iPhone X vs iPhone 8: What"s the Difference?

Apple announced three new iPhones at its special event on 12 September 2017, the iPhone 8, iPhone 8 Plus, and the iPhone X (pronounced iPhone Ten). If you are thinking about upgrading your phone, you are likely to be wondering which new model will suit you best.

If you want a bigger screen, you have the choice of the iPhone 8 Plus and the iPhone X. Here you will have to weigh up the high price of the iPhone X against the bigger and heavier handset of the iPhone 8 Plus.

If you are not keen on the idea of a large handset you have the choice of two phones, the iPhone 8 and the iPhone X. These two iPhone models are smaller and lighter than the iPhone Plus models.

Alternatively, you may be excited by the new features of the iPhone X but wondering whether you really need to pay around £1,000, or if the iPhone 8 or 8 Plus will give you the features you want the most.

You can read our reviews of the iPhone 8, iPhone 8 Plus, and the iPhone X here, below we will weigh up the differences between the three handsets to help you decide which one is best for you.

iPhone X vs iPhone 8: At a glance

If you"re looking for a quick comparison of the iPhone 8, iPhone 8 Plus and iPhone X, you can find that in the table below. For a more in-depth look at the difference between the two, read on.

	iPhone 8	iPhone 8 Plus	iPhone X
iOS	iOS 11	iOS 11	iOS 11
Colours	Gold, Silver, Space Grey	Gold, Silver, Space Grey	Silver, Space Grey
Display	4.7in Retina HD (1334x750, 326ppi) IPS	5.5in Retina HD (1920x1080, 401ppi) IPS	5.8in Super Retina Display (2436x1125, 458ppi) OLED
Processor	Apple A11 Bionic, M11 co-processor	Apple A11 Bionic, M11 co-processor	Apple A11 Bionic, M11 co-processor
Storage	64GB/256GB	64GB/256GB	64GB/256GB
Rear camera	12Mp, f/1.8, 5x digital zoom, quad-LED flash	12Mp wide-angle, f/1.8, OIS + 12Mp telephoto, f/2,8, optical zoom, 10x digital zoom, Portrait Lighting, Portrait Mode, quad-LED flash	12Mp wide-angle, f/1.8, OIS + 12Mp telephoto, f/2.4, OIS, optical zoom, 10x digital zoom, Portrait Lighting, Portrait Mode, quad-LED flash
Front camera	7Mp FaceTime HD, f/2.2, 1080p video	7Mp FaceTime HD, f/2.2, 1080p video	7Mp FaceTime HD, f/2.2, 1080p video
Video recording	4K at 24/30/60fps, 1080p slo-mo at 240fps	4K at 24/30/60fps, 1080p slo-mo at 240fps	4K at 24/30/60fps, 1080p slo-mo at 240fps
Biometric security	Touch ID	Touch ID	Face ID
Wireless charging?	Yes	Yes	Yes
Waterproofing	IP67	IP67	IP67
Dimensions	67.3x138.4x7.3mm	78.1x158.4x7.5mm	70.9x143.6x7.7mm
Weight	148g	202g	174g
Price	£699/£849 ($699/$849)	£799/£949 ($799/$949)	£999/£1,149 ($999/$1,149)
Buy SIM-free	From Apple	From Apple	From Apple
Buy on contract	From Carphone Warehouse	From Carphone Warehouse	From Carphone Warehouse

Availability

This could well be the deciding factor. The iPhone 8 and the iPhone 8 Plus are available, and there is plenty of stock so you don"t need to wait to get your hands on one.

The iPhone X, on-the-other-hand, went on sale on Friday 3 November, but the units available in Apple Stores ran out quickly. Those who pre-ordered an iPhone X on 27 October, might have been lucky enough to get delivery on Friday 3 November, but for many the expected delivery date was days, or even weeks, later.

Current shipping dates for the iPhone X are 3-4 weeks (as of 13 November). To fid out where you can get an iPhone X, check out our guide to how to get an iPhone X here.

So, if you are lucky you might be able to get an iPhone X before Christmas, but expect dates to slip further - it is anticipated that supply of the iPhone X will be constrained even into the new year.

