Don’t get us wrong. The iPhone 8 is definitely an improvement over the 7S, and worth your attention if it’s upgrade time. It’s also a good choice if you can’t stomach the thought of paying $1000 for the iPhone X. We do expect, though, that most iPhone people will at least want to wait to check out the hugely-hyped “X,” before running out to grab an iPhone8.
Here’s what to expect from the “final” version of the traditional iPhone.
A Very Familiar Phone
Don’t expect to have an “oh wow!” moment when you pick up an iPhone 8. It will look somewhat different, however, thanks to a glass-enclosed back (more on that in a moment) and a pretty gold color. It will also feel slightly heavier than the iPhone 7, because it is.The LCD display has been upgraded to look a little brighter, but if you’re hoping for full HD you’ll be disappointed. The screen resolution is still inferior to that on many competitors like the Galaxy S8 and the Pixel XL. If you want that type of viewing experience you’ll have to wait for the iPhone X, which will have a full HD OLED display.
The user experience with the iPhone 8 will feel extremely familiar. The home button and Touch ID are still there (the home button is disappearing on the “X,” which will also have facial recognition), and there’s no real change in the way you operate the phone. There’s still no headphone jack, either.
On Closer Examination, There Are Definitely Upgrades
Two big upgrades might convince you that you need an iPhone 8 (or an iPhone 8 Plus, which has a bigger display and a better, dual-lens rear camera).The first is the glass-enclosed rear of the phone that we mentioned earlier (Apple claims it won’t crack if you drop it). It’s there to finally allow wireless charging for an iPhone. No, Apple doesn’t make a wireless charger, but you can use any charging pad based on the Qi standard.
The second upgrade involves the rear camera and the way that images are processed. The 12 megapixel sensor has optical image stabilization with an f/1.8 lens, with HDR technology used for every picture. There’s a laptop-quality processor as well, and it shows; photos taken with the iPhone 8 look brighter and more vibrant than ever before. Apple has also added the ability to do other cool things. For example, you can take 4K video at 60 fps or shoot at 24 fps, and create native slow-mo video at a full 1080p. (The iPhone 8 Plus also has an additional f/2.8 telephoto lens on the rear.)
There are smaller improvements, too. The speakers are better and Bluetooth works better, but more importantly, the iPhone8 is somewhat faster than the iPhone7. Not the “oh wow!” faster we’d hope for, but faster.