Apple iPhone 8 and Apple iPhone 8 Plus - is it worth buying?

At the risk of incurring the wrath of Apple fans, let's try to figure out whether it's worth buying the iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus or whether only the iPhone X deserves attention

Is it worth buying new iPhone?

The very formulation of the question immediately puts it in the category of holivar. For a real Apple fan, any criticism of Apple is pure blasphemy. And any mention of competitors in this context only evokes a condescending smile.

On the other hand, the days of Apple's unconditional dominance are long gone. There are plenty of smartphones on the market that represent the best combination of price and quality. In any case, an increasing number of users think so.

Previously, it was easy to dismiss this argument, pointing to the notorious user experience and bug-free operating system iOS, which more than compensated for the lack of some functions in the iPhone or weaker characteristics.

But Android has come a long way in recent years. And, while still winning in flexibility of settings, it is now not inferior to iOS in stability. And the latest iOS “jokes” are capable of infuriating even the most ardent fan (more on that below).

In addition, Apple's main innovations in 2017 are concentrated in the iPhone X - this is a truly interesting gadget in many respects. Thus, the new iPhone 8 looks quite pale.

1 Minimum innovation

The Apple iPhone 8 is a minimal upgrade over the iPhone 7.

This is not a new argument. Previously, something similar was always said about models with the “s” prefix. They repeated the design of last year's models and had only one or two new functions. And many users simply skipped them in anticipation of next year’s “all-new” iPhone.

From this point of view, the iPhone 8 should actually be called the iPhone 7s.

But the situation looks somewhat atypical, because the iPhone 7 itself was the first new product in the history of an Apple smartphone to use the same design for the third (!) time in a row.

Thus, the iPhone 8 is the fourth incarnation of the design introduced in 2014 with the release of the iPhone 6.

In a word, if you are the owner of a “Seven” and at the same time you are not one of those Apple fans who buy new products because “it’s Apple” and because there is money, then an upgrade is not necessary.

2 Price

Again, this argument won't have any effect on "real" Apple fans, but for others it might matter. Especially if you are going to buy new iPhones in Ukraine at local prices.

Prices for the 64 GB version start from 25 thousand UAH, and for 256 GB you will have to pay more than 30 thousand UAH. And if you're interested in the iPhone 8 Plus, the numbers are even higher.

Apple iPhone 8 and 8 Plus are the most expensive smartphones in the world, which in terms of their characteristics and capabilities are quite consistent with... Android flagships from a year ago (more on this below).

3 Image?

From an image point of view, the iPhone is still on top. No matter how Samsung’s PR people fight, in polite society, casually taking the “latest” iPhone out of your pocket is still more pretentious than anything else.

But even from this point of view, the iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus will not be a smart purchase. External differences from the “sevens” and “sixes” are minimal. The glass “back” is not always noticeable at a quick glance, especially if the smartphone is in a case (and this is how they are most often carried, considering how expensive it is, often bought on credit).

The real image hit of fall 2017 will be the iPhone X. But it costs completely different money.

4 Practicality

The glass “back”, which appeared for the sake of the wireless charging function, is many times less practical than the metal one.

Have you ever repaired a broken iPhone screen? Remember the prices? So, the back of the iPhone 8 can break in the same way as the front.

In the US, the price for replacing the back panel of the iPhone 8 has already been announced - $349. For iPhone 8 Plus - $399. That's higher than the cost of replacing the screen! This is the logic of doing business at Apple.

And in Ukraine prices are likely to be even higher.

Metal back cover“sixes” and “sevens” are many times more practical. Metal is more difficult to damage than glass. Many owners of devices that have been repeatedly dropped never even thought of changing the back covers.

5 Lagging behind competitors

Apple iPhone 8 is comparable in its characteristics and capabilities to Samsung Galaxy S7 and a number of other flagships from last year. Today you can buy them for absolutely ridiculous money compared to the iPhone 8.

This year's flagships are ahead in terms of their capabilities. The iPhone X is designed to compete with them. Well, the iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus look pale against this background.

In fact, the only reasonable purchase scenario is that you broke your iPhone 7 and don’t want to buy the same model a second time. The revolutionary iPhone X is too expensive for you, and for some reason you are not considering Android. In this case, the “eight” is a completely logical update.

6 Accessories

The iPhone 8 was the first time Apple had a feature fast charging, which many competitors have had for a long time. But unlike them, Apple decided to make a little extra money on accessories.

Therefore, a fast charging plug is not included with the iPhone 8. It must be purchased separately.

Full charging set (it is identical here to the one for new MacBooks) will cost almost 2 thousand UAH.

