When Apple first introduced the iPhone model with a 5.5-inch display, many thought that after the then 4-inch flagship iPhone 5s, the new product could only be used with two hands. However, the phablet has taken its place in the market and its fourth generation, represented by the iPhone 8 Plus, is quite popular.
In contact with
This material will be useful to those who are hesitating between choosing the iPhone 7 / 7 Plus, iPhone 8 / 8 Plus and iPhone X, but do not see any compelling reason to buy the G8, which costs 13,000 rubles more than the previous generation, but is significantly inferior according to the functionality of the flagship model.
Design
When comparing the iPhone 8 Plus with last year's 5.5-inch model, changes in the appearance of the device are often considered minor. However, this judgment is only true for the front panel of a smartphone, while the glass rear end looks, according to most users, much better than metal. In addition, the abandonment of metal made it possible to get rid of plastic inserts at the lower and upper ends of the G8.
The 8 Plus's 5.5-inch screen is larger than the iPhone X's 5.8-inch
Our eyes are very easy to deceive, especially when it comes to geometry, and smartphone designers are well aware of this. The vast majority of ordinary people, among those who follow technological innovations, are confident that Apple engineers managed to equip the iPhone X with a noticeably larger screen than the iPhone 8 Plus, and at the same time squeeze it into a body not much larger in size than 4.7 -inch model. In fact, this is not the case at all.
The iPhone X screen is elongated, while its area is reduced by rounded corners and a rectangle.
In portrait mode, the width of the iPhone 8 Plus is 414 conventional units (used by developers of applications, websites, etc.), while for iPhone X this figure is 375, which corresponds to the width of the iPhone 6, 6s, 7 and 8. In landscape orientation, the iPhone X also loses to the 5.5-inch gadget in most cases due to the lack of virtual control buttons. However, the “ten” can boast of a higher resolution and an OLED matrix.
Can I use iPhone 8 Plus with one hand?
On the one hand, large iPhone display The 8 Plus is surrounded by rather archaic, by today's standards, wide frames, and the smartphone body is noticeably larger in size than most devices with the same screen diagonal. However, programmers came to the aid of engineers and designers. These functions make one-handed operation of the iPhone 8 Plus comfortable even for users with small hands.
Touch ID vs Face ID
Detailed review of the iPhone 8 Plus.
The iPhone 8 Plus smartphone is new in 2017, which received a glass body, support wireless charging according to the QI standard, 5.5-inch display with support for True Tone technology, six-core A11 Bionic processor. Start of sales in iPhone world 8 Plus took place on September 22. IN Russia iPhone The 8 Plus is on sale from September 29. Official iPhone price 8 Plus 64 GB - RUB 49,990, iPhone 8 Plus 256 GB - RUB 59,990. We present to your attention detailed review iPhone 8 Plus.
Name
Apple has named the next smartphone after the iPhone 7 Plus not the iPhone 7s Plus, but the iPhone 8 Plus. Thus, the company jumped over one generation of smartphones, at least according to the usual logic of the release of new iPhones. Why did Apple decide to name the new iPhone iPhone 8 Plus? The point is the huge number of innovations that the device received.
Equipment
Apple is not used to experimenting with the packaging of its smartphones. The company did not decide to come up with anything new in the case of the iPhone 8 Plus. The smartphone is delivered in Apple's traditional rectangular packaging, painted to match the body of the smartphone.
The front side of the iPhone 8 Plus packaging shows the smartphone itself.
On the side faces there is the inscription “iPhone”, on the back surface there is a description of the product and a separate item at the very top is the amount of built-in memory of the smartphone. In general, everything is as usual.
The equipment was not surprising either, although in theory it could have been. The iPhone 8 Plus comes with:
- Charger,
- USB/Lightning cable,
- EarPods headphones with Lighting connector,
- branded clip for removing the SIM card tray,
- documentation.
What could surprise you with the iPhone 8 Plus? The iPhone 8 Plus, along with the iPhone 8 and iPhone X, received support for wireless charging. A few months before the presentation of the new iPhones, some experts suggested that Apple may well want to stand out from other manufacturers by including a wireless charging dock in the package with smartphones. However, this did not happen. Apple, like its competitors, has offered customers the option of purchasing a wireless charging dock separately.
Fortunately, Apple not only did not want to stand out, but also equipped the iPhone 8 Plus with support for the generally accepted Qi wireless charging standard. This means that iPhone 8 Plus owners will be able to purchase any docking station that supports the Qi standard, even budget ones.
The packaging and accessories of the iPhone 8 Plus are the most ordinary; is the smartphone itself unusual?
Design
At first glance it doesn't seem so at all. The iPhone 8 Plus is as similar as possible to the iPhone 7 Plus. The shape of the new 5.5-inch Apple smartphone has not changed compared to the previous model - the smartphone still has the same recognizable body with rounded corners. However, the design of the iPhone 8 Plus has been significantly updated.
The back and front of the iPhone 8 Plus are covered in glass, which Apple says is the most durable it has ever used on its devices. The protective layer of iPhone 8 Plus glass has become 50% thicker than the glass on the front iPhone panels 7Plus. Despite Apple's assurances, the iPhone 8 Plus doesn't feel particularly durable. However, the level of reliability and strength of the glass of the smartphone case will become known only after it falls.
We didn’t drop the iPhone 8 Plus on purpose, but we looked at how YouTube bloggers do it. Drop tests clearly showed that it is better not to drop the iPhone 8 Plus on back cover. It breaks instantly and over almost the entire area. The front part withstands falls from a height of about one and a half meters much better.
Both glasses iPhone cases 8 Plus have an excellent oleophobic coating. It is not very easy to leave smudges or fingerprints on a smartphone, but even if this happens, they can be removed extremely easily.
The iPhone 8 Plus case is reinforced with a steel base and frame made from 7000 series aluminum, which was used for the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus cases. This type of aluminum is used in the aerospace industry. For each iPhone 8 Plus color, the frame is painted to match the body. Apple did the painting in a special way, applying the color in six layers. Thanks to this, it was possible to achieve the correct shade, depth and proper density.
Now, regarding the location of the body elements. Everything here is the same as the iPhone 7 Plus, without a single change. On the front surface there is a traditional Home button, a front camera, a microphone and a built-in stereo speaker. Just in case, we note that the Home button is missing only on the iPhone X - Apple flagship, which will only go on sale in November.
On the back surface there is a dual camera, next to it is a flash, and below it is the classic Apple logo and the inscription “iPhone”. It feels like the camera protrudes from the body of the iPhone 8 Plus less than in the iPhone 7 Plus. The bottom edge is given over to the Lightning connector, a second microphone and a second stereo speaker.
On the right side there is a SIM card tray and a power button.
On the left are volume control buttons and a silent mode switch.
The top edge is empty.
The dimensions of the iPhone 8 Plus case are 158.4 x 78.1 x 7.5 mm, weight - 202 g. The thickness of the smartphone has increased by 0.2 mm, and the weight has increased by 14 grams compared to the iPhone 7 Plus. The height and width of the 5.5-inch iPhone cases of the last two years are practically the same.
The appearance of the iPhone 8 Plus has not changed dramatically compared to its predecessor. Moreover, if you put a smartphone in a case, it will simply be indistinguishable from the iPhone 7 Plus. However, there is a wow effect from the iPhone 8 Plus. The glass “back” of the smartphone gives some special sensations, in no way comparable to the aluminum one in the iPhone 7 Plus. And if you use the iPhone 8 Plus without a case, the glass back surface will always remind you of itself.