Of course it may be the fact that there aren"t many iPhone X"s that is its appeal. If you want the prestige of owning the latest and greatest Apple handset when very few other people have one, then this is probably the iPhone for you! Good luck getting your hands on one!

Size

As we said above, the iPhone 8 and the iPhone X are both smaller than the iPhone 8 Plus (and other Plus models).

Here’s how the dimensions of the iPhone X and iPhone 8 compare:

• The iPhone X measures 143.6mm by 70.9mm, and is 7.7m thick.


• The iPhone 8 is 138.4mm by 67.3mm and is 7.3mm thick.


• The iPhone 8 Plus is 158.4mm by 78.1mm and is 7.5mm thick.

So, as you can see, the iPhone 8 is smaller and thinner, but only slightly. That’s difference of half a centimetre in height and even less than that in width. And as for that half a millimetre difference in depth, we don’t think it will really be noticeable.



So if your choice was going to be based on the size and shape of the iPhone then there is very little difference here.

When it comes to weight, the difference is greater, however.

• The iPhone X weighs 174 grams.


• The iPhone 8 weighs 148 grams.


• The iPhone 8 Plus weighs 202 grams.

So here the iPhone 8 wins - with a difference of 26 grams. Apparently a teaspoon of sugar is roughly equivalent to 4 grams, so that’s about 6-7 spoonfuls of sugar, enough for a very sweet cup of tea, but we doubt that it will weigh you down all that much.

Conclusion:

So, if it’s a small iPhone you are looking for then there is not really a significant difference here. It’s certainly not worth disqualifying the iPhone X over a few millimetres in size, and with just 26 grams between them, the iPhone X is hardly going to feel hefty in comparison to the fractionally lighter iPhone 8.

If you really want a small iPhone then there is another iPhone you could consider. The iPhone SE is Apple"s smallest iPhone:

• The iPhone SE measures 123.8mm by 58.6, is 7.6mm thick.


• It weighs 113 grams.

We’d recommend that you hold off buying one of them though as we expect Apple to update it next year, read: iPhone SE 2 release date.

Screen size

The iPhone X and iPhone 8 may be almost identical when it comes to size and weight but there is one very big difference: the size of the screen.

• The iPhone X has a 5.8-inch Super Retina HD display.


• The iPhone 8 has a 4.7-inch Retina HD display.


• The iPhone 8 Plus has a 5.5-inch Retina HD display.

When it comes to screen size it looks like there is one clear winner here, the iPhone X. However that 5.8-inch diagonal measurement is deceptive.

If you measure the screen"s height and width the results are:

• iPhone X screen is 62 x 135mm.


• iPhone 8 Plus screen is 69 x 122mm.


• iPhone 8 screen is 59 x 105mm

So, there is a world of difference between the iPhone 8 and the iPhone X screen, but in terms of the iPhone 8 Plus, there is just an extra 13mm in height on one phone and an extra 7mm in width on the other.



Except even that extra 13mm isn"t entirely accurate.

If you exclude the iPhone X notch (the area at the top of the display that houses the Face ID camera) from that measurement then the screen is more accurately 62mm across x 130mm down (so 8mm longer than the 8 Plus). But it’s still bigger than the iPhone 8 Plus, and given that the handset is itself smaller, that is something to celebrate.

Except that, because the iPhone 8 Plus is a bigger handset, the screen can be wider. And there are lots of reasons why a wider screen can be beneficial (not least if you are working on a Pages document in portrait mode).

But for many the iPhone Plus series is just too big and cumbersome to hold comfortably. The choice isn"t really about screen size, but rather it is about how much of a sacrifice you are prepared to make to get a larger screen.

• The iPhone 8 Plus has a large screen, but it"s a large phone and may be uncomfortable to hold.


• The iPhone X has the longest screen, but it"s no wider than the iPhone 8

Put that way, it"s hard to recommend one phone over the other in terms of the screen size. It depends on what you want.

Conclusion:

The first question is: Do you want an iPhone screen that is longer, or an iPhone screen that is wider.

The second question is: Will you be using your iPhone to watch movies and TV shows filmed in 16:9 aspect ratio, because where the iPhone 8 and 8 Plus are 16:9 screens, the iPhone X screen is a 19.5:9 screen and as a result you may end up choosing to watch movies in a letterbox format rather than crop elements.

