Still the Apple of our eye... but pricey
THE new iPhone X is tempting – but is it €300 better than its predecessor?
I love Apple products but haven’t bought a new one in years for the simple reason that I don’t think the latest models are much different to their predecessors. I’ve saved a thousands by buying a refurbished iPhone 5, iPad 2 and a 2011 model of a MacBook Pro. And I am still happy with them years later.
The latest iPhones are seriously tempting but could I save €300 by going for the 8 or 8 Plus instead of the much-vaunted X model?
The trio are surprisingly different in size, with the iPhone X overall physically much smaller than the 8 Plus and a tiny bit
bigger than the 8. But the X screen stretches to the margin of the phone, which means its display packs a powerful punch in both quality and size.
The computing guts of all three are much the same in terms of performance… fast!
The X’s Face ID recognition is a leap forward on its predecessors and has wowed reviewers. But it’s still slower than some other locking formats. And in terms of battery life, iPhones continue to ‘stagnate’, according to Forbes. The iPhone X has the biggest battery but it’s still smaller than the 7 Plus. So a pros and cons to the new X.
As ever with Apple, these phones are pricey. The 8 costs around €778 or €950, SIM-free with Vodafone, depending on whether you go for the 64GB or 256GB versions. The 8Plus costs around €880/€1,050, while the iPhone X is priced at €1,100/€1,280. (You can get cheaper deals if you sign up to a phone contract, but these usually aren’t worth it in the long run.)
Which? magazine rates phones for a range of factors, including price, and not surprisingly given their cost, iPhones suffer in the overall rankings. Which? sums up the X as ‘a stunning phone with lots of brilliant features... but if battery life is your key concern, it’s not the one for you’.
Having compared the 8 Plus and X, a professional videographer friend of mine concluded that the latter has some superior features but not enough to justify the €300 price gap and he bought the iPhone 8 Plus. But even if you can afford the iPhone X, you might be better off waiting until its technology is perfected.