Also note that the iPhone 8 Plus in color " gray space“This is a good way to collect dust, which is visible to the naked eye in almost any lighting. At the same time, don’t wipe it like a smartphone; you can’t completely remove dust particles. Here's what the iPhone 8 Plus case looks like in its most normal state.
And here, for comparison, is what the iPhone 8 case looks like in silver. There are undoubtedly dust particles on it, but the coloring makes them completely invisible.
Case colors
iPhone 8 Plus is available in three colors: silver, gold and space gray. We received an iPhone 8 Plus in “space gray” color for review; you can see it in the pictures in the article. But to complete the review, we will also show images of the iPhone 8 Plus in two other colors.
Silver
iPhone 8 / apple.com
Gold
How much does the case get dirty?
The glass back of the iPhone 8 Plus is very pleasant to the touch and is not at all slippery, at least in dry hands. However, it has one serious drawback. The iPhone 8 Plus in space gray literally collects fingerprints. Even after using your smartphone for a short time with clean hands, noticeable stains will remain on it. They are easy enough to clean, but you have to do it more often than you would like.
Fortunately, this problem is limited to the dark iPhone 8 Plus. On the silver and gold iPhone 8 Plus, due to the fact that these colors are light, fingerprint stains are only visible from a certain angle.
Display
iPhone 8 Plus has a 5.5-inch Retina HD LCD display with a resolution of 1920x1080 pixels, 401 ppi pixel density and 16:9 aspect ratio. The display occupies 67.63% of the front surface of the smartphone. All the main characteristics of the iPhone 8 Plus display are completely identical to the iPhone 7 Plus screen. So what has changed?
The main improvement to the iPhone 8 Plus display is the presence of support for adaptation technology color temperature True Tone. The smartphone is equipped with a four-channel ambient light sensor, which automatic mode Adjusts the white balance on the screen according to the color temperature of the lighting. This makes the iPhone 8 Plus display look like it was printed on paper.
True Tone's performance is noticeable and very pleasant. No matter what light you look at the iPhone 8 Plus screen in, it will always be perfectly adjusted, significantly reducing eye strain. The change in color temperature occurs instantly, without bothering the user to languish in anticipation. As in iPad Pro, where support for True Tone technology appeared for the first time, the function can be disabled in the “Settings” → “Display and Brightness” menu.
The maximum brightness of the iPhone 8 Plus display is 625 cd/m². The brightness is high, it is enough to easily view the image on the screen even in bright natural light. However, this characteristic of the iPhone 8 Plus display has not changed compared to the iPhone 7 Plus.
The iPhone 8 Plus display also has improved color reproduction, making photos on the smartphone screen look even brighter and more saturated. And thanks to dual-domain pixels, the display can be viewed from almost any angle.
Of course, the iPhone 8 Plus display has an oleophobic coating. Its quality is traditionally high for Apple smartphones. It is quite problematic to leave fingerprints and other stains on the display, but on the contrary, there are no difficulties in removing them.
Display output. It's better in the iPhone 8 Plus than in the iPhone 7 Plus. The image has become more saturated, viewing angles are even wider. The key improvement is the unique True Tone technology - no other smartphone can boast of the ability to adapt the color temperature of the display.
Specifications
The iPhone 8 Plus is based on a system based on the six-core A11 Bionic processor - unique to all mobile devices Apple chip. Four A11 Bionic cores are responsible for efficiency, and two for performance. The performance cores of the A11 Bionic are 25% faster than those in the A10 Fusion processor, which is installed in the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus, and the efficiency is 75%. The A11 Bionic processor has 4.3 billion transistors.
iPhone 8 Plus features a second-generation Performance Controller that gives the processor extra power when needed. It is noteworthy that with such acceleration of the A11 Bionic, the charge of the iPhone 8 Plus is consumed economically.
iPhone 8 Plus has a triple-core graphics chip that is 30% faster than the previous model. Apple developed the new video chip themselves, without the help of other companies. How fast does all this technological splendor work?
In synthetic tests, the iPhone 8 Plus blew its competitors to smithereens. In the Geekbench 4 benchmark, the smartphone scored 4241 points in single-core mode, more than twice as fast as both Samsung flagship 2017 model.
In multi-core mode, the iPhone 8 Plus' dominance continued. It was not possible to beat the latest smartphones twice, but the overall picture remained the same. iPhone 8 Plus is the most powerful smartphone of the year.
The previous statement was confirmed by testing in the AnTuTu 6 benchmark.
Benchmark screenshots
The A11 Bionic processor has a special focus on augmented reality. Work with it is carried out on highest speed, due to which the smoothness and realism are significantly increased. What's more, the most demanding and immersive AR-enabled apps and games will work exactly as intended, only on iPhone 8 Plus.
Sound
iPhone 8 Plus has noticeably improved stereo speakers compared to those found on the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus. They are louder, noticeably louder, and produce excellent deep bass. The latter is best felt when watching films. If for some reason you are not a fan of watching movies on your smartphone, then the iPhone 8 Plus can convince you once and for all. A magnificent picture on a large and high-quality iPhone screen The 8 Plus adds amazing sound - loud and rich.
Apple says the volume of the iPhone 8 Plus' stereo speakers has been increased by 25% compared to the iPhone 7 Plus. Let's make a small correction. We compared the sound of the iPhone 7 Plus and the iPhone 8 Plus and came to the conclusion that Apple has slightly embellished the capabilities of the updated stereo speakers. There is an increase in volume, but not by a full quarter. 10-15 percent iPhone speakers The 8 Plus is louder, which is quite a significant increase.
Battery
Presenting the iPhone 8 Plus, Apple executives, as usual, did not name the exact battery capacity of the smartphone. They only clarified that the iPhone 8 Plus “works about the same as the iPhone 7 Plus.” The official specifications of the smartphone indicate that it can work:
- Up to 21 hours talk time.
- Up to 13 hours when working on the Internet.
- Up to 14 hours of video playback.
- Up to 60 hours of music listening.
Later it turned out that the capacity iPhone battery 8 Plus is 2675 mAh, which is 225 mAh less than the iPhone 7 Plus - the direct predecessor of the smartphone. It is noteworthy that the battery capacity of the iPhone 8 Plus has not increased even though the smartphone is 0.2 mm thicker than the iPhone 7 Plus. On the other hand, thanks to the extremely energy-efficient Apple A11 Bionic processor, Apple engineers did not have a strong need to maintain or increase the previous battery capacity.
However, increasing battery life iPhone work 8 Plus didn't happen just according to the official ones according to Apple. In fact, we have the complete feeling that the iPhone 8 Plus can work longer without the need to recharge than the iPhone 7 Plus. We loaded the smartphone to the fullest: we took photos and videos, ran benchmarks, resource-intensive applications and games, and also sent gigabytes of content to the working cloud storage. The iPhone 8 Plus held up incredibly well and was completely discharged only late at night. The external battery I took with me just in case was not useful.
Wireless charger
Due to the fact that the back surface of the iPhone 8 Plus is made of glass, Apple was able to painlessly equip the smartphone with support for wireless charging. Apple did not come up with its own wireless charging standard and equipped the iPhone 8 Plus with support for the Qi standard. This means that the smartphone can be charged wirelessly using any accessory of this type. The choice of such charging stations is huge.