This is typical for Apple history. The company has very expensive branded cables and chargers, which, by the way, are not always very reliable.

Of course, alternative chargers “from China” are already on the way. And their price will be lower. But competitors usually come with such a charger included.

7 "Jokes" iOS

Apple has always acted as if better users knows what they need. Latest iOS update resulted in the user turning off WiFi and Bluetooth via quick settings, can't actually be sure that connections will actually be disconnected.

The company felt that users are not always able to understand that by disabling connection protocols, they can disrupt the operation of, say, Apple Watch. Therefore, in order to really completely turn off these services, you need to go to the menu and turn off the connections there again.

And yes, there is still no normal in iOS file manager(the one that appeared in iOS 11 is more of a means of accessing files in iCloud). Also, it's 2017, but working with files on the iPhone still requires desktop computer with iTunes (in some cases this can be bypassed, but this is not obvious to most users).

Also, iOS still has a strange limitation on the size of files downloaded via cellular network. Considering current prices for mobile internet and available packages that include many gigabytes of traffic, it is hardly logical to run around and look for WiFi in order to download an update that is a measly 300 MB in size.

And you still can't arrange app icons any way you want. For example, at the top and bottom of the screen, so that, for example, you can admire the beautiful desktop wallpaper. And some kind of widgets that appeared in iOS a couple of years ago can still be used only on a separate screen, and not on all desktops. This is probably not least why most users don’t even remember their existence.

You still can't record telephone conversations. On Android you can do this with third party applications, and many smartphones in recent years have such functionality right in their native firmware.

8 Wrong iPhone

And again about the main thing. The real “new” iPhone of 2017 is the iPhone X.

Its advantages and disadvantages are a topic for a separate article. However, it is clear that a number of innovative solutions that Apple has used in the iPhone X make it an interesting player in the market.

Even the most ardent Apple “haters” cannot say that the iPhone X is a dummy.

In other words, the iPhone X is the noteworthy gadget from Apple this year. Not the iPhone 8 or iPhone 8 Plus.

In September 2017 Apple company promises to release new iPhone called iPhone 8. For its 10th anniversary, the brand will surprise its fans with a new design of the gadget - the front and back panels of the “eight” will be made entirely of glass. The WINDOWS MEDIA portal talks about the features of the unusual material and the associated characteristics of the iPhone8.

In fact, the idea of ​​a glass smartphone is not so new: glass in the design of the iPhone was used in the fourth model of the future iPhone 8. The new product looks like a direct relative of the “four.” It is distinguished by several innovations: The back and front panels are made of sapphire glass. Today, this expensive material is used in premium smartphones. The advantages of this coating include its resistance to wear and scratches. At the same time, sapphire glass is an incredibly fragile material: with a strong impact, the glass can crumble to pieces. Which is not very pleasant, given its high cost. However, Apple seems to have found a solution to this problem with new technology.

In the development of iPhone8, Corning glass will be used under the self-explanatory name Gorilla Glass 5. The properties of the new material allow you to completely forget about broken screens, which caused a lot of trouble for gadget owners. Innovative reinforced glass has a number of undeniable advantages over aluminum, which was used in models 4 and 6. It is absolutely smooth, 100% accessible for radio signal transmission. The hardness of Gorilla Glass 5 is also enviable. The “one-piece” glass shell makes iPhone8 waterproof. The manufacturing company has worked hard on such a parameter of the material as its thickness: this indicator of impact-resistant glass will not exceed 0.6 mm.

photo: Gorilla Glass 5 has passed numerous tests on a variety of parameters

Strength tests were carried out from the so-called “selfie height” - 1.6 m. I wait with the belt and shoulder. According to research, every smartphone user drops it at least once a year, and 55% of respondents admitted that they drop priceless phones three or more times a year. The most “risky” position for a fall is the position of the gadget in the hand at a level between the shoulder and the belt when trying to take a selfie or simply quickly pull the phone out of your pocket. Judging by the results, the iPhone 8 in the new Gorilla Glass 5 shell will withstand a fall on asphalt, tiles and concrete: at least in 80% of cases of extreme photo and video shooting, and will not lose such important properties as responsiveness screen and image quality. The new glass is 1.8 times stronger than Gorilla Glass 4, which is installed on 4.5 billion devices, according to Corning. So the success of Gorilla Glass 5 on the market is quite expected.

photo: sapphire glass and OLED technology are not all the features of the new model

