Apple’s iPhone has always been the talk of the town every year and this year, it made the headlines again with three new smartphones – the iPhone 8, 8 Plus and iPhone X. But let’s leave the iPhone X out of the picture for now and let’s talk about its much more affordable brothers.
When the first iPhone was introduced, it quickly became the beacon of light for innovation in mobile devices. However, over the years, the successors have come under heavy scrutiny from many reviewers and consumers and are deemed as a slow adopter of change as compared to other smartphone manufacturers, namely Samsung and LG.
The iPhone 8 and 8 Plus, too, are not spared from such criticism. Bearing many similarities to its predecessors, the iPhone 8 series seems to be just another minor upgrade to squeeze every penny out of its fans. However, such criticism could be born from the fact that the iPhone is different from the Android-powered smartphones.
So is the iPhone 8 and 8 Plus really worth the money?
“Minor” Upgrades
The Look
The latest iPhone models, 8 (4.7-inch display) and 8 Plus (5.5-inch display), look consistently similar to the iPhones three years ago. Only this time, it goes for a more classy look by covering itself with glass over its new Gold, Silver or Space Grey body. Everything else remains the same. As the saying goes, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.”
The Camera
Both versions of the iPhone 8 come with a 12MP camera with an aperture of f1.8. The major differences between the two are that the Plus size brother has a 12MP wide-angle and telephoto cameras that shoot at f/1.8 and f/2.8 aperture respectively. The phones can also digitally zoom in and out between 5 and 10 times (depending on the model you purchased), which in our opinion, should be refrained from using to ensure a crispier image.
Not to forget, the iPhone 8 Plus also inherited the Portrait mode from its predecessor. The neat tweak that is included this time is the Portrait Lighting feature that simulates the types of lighting that you can apply after the photo was taken.
On the other hand, the front-facing camera also saw a little upgrade with a 7MP FaceTime HD camera that has “Retina Flash, wide colour capture, advanced pixel technology, and auto image stabilization.”
YouTubers who depend on their smartphones for their video content will be delighted to know that the iPhone 8 and 8 Plus can now shoot 4K videos at 24fps, 30fps or 60 fps. Slo-mo video also has a nice bump in performance with support for 1080p at 120fps or 240fps.
A11 Bionic Chip
The performance of the iPhones is not one of the many criticisms that reviewers and enthusiasts pick on every year because the A chips are indisputably one of the best in the market, or even better. For the iPhone 8 and 8 Plus, Apple has once again stepped up their game by introducing the A11 Bionic processor.
According to Apple, the A11 Bionic chip has “four efficiency cores that are up to 70 percent faster than A10 Fusion and two performance cores that are up to 25 percent faster.” GPU performance is also improved and is approximately 30 percent faster than the previous A10 Fusion.
Thanks to the A11 Bionic processor and the welcoming speed bumps that come with it, users will definitely experience a smoother, faster and smoother when playing games or using applications that are reliant on augmented reality.
Wireless charging
Wireless charging has been available as early as the first Windows smartphone. Thereafter, many other Android models have also embraced the Qi wireless charging technology. So for this, Apple is truly slow in jumping on the wireless charging bandwagon.
However, what really caught our eyes is the AirPower (available in 2018). It is an ultrathin mat that allows users to charge up to three compatible devices together i.e. iPhone 8 and 8 Plus, Apple Watch and AirPod. This is one accessory to look out for, Apple fanboy and fangirls!
So is the iPhone 8 and 8 Plus really worth the money?
The iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus are almost identical to its predecessors. This is the common complaint that is echoed by many netizens across tech forums and social media. However, this isn’t the first time the iPhone was singled out to be slow in adopting new and innovative functions that are already present in many other smartphones.
One thing that we observed in Apple is that they always work very hard to create a perfect product. Frankly speaking, they do not care about what we think about their new but old features in their iPhones. What they care about is how well they work on their iPhones as compared to the other smartphone manufacturers. Perhaps the consistency in performance is why the trade-in value for iPhones are always higher than that of other manufacturers’. Hence, whether or not there’s new innovation on the iPhones, the one thing we can all agree on is their reliability and perfection.
If you are using the iPhone 6 or 6 Plus and are ready to re-contract your mobile line, you are strongly encouraged to upgrade to the latest iPhones. You will not be disappointed. For users of the iPhone 7 or 7 Plus, you can consider the iPhone X, which we will cover in the next article.
The iPhone 8 and the iPhone 8 Plus are priced at S$1,148 and S$1,308. Pre-order is ending soon. So hurry!
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