Fast charging
Apple didn't highlight this during the presentation, but the iPhone 8 Plus does have support for fast charging. The smartphone charges from 0 to 50% in just 30 minutes, however, with one an important condition. In order for the iPhone 8 Plus to charge quickly, you must use an adapter USB-C power supply power 87 W. This adapter is sold in the official Apple store for RUB 5,790.
Water resistance
iPhone 8 Plus is protected from water, splashes and dust according to the IP67 standard, exactly the same as the iPhone 7 Plus. Thus, the new 5.5-inch Apple smartphone is not fully waterproof, but only water-resistant. It is assumed that Apple was unable to improve this parameter due to the use of glass as the main body material.
Cameras
iPhone 8 Plus has a camera with a six-element wide-angle lens with ƒ/1.8 aperture and a telephoto lens with ƒ/2.8 aperture. The resolution of both cameras is 12 megapixels. Optical image stabilization is only present on the wide-angle lens.
iPhone 8 Plus is equipped with an improved image signal processor, which is capable of recognizing motion, people, lighting brightness and many other parameters in the frame. All additional characteristics iPhone 8 Plus cameras have been improved. The quality of pictures in HDR mode has been increased, autofocus has become faster, and the color range has been expanded.
Portrait mode in iPhone 8 Plus has been significantly improved. Details of the subject you're focusing on are clearer, and the background blurs much more naturally. iPhone 8 Plus' Portrait mode produces excellent quality photos in low-light conditions. In addition, when shooting photos with the effect of depth of field, it is now possible to use the flash.
The Portrait mode in the iPhone 8 Plus has new options for setting portrait lighting. When shooting in mode, users can set daylight, studio, contour, stage or stage-mono lighting with one touch.
The front camera of the iPhone 8 Plus has also been improved. The new True Tone Quad-LED flash with Slow Sync lets you take high-quality selfies in low-light conditions. Combining a long shutter speed with a short pause between flashes allows you to illuminate the subject without darkening the background.
Examples of pictures taken with the iPhone 8 Plus camera
Daylight shots
When there is excellent natural light, iPhone 8 Plus's dual cameras produce stunning photos that rival non-professional photos. SLR cameras. If a defect can be noticed anywhere, it is only in the foliage of trees in the background.
The camera's excellent color rendering is particularly noticeable in the two images below. 
Pictures taken under artificial light
The iPhone 8 Plus camera was also impressive in artificial light. Excellent detail of large objects, excellent brightness and color rendition. However, the lack of natural light is noticeable. When looking closely at objects with a lot of detail or many objects located close to each other, outright noise appears. A clear example of this is shown in the first picture. Pay attention to the flowers. While the first rows are well detailed, the last rows, where the lighting leaves much to be desired, exhibit outright noise.
Shots with depth of field effect
Below are some prime examples of how much the iPhone 8 Plus' Portrait mode has been improved. Focusing on subjects is done perfectly, and the background is blurred in the most natural way. Depth-of-field photos on the iPhone 8 Plus are a step up in quality compared to the iPhone 7 Plus, truly reaching the level of DSLR cameras.
Zoom photos
An example of 6x digital zoom on the iPhone 8 Plus camera. Even if you get close software, the quality of shooting practically did not drop.
An example of 10x digital zoom. A colossal approach, but the sharpness dropped and outright noise appeared. However, it would be wrong to expect a different result from a digital zoom at such a distance.
Panoramic photos
iPhone 8 Plus vs iPhone 7 Plus: comparison of shooting quality
In natural conditions, the iPhone 8 Plus camera captures colors more accurately than the iPhone 7 Plus camera. Note that last year's Apple smartphone with a dual camera, however, looks very decent compared to its improved version.
iPhone 8 Plus
iPhone 7 Plus
In one photo
Below is the clearest evidence that Apple has really improved the Portrait mode. In Depth of Field mode, your subject is illuminated to the fullest and is in better focus than with the iPhone 7 Plus. The background is blurred in the most natural way.
iPhone 8 Plus
iPhone 7 Plus
In one photo
iPhone 8 Plus vs iPhone 8: comparison of shooting quality
In the first photo, in bright artificial lighting, the difference between the cameras of the iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus cannot be called serious. Only by closely studying the detail of the ornament on the walls can you see that the dual camera of the iPhone 8 Plus coped with the task better. Against the general background, there are no significant differences between the images.
iPhone 8
iPhone 8 Plus
In one photo
The situation is similar in the second test image; there is no significant difference in the quality of the photo cameras of the two smartphones.
iPhone 8
iPhone 8 Plus
In one photo
The overall picture remains the same in the photo with excellent daylight. Both cameras handled shooting large objects perfectly and at the same level. The only visible difference is the wide shooting angle of the iPhone 8 Plus camera.
iPhone 8
iPhone 8 Plus
In one photo
Examples of shooting video on the iPhone 8 Plus camera
Regular shooting
Shooting video in motion
How optical stabilization works
Evening shooting
Night photography
Example of shooting 4K video (60 fps) on iPhone 8 Plus
This last point can easily be omitted if we consider the iPhone 8 Plus separately, without looking at the iPhone 7 Plus. And in this case, the iPhone 8 Plus deserves the most flattering ratings. True, we do not recommend buying a smartphone for everyone, and more on that below.
Who should buy
If you have an iPhone 6s/6s Plus or older iPhone models, then the iPhone 8 Plus is definitely worth considering as one of the options for a successful smartphone upgrade. The new Apple product will delight and surprise with every component, especially the dual camera, which takes great pictures and shoots very high-quality video.
Who shouldn't buy
If you are the owner of an iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus and want to update your smartphone, then you are recommended to take a closer look at, or. They are very different from all previous Apple smartphones and will definitely be able to give you a completely new user experience.
In a pleasant to the touch matte box, stingy as always gentleman's set: iPhone 8 Plus, one-amp charging with Lightning cable, EarPods with adapter, documentation, paper clip and stickers.
apple.com Smartphones are presented in three shades: silver, gold and close to black “space gray”. This is exactly the color of our 8 Plus. It is distinguished by the dark color of the front frames; in the silver and gold models they are white.
Like all iPhones introduced in 2017, the 8 Plus has a glass body. The sides of the smartphone are framed by an aluminum frame. The glass is very easily soiled and over time can collect barely noticeable scratches and traces of use. This does not affect the impression, but it may affect the price of the smartphone when sold.
Replacing aluminum with glass - key difference appearance of the G8 from its predecessor. Everything else: design, arrangement of buttons, sensors and other elements - migrated to new model with 7 Plus.
Dimensions and ergonomics
The iPhone 8 Plus dimensions are 158.4 x 78.1 x 7.5 mm and weighs 202 grams. This means that with previous version The smartphone has increased slightly along each side and has become 14 grams heavier. But the extra weight doesn't bother me.
The glass body fits more confidently in the hand and slides noticeably less than the aluminum one. On a fabric surface the situation is opposite.
Despite minor changes in dimensions, the cases from the 7 Plus will also fit the G8. However, it feels so nice in the palm of your hand that you don’t want to use the case at all.
