Hey there, Alex here.
The iPhone 8 is the best iPhone yet, but it’s
also the most boring.
It’s still using a similar shape and design
that has been around for quite a while now,
the bezels are still comically huge in comparison
to other modern flagship devices,
the screen still has the same resolution and
wide colour gamut as before,
and it’s still using the same Touch ID sensor
as the last two iPhones.
So what exactly makes it so good?
Well, mainly, everything just works.
And on paper, it’s a pretty complete package
for a smartphone today.
We start off with the new glass back panel,
which not only gives the back of the iPhone
a slightly updated look,
but also finally brings wireless charging
to iPhones.
It’s using the same Qi wireless charging
standard here, which is good since charging
pads are easier to find.
But other than that, we still get the same
IP67 rating for water and dust resistance,
and a decent pair of stereo speakers that
actually sounds noticeably louder than the
iPhone 7.
And at this point, you should already know
that you’re not getting a headphone jack.
The next sort of new thing would be the True-Tone
display.
We first saw this on the iPads, and basically
it changes the white balance of the screen
to auto-magically match the environment I’m in.
The result is a display that never really
looks too blueish
or yellowish under different types of lighting,
and it looks pretty amazing.
Next up is the new A11 Bionic chipset,
which brings with it an insane amount of processing
power,
as well as upgraded bluetooth and wireless
radios.
In general day to day stuff, I don’t think
most people will notice any improvements in
speed over the iPhone 7.
Gaming performance is great as per usual,
and the UI performance is fluid and responsive
for the most part.
Occasionally I do see some dropped frames
in the UI,
but I’m pretty sure those will be fixed
eventually since iOS 11 is so new.
I think all the extra power here is to ensure
that the phone will keep performing well for
years to come,
as well as to run those Augmented Reality
stuff that Apple seems to be pushing.
I would talk a little bit more about AR,
but there isn’t really much apps around
to say for sure whether it’s going to be
the next big thing,
so I’ll leave my judgement for another day.
Despite a slightly smaller battery capacity,
the battery life still seems to give the same
ballpark figure as the iPhone 7.
Which is to say decent, but not great.
If you’re a heavier user,
you could choose to just leave your phone
on a wireless charging pad as often as you can,
or shell out a bit more cash to make use of
that new fast charging feature.
The camera is probably where most people will
see the biggest upgrade.
It has the same aperture and resolution, but
trust me, it’s a noticeable upgrade even
from the iPhone 7.
Apple seems to be employing an auto HDR mode
similar to the Google Pixel.
Even in situations with high contrast in lighting,
it’s still able to pull off a balanced looking
shot without making it look too unrealistic.
Apple also decided to tweak the image processing
to show off a bit more colours in the shot,
and I think it’s something that most people
will probably like, myself included.
It’s just such an enjoyable camera to use
in most lighting situations,
and I’ve always liked how Apple processes
their images.
I did notice that in low light it can struggle
with moving subjects though, probably because
of auto HDR too.
There isn’t really anything ground-breaking
here,
and it’s not a giant leap forward in terms
of image quality.
But it’s a really solid performer, and goes
toe-to-toe with the best that Android has
to offer,
and that’s not always something I can say
about iPhones in the last few years.
Then you get a few additional bonuses like
60fps 4K recording, and 240fps 1080p slow
motion capture.
Both of which works remarkably well, especially
with the solid optical and electronic stabilisation
at work.
The front 7MP camera is pretty decent too.
I like the natural looking images in daylight,
but it can struggle a little in low light.
If you’re looking at the bigger iPhone 8
Plus,
you get some additional features for portrait
mode too, but since I only have the iPhone 8,
I’ll leave the more in-depth look for when
I review the iPhone X which has a dual camera
setup too, so stay tune for that.
Before we wrap this up, let’s talk a little
about iOS 11.
There is a new slightly customisable control
centre, a new files app to manage your online storage,
tweaks to the UI of some apps, additional
option and features for screenshots,
a more natural sounding Siri, a Do Not Disturb
mode while driving, and many more.
But my favourite is just how I can select
multiple apps to rearrange at the same time.
I don’t think there are any new must-have
features here, and anyway, iOS 11 is available
for older iPhones too.
So I’m not going to talk too much about
it.
It’s a decent update, but nothing really
ground-breaking here for me.
And really that the main story about the iPhone
8 in general.
It’s an upgrade to an already well-refined
phone.
It’s the best version of what we know as
the traditional iPhone.
If you just want a tried and tested iPhone
that just works,
the iPhone 8 is a decent option that doesn’t
break the bank.
I don’t see much of a point if you’re
coming from the iPhone 7,
unless you really want that new camera.
In fact, you could even consider getting the
iPhone 7 to save yourself a bit of money,
and you won’t really be missing out on much.
But if you’re coming from anything older
than that, it’s a really solid upgrade.
The iPhone 8 is the best iPhone for now,
but with the iPhone X on its way in just over
a month,
it’s already starting to feel little old.
Thanks for watching my review of the iPhone
8.
If you liked it be sure to give me a thumbs
up and subscribe to the channel.
Thanks, and see you guys on the next one.
