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. .
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