The screen remains almost unchanged: it is a 5.5-inch IPS display with a resolution of 1,920 × 1,080 and a density of 401 pixels per inch. This is the same, albeit not the best, but traditionally well-calibrated LCD screen.
There are still innovations here: the G8 is equipped with the True Tone function, which adjusts the picture on the smartphone to the ambient lighting. They also became the first iPhone to support Hi-End video in HDR10 and Dolby Vision formats.
True Tone in action on iPad / macrumors.com
First, the key specifications: dual camera resolution - 12 megapixels, lens aperture - ƒ/1.8 and ƒ/2.8. Permission front camera- 7 MP, aperture - ƒ/2.2.
All improvements, as the developers say, are associated with a larger and faster matrix, as well as improved ISP processor performance. Automation operation in iPhone camera may cause complaints. In certain scenarios with artificial lighting There may be flaws in determining the white balance, and in general, the color correction of Apple gadgets is still peculiar, albeit nice.
The next innovation is the studio lighting mode, which appeared along with the new A11 Bionic processor on all new iPhones. It currently works in beta mode and has bugs in most usage scenarios. The contours in portraits turn out to be rough, and small parts objects in front easily fall into the surrounding darkness (when choosing stage lighting).
The G8 camera also received the Slow Sync function, which allows you to take pictures with adequate exposure even in low light. Previously, the flash would only “pierce” the nearby object, leaving the background in darkness. Now the background is captured using a longer shutter speed. The result is good pictures, where the dark surroundings are clearly visible, and the main subject is not overexposed.
There are new available video formats, such as 4K with 60 FPS and slo-mo with 240 FPS.
Performance
Here the “eight” has no equal. It is even inferior to it in the Geekbench and AnTuTu tests. Heavy games fly, there are no freezes, all the new features like ARKit applications and portrait lighting mode work with a bang.
Autonomy
The battery capacity has been reduced from 2,900 mAh to 2,675 mAh, but the battery life of the 8 Plus remains the same as that of the 7 Plus, if not better. You can actively use your iPhone throughout the day, and before going to bed you will find that it has retained 10–20% of its charge.
In addition, new power standards have appeared: Qi and Fast Charging. Wireless Qi charging allows you to reduce the number of wires on your desktop, and fast charging will help charge your iPhone many times faster than using the original plug out of the box. Using both standards requires the purchase of special adapters.
What is the difference between 8 Plus and 7 Plus
Based on the above, it is easy to make a list of noticeable differences:
- Glass body.
- Faster performance with the new A11 Bionic processor.
- Wireless and fast charging.
- True Tone mode.
- Improved camera.
- Portrait lighting mode.
- Slow Sync function.
- Supports video in HDR10 and Dolby Vision formats.
Price
The price of the iPhone 8 Plus depends on the amount of memory: the version with 64 GB on board will cost 64,990 rubles, with 256 GB - 76,990 rubles.
conclusions
In 2018, it is strange to say that some iPhone is better another. - each of them will appeal to its user. The Eight is suitable for those who are looking for a more compact flagship, and the X is for those who want everything at once.
8 Plus is not a suitable option for those who want to save money, as evidenced by the price close to the iPhone X. This smartphone is designed, rather, for fans of Apple’s “pluses” who are accustomed to taking the most advanced iPhone model, but are not ready to part with the Home button and unlock the lock using their face rather than their finger.
Everything in the box is as always
Apple has completely given up on surprises for its fans. There is nothing unusual inside the iPhone box:
- 5 V and 1 A power supply (yes, for fast charging you need to buy a separate charger)
- lightning cable
- adapter from Lightning to 3.5 mm
- wired headphones with Lightning connector
Yes, new iPhones still cannot be connected to new MacBooks. You need to buy a USB adapter<->USB C for 1500 rubles. Well, or just order a similar adapter from Aliexpress for a dollar and a half, which, in fact, is what I did.
Only the appearance of the packaging has changed. Now the box is entirely painted in the color of the iPhone that is hidden inside.
New-old design
Front new iPhone 8 indistinguishable from the seven at all. Completely black glass panel, 2.5D glass, Touch ID (works great) - everything is as always.
Of course, the glass has an oleophobic coating and it is of very high quality. There is also an anti-fingerprint coating on the back, don't worry.
However, the Touch ID sensor does not have any “oleophobia”. If the screen glass is clean, the sensor picks up fingerprints very quickly. But it's not that scary.
The most important! iPhone 8 is less slippery than all its predecessors.
Glass still clings to the palm better than matte, polished metal, and this is a fact. Apple also claims that the glass in the new product has become 50% stronger (apparently relative to its predecessor), therefore, it will become more difficult to break the iPhone. And yet, for some reason, I am sure that it is still not as strong as .
The glass panel on the back is also needed so that the figure eight can be charged via wireless charging. Fortunately, Apple didn’t split hairs and the new product is compatible with the very common Qi standard. I bought an adapter from Belkin, I will try it in action and will definitely post the results.
Another small cosmetic change compared to the previous generation is that the antenna strips have now become shorter and are visible only on the side ends. There are four of them, they look neat, decorous, noble.
If you have any doubts about which iPhone to choose, I suggest looking at the photos below. An ordinary eight and a giant plus against its background.
Those who are really waiting black iPhone, disappointment awaits.
iPhone 8 is never “black”.
It only looks black at dusk or in a room with very poor lighting. In all other situations it appears dark gray. The back seems to be made of smoothly polished stone.
Now for other colors. Be very careful when choosing a gold color. It’s better to look at the handset in person and turn it in your hands before buying. In not very good lighting, the back does not look white, but with a clear pinkish tint.
There is nothing to say about the silver model - the most boring option.
"TruTon" screen
What would I choose: 120 Hz picture refresh rate or some incomprehensible True Tone? Definitely the first.
The iPad Pro 10.5'', which has a display with a refresh rate of 120 Hz, looks simply amazing. Any animation on it is perceived in a completely new way, and all other screens after it, including the iPhone 8, are perceived very painfully.
And with True Tone, the panel looks just fun. Yes, the temperature of the colors constantly changes depending on the ambient light (the screen mainly shines with a yellow tint). The display either “warms” or “cools” and it’s cool, but there’s no “wow” here. We lived without this feature, we felt good, but with it... well, it was cool. No more.
Below in the photo is the iPhone 8 Plus screen (top or left) and the iPhone 8 display (bottom or right).
Otherwise, these are completely identical screens to the 7th. Same brightness, contrast and resolution.
By the way, despite the evil smiles of Android fans, on which there are smartphones with 4K resolution, the iPhone 8’s dot density is enough. At least for a 4.7-inch diagonal. At the same time, Apple saves a pretty penny by not ordering expensive panels with a higher resolution for its brainchild.
