iPhone 8
It’s good, but is it good enough?
From $699 From Apple, apple.com
Features 4.7-inch Retina HD display with True Tone and P3 color gamut, A11 Bionic chip, 12MP camera, wireless charging (charging pad not included)
The iPhone 8 is here, and it’s more or less exactly what you’d expect a new iPhone to be. Apple has improved the camera, added new display tech, and equipped it with a new, more capable processor.
The new device measures 5.45x2.65x0.29 inches, making it a tiny amount bigger than the iPhone 7. The size makes it easy to hold and use one-handed, which could be the main reason why you would choose to buy this over another smartphone.
The iPhone 8 comes in silver, gold, and space gray. The gold is much truer to real rose gold than the previous “pinkness.” The phone also has an IP67 rating for water resistance, so it should survive being immersed in up to three feet of water for up to 30 minutes.
The stereo speakers are now louder, which is a clear improvement, but they still lack bass for audiophiles. They do, however, create a wide soundstage.
You don’t get the iPhone X’s almost bezel-free display here, as this model’s design isn’t a massive departure from the iPhone 6 and 7, making it look more dated. The screen is a 4.7-inch, 1334x750-pixel LCD display with IPS tech, with a pixel density of 326ppi. That’s the same resolution as iPhones of this screen size have had since the iPhone 6 made its debut in 2014. That’s a surprise, as we were expecting (or at least hoping for) a bump in resolution at this point.
Instead, Apple has focused on improving the screen’s brightness and color representation. It has also added its True Tone technology, which monitors the ambient light around the phone and adjusts its output to look more natural under your current lighting conditions.
POWER AND POISE
The aluminum unibody design of previous iPhones has been replaced by a glass back this time, which allows for wireless charging. The glass back feels great – it has a grippy coating that makes it feel secure in your hands. The camera lens still protrudes from the rear casing and, like the iPhone 7, there’s no 3.5mm headphone port.
The brain of the iPhone 8 is Apple’s new six-core A11 Bionic processor, which is – yes, you guessed it – the most powerful processor Apple has ever put in an iPhone. Tearing through different apps, playing music, watching video, and checking emails are all uninterrupted by the hardware – as is usual for a new phone. What’s super-impressive, though, is how
instantly apps are ready when you switch between different tasks. The added processing power will really become apparent when you’re running more intensive apps – those that use ARKit, for example. Hopefully, it’ll also stay quick for a lot longer as well.
FAST AND WIRELESS
Apple claims the iPhone 8’s battery life is comparable to the iPhone 7, but we found it exceeded our expectations. We’re not talking two-day battery life here, but we found it comfortably lasted a day with mixed usage.
There are two new ways to charge this iPhone: wirelessly, and quickly – yes, those are mutually exclusive. The new glass-backed design means that you can set the iPhone 8 down on a wireless charging pad and it’ll instantly start sucking up juice. It uses the universal Qi standard as well. It’s a nice touch and convenient, but at the moment it’s rather slow. The other new power-related capability is “fast charging,” which takes the battery to 50 percent in 30 minutes – but you’ll need to buy a USB-C charger and a USB-C to Lightning cable for this.
On paper, the rear camera looks unchanged from the iPhone 7; the same 12-megapixel setup as before, but the sensor is now larger and the software is smarter. The result is a big improvement, capable of stunning shots with great detail and contrast.
It’s a shame you can’t get Apple’s dual-camera system from the iPhone 8 Plus on this smaller model; it means you miss out on the Portrait mode and an optical zoom. The 7-megapixel front facing camera, however, is excellent, as is 4K video recording at 60fps.
This all means the iPhone 8 is a great smartphone. The battery life is good, the camera has been improved, and the addition of wireless charging adds convenience. We like the glassbacked design and, thanks to the small screen, it’s one of the most ergonomic phones we’ve used.
There is, of course, one X-shaped elephant in the room. The iPhone 8 and the iPhone 8 Plus are both overshadowed by their more exciting, more expensive sibling, and if you’re looking for the latest, greatest iPhone, you’re going to want the iPhone X.
Of course, at $699 the base 64GB iPhone 8 is considerably cheaper than the $999 iPhone X in that capacity. And that’s where the problem with the iPhone 8 lies: it’s now the “cheap” iPhone – and perceptions matter.
the bottom line. A great update, with improvements to battery life and camera. It’s just difficult to get excited about. Spencer Hart
THE IP HONE 8 AN DIP HO NE 8 PLUS ARE BOTH OVERSHADOWED BY THEIR MORE EXCITING AND EXPENSIVE SIBLING