iPhone 8 has been much-anticipated for months, along with the iPhone X. Apple’s tantalizing 30-second promotional video for the iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus has whetted many appetites for it, particularly with the wireless charging action. Many people had been wondering if this was the iPhone of their dreams. It’s time to take a look at whether the phone lives up to its hype.
The Price Point
As far as dream phones go, the iPhone 8 is expensive, but now that it has come into the market, it is not as hard on the wallet as experts had estimated in the days leading up to the launch. There had been rumors, from Goldman Sachs no less, that the iPhone 8 could be priced at $1000 (851 Euros). There is a premium model that is priced at 999 Euros for the European market, which is slightly more expensive than the same model in the American market, as expected. But the cheapest iPhone 8 with 64 GB storage comes at a price of 829 Euros.
The question for iPhone 7 users is, is it worth upgrading to the new iPhone? Another variable in the mix is the 10-year anniversary edition iPhone X, which is to be launched in November in France and will cost two handfuls of chocolate less than the minimum wage, say shocked newspapers.
Is the Performance Better?
Powering the iPhone 8 is an all new six-core Bionic Chip A11, which is, on paper, 25 percent faster than the A10 Fusion Chip on your iPhone 7. Assisting it is an M11 motion co-processor, a theoretical step-up from the M10 motion co-processors. When techies have compared the two phone performances, they’ve found the iPhone 8 is significantly faster, but the iPhone 7 is still impressively fast. Plus, you may find the speed of the iPhone 8 is wasted on existing apps, which don’t need that kind of power.
The new iPhone also has an impressive GPU to support the augmented reality APIs that will run many of the games and apps for the iPhone. But these apps perform well on the iPhone 7 as well, so the choice will not be easy to make if you’re not moved by the glamor and hype surrounding the iPhone 8.
If you like to own the latest in cutting edge technology, then you’ll appreciate the Neural Engine, which is an additional chipset for the phone to process machine learning and AI. This feature can seem exciting, but it’s an investment in a future technology.
Is the OLED Display a Must-Have?
One of the USPs of the iPhone is its OLED screen, but then not everyone may want an OLED screen. It will certainly improve battery performance but most users won’t notice a significant difference in quality as compared to LCD screens. Plus, the Samsung Galaxy 8 also has a large OLED screen and is priced less than the iPhone. If you’re in for the glamor of OLED, you may want to think about the other features.
What About the Camera?
The new camera is slightly better than your iPhone 7 camera. It’s still 12 megapixels, but the technology that powers it comes with some new features to help you take better pictures. It offers better low-light performance. There is a portrait lighting feature on the iPhone 8 Plus and a new flash system with four LEDs and Slow Sync. You will be able to take 4 K video recording at 24, 30 and 60 fps and 1080p slow-mo video recording at 240 fps besides the standard 120 fps.
Wireless Features Worth It?
If you use Bluetooth accessories a lot, you may enjoy the bumped up Bluetooth 5.0. You’ll find your device batteries last much longer and the range is four times what you were used to. Of course, it’s only worthwhile if your Bluetooth accessories are Bluetooth 5.0-compatible.
If you travel a lot and use location services, then the support for GLONASS, GPS, QZSS and Galileo will come in handy on your travels. Both these features are not essential for most people.
Easier Charging?
So far, iPhone 7 users have used Lightning cables to charge their phones. The new phone will come with a lightning cable, but there are other convenient ways of charging as well. The most jaw-dropping is the wireless charging capability, but you need a Qi-supported charger for that. The new phone also supports Quick Charge, which lets you fire up the battery from 0 to 50 percent in less than half an hour. But again, you need to buy a USD-C to Lightning cable and an AC adapter compatible for Quick Charge to use this feature.
The Verdict
If 64 GB and 256 GB storage seem attractive to you (compared with 32 GB and 128 GB on the iPhone 7) then the new iPhone 8 can be worth it. If you’re recording space-guzzling 4K video then it’s clear which option to go for.
On the flip side, the new phone doesn’t support Face ID, nor does it have a 5.8 inch OLED super-retina display with support for HDR that the iPhone X will have. In the end, whether or not the iPhone 8 is worthwhile, or whether you should get the iPhone X or keep the iPhone 7 is really a matter of subjective preference. This verdict says a lot about the iPhone 7 and I’m certainly not trading in!