3D Touch, incredibly cool Taptic Engine vibration response, maximum pressure sensitivity - all this is in place. However, if we remove all these goodies, then we have a regular IPS matrix, which is covered with a lilac fog at extreme viewing angles.
iPhone 8 Specifications
The easiest way to compare the technical characteristics of the iPhone 8 with the iPhone 7 is in the table. Green indicates improvements, and red indicates deterioration. Yes, there are such parameters.
iPhone 7 | iPhone 8 |
|
Display | IPS, 4.7 inches, 1334 x 750 (326 ppi density), 1400:1 contrast ratio, 625 nits brightness | IPS, 4.7 inches, 1334 x 750 (326 ppi density), 1400:1 contrast ratio, 625 nits brightness, True Tone technology, HDR and Dolby Vision support |
CPU | A10 Fusion (2.34 GHz, 4 cores, 16 nm) + M10 motion coprocessor | A11 Bionic (6 cores, 10 nm) + M11 motion coprocessor |
Graphic arts | Own graphics accelerator | Own triple-core processor (30% more powerful than its predecessor) |
RAM | 2 GB |
|
Built-in memory | 32, 64 or 128 GB | 64 or 256 GB |
Main camera | 12 MP (f/1.8, 28 mm, 1.22 micron dot size, sapphire coating, optical stabilization, 4-section True Tone flash, 4K 30 FPS recording, Slo-Mo 1080p at 120 FPS) | 12 MP (f/1.8, 28 mm, sapphire coating, optical stabilization, 4-section True Tone Slow Sync flash, 4K 60 FPS recording, Slo-Mo 1080p at 240 FPS) |
Front-camera | 7 MP (f/2.2, HDR, EIS, 1080p recording) |
|
Battery | 1960 mAh | 1821 mAh ( fast and wireless Qi charging) |
Connectors | Lightning |
|
Sensors | Light and proximity sensor, accelerometer, gyroscope, Touch ID, digital compass, barometer |
|
Water and dust protection | IP67 |
|
Wireless interfaces | Wi-Fi (802.11 ac, Dual Band), Bluetooth 4.2, NFC, GPS, Glonass | Wi-Fi (802.11 ac, Dual Band), Bluetooth 5.0, NFC, GPS, Glonass, Galileo |
Connection | LTE-A Cat. 12 | LTE-A |
Most people will definitely like the fact that the smartphone now sounds a quarter louder. The sound is bassy, clear and pleasant to the ear. You won't be able to dig in here. If anything, the main speaker from below is also helped by the conversational one.
The hardware in the new smartphone is so interesting that there is a reason to break this matter into separate items.
A processor that's smarter than you
The new product has a smaller battery, but it lasts the same amount of time. And all thanks to the new A11 Bionic processor, which is made using a 10-nanometer process technology. The previous chipset (A10 Fusion) was created based on the 16 nm process technology.
All this means that 8 works faster and consumes less energy. Plus and minus give the same autonomy, which we will talk about in more detail later.
Graphics performance has increased very noticeably - by 30 percent.
Although, it would seem, much more. And Apple has an answer why it is needed - for augmented reality or AR.
Tim Cook optimistically states that soon we will not be able to imagine our ordinary life without AR. And I completely agree with him. Strange and wretched VR is just a toy, and an expensive one at that. For normal virtual reality you need the most powerful hardware, screens with an incredible pixel density (well over 600 ppi) and more or less compact dimensions of the final device. And no one has yet managed to combine all this in one device. Lost business.
But AR is the future. I pointed my smartphone at the urban landscape and saw everything I needed: where there is food and how far to get to it, what kind of monument is in front of you, what reviews of the museum and what it is actually called. In general, we are waiting for this whole thing to develop into a mass phenomenon.
And A11 Bionic is a chipset in which resources are allocated for machine learning. Separate modules (I believe) are responsible for studying your habits and optimizing the operation of your smartphone for your specific tasks. So, if the processor figured that, say, checking your mail does not require many resources, it will not redirect powerful cores to it in advance with higher frequencies work. Here's to saving energy at the same time.
Doesn't he slow down for an hour?
Of course not! The iPhone 8 works very quickly, the animation flies and does not lag a bit.
However, at one point I still managed to catch small, but still brakes. This happened when one time I took the device out of my pocket and unlocked it with a completely normal touch on the Touch ID sensor. The unlocking animation worked with barely noticeable brakes. It was as if I caught the smartphone at the wrong moment, when it was busy processing some processes. An isolated incident, never repeated.
Regarding performance in applications and games, we can say that the iPhone 8 has a long lifespan. For three or four years for sure.
And, by the way, it is the regular eight that can rightfully be called the most powerful smartphone in the world. Below is a rating from Geekbench that confirms this.
We say thanks to the low screen resolution. The processor doesn't need to process extra pixels, which is why the 8 Plus and even the iPhone X are a little behind their younger brother.
RAM test
In the new generation we have, as before, 2 GB random access memory and by the standards of the Android world this is extremely little. But not for the iPhone 8. Here are the results of my test.
I did a dirty test: I used my smartphone as usual, with 26 applications open in the background. I launched Safari and opened my five heavy reviews:
Switching between tabs was painless. Nothing was reloaded, YouTube inserts within texts were launched without problems, and so on.
Then I went out and opened a few more utilities: Photos, Camera, Instagram and google maps. Returned to Safari and that's it open tabs started to reboot. In other words…
2 GB of RAM is still not enough even for iOS.
Against the background of the standard eight Plus version looks like a monster and here's why. The older model has already received 3 GB of RAM and this allows it to easily run 46 applications in the background, as was the case in my case. I opened the same reviews, then launched a dozen other programs, including World of Tanks and the AR utility Night Shift, and only then two of the ones opened in Safari tabs started to reboot. As they say, feel the difference.
Cameras
At the presentation they assured that the new smartphone began to take pictures even better. Well, let's see.
Front-camera
A common problem with many front cameras is exposure errors. The face is visible normally, but the entire background is overexposed. Well, or vice versa.
This problem is also present here, but it is very weakly expressed. The algorithms try their best to correctly determine the desired exposure, and at the same time not make a mistake with the white balance, and not give you a blue face, for example.
In general, HDR on the front camera works great. Yes, the face becomes slightly flat, but the background will not be overexposed.
In general, it seemed to me that the camera had not changed at all. Seven knew how to take great selfies and eight certainly didn’t ruin anything. But it didn’t improve either.
Main camera
iPhone photos are very easy to recognize - they all have some kind of yellowish, sandy tint. Same Samsung Galaxy The S8 shoots as is. Well, maybe it lifts the colors a little, but the photos don’t fade with any extraneous colors.
Fortunately, this problem is less pronounced in the eights than in the previous generation. Desert yellow is present, but not as noticeable.
HDR photos are as good as always. The dynamic range covers most situations, all objects are visible in the frame, without overexposure or other crimes. Let's see what it looks like.
Good job HDR
Once the automation went stupid and painted the sky an acid blue hue. Although there were no signs of trouble.
Separately, a few words about macro. It's fantastic!
Yes, now many smartphones take pictures of flowers so cool that you will shake. However, taking pictures of the iPhone 8 can cause you to fall. And here's the proof (better sit down).
During the day, the iPhone takes exceptionally cool pictures. But even at night the device will not lose face. There are practically no blurry frames, autofocus clings to objects very firmly and quickly. Well, the detail is, of course, very high.
In general, the good thing about the iPhone camera is that it is maximally adapted for the average person. Everything here is tailored to a “point and shoot” scenario. There is no need to invent anything with white balance, adjust the shutter speed or ISO. For advanced photographers this is not very good, but for most it is a plus. And with the new iPhone everything becomes even easier, because it really takes better pictures.
By the way, this week I will release big iPhone comparison 8 and iPhone 7. There we will pit two generations against each other and see how much cooler the new product is. Keep your finger on the pulse, or better yet, bookmark the site.
By the way, we collect all the original photographs in one archive.