A few words about other features of the model, which are also very interesting from the point of view of using innovations in mass production. The iPhone8 display uses OLED technology (instead of the usual LCD). Unlike conventional LEDs, which is what most LEDs are powered by, OLED monitors are made up of thinner, more flexible LED elements. Almost every pixel in the image has a separate LED. The price of using OLED technology is still higher than conventional LED screens, however, the speed of spread of innovation promises to reduce its cost. New OLED screen significantly increases response speed, reduces weight, dimensions and power consumption of the model in which it is used. These properties certainly played a big role in the choice of technology by the iPhone 8 developers.

iPhone 8 is 30% thinner than its predecessors, its screen size has a 16:9 ratio. The new product uses wireless Samsung charger, stereo speakers like on the iPad, Touch ID fingerprint scanner is now built into the screen, physical Home button completely disappeared from the display, the camera is equipped with support for 4K resolution and ProPress technology. However, there is no doubt that what will attract the most attention of users is the appearance of the model. In the G8, consumers can expect truly futuristic design solution: The frames around the screen will almost disappear. The ergonomics of the model will improve: the developers promise owners of the new product more comfortable coverage.

The OKNA MEDIA portal recommends reading: The ideal smartphone for a window technician - with a built-in thermal imager

The iPhone X has become a top seller, judging by long lines outside stores and quickly selling out batches. Critics also praised the anniversary iPhone, and it did not have the same serious complaints as the Google Pixel 2 XL.

Not long ago we looked at . At the end of the article, we concluded: if you are willing to spend $799 on the iPhone 8 Plus, then it is better to wait and buy already an iPhone X for 999.

Is it in everything?iPhone X better thaniPhone 8 Plus? TO unfortunately, No.

1. More content to display on the display

There is a misconception that the iPhone X's 5.8-inch display should hold more content than the iPhone 8 Plus' 5.5-inch display. This is wrong. Let's remember 2012, when Apple released the iPhone 5. Then the company for the first time increased the display size to 4 inches (previously it was 3.5 inches). The width of the display remains the same, only the height has been increased. This made it easier for developers to adapt their applications to a tall display while still being able to use them with one hand.

A couple of years later, Apple increased the width of its phones, releasing the 4.7-inch iPhone 6 and 5.5-inch iPhone 6 Plus. The Plus models of the iPhone 6s, iPhone 7 and iPhone 8 have retained the same shape this year. Essentially iPhone Xmade with designiPhone 8 is the same asiPhone5 made withiPhone 4 s. That is, the iPhone X remained the same width as the iPhone 8, but became taller. But this time the Home button has disappeared and a frameless design has appeared, and the display size has grown from 4.7 inches to 5.8 inches. Thus, iPhone case The X is the same as the iPhone 8, but has a larger display than the iPhone 8 Plus.

The horizontal resolution of the iPhone X is the same as that of the iPhone 8 – 375 pixels. For comparison, iPhone 8 Plusit is 414 pixels. This means app developers have more space to add more elements or space them further apart. Additionally, the iPhone X keyboard has a blank space to make it easier to use. Due to its smaller width, the iPhone X displays less content in landscape mode.

Conclusion: despite its 5.8-inch display, which is larger iPhone display 8 Plus, the second one holds more content than the first one.

2. Battery drains slower

The iPhone X has a 2,716mAh battery, which is slightly larger than the iPhone 8 Plus's 2,691mAh battery, and both models are powered by the A11 processor. But there are several factors that make the iPhone 8 Plus battery drain slower than the iPhone X. The first is that the iPhone X has a higher-resolution HDR display with Dolby Vision support. OLED panels are generally more energy efficient, but not when displaying white. In fact display of white color onOLED-the display consumes more energy than theLCD-display. Both the system itself and most applications have a white background, and this negatively affects the battery. Using dark mode on iPhone X can significantly reduce costs iPhone batteries X.

The second reason is Face ID technology, which uses a set of sensors, including an infrared camera, a streaming illuminator and a spot spotlight. Activating these sensors dozens or even hundreds of times a day uses more power than the Touch ID fingerprint sensor on the iPhone 8 Plus. And the last reason is the telephoto lens with optical image stabilization and the TrueDepth front camera. They also use up a lot of iPhone X power.

According to tests, iPhone 8 Plus can last 3 hours longer than iPhone X when browsing the web and playing videos. Apple's website also says that the iPhone 8 Plus lasts an hour longer in such conditions. Interestingly, the small iPhone 8 lasted 1.5 hours longer than the iPhone X when browsing the web, but when playing iPhone video X, on the contrary, beat the iPhone 8 by 1.5 hours.

It can be concluded that with everyday using iPhone The X should last longer than the iPhone 8, but not the iPhone 8 Plus.

3. Repair cheaper

Numerous drop tests have shown that the iPhone X is a fragile phone, and its glass body is quite easy to break. If this problem happens to you, be prepared to pay more for repairs than if you had an iPhone 8 Plus.