The third question: Does any of this matter if you just want a smaller handset.

If you want a really big screen on your full-screen iPhone you might be wise to wait until next year when it"s rumoured Apple might introduce an iPhone X Plus.

Screen quality

There is one other thing to say about the display on the iPhone X - it"s an OLED screen that Apple is calling a Super Retina display.

• The iPhone X display has a TrueTone, 2436x1125-pixel resolution at 458 ppi, with 1,000,000:1 contrast ratio.


• The iPhone 8 display offers a Retina Display, 1334x750-pixel resolution at 326 ppi, and a 1400:1 contrast ratio.


• The iPhone 8 Plus display is a Retina Display, 1920x1080 pixel resolution at 401 ppi, and a 1300:1 contrast ratio.

This is the first time an iPhone has been available with an OLED screen. OLEDs have a lot of excellent features including absolute blacks - hence that 1,000,000:1 contrast ratio - and a wider viewing angle.

When we used the iPhone X we were impressed. Colours were bold and bright, and the whites more true to life, also perhaps a shade more yellowy than on the iPhone 8 Plus, which seemed have a bluer tint. In comparison to the iPhone 8 Plus dark areas were brighter and clearer. This is thanks to the other feature of the screen - HDR (high dynamic range) - which expands the range of both contrast and colour.

When we watched dark scenes in movies there was a lot more clarity on the iPhone X than on the other iPhone models.

The problem with OLEDs is they can suffer from screen-burn - a ‘ghost’ image that remains on the screen (something plaguing the Google Pixel 2), colour shifting can also be a problem. Apple says that it has taken steps to guard against this.

Conclusion:

The OLED screen on the iPhone X is a sight to behold, especially thanks to the incorporation of HDR. But we feel the dimensions of the screen are the wrong aspect ratio to really enjoy movies, and we are slightly apprehensive about some of the issues OLEDs are known for.

Camera

All three phones have a 12MP camera on the back but there are some key differences.

The iPhone X and the iPhone 8 Plus actually has two cameras on the back. That’s a ƒ/1.8 aperture wide-angle and ƒ/2.4 aperture telephoto camera, which combine to create the stunning portrait shots with the blurred background that those phones can take. The iPhone X and Plus also have an optical zoom and can digital zoom up to 10x.

The iPhone 8 just has the one 12MP camera on the back with a ƒ/1.8 aperture, so it can’t take the fancy portrait shots, and it’s digital zoom goes to 5x.

Another dfference is the fact that the rear-facing lenses on the iPhone X both have optical image stabilisation (OIS), which should equal better low light, while only the wide-angle lense on the iPhone 8 Plus has this.

In our photo tests we found that macro photos taken with the iPhone X were better than those on the iPhone 8 Plus, and the additional OIS is probably the reason for that.

There is also new technology in the A11 Bionic chip that allows Apple to go a step further with this portrait photography in the iPhone X and 8 Plus. The "Neural Engine" in the image signal processor can allow you to change the lighting conditions after taking the photograph.

Portrait Lighting options include Natural Light, Studio Light, Contour Light, Stage Light, and Stage Light Mono. The latter two options black out the background while the other options change how the light appears to fall on your face.

We love the portrait shots we take with our iPhone 7 Plus so we’d recommend getting a phone with that capability.

If you take a lot of shots of people and would like to create the bokeh effect then we think you’d love this feature of the iPhone X. If you don’t know what the bokeh effect is we’d probably suggest you don’t really need it.



Turning to the camera on the front of the iPhones. The selfie/FaceTime camera on the front of the iPhone X is different to that found on the iPhone 8 and 8 Plus.

On the iPhone 8 models you will find a 7MP FaceTime HD camera with Retina Flash (the same as on the iPhone Plus) but on the iPhone X there is a 7MP TrueDepth front camera with Portrait mode and Portrait Lighting.

This TrueDepth camera is what makes Face ID possible - as we will explain later.

In terms of taking photos, the TrueDepth camera on the front of the iPhone X can take what Apple is calling Portrait Mode Selfies. In other words, the front facing camera can take photos with a sharp foreground and an artfully blurred background to create the same bokeh effect that the two cameras on the back of the iPhone X and Plus can achieve.

