and 202g (7.13 oz)
The big change is weight with the iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus over 7% heavier than the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus respectively and a hefty 15.6% and 17.5% heavier than the original incarnation of their design in the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus.
Glass backs add to the weight of the iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus, but they do bring wireless charging
AppleGlass and weight aside, a lot will look familiar. In contrast to the iPhone X, the iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus retain the same sizeable top and bottom bezels but that means you do still have a home button and Touch ID which has been scrubbed from the iPhone X in favour of Face ID facial recognition (more in the ‘Performance’ section).
While glass will have some users (rightly) concerned about durability, the iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus do have the same IP67 water and dust resistance as their immediate predecessors which protects them in up to 1.5m of water for up to 30 minutes. Rigid Series 7000 Aluminium is also still at the core of their chassis.
iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus are IP67 dust and water resistant
AppleOne subtle boost is both the iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus have 25% louder stereo speakers than the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus with Apple again using the earpiece for amplified audio. On the flipside the headphone hasn’t come back (it was never likely to) and Lightning remains the connector of choice despite some hopeful, if naive, reports Apple would adopt USB Type-C like the rest of the industry.
As for finishes, the iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus actually have less color options with just Silver, Gold and Space Grey (yes it’s back) available at launch and Rose Gold, Black and Jet Black (not really necessary with a glass finish) being ditched. Expect (Product) Red editions at some stage though.
Displays - LED Outcasts
While the iPhone X finally saw Apple make the jump to OLED, the iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus retain the same core specs as its previous three incarnations:
- iPhone 8 - 4.7-inch LED-backlit IPS LCD, 1334 x 750 pixels (326 ppi), 65.6% screen-to-body ratio
- iPhone 8 Plus - 5.5-inch LED-backlit IPS LCD, 1920 x 1080 pixels (401 ppi), 67.7% screen-to-body ratio
Look closer, however, and Apple has again eked out a little more performance.
iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus has True Tone displays for enhanced color accuracy
AppleWhile there’s no improvement in typical areas like contrast ratio (1400:1) and brightness (625 cd/m2 max) Apple has added support for the ‘True Tone’ technology it first debuted with the iPad Pro range. True Tone reacts to environmental lighting to ensure colors are accurate at all times and, combined with the existing wider (P3) color gamut support, it should result in professional grade results.
Meanwhile movie fans will enjoy the addition of Dolby Vision and HDR10 for higher dynamic range while watching content on HDR-compatible services like Netflix, Amazon Video and Apple’s own iTunes. Given Apple announced it will now sell 4K HDR content at the same price as 1080p going forward this is a tangible bonus to have.
Performance - Faster And Smarter
While the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus are arguably still the fastest smartphones around, the iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus are going to increase Apple’s lead.
- iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus - Apple A11 ‘Bionic’ chipset: Six Core CPU, Six Core GPU, M11 motion coprocessor, 3GB RAM (iPhone 8 Plus), 2GB RAM (iPhone 8)
As usual Apple hasn’t dished out detailed clock speeds, but it does claim their 64-bit, six core processors (two performance cores, four high-efficiency cored) will be 25% faster than the A10 chip in the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus when using the performance cores and 70% faster using the high efficiency cores.
Apple touts iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus for advanced gaming and AR
AppleApple also says multithreaded workloads (key for multitasking) will be 70% faster and graphics will be 30% faster and match the A10 with half the power consumption. This is seriously impressive and will go a long way to realising Apple's dream to put Augmented Reality (AR) into the mainstream following the release of its 'ARKit' to developers.
As for the ‘Bionic’ part to the A11’s name, that comes from its integrated dual-core Neural engine which handles all the image processing required for Face ID. Unlike other facial recognitions systems, Face ID maps a user’s face in 3D and “learns” as a user grows a beard or changes their haircut - the result? The Neural engine handles up to 600 billion operations per second and Apple claims none of the information it gathers is sent to Apple. And yet neither the iPhone 8 nor the iPhone 8 Plus will access it as Face ID is reserved for the iPhone X only - shame.
As for the elephant in the room? The iPhone 8 still doesn’t get the same amount of RAM as the iPhone 8 Plus, but the latter drives a higher resolution display and dual cameras (more next) which require the extra horsepower.
iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus cameras look identical and computational upgrades should improve... [+] performance
AppleCameras - Physically Similar, Computationally Different
In recent years Samsung and then Google has taken the camera crown away from Apple and on paper it doesn’t look like the iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus will represent a huge leap forward from the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus.
