iPhone 8 Plus specs, price, review
Following the release of the 2018 and 2019 iOS devices, you would expect the iPhone 8 Plus to be completely overshadowed by the more premium and powerful handsets. However, it has remained in Apple’s lineup of affordable handsets and a preferred option for people on a budget. It is the last model featuring the old iPhone design, which includes the presence of thick bezels and a home button.
Source: UGC
It is quite challenging to instantly differentiate the iPhone 8 Plus's front from the 7 Plus's, which looks like the 6S Plus, which in turn looks like the 6 Plus. Luckily, one of the things that help you notice a difference is the addition of a glass back and the two-tone effect it creates. The iPhone 8 Plus price varies as a result of the presence of new, pre-owned, and refurbished models. You can get one for around 166,990 Naira in Nigeria.
Overview
These are the major pros and cons of this device.
The good
- It has a great display for an LCD panel.
- The handset has a fantastic ecosystem.
- It supports wireless charging.
The bad
- It requires an extra adapter for fast charging.
- This phone does not have display resolution improvements.
- It still comes with the 2014 design.
- No front camera improvements compared to its predecessor.
iPhone 8 Plus specs
- iPhone 8 Plus release date: September 2017
- Build material: Front/back glass, aluminum frame
- Size: 5.5 inches, 83.4 cm2 (~67.4% screen-to-body ratio)
- Weight: 202 g (7.13 oz)
- Dimensions: 158.4 x 78.1 x 7.5 mm (6.24 x 3.07 x 0.30 in)
- Colors: Silver, Gold, Space Gray, and Red
- Display: Retina IPS LCD capacitive touchscreen, 16M colors
- Display resolution: 1080 x 1920 pixels, 16:9 ratio (~401 ppi density)
- SIM card: Single
- SIM type: Nano-SIM
- Expandable memory: None
- Operating system: iOS 11, upgradable to iOS 13.3
- Chipset: Apple A11 Bionic (10 nm)
- GPU: Apple GPU (three-core graphics)
- CPU: Hexa-core (2x Monsoon + 4x Mistral)
- Internal memory: 64GB 3GB RAM, 256GB 3GB RAM
- Rear camera: 12 MP, f/1.8, 28mm (wide), PDAF, OIS; 12 MP, f/2.8, 57mm (telephoto), PDAF, 2x optical zoom
- Rear camera video: 2160p@24/30/60fps, 1080p@30/60/120/240fps
- Selfie camera: 7 MP, f/2.2, 32mm (standard)
- Selfie camera video: 1080p@30fps
- Battery: Non-removable Li-Ion 2691 mAh battery (10.28 Wh)
- Sensors: Barometer, proximity, fingerprint, accelerometer, three-axis gyro, and ambient light
- Bluetooth: 5.0, A2DP, LE
- WLAN: Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, dual-band, hotspot
- USB: 2.0, proprietary reversible connector
- Price: Around 166,990 Naira
Hardware
The iPhone 8 Plus features a number of amazing hardware properties.
Design
This sleek device is made of Gorilla Glass, which gives the phone a different feel from its predecessor, the iPhone 7 Plus, which has an all-metal build. Besides the glass, it is nearly identical to its predecessor as the camera bump on the back is still present, and so are the rather large bezels on the front.
Source: UGC
Its build is IP67 certified for dust and water resistance of up to one meter as expected from a premium device. The phone is available in a variety of colors, namely Gold, Space Gray, Red, and Silver.
Display
It comes with a 5.5-inch IPS LCD with 401 PPI density. The resolution is the same as its predecessor’s with 1080 x 1920 pixels and a 16:9 ratio. While not OLED like the iPhone X or 11 Pro, the screen leads in the LCD category in terms of brightness and sunlight legibility.
Color representation is fantastic as it has one of the lowest deviations present in an LCD. True Tone display detects the color of ambient light and automatically adjusts the screen colors, making the display look accurate regardless of the available lighting. Although the screen is not HDR certified, it supports the playback of HDR video content.
Similar to the previous year’s models, the front-mounted home button, which is also the fingerprint reader, is located below the screen. It is just as accurate and fast as it is in the 7 models. The standard notification switch and volume rocker are on the left, while the power button and SIM tray are located on the right side of the handset.
At the bottom, you will find a loudspeaker and lightning charging port. The iPhone logo and primary camera are located at the rear.
Processor, storage, and performance
Under the hood is an A11 Bionic chipset, alongside 3GB of RAM as the iPhone 8 Plus memory capacity. This processor facilitates better power efficiency than the A10 found in its predecessor.