Conclusion:

When it comes to cameras the X gives you the extra image stabilisation and Portrait Mode Selfies.

The iPhone 8 Plus is more than adequate if you don"t want to spend your days taking selfies (and we can"t help but think that the people who do that are all using Snapchat anyway).

However, the camera in the iPhone 8 is still great, so, if you aren’t bothered by the addition of the rear-facing Portrait Mode, the iPhone 8 is more than adequate.

The missing Home Button

There is one huge difference between the iPhone X and the iPhone 8 and 8 Plus and it may be the thing that turns you off the iPhone X altogether.

The trade off for getting the bigger screen on the iPhone 8 is the demise of the Home Button. Yes, the trademark Home Button, which was perhaps as part of a design of the iPhone as the click wheel was on the iPod, has gone.

The removal of the Home Button means that Apple needed to make some changes to the iPhone interface. So if you were to buy an iPhone X you would have to learn a new way to navigate the interface. You may adapt to this quickly, or you may find yourself frustrated. It depends on how willing you are to embrace change, and how intuitive the new way of interfacing with the iPhone is.

We have this article that explains how to use the new iPhone X, and all the new gestures that you will have to learn. When we used the iPhone X for a short time we found we quickly adjusted to the new gestures.

Conclusion:

We found that it was a lot easier to get used to the different gestures on the iPhone X than we expected, but we still feel that the Home button was more intuitive and it is frustrating to feel that you have to perform extra steps to do things that previously only took one button press.

Face ID v Touch ID

There is another change as a result of the missing Home Button. Touch ID, Apple’s fingerprint recognition system for securing your phone so that only you could open it, and allowing you to pay for things using Apple Pay, has been replaced with Face ID.

We feel a bit sad about the loss of Touch ID on the iPhone X. We liked the simplicity of being able to unlock our phone just by touching the Home Button, and we enjoyed being able to use our iPhone to pay for things in shops. With Face ID you will unlock your phone by looking at it. Read our comparison review of Face ID versus Touch ID.



There is a lot of concern buzzing around the web about how reliable Face ID will be, how secure it will be, and how it will be implemented.

Apple’s demo on stage during the keynote did little to convince people of its reliability - with it appearing to fail (although Apple is saying it wasn’t correctly set up rather than it failed to recognise the presenter).

In terms of whether anyone could hack into your phone using Face ID, Apple says that Face ID is more secure than Touch ID. According to Apple, there is only a one in a million chance that Face ID would allow someone else to unlock your iPhone - that someone would have to be your doppelgänger, as Face ID can’t be fooled by masks or photos. (Or so Apple says, Face ID has apparently been hacked by using a mask - we have the low down on this and other problems with the iPhone X here.)

Touch ID, on the other hand, has a one in 50,000 chance of being cracked by someone else fingerprint. (It strikes us that it would be easier to find someone who looked like someone else than to find someone with a similar fingerprint if you were intent on hacking into their phone though).

However, despite this Apple has recommended that children under the age of 13 shouldn’t use Face ID as their faces are still developing and "distinct facial features may not have fully developed". Apple has also warned that a brother or sister - and obviously an identical twin - may be able to unlock your phone.

People who cover their face, such as a burkas, niqab or balaclava wearer, won’t be able to use Face ID, although if you have a beard, hat or glasses Face ID should still work.

We found Face ID worked very well, although initially we found it failed to recognise us on a few occasions. However, the initial failings were due to Face ID learning us, and as it became accustomed to recognising us in various lighting and with or without glasses and the like, it happily unlocked the iPhone whenever required.

Conclusion:

There are some benefits to Face ID. You never feel like you are having to unlock your phone, and logging onto services that would have previously used Touch ID, now work with Face ID, so accessing your banking app on your phone can be quicker, if your iPhone X recognises it"s you.

But it can be frustrating to use it when after your iPhone recognises you it is still necessary to press the Side button to activate a payment.

Specs

Those are the main differences that will probably make the biggest difference to you. But there are a few more differences between the iPhone 8, 8 Plus and iPhone X in terms of specs.

There are also a few things that are identical as we will outline below.