No second camera. It's a shame?
Compared to the older model (Plus), our hero looks faded because he cannot:
- blur the background or bokeh
- zoom in without loss of quality (“optical” zoom 2x)
- it does not have a “Portrait Lighting” mode (a cool feature, which I’ll tell you more about in iPhone review 8Plus)
In defense of those who settled on the usual eight, I will say the following. Background blur is a thing that looks very impressive, but those who don’t bother with portrait photography don’t need it.
Optical zoom is a useful thing when you can’t get closer to your subject. There is a possibility? Consider that you saved ten thousand rubles when buying a smartphone.
Portrait lighting is just a software filter and most likely all these effects will appear in third-party photo editors. Not a big loss.
Video recording
There are two innovations here. Let's go in order.
4K and 60 FPS
Yes, the iPhone 8 is the first smartphone that shoots 4K video at 60 frames. The videos look very smooth, all movements look very lively.
In addition, such cool content can be successfully used in video editors. This is a definite plus for beginners and not-so-video bloggers. Like me, for example. Although I still won't start.
Slow-slow Motion
What I love and respect iPhones for is Slo-Mo. No other device on the market can shoot such high-quality slow-motion videos. Manufacturers of Android devices, for inexplicable reasons, forget about this. But not Apple!
The Eight shoots Full HD video at 240 frames per second. Almost as cool as advanced action cameras. Only this is a phone.
And all this against the backdrop of the fact that many, even top manufacturers, have not yet switched to Full HD resolution. So they set their rotten HD at 120 FPS. In 2017!
How long does the battery last?
Few! U active users the smartphone will not survive until the evening. In general, all the same pain that was in the sevens.
One fact really upsets me. iPhone 8 supports fast charging(finally!!!1), but I have no idea how to experience it myself.
The kit includes a dead 1 amp power supply, with which the smartphone will charge as always for a long time. To get fast charging, you need an adapter with increased output current, but where can you get one? Chargers from MacBooks are not suitable because they have a plug USB Type-C, not Lightning. What should I do? Where to put the money, Apple?!
In general, the mythical 50 percent charge in 30 minutes remains a statement on the official website. No more.
But the fact that Apple did not release its own wireless charging along with the release of the iPhone 8 is very strange. For a company of this size! Still, wireless charging of the Qi standard is far from top-end space technology. Koreans have been churning out these accessories since 2014.
Yes, at the presentation we were shown AirPower, it will be released no one knows when (in 2018), no one knows how much it will cost, and not everyone needs a platform for charging everything at once. I would like something simpler, about 50 bucks.
That’s why I bought a white Belkin wireless charger (the Apple Store also has a Mophie, but black) and I’ll tell you more about it.
From zero to one hundred percent, the iPhone 8 is charged on such a wireless platform in... 3 hours 30 minutes!
And this despite the fact that the phone has a very weak 1821 mAh battery. Unrealistically long! Hence the simple conclusion - you need to charge your smartphone only at night. Quickly adding interest in the morning while you brush your teeth won't work. This is not Android!
A couple more points. In a moderately thick plastic case, charging is carried out, there are no problems. The smartphone does not heat up, it becomes slightly warm. Do not believe the contrary statements of some experts on the Internet.
What's the result? Take?
If you are an ardent “Apple” person, you have a MacBook, Apple Watch and all that stuff from the proprietary eco-system, then it’s worth buying the iPhone 8. But not now.
In three or four months it will be just right. The market will be saturated, prices for gray tubes will drop to an acceptable level, the first batches will be distributed throughout service centers with all sorts of childhood ailments that were not examined during production. Then you can take it. Save some money at the same time. Don't take it on credit!
Still, the iPhone 8 is the top device on the market. It is incredibly fast, has a great performance reserve and can finally compete with top Android gadgets (, Google Pixel 2) by photo quality.
But when it comes to video recording, the Apple device has no equal. If this is critical, then take the eight. What other conversations could there be?
But if you compare the iPhone 8 with the same 8 Plus or with the tenth version, then an interesting thing comes out. Despite the fact that we will sell it for 56,990 rubles (!!!), it is by no means a flagship. The usual eight seems to be created in order to make it clear to you that you spent a lot of money for an intermediate model. Do you want maximum photo quality? Be kind enough to fork out for Plus. If you want innovation, then you will have to pay two salaries for ten. And Apple doesn’t care about all the ugliness.
New Apple 2017 - smartphone iPhone 8 Plus turned out to be controversial both in terms of technical components and user reviews. It would be most logical to compare it directly with its closest brothers - the 7 Plus models and simply with the eight.
By the way, a few words about the name. According to traditional Apple logic, the next after the 7 Plus should be the 7s Plus, but the iPhone 8 Plus was born. It turns out that the smartphone has jumped one generation. This decision can be justified by two factors. The first is a purely marketing move, and we all know how much the Cupertino company loves such gestures. Secondly, there were so many innovations that it was more logical to present customers with a completely new gadget. In this review, we'll look at the main features of the new iPhone.
Specifications
For clarity, we present a complete and detailed table indicating all technical characteristics three smartphone models.
| Apple iPhone 8Plus | Apple iPhone 7 Plus | Apple iPhone 8 | |
| Display | 5.5″, IPS, 1920×1080, 401 ppi | 4.7″, IPS, 1334×750, 326 ppi | |
| CPU | Apple A10 Fusion (4 cores, 2+2) | SoC Apple A11 Bionic (6 cores, 2+4) | |
| Built-in flash memory | 64/256 GB | 32/128/256 GB | 64/256 GB |
| Connector | universal lightning connector | universal lightning connector | |
| Additional memory cards | No | No | No |
| RAM (GB) | 3 | 3 | 2 |
| Main camera | 12 MP; 4K 30 fps video with two lenses | 12 MP; 4K 60 fps video with two lenses | |
| Front-camera | 7 MP; shooting and transmitting Full HD video | 7 MP; shooting and transmitting Full HD video | |
| Owner identification | By fingerprint | By fingerprint | By fingerprint |
| Housing protection degree | IP67 (water and dust protection) | IP67 (water and dust protection) | IP67 (water and dust protection) |
| Battery capacity (mAh) | 2675 | 2900 | 1821 |
| OS | iOS 11 | iOS 10 with the ability to upgrade to iOS 11 | iOS 11 |
| Dimensions (mm) | 158×78×7.5 | 158×78×7.3 | 138×67×7.3 |
| Weight (g) | 202 | 189 | 148 |
The main difference between the new Apple iPhone 8 Plus and the younger regular iPhone 8 (besides the dimensions and weight) is the RAM increased to three gigabytes (versus two gigabytes for its predecessor). How this affected performance, as well as what else is different about the new iPhone, can only be understood after testing in the field.
Equipment
Apple’s boundless greed is known to everyone; with the release of the new model, nothing has changed - the complete package, if exaggerated, looks like “here’s the iPhone itself, buy the rest yourself.” The manufacturers also did not experiment with the box. We are offered a standard rectangular cardboard, which is painted in the color of the body.
iPhone 8 Plus box
On the front of the package is the iPhone itself, on the back is a description of the device, and in a separate line is the amount of built-in memory. The complete set looks like this:
- iPhone 8+ itself;
- wireless headphones EarPods for Lighting connector;
- Lightning\mini jack adapter;
- a paperclip to open the SIM slot;
- Charger;
- documentation.