Source: UGC
One area in which the A11 chipset significantly outperforms the A10 is in machine learning and executing complex tasks such as recognizing objects and faces in photos, as well as understanding and translating natural speech. This handset comes with either 64GB or 256GB of ROM.
iPhone 8 Plus battery capacity
The non-removable Li-Ion 2691mAh battery on this handset is smaller than its 7 Plus's 2900mAh battery. Unfortunately, the regular charger only fills up 20% of the battery after 30 minutes. Luckily, it offers fast charging support.
One significant upgrade from the 7 Plus is the inclusion of Qi wireless charging, which is made possible by the phone’s glass back. It is pretty convenient but slower than the regular charger as it only fills up 17% of the battery within half an hour.
Speaker and call quality
The stereo speakers that come with the iPhone 8 Plus are excellent and well balanced. The call quality is also great.
Software
Here is an in-depth look into the phone’s impressive software.
Operating system & features
It was released featuring iOS 11, but users are guaranteed to get the latest iOS updates as soon as they come out. This is a nice step forward to refine the phone’s interface. However, it is not possible to change the UI theme and icons.
Compared to the 7 Plus, the notification center is different. You can see the most important notifications as if you are looking at your lock screen, even complete with the respective wallpaper. The control center slides out from the bottom to give you all your toggles and quick shortcuts on a single page.
Source: UGC
The sliders have an unusual design borrowed straight from the Apple Watch. The leftmost today page contains all native and third-party widgets like weather, calendar, and Siri. The 3D touch functionality is a lot more useful on this device as you can use it to see quick actions on app icons, to peek inside folders, and to get more information and previews from pictures and files.
The Notes app has a document scanner built-in, and there is a new Files app that can save files from third-party apps. It connects to cloud storage services, and the files on your phone can be automatically downloaded.
As there is no headphone jack, you will have to use your lightning adapter as the alternative option. However, you should not worry about where to find one as the handset comes with a lightning adapter upon purchase. The audio quality through the converter is very good, but not quite the best.
iPhone 8 Plus camera, video, and image quality
The primary camera specs on this device are similar to those of the iPhone 7 Plus. You get an f/1.8 wide-angle camera and f/2.8 telephoto lens, all at 12MP. Although the cameras are identical, there is some new stuff going on behind the scenes. It has an additional sensor and improved image processing and noise reduction algorithms.
Source: UGC
The main camera offers the same great dynamic range as its predecessor. The level of detail is better, and color visibility is improved. Unfortunately, images captured while the HDR mode is on are as poor as they were before. Instead of attempting to balance the bright and dark parts, the entire image gets darker.
In low light, this camera performs better than the 7 Plus. The autofocus is faster, and there is lower noise, sharper images, and better white balance overall. The telephoto camera facilitates 2X zoom, and the results are as good as the main camera. However, as a result of a smaller sensor, smaller aperture, and lack of OIS, you cannot use it in low light.
The zoom camera also helps in providing a portrait mode that offers a great software bokeh effect. You can turn the blur off if you want to, and also enhance the face of your subject by adding artificial lighting effects. Studio mode fills in shadows with light, contour mode darkens shadows to add contrast, and stage mod blackens the background to emphasize your subject. The 7MP selfie camera takes nice images even in low light conditions.
The A11 chipset supports video recording at higher frame rates. Users can capture 1080p HD videos at 30 or 60 frames per second, and 120 or 240 fps for 1080p slo-mo videos. 1080p videos provide high enough quality to be considered relevant in the age of 4K. 4K videos can be recorded at 24 fps up to 60fps. The front-facing camera supports 1080p HD recording at 30 fps.
Source: UGC
Accessories
Upon purchase, this handset comes in an iPhone box alongside EarPods with a lightning connector, lightning to USB cable, a USB power adapter, and documentation.
iPhone 8 Plus reviews
Take a look at some of the comments left on Nick Ackerman’s YouTube channel concerning this phone.
- nocturnal black: Watching this on my brand new iphone 8 plus, and for me it’s better than the iphone x, love the touch ID....
- jds rafanan: I'm giving this a chance. Watching this with my 8 Plus. So far I'm loving it. iOS environment is totally different from Android.
- Beverley Pearson: I’ve had mine for 2 months now and I love it. By far, the BEST phone I’ve ever had. The camera is amazing and the speakers sound crisp with a deep base. 10/10 Apple.
- Daniel Kihonge: Battery life is amazing. Wireless charging is a great feature and in red amazing ;-)
- R.I.P: I have space grey it’s amazing.
Verdict
This phone deserves a recommendation to users that are not willing to give up the fingerprint sensor but still want to have a premium experience. With the release of the 2018 and 2019 models, it is easy to get a good deal for this device.
Being the last phone with the classic iPhone design and display, this handset cannot be easily forgotten or ignored. If you desire to own the best classic Apple handset, the iPhone 8 Plus is the best option for you.
Source: Legit.ng