Colour choices

• iPhone X: Space Grey / Silver


• iPhone 8: Gold / Silver / Space Grey


• iPhone 8 Plus: Gold / Silver / Space Grey

Capacity

• iPhone X: 64GB / 256GB


• iPhone 8: 64GB / 256GB


• Phone 8 Plus: 64GB / 256GB

Water resistance

• iPhone X: Rated IP67 under IEC standard 60529


• iPhone 8: Rated IP67 under IEC standard 60529 (SAME)


• iPhone 8 Plus: Rated IP67 under IEC standard 60529 (SAME)

Processor chip

• iPhone X: A11 Bionic chip with 64-bit architecture, M11 motion coprocessor


• iPhone 8: A11 Bionic chip with 64-bit architecture, M11 motion coprocessor (SAME)


• iPhone 8 Plus: A11 Bionic chip with 64-bit architecture, M11 motion coprocessor (SAME)

Battery life

• iPhone X: Lasts up to 2 hours longer than iPhone 7


• iPhone 8: Lasts about the same as iPhone 7


• iPhone 8 Plus: Lasts about the same as iPhone 7

Wireless charging

• iPhone X Wireless charging (works with Qi chargers)


• iPhone 8 Wireless charging (works with Qi chargers) (SAME)


• iPhone 8 Plus Wireless charging (works with Qi chargers) (SAME)

We’ve skipped over wireless charging which is a new feature for the iPhone 8, 8 Plus and iPhone X. We aren’t convinced about how important a feature it is, but if it is something you are attracted to, it’s worth emphasising that the feature is available on both the iPhone 8 and iPhone X so it’s not a reason to choose one phone over the other. You can get wireless charging on an older iPhone now if you are really keen, read this to find out how: How to get wireless charging on an iPhone.

Price

The iPhone 8 is available here and costs £699 for the 64GB version and £849 for the 256GB version. If you"re looking to buy the iPhone 8 on contract, check out our round-up of the best iPhone 8 deals.

The iPhone 8 Plus costs £799 for 64GB or £949 for 256GB. Both phones are on sale now.

The iPhone X costs £999 for the 64GB version and £1,149 for the 256GB version. It is available here (from Apple). We also have a round up of the best iPhone X deals here. Read about how to get an iPhone X here.

That’s a £300 premium on the iPhone X when compared to the iPhone 8 and we have to admit we aren’t convinced that it is worth that mark up.

iPhone 8 review: Sleek, incredibly powerful and more expensive than ever

At a special event hosted in the Steve Jobs Theater at Apple’s new Spaceship campus in California, Tim Cook took to the stage and announced the iPhone 8 alongside the iPhone X, Apple TV 4K and Apple Watch Series 3.

The iPhone 8 is an incremental update to the hugely popular iPhone 7, offering wireless charging and improved camera tech. Here"s our review of the iPhone 8.

iPhone 8: UK pricing and availability

Before we go any further, let’s first address a couple of of the most important factors of any iPhone: when is it going to be released, and how much will it cost?

The iPhone 8, unlike previous iterations of iPhone, is available in only two storage capacities: 64GB and 256GB. It’s also available in fewer colours, but that’s something we’ll come to in more detail below.

For those looking to buy the new iPhone 8 in the UK, it’ll cost you £699 for the 64GB variant, and £849 for the 256GB variant. It’s now on-sale via the Apple Store following a 22 September 2017 launch, and is also available from a number of UK carriers such as EE, Vodafone, O2 and Three.

You can find out more about how to get the best deal in our article about where to buy the iPhone 8. We also have this comparison of how the iPhone X compares to the iPhone 8. (And we"ve compared it to the Pixel 2 as well.)

iPhone 8: Design and build

In terms of design, the iPhone 8 is what you’d expect from an ‘S’ upgrade. Why? The iPhone 8 sports a similar form factor to the iPhone 7 (and 6s, and 6) but with a handful of changes to make the phone competitive in 2017. So, while it’s slightly thicker than the iPhone 7 at 138.4 x 67.3 x 7.3mm and 10g heavier at 148g, there’s a reason why.

Much of the added bulk can be attributed to the introduction of a glass rear, much like the design of the iPhone 4 and 4s. It provides the smartphone with a much more premium look when compared to aluminium, but potential consumers are worried about how easily it’ll shatter.