The charger that comes in the kit (power 1 ampere) deserves special mention and “gratitude”. The owner of an iPhone will have to buy a more powerful memory. Another point that irritates users is the lack of a Lightning to USB C adapter in the complete package, which you will also have to purchase yourself.
Design and appearance
Among the main advantages why Apple gadgets are so loved are: appearance. The iPhone 8 is still just as cute, however, the front panel has remained unchanged since the “Seven”. A relative novelty can be considered the rear glass panel, which is equipped both simply with the “eight” and in the 8 Plus. For several generations of Apple smartphones, Apple preferred exclusively metal back surfaces; the last time such a solution was tried was on the iPhone 5C.
The dimensions of the iPhone 8 Plus are identical to the 7 Plus, which makes it possible to use an old case rather than buy a new one. True, there is one nuance. Thickness new iphone is 7.5 mm, which is already too much in modern realities. If you also put a cover on this case, the device will become too “bloated”.
Glass was chosen because it would be impossible to implement wireless charging with metal. As for the strength of the front and back glass, according to the manufacturer, it is 50% higher than that of the iPhone 7 Plus model. Based on user reviews, the material is actually quite strong, but you shouldn’t expect any miracles from it. If it falls out of your hands, you can count on a “50 to 50” chance, that is, “either it will break or not,” which is already better compared to previous, more fragile models, in which a fall would damage the glass with a 100% probability.
The same applies to abrasions and scratches on the case - even after three months of wear without a case, such defects did not appear. Both glasses have a good oleophobic coating, which practically does not leave fingerprints, which can also be considered a plus. By the way, it is recommended to buy black models - scratches on them are not so visible.
The frame of the Athos 8 Plus is reinforced with 7000 series aluminum - the same material used in the aerospace industry. In this case, the frame is painted to match the body itself. Painted in six layers to achieve maximum color depth. A few words about color solutions. You can purchase a smartphone in only two tones:
- Space Gray “space gray” (as close as possible to black);
- Silver "silver" and Gold "gold".
There is also a limited edition of phones with a red casing. The saddest thing is that there is no all-black model.
Color solutions Apple cases iPhone 8 Plus
Interesting note. The most popular in Russia is the iPhone 8 in a gold case. It is preferred by both women and men. Previously, the stronger sex traditionally preferred black models.
Now about the iPhone controls. Their location remains the same as in the previous model:
- at the bottom of the front part there is a “Home” button (by the way, it will disappear only in the X version of the smartphone);
- at the top - front camera and stereo speaker;
- rear - dual camera and flash;
- the bottom edge is a microphone, a second stereo speaker and a Lightning connector;
- the right side is the on/off button and the SIM card tray (traditionally, you can only use one SIM card);
- left side - buttons for adjusting volume and turning on silent mode;
- upper limit - nothing.
Dimensions of iPhone 8 Plus in a woman's palm
The dimensions of the iPhone are 158.4x78.1x7.5 mm, weight - 202 grams. In fact, the 5.5-inch screen turned out to be too large; you can see how it looks in the palm of your hand in the photo above. Many users noted that the iPhone 8 is not very convenient to carry in your pocket and is difficult to transport. To be fair, it must be said that in this case it was necessary to buy the “younger brother” iPhone without the Plus prefix. Its 4.7 diagonal will be more convenient, especially for people with small palms.
The iPhone 8 case meets the IP67 protection standard - the same standard as the previous iPhone. It’s worth mentioning right away that the smartphone is only waterproof, not waterproof, that is, it is not recommended to completely immerse it in water.
Display
The new iPhone 8 has a 5.5-inch Retina HD LCD screen with a resolution of 1920×1080 pixels, 401 ppi and an aspect ratio of 16:9. It occupies 67.63% of the front area of the phone. The characteristics cannot be called record-breaking even for 2017, in addition, they are identical to the 7 plus model. However, there are also innovations, the main one of which is the True Tone technology for full color temperature adaptation. The smartphone is equipped with a four-channel ambient light sensor, thanks to which the equipment can automatically adjust the white balance. The image on the screen will be closer to the “paper” version, not the “digital” one.
True Tone technology on the iPhone 8 screen
As a result, the iPhone 8’s automation adjusts the image so that it looks as natural as possible and does not strain your eyesight, regardless of the level of illumination around. This technology first appeared in the iPod Pro, as in the iPhone, it can be disabled in the settings.
The maximum display brightness is 625 cd/m² - the same as in the “seven”. This is completely enough to comfortably view images in bright sunlight. Among distinctive characteristics It is worth noting the best color rendition. The picture looks juicier and brighter. It uses dual-domain pixel technology, which gives the screen a wide viewing angle. Traditionally good quality The olephobic coating is also different, which prevents the appearance of stains and fingerprints on the screen.
Summing up the display, we can safely say that the iPhone 8 is better than its predecessor. The reason for this is the unique True Tone technology. No other smartphone can provide this level of color reproduction.
Wireless charger
The main reason why the back panel is made entirely of glass is the desire to equip the iPhone 8 with wireless charging functionality. Apple did not reinvent the wheel and used the Qi standard. The market offers a large number of such chargers. You can find a replacement for the weak original memory from the basic package.
Another option is to purchase a docking station for your iPhone. The device is made in the form of a stand on which the iPhone 8 is installed. At the bottom of the station there is a Lightning port (it is responsible for recharging), there are also ports for connecting to a PC or power supply, plus a mini jack for connecting speakers or headphones. This gadget has several advantages - the phone will not “fly” off the table due to careless movement, you can charge your smartphone and listen to music at the same time.
Another charger from Apple is AirPower. A special feature is the simultaneous charging of up to three devices. For example - iPhone, AirPods and Apple Watch. However, the device has not yet been released.
Another feature of the iPhone 8 is the function of fast charging the device from 0 to 50% in just half an hour. The only condition is that you will have to purchase an adapter to USB-C with a power of 87 W. As we remember, it is not included in the main package.
Sound
The sound quality of the iPhone 8 has become noticeably better compared to its predecessor, and we are talking about both stereo speakers and the quality of music in headphones (although in the second case a lot depends on the external device). The speakers became noticeably louder, the sound was full and rich, bass was better transmitted, no squeaking or grinding was noticed even at maximum volume levels. Excellent bass should appeal to those who like to watch videos on iPhone - in addition to the large screen, there is now high-quality sound.
According to the developers, the volume level in the iPhone 8 Plus is 25% higher than that of the iPhone 7 Plus. According to the personal feelings of users, the company, as always, lied. Yes, the volume has been increased, but it would be more fair to talk about 10-15%, although this is a significant increase - considering that the quality has also become better.
The only relative disadvantage of the iPhone is that it is not possible to directly connect ordinary wired headphones, which were left over, say, from a previous gadget. New smartphone It is only friendly with wireless devices that have a Lightning port, and their selection, quality and price are often incomparable with their wired counterparts. However, even the package includes an adapter from Lightning to a classic mini jack, and therefore the problem is solved.
Cameras
The iPhone 8 series is equipped with two main cameras:
- wide-angle lens with 6 blades and f\1.8 aperture;
- telephoto lens with f\2.8 aperture.