Why? Because the new phones retain many of the same hardware specifications as their predecessors.
The iPhone 8 retains a single 12 megapixel wide-angle sensor with f/1.8 aperture and optical image stabilisation. While the iPhone 8 Plus adds a 12 megapixel telephoto camera with lowly f/2.8 aperture and no OIS (just like the iPhone 7 Plus). The latter two specs impacted the performance of the iPhone 7 Plus, particularly in low light.
Apple is promoting significant upgrades to portrait photography
AppleMeanwhile on the front both the iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus offer the same seven megapixel sensor and f/2.2 aperture as their predecessors and OIS is still missing. So why do I expect improvements? It’s all down to the A11 Bionic chip.
The chip has specific camera-centric improvements including an Apple-designed ISP (Image Signal Processor) which adds improved pixel processing, faster low-light autofocus and noise reduction. Furthermore the image samples Apple showed off look superb, but users will have to be able to recreate them if Apple is to save a game it has been losing for several years now.
iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus Portrait Lighting will be a major breakthrough if it works as advertised
AppleBattery Life And Charging - Not Longer, But Faster And Wireless
Despite all the efficiencies of the new A11 Bionic chip in the iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus, on the specs page for both phones Apple simply says “Lasts about the same as iPhone 7” under the iPhone 8 and “Lasts about the same as iPhone 7 Plus” under the iPhone 8 Plus. Yes, really and it shows:
iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus battery life has not improved from their predecessors
AppleWhile this is no bad thing for the iPhone 8 Plus, the smaller iPhone has been disappointing for some time and that won’t be changing with the iPhone 8.
But there is some much needed compensation as Apple has at long long last finally caught up with rivals and added both fast charging and wireless charging support to the iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus.
Apple says you can expect a 50% charge from 30 minutes of wired fast charging which isn’t quite up with the fastest results you’ll get from rival Android phones (notably OnePlus), but it’s a dramatic improvement on previous iPhones.
iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus bring wireless charging and fast wired charging
AppleMeanwhile wireless charging comes via Apple (surprisingly) playing nice and adopting the Qi standard. This won’t be fast charging (though Qi offers it) and Apple will customise the standard with a charging plate later in the year that supports up to three devices and shows their charge levels all on an iPhone’s home screen, but it’s a start.
Storage And Price - Fewer Options, Higher Prices
Last year Apple finally ditched its woeful 16GB entry point, and now it has ditched 32GB as well. Consequently both the iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus start at 64GB but only have two storage options available not three:
- iPhone 8 - 64GB ($699), 256GB ($849)
- iPhone 8 Plus - 64GB ($799), 256GB ($949)
Yes, the midrange 128GB sweet spot has gone and the base prices are up $50 and $30 respectively but the 256GB top tier is relatively unchanged from last year (iPhone 7 $849, iPhone 8 $969). Meanwhile the premium iPhone X will start from $999 (64GB) and rise to $1,149 (256GB) which could see a lot of potential upgraders opt for the iPhone 8 or iPhone 8 Plus instead.
At the same time Apple has knocked $100 off the iPhone 7, iPhone 7 Plus, iPhone 6S and iPhone 6S Plus and $50 off the iPhone SE which will all be retained giving Apple a dizzying array of options. Note just 32GB and 128GB options will be available in these models going forward.
iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus will attract buyers scared off by the iPhone X price tag
AppleBottom Line
Understandably 2017 will be known as the year of the iPhone X, but with that phone now costing well into four figures (all US prices are listed before tax), unavailable for months and ditching Touch ID, I suspect many will opt for the familiar figures of the iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus instead.
Personally I think both phones are more ‘iPhone 7S’ and ‘iPhone 7S Plus’ than the new monikers Apple has given them and they won’t set the heart racing but they do deliver tangible speed improvements, should up Apple’s low light photography game and fast charging in particular is hugely welcome (if ridiculously overdue).
As always the greater battery life, sharper display and dual cameras of the iPhone 8 Plus make it the model to get if you can afford the extra outlay - but the iPhone 8 is easily going to be the most accomplished small form factor phone of the year.
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