For example, if you break back panel iPhone X, you'll have to pay $549 to replace it. The same procedure for the iPhone 8 Plus will cost $399. If you break the screen of the iPhone X, you will have to pay $279, and for the iPhone 8 Plus – $169.

In countries where AppleCare+ is available, repairs on all models cost $29 or $99 (depending on damage), and iPhone repair X – $199. iPhone 8 Plus – only 149.

In general, the iPhone 8 Plus will be cheaper to repair than the iPhone X.

4. Face IDagainstTouch ID

Face ID is easier to use because you don't even have to put your finger on the scanner to unlock your phone. Although technology may seem more convenient, this is not always the case. For example, if your phone is lying on a table, iPhone 8 Plus can be quickly unlocked by placing your finger on it. You'll have to pick up the iPhone X and lift it, or bend over it, for Face ID to scan your face.

5. Absence recesses

Notch on iPhone screen X is the cause of much controversy. Some people don't like the way she looks. Except appearance the notch has other disadvantages. For example, some icons, such as battery percentage, are not displayed in the small status bar. In order to view it, you will need to open Control Center. It is also not shown in any way when the “do not disturb” mode is turned on, etc.

In addition, the content of sites has to be compressed so that nothing is hidden by the notch.

iPhone X renders webpages with literal white bars on the sides pic.twitter.com/ztcWetrLPo

— Thomas "Kick Nazis out, @jack" Fuchs (@thomasfuchs)

Apple is preparing a gadget that will make all owners of equipment repair shops from Cupertino millionaires.

The main smartphone of the year is awaited with trepidation and excitement. On the one hand, the flagship must be grand - new design and 10 years anniversary since first iPhone produce maximum hype around the release.

On the other hand, the iPhone 8 (we will call it that purely for convenience) already has three confirmed and critical disadvantages:

1. The disappearance of the most convenient TouchID. It definitely hasn’t been possible to integrate it into the screen, so they will tell us that facial recognition is a cooler topic than a fingerprint scanner. Doubtful.

2. Hell of a price. OLED screens are expensive, so the starting price of 80 thousand does not look outlandish. Moreover, there is a possibility that the cost of the top modification will be close to one hundred.

3. New screen format. Apple will put an edge-to-edge display, but will make a rather ugly notch for front camera, light sensor and earpiece. There are two shortcomings here. Firstly, at first the front camera will be constantly stained with fingerprints - after all, we are used to lowering the top bar with a quick swipe. Secondly, you will have to get used to the new way of calling the status bar.

Unfortunately, all the complaints listed above are the little things in life.

The main disaster that awaits us in the iPhone 8 is the glass body.

Let's remember the iPhone 4/4s. I don’t know about you, but among my friends it was harder to find a alive and intact “four” than a beaten one. Some friends even developed a philosophy: they replaced the windows only after breaking both the back and the front.

But it is important to understand: in those days (2010-2013 - the peak of the popularity of 4/4s) repairs were significantly cheaper than now. I broke it, found a couple of thousand, installed a non-original piece of glass, waited for the next break - a simple algorithm.

With the iPhone 8, everything will be much tougher, especially in the first weeks.

As far as I know, replacing the screen on an iPhone 7 Plus costs 10-12 thousand rubles with a non-original spare part and 18-20 thousand with branded glass. In the context of the iPhone 8, these amounts can be immediately multiplied by one and a half to two times: both the increased complexity of the work and the frightening price of the spare part will have an impact.

I believe that now the groans of those who broke the frameless phone are not heard for only one reason - there are still too few devices without frames. Samsung, Xiaomi and other Chinese guys are engaged in their production - this is not serious and not large-scale yet.

But iPhone release will turn the system upside down: people will naturally go broke on repairs. You slammed the phone and took 30 thousand, and then you go again with broken screen. This is fun.

How to escape?

Very simple, but boring:

1. Accept that the case and film ( safety glass) for iPhone 8 – like a ventilator for a hopeless vegetable. You must either use life-saving means, or accept that without them the device will soon die.

2. Take a closer look at the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus - they practically do not crack, and they ask for reasonable money for repairs. Moreover, the price of “sevens” will soon collapse.

And one more life hack:

You're better off forgetting about the existence of insurance for smartphones. When you buy an iPhone 8, you will be promptly asked to insure it. This is a deception: if you break your phone, at best it will take you a month and a half to fix it, and at worst they will say that you yourself are to blame for the breakdown. So don’t even think about paying insurers - they are scoundrels.

That's it.

Let's hope that the iPhone 8 will still be stronger than rock crystal.

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