The iPhone 8 is made from an “Aerospace-grade aluminum” covered in glass which is then reinforced by an aluminum structure. This new phone comes in space gray, silver and gold finishes. Apple says that it is the “Most durable glass ever in a smartphone”. It is also microscopically sealed making it water and dust resistant. The iPhone 8 has a 4.7″ and 5.5″ “Super Retina display”. The display still supports 3D Touch and now has a True Tone cinema wide color gamut display. To go along with the cinema wide color gamut display are stereo speakers that are 70% than the ones found on the iPhone 7.
Inside there is a new A11 Bionic chip. This new chip has a 6-core CPU and 4.3 billion transistors. According to Apple compared to the A10 the 2 performance scores are 25% faster, the 4 High-efficiency cores are 70% faster, and the 2nd Generation Apple Designed performance controller is 70% faster-multithreaded workloads. Also, Apple states that the Apple-designed GPU is 30% faster than the A10 and consumes half the power.
The Apple Image Signal Processor (ISP) has faster low light autofocus, an improved pixel processor, and hardware enabled multiband noise reduction. The new camera on the iPhone 8 is a 12MP camera with an all-new sensor, deeper pixels, new color filter, and optical image stabilization. The new camera on the iPhone 8 Plus is a 12MP dual camera and also has all-new sensors, with a ƒ/1.8 and ƒ/2.8 apertures and optical image stabilization. New with video on the iPhone 8 is the new Apple Designed video encode that offers faster video frame rates and real-time image and motion analysis which help to now be able to shoot in 180p at 240fps. The cameras have also been updated to support augmented reality by making the cameras calibrated for AR in the factories, low light, 60fps, the new gyroscope and new accelerometer, and accurate motion tracking. The new processor the A11 Bionic offers CPU for world tracking and scenes, GPU renders for realistic graphics, ISP real-time lighting.
The iPhone 8 now works with LTE Advanced and Bluetooth 5. Now with the glass back, wireless charging is also an option. Wireless charging uses the Qi system. For now, you will have to rely on 3rd-party’s like Belkin and Morphie until Apple releases AirPower later in 2018.
What’s New Roundup:
- Glass and Aluminum design
- Retina HD display with true tone
- A11 Bionic
- 12MP camera
- 12MP dual camera (iPhone 8 Plus)
- Portrait Mode and Portrait Lighting (iPhone 8 Plus)
- Quad-LED true tone flash
- Slow sync flash
- TouchID
- LTE Advanced
- Bluetooth 5
- Stereo Speakers
- Water and dust resistant (IP67)
- Wireless Charging
- Fast charge capable
Pricing:
- iPhone 8 64GB – $699
- iPhone 8 256GB –
- iPhone 8 Plus 64GB – $799
- iPhone 8 Plus 256GB –
Pre-order starts on September 15 and shipping starts September 22
Should you buy it?
There are a few differences between the iPhone 7 and iPhone 8. The iPhone 8 is more like an iPhone 7s. One of the huge differences in the inclusions of wireless charging and a glass structure in the new iPhone 8. As of now, Apple will not have a wireless charger on the market until 2018 when they released the AirPower. So, for now, you will have to rely on 3rd-party’s like Belkin and Morphie for your wireless charging needs. Other than that there are a few under the hood improvements, for instance, the new A11 Bionic processor. Based on the numbers the A11 Bionic should not make a huge difference if you have an iPhone 7 or even an iPhone 6s. You might notice more of a difference if you are upgrading from an iPhone 6 or below. In the iPhone 8 Plus both rear cameras now have image stabilization and are calibrated for augmented reality. The A11 processor allows you to now record in 1080p at 240fps. The iPhone 8 also offers LTE Advanced which at the moment is not offered in many markets but will grow as time goes on. It also offers Bluetooth 5.0 which offers a longer range. So in conclusion upgrading to the iPhone 8 is not a must if you don’t need it. If you are into the idea of wireless charging there are many cheaper alternatives that don’t require you to upgrade your whole phone. Now if you have $700 plus dollars lying around then go for it. If it is time for an upgrade this would be a great phone to go to but it’s not a necessity if you already have an iPhone 7 or even iPhone 6s.
Everythingapplepro – iPhone 8/8 Plus vs iPhone 7/7 Plus – Worth Upgrading?
The Verge – iPhone 8 and 8 Plus first look
iJustine – iPhone X and iPhone 8!
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