Apple claims that the glass is custom-made with a “50 percent deeper strengthening layer”, although we’re not sure what this is compared to as the previous iPhone boasted an aluminium unibody. There’s also the introduction of a steel substructure alongside the 7000 Series aluminium band to provide extra frame reinforcement.

It won’t protect against all drops, but it should hopefully stop it shattering from less significant drops. And those with an iPhone 7 will be happy to know that most, if not all existing cases should fit the iPhone 8 too, ideal for those that worry about dropping the smartphone.

MobileFun, which kindly provided us with an iPhone 8 sample, stocks a range of iPhone 8 cases and iPhone 8 Plus cases. We"ve also rounded up some of the best in our guide to the best iPhone 8 cases.

The glass, like the aluminium unibody it replaces, is gently curved at the edges to provide a comfortable, snug fit in the hand. Contrary to what many may believe, the blend of glass and aluminium actually makes the smartphone easier to grip, along with offering a high-end look and wireless charging capabilities.



The iPhone 8 also boasts a ‘cleaner’ look when compared to previous iterations of iPhone, as it has removed much of text from the lower-back of the smartphone. It still says iPhone, Designed in California and Assembled in China (plus the CE marks for European buyers) but markings including the item number are now nowhere to be seen.

There’s also redesigned stereo speakers present on the iPhone 8, boasting a 25 percent boost in volume compared to the iPhone 7, along with deeper bass. It brings it in line with the stereo-equipped iPhone 7 Plus and later, and brings many benefits including a forward-facing speaker for clearer audio when watching videos on your smartphone.

Along with general sound improvements, Apple has been making strides in augmented reality and spatial audio, with the new stereo speakers helping to enhance the AR experience on iOS.

There’s also a difference when it comes to the available colour options. While the iPhone 7 was available in a range of colours, the iPhone 8 is limited to three: Gold, Silver and Space Grey, although the Silver variant boasts a white front and rear with a silver band (which, in our opinion, looks absolutely stunning).

These are different shades than those available in the past though, thanks to the glass rear of the iPhone. It boasts a six-layer ink process that allows for a rich depth of colour present on all models of the iPhone 8, complimented by a colour-matched aluminium band that runs along the sides.

Oh, and the solid-state Home button first introduced on the iPhone 6s is still present on the iPhone 8, unlike with the iPhone X. And those hoping that Apple would revert the decision to remove the headphone jack will be disappointed, as it’s unfortunately not the case.

iPhone 8: Features and spec

What makes the iPhone 8 so impressive? It’s more of an all-round improvement to the smartphone, rather than featuring one killer feature.

Display

Let’s start with the display: it’s still a 4.7in Retina HD display with a sub FHD (1334 x 750) resolution, but now features True Tone technology. First introduced on the iPad Pro 9.7in in 2016, True Tone technology allows your iPhone to detect the ambient light in your settings and adjust the white balance of the display accordingly, to help provide a better and more comfortable viewing experience.

The effect is immediately noticeable when looking at the smartphone, especially when under an off-white light like those in our office. The display picked up on the light levels and made the display warmer and thus, easier on the eyes.

It’s a bit like Nightshift, but much more subtle and reactive based on your environment – only those that purposely look for the change in hue will notice it, but the benefits to eye strain will be universal.

In addition to the True Tone display tech, the iPhone 8 display features a wider colour gamut for better colour reproduction, and dual-domain pixels for wider viewing angles. Of course, it also features the likes of 3D Touch and an oleophobic coating to resist smudges from your grubby mitts.

All this equates to an impressively crisp, detailed and vibrant display, despite the sub-par resolution. While Apple’s sub-FHD display provides better battery life and an improved graphical experience, many similarly-priced Androids boast at least a FHD display, if not something greater.

We’re not asking for a 4K display, but at least bump it up to Full HD so we can enjoy watching Netflix at native 1080p.

Processor

Moving beyond the display, the iPhone 8 features the most powerful mobile chipset designed by Apple to date.

It’s called the A11 Bionic chipset, and provides impressive gains in the performance department – but much more than that, too. It should help power high-end AR experiences, and the ‘neural engine’ can help process over 600 billion operations per second.

When translated to real-life usage, the iPhone 8’s A11 Bionic chipset is possibly the most powerful mobile chipset currently available on a smartphone, as is shown in our benchmarks below. It can handle anything, from high-end 3D games to augmented reality experiences rendered in real time, without even the smallest bit of lag.