It is noteworthy that only the wide-angle has an optical stabilization function. Both cameras have a resolution of 12 megapixels. Despite the identical camera performance (compared to the seventh model), the quality of photographs has become an order of magnitude better. Apple has decided to abandon the dubious digital zoom. A wide-angle lens is used for classic photography, and a telephoto lens is used for portraits. Below is an example of photos from an iPhone in equal lighting conditions.
Focal length: 29mm
Focal length: 57 mm
A portrait lens slightly blurs the image, gives softer pastel colors, and you can see a slight noise. Yes, wide angle is better in terms of image quality, but it’s worth remembering what specific tasks different lenses are used for. All the disadvantages of a portrait camera, if it is used specifically for portraits, become its advantages.
Portrait on iPhone 8
The lenses also perform well in low light conditions.
iPhone 8 camera at night
And in daylight conditions.
iPhone 8 camera during the day
In the settings of the iPhone 8, by default, shooting with HDR effects is set - you can turn it off if you wish. This mainly applies to close-up and mid-range portraits. This solution (two lenses with different tasks) is the main reason why buyers paid attention to the iPhone 8.
It's also worth mentioning the software portrait mode, which can be enabled in the settings. It has been completely redesigned, now the background blurs more naturally, and the detail of the main object has become higher. In the dark, the lens also produces a good image without graininess. In addition, when turned on iphone mode"Portrait" can now use flash and HDR mode. The good news is that you can set portrait lighting with one touch; the options are “day”, “studio”, “contour”, “stage” and “mono stage”. We strongly recommend experimenting with the settings, taking pictures in different conditions (outdoors and indoors) and under different lighting conditions - this is the only way to determine the optimal shooting parameters.
As for the front camera, there are no revolutionary solutions to be expected here - it completely replicates the iPhone 7 and 7 plus models. True, the manufacturer announced new feature Slow Sync, which appeared on the True Tone Quad-LED flash, improves the quality of selfies at night. Thus, the technology involves illuminating the face, and not the face and background, as a result, the subject appears clearer. It is still not recommended to take selfies in the dark - there will definitely be noise or blurring due to the long shutter speed.
Example of a night selfie on iPhone 8
Example of a daytime selfie on iPhone 8
Video shooting
The new iPhone 8 and its big brother attracted not only photographers, but also videographers. The device can now shoot videos at a frequency of 60 frames per second, versus 30 for the previous model, and do it in 4K resolution. I would like to make a reservation right away. If you take an iPhone specifically for shooting video, it is recommended to buy a device with a built-in memory of 256 gigabytes. The rollers weigh a lot, but add additional card memory will not work.
Optical stabilization works great, eliminating the slightest hand shake, while the image does not twitch, as happens even with Android flagships. The stabilization turns out to be lively and soft - it’s clear that it was filmed handheld, but the picture comes out excellent. By the way, about picture quality - the iPhone has proven itself well for both daytime and nighttime video shooting. It is also worth praising the unit for its ability to make slow-motion video with a frequency of 249 fps and a resolution of 1920x1080 - at the time of the release of this phone, no rival could boast of such indicators. Some disadvantages can be called high frequency stream of slow-motion videos at 109 Mbit/s, which causes difficulties with their installation - you will have to get a powerful computer.
Technical equipment
The first thing you want to pay attention to when talking about the internal filling of the iPhone is the six-core A11 Bionic chipset, which leaves far behind all its rivals like Qualcomm, HiSilicon and MediaTek. Now comes the most interesting part. The smartphone simply does not need such power. The point is that the previous iphone model even in 2017, it remained the most powerful smartphone in the world, which was 70% more powerful than competitors (on four cores) or 30% (on two). And here comes a device that is ahead of even these indicators (the chipset is 30% faster than in the “seven”). Not the “heaviest” mobile game, not even the much-hyped AR augmented reality requires such power. For clarity, here is a test using the Geekbench 4 benchmark.
A11 Bionic supports Metal 2 graphics technology, which is used to create VR and AR applications, which has become an incentive for developers to develop more demanding and more complex games.
Now about RAM. iPhone 8 is equipped with 3 gigabytes. This may cause some skepticism among some users, because even Chinese crafts for $200 are equipped with 6 GB modules, but the point is not in quantity, but in quality. Tests have shown that the gadget can easily withstand 45-50 simultaneously open applications, while none of them go into reboot, and this did not affect the performance of the iPhone in any way. So we can safely say that Phone 8 Plus is the fastest and most powerful smartphone of 2017.
operating system
One small clarification that you need to know about if you are moving from iOS 10 to version 11. IN new system There is no support for 32-bit applications, they are not in the store and you cannot install them. Most people will not notice this, since in fact the transition to 64-bit utilities began back in 2013 and now there is no shortage of software, but information is never superfluous.
About operating system. iPhone users noted that it was very buggy and sluggish. It was also called “the crudest Apple product in the field.” software" Well, this is really true - the first iOS version 11 was indeed unstable and worked disgustingly. What can we say if two updates were released in just the first week.
However, gradually the situation changed. As of the end of 2018, no serious problems is not observed with the OS. The main thing is not to prevent it from being completely updated after turning on the iPhone for the first time.
In general, this is a convenient human-oriented operating system. Even for a user who has never picked up a smartphone before, a day will be enough to figure everything out. It’s not for nothing that Apple has always put usability at the core of its products.
Autonomous operation and heating of the device
Despite the fact that the battery capacity of model 8 is slightly lower than that of model 7 (2675 versus 2900 mAh), the battery life is approximately the same. The official documents provide the following figures:
- 21 hours of talking;
- 60 hours of listening to music;
- 14 hours of video viewing;
- 13 hours of surfing the Internet.
Due to the resource-saving Apple A11 Bionic chipset, there was no need to preserve the full battery capacity. According to reviews from iPhone users, the battery charge in medium intensity mode (web surfing, photo and video shooting, receiving calls and messages) is enough for about plus or minus two full days. For intense workloads (games, shooting a lot of videos in 4K, a lot of conversations) - completely for the working day.
As for heating, it is the same as with the previous iPhone seventh series - the back panel heats up, but not critically. Here is a snapshot obtained after two 10-minute runs of the Basemark Metal test.
TestBasemark MetaloniPhone 8 Plus
So low heat can be considered a plus. The highest temperature is in the upper left part, this is due to the location of the SoC chips.
Results. To buy or not
Let's start with the pros:
- iPhone 8 Plus is the most powerful smartphone of 2017, and even in the realities of 2019, its power will be enough to run the most demanding games;
- good iPhone performance despite the small amount of RAM;
- cameras - the best at the time the iPhone was released;
- wireless charging and headphones (with reservations).
Now the cons:
- the design has refused to change for many years;
- stingy basic iPhone equipment;
- not very comfortable to use due to the screen being too large (with reservations);
- there is no design in a completely black case;
- price.
However, the main disadvantage of the iPhone is the lack of any breakthrough changes compared to the seventh model. Part of the reason for this is that all the innovation is reserved for the X Series.
Who to buy? If you have the sixth iPhone model or lower, you want modern apparatus- buy. If you value high-quality photos and videos and know how to take correct setting lenses - definitely buy.
Who shouldn't buy an iPhone? Everyone else. It would be more logical to overpay and buy the tenth version of the gadget, since this one did not have any very noticeable advantages (except for those described above).
Apple smartphone iPhone 8 Plus: review and specifications
Loading...
