Review: Apple iPhone 8

The iPhone Ten might have stolen the show, but the iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus are the phones that most regular people will consider buying. 

Apple has given it a new metal frame, an all-new glass back and much-improved hardware, but with fierce competition from the likes of Samsung, does the iPhone 8 do enough to warrant your hard earned cash? Let’s find out.

TECH TALK: Apple iPhone 8

The biggest thing about the iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus – when compared to the previous model – is the glass back. It’s the only real design element that separates both products, but it makes a load of difference. There are three new colours to choose from – silver, gold and space grey.

But because of the glass back, the new colours look super different from their later counterparts. As usual, build quality is excellent. And while the new iPhones does use glass front and back, Apple has says it’s ultra-tough.

From a hardware point of view, the most important bit about the iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus is the A11 Bionic chip. Developed in-house by Apple, it features six cores as well as a new performance controller. What that really means, is it’s faster and more energy efficient than the iPhone 7.

The graphics chip is up to 30 percent faster than the previous model, and allows the phones to deliver gaming and augmented reality experiences with exceptional quality.

This is the iPhone 8 Plus model, which as a 5.5-inch Retina HD display. While it has the same resolution as the last phone, it packs an improved LCD panel. That means it’s capable of delivering more vibrant colours. True Tone is another cool feature available in the iPhone 8 – it utilizes the devices’ ambient light sensor to adjust the colour temperature of screen. It is supposed to reduce eye strain, and let you see accurate colours even in bright sunlight.

Both new iPhones have a 12-megapixel camera, with a larger sensor, improved image-processing and optical image stabilisation. It can capture 4K video at a class-leading 60 frames per second. Of course, the iPhone 8 Plus has an additional 12MP camera with a telephoto lens.

This year, you can choose your iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus with 64GB or 256GB of storage. You also get better speakers, a Touch ID fingerprint sensor in the usual place, as while battery life hasn’t changed – Apple says the new Bionic chip makes it more efficient – which means it should last a little bit longer than an iPhone 7. The new iPhones don’t have an audio jack though, so you’ll need a lightning adapter or Bluetooth wireless buds for audio.

The phone runs on Apple’s iOS 11 operating system. Apart from the usual performance and security updates, the most interesting feature is ARKit – which puts augmented reality in the palm of your hand.

All in all, the iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus offer an excellent blend of power, camera technology and easy-to-use operating system. The new – albeit, slightly old-school – design benefits from having wireless charging, which adds further appeal to this superb smartphone package.

The iPhone 8 is available right now, from all good tech stores. 

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