The A11 Bionic chipset also features a second-generation Apple-designed performance controller that helps to provide great performance when playing games and using power-hungry apps without using too much battery power. It won’t make your iPhone last for days on end, but it lasts a bit longer during intense gaming sessions.

Benchmark results

The sheer power of the A11 Bionic baked inside the iPhone 8 is backed up by our benchmark results, which are some of the best we’ve ever seen from any smartphone – especially with regards to the Geekbench 4 score.

We performed several tests, with a higher number indicating a better score for each: Geekbench 4, GFXBench OpenGL, GFXBench Metal and JetStream.

Let’s start with Geekbench 4, which measures the power of the A11 Bionic’s CPU and is a good indicator of the general power of the smartphone. The iPhone 8 scored a whopping 4271 and 10438 in single- and multi-core tests, leaving the likes of the Samsung Galaxy S8 (2017, 6466), Note 8 (2014, 6822) and OnePlus 5 (1955, 6726) in the dust.

It’s the highest scores we’ve seen in any smartphone to date, and is certainly an impressive feat from Apple.

Next, we ran GFXBench OpenGL, the graphical benchmark available for iOS and Android, allowing us to compare performance when gaming with competing flagship devices. We ran two tests in GFXBench OpenGL: T-Rex and Manhattan.

Rather unsurprisingly, Apple’s iPhone 8 got the perfect 60fps score in both, compared to 60- and 55fps from the Galaxy Note 8, 60- and 54fps from the Galaxy S8 and 59- and 55fps from the OnePlus 5.

Some may argue that it’s affected by the sub-FHD display of the iPhone 8, as the likes of the S8 and Note 8 have incredibly high resolution displays to power, and while may be is true, the results remain the same.

We also ran the same tests in GFXBench Metal to compare graphical performance when utilising Apple’s Metal API built into iOS and used by iOS game devs. The scores were much more impressive this time around, as the iPhone 8 scored 119- and 100fps respectively in T-Rex and Manhattan, compared to 60fps across each on 2016’s iPhone 7.

Lastly, we ran JetStream, a benchmark that tests the speed of the mobile browser.

In the case of the iPhone 8, that’s Safari, arguably the best mobile browser on the market. It seems to be backed up by our benchmark results too, as it knocked the iPhone 7 Plus (168.7) off the top spot with an incredibly score of 228. It’s blisteringly fast compared to Google Chrome on the Galaxy S8 (54.9), Note 8 (49.6) and OnePlus 5 (71) too.

For a better understanding of these benchmarks, take a look at the infographic below:

Battery life and wireless charging

Yes, you read that subheading right. The real reason behind Apple’s decision to re-introduce the glass rear on the iPhone 8 is to include support for wireless charging for the first time. After years of fans asking the company to offer wireless charging on the iPhone, Apple has complied, and announced that (in un-Apple fashion) that it’d be compatible with Qi-certified wireless chargers.

That’s right, there’s no proprietary system like with the Apple Watch, meaning it’s compatible with the millions of Qi wireless chargers found around the world, from public places like McDonalds and Starbucks to those that you can buy online for use at home.

With that being said, Apple is due to release its own wireless charging mat dubbed AirPower with advanced wireless charging tech not offered by competitors, but it’s not due out until 2018.

There’s a catch to the wireless charging, though: it’s limited to 5W at the moment. It can be used with more powerful Qi chargers, but it won’t charge the smartphone any faster.

Apple has confirmed that it’s upgrading the iPhone 8 and 8 Plus to ‘fast wireless charging’ via a software update in iOS 11.2, but that bumps it up only to 7.5W. In comparison, some Android smartphones can charge at double that speed, 15W.

The iPhone 8 features a 1,821mAh battery that is actually over 7 percent smaller than the battery found in the iPhone 7, which would leave many to believe that the iPhone 8 is worse off in the battery department.

Somewhat surprisingly, Apple’s second-generation performance controller seems to work very well – the iPhone won’t last days on a single charge, but we’ve found the iPhone 8 to last all day with average use.

And besides, with the addition of wireless charging it’s easier than ever to put your phone in a wireless charging cradle when at work or at home to top up the battery.

iPhone 8: Cameras and photography

The camera has had a bump in spec too, although it’s not ground-breaking. The iPhone 8 features a single rear-facing 12Mp camera that features a larger, faster processor that provides 0 shutter lag and perform better in low-light conditions.

There’s also a new colour filter in the lens, along with ‘deeper pixels’ and Optical Image Stabilisation (OIS) for both photo and video.

What does that mean to you at home? The iPhone 8 takes amazingly detailed photos and performs incredibly well in low-light conditions. Take a look at the following images (click to see original image):



The above photo of St. Pancras hotel is detailed and crisp with great colour reproduction on the surface, but how does it stand up when you zoom in to 100 percent? While the photo loses a bit of the definition that you see when looking at the overall photo, small details like the text on road signs and the individual bricks of the hotel are still readable, although the noise cancellation is much more apparent with an overly ‘soft’ look.

While natural light can help make a photo look better, you should also be wary about it being too bright. The sunny side of St. Pancras is a good example of this – when zooming in, you may notice that the bricks of St. Pancras are almost blown out in places. This may be fixed by using HDR, though, although it’ll depend on the scene.



The iPhone 8’s almost-instant shutter really comes in handy in terms of macro photography. Once you’ve found the perfect focus, the image is captured instantly – no need to worry about your hand moving slightly and losing the focus.

However, like most other smartphones, it’s hard to get the focus just right with macro photography on the iPhone 8. Take a look at the above – the iPhone focused on a handful of leaves instead of the bush as a whole, despite us tapping the bush several times before capturing. So while macro photography is available on the iPhone 8, it might take a few tries before getting the perfect shot.



It’s in the low-light photography department that the improvements in the iPhone 8 camera are most noticeable. Take a look at the above photo in our dedicated low-light area (aka a cupboard) and how well-lit the photo looks. You’re able to make out clearly defined edges, even on Batman’s dark cape, and make out the writing on the water bottle and the pink rubber.

There’s also a surprising lack of noticeable noise cancellation, an unwanted part of much low-light mobile photography. While it won’t capture perfect snaps in pitch black darkness, it should make photos in bars and other dark places much better.

Apple also claims that the iPhone 8 camera has been designed specifically for use with AR. While Apple’s ARKit is compatible with a range of iOS devices, the camera featured on the iPhone 8 (along with the 8 Plus and X) apparently offers superior tracking capabilities, providing high quality AR experiences on iOS.

While it’s hard to put this to the test, we must admit that AR experiences on the iPhone 8 seemed more stable than those on the iPhone 7 Plus, although both devices provide a more-than-satisfactory augmented reality experience for those interested.



Moving beyond photography, there’s also an upgrade in the video department: the iPhone 8 is the first smartphone to be able to record [email protected], an impressive feat. It has also upped the quality of the slo-mo mode, now offering [email protected], up from 120fps on the iPhone 7.

There’s a catch, though. The two new formats are only compatible with the new HEVC codec introduced in iOS 11 as the files are incredibly large (400MB for a minute of [email protected] footage, compared to 170MB for a minute of [email protected]). While this might not sound like an issue to some, the codec isn’t supported by all devices or apps, meaning your friends might not be able to watch your amazingly smooth and detailed [email protected] video.

You can convert to the standard file type when importing videos on Mac, but only those running macOS High Sierra. It’s a bit of a headache if you run into compatibility issues, so we’d recommend sticking to [email protected] unless you really need the high-end 4K recording.

In terms of the front facing camera, it doesn’t seem like anything has changed: the iPhone 8 features the same 7Mp camera with f2.2 aperture as its predecessor, and is more than enough for the likes of Snapchat and FaceTime. Those looking for an upgraded front-facing camera should opt for the iPhone 8 Plus or iPhone X, as both offer front-facing portrait mode capabilities.

iPhone 8: Software

Of course, the iPhone 8 features Apple’s latest iteration of its mobile operating system, iOS 11. iOS 11 brings with it a number of new features, including the Files app and support for Apple’s ARKit, powering high-end augmented reality experiences on a range of compatible iPhones.

In fact, there’s far too much to mention here. If you want to find out more about the software, take a look at the latest iOS 11 news.