Forget The iPhone X, Here Are 9 Things We Love & 7 Things We Hate About The iPhone 8 Plus

When Apple broke with tradition by unveiling not two but three new iPhones last month, it definitely complicated matters a bit. It definitely added to eager iPhone users¡¯ misery -- where earlier they had to choose between two phones, the choice is now between three phones. And the waiting bit.

Behold the iPhone 8 Plus!

Should you go an buy the iPhone 8 or 8 Plus or should you wait for the iPhone X instead? Here¡¯s our thought on the iPhone 8 Plus, which may either convince you to buy it or go for the iPhone X.

Probably the best phone display

A screen can pretty much make or break your phone¡¯s overall experience, and the Apple iPhone 8 Plus has surpassed expectations on this front. Both the iPhone 8 and 8 Plus come with Apple¡¯s True Tone display technology, which flawlessly switches the colour and white balance of the screen to adjust to the available light in its immediate surrounding.

Whether you¡¯re sitting under a harsh yellow incandescent bulb or the soft glow of white LED bulb or out into bright sunlight, the iPhone 8 Plus¡¯ True Tone display dynamically adjusts to all these different lighting environments to self-adjust and project the best white and colour balance which isn¡¯t harsh on the eye and stays true to source. Another highlight of the iPhone 8 Plus is the screen¡¯s top notch calibration. This makes everything you see in the iPhone 8 Plus¡¯ screen -- pictures or videos -- look very close to the real thing, and it¡¯s something you can¡¯t say about any other phone screen in the market right now.

Compared to the iPhone X's OLED screen, which suffers from minor colour shift issues, the iPhone 8 Plus' IPS LCD screen has no such issues. Another point in favour of the iPhone 8 Plus.

Awesome portrait shots

Portrait mode in the iPhone 8 Plus is more refined than what it was on the iPhone 7 Plus. Bokeh effect on portrait shots, thanks to the iPhone 8 Plus¡¯ dual-camera setup, is great at capturing images.

Dual cameras on the back with new facial landmarking feature helps the iPhone 8 Plus create better portrait shots than ever. What¡¯s more, immediately after shooting a Portrait shot, you can immediately edit it using the Camera app¡¯s into different light-related presets - Natural, Studio, Contour, Stage Light, Stage Light Mono. Needless to say, it makes for some breathtaking portrait shots, under a variety of lighting conditions -- either real or contrived.

Nice low-light photos

The dual cameras on the iPhone 8 Plus have larger apertures than before. This allows for more light to enter into the camera, especially in low-light conditions. The result? Better looking photos past sunset for sure.

Photos look true to source -- meaning the best in terms of reproducing original colour and lighting conditions -- offering high dynamic range and accurate white balance, not to mention good contrast as well. Noise is kept at a level which doesn't hit you in the face. The result are photos that continue to wow you even in inadequate light.

Non-shaky videos

I¡¯ve always felt the optical-image stabilisation on the iPhone 7 Plus was great, and it¡¯s a similar story with the iPhone 8 Plus. Whether you¡¯re walking or travelling on a camel¡¯s back while shooting a HD or 4K video on the 8 Plus, the shakes are severely muted. I won¡¯t say there aren¡¯t any shakes, because that¡¯s not the case, but you don¡¯t see any jarring, sharp up-down or left-right spikes in the captured video on this phone -- which is a testimony to its inbuilt OIS.

Amazing battery life

Even though the iPhone 8 Plus (2691 mAh) sports a lesser battery than the iPhone 7 Plus (2900 mAh), it offers almost similar battery life -- if not a tad bit more, in certain instances. Granted, battery life is always amazing when any device is brand new, but I¡¯ve been using the iPhone 8 Plus for a little over a month now, and I¡¯ve never had to charge it more than once a day. From unplugging the phone early morning, I mostly plug it back in the evening after returning from work -- this is when it¡¯s constantly connected to 4G, heavy social media usage, and listening to music. Only when I¡¯ve had to view lots of video or play more than the occasional game, have I faced the need to replenish its battery in the middle of the day. Needless to say, the iPhone 8 Plus¡¯ battery life is head and shoulders above any Android phone you¡¯d come across.

Fun with AR

Apple in June this year showcased ARKit, the company¡¯s first foray into the field of AR. With iOS 11, every iPhone and iPad becomes an augmented reality playstick, allowing you to measure your real-world surroundings, play a game of tossing paper into the bin, redecorating your living room or looking at the live 3D location of stars in the sky at any given time (and, obviously a lot more). The AR experience on Apple¡¯s iPhone 8 Plus is much much better than anything Google has managed to demo so far on either its Tango or ARCore platform.

Wireless charging freedom

Like the iPhone X, the iPhone 8 Plus too has reinforced glass on its back panel. This is to allow the phone to charge wirelessly. The fact that Apple doesn¡¯t bundle a wireless charger with the phone is a bummer, but any Qi wireless charger can be used with the iPhone 8 Plus. Charging isn¡¯t as fast as the wired option, obviously, but if you¡¯re in a hurry to cut the cord, you can wirelessly charge the iPhone 8 Plus.

Good speakers

I know, no one really listens to music on their phone's built-in speakers, but if you ever wanted to do that sort of thing, the iPhone 8 Plus is a good bet. Apple claims the speakers are 25% better than the iPhone 7 Plus, and they do seem to pack a powerful punch -- again by phone speaker standards. The speakers are nicely balanced, they don't sound annoying on the ear, providing clear sound even at high volume, with very little distortion. The bass is nice and boombastic, too!

Fastest phone in the market

There¡¯s very little hardware difference between the iPhone X and iPhone 8 Plus. Apart from the FaceID sensors, OLED screen and minor differences in the rear camera assembly, the iPhone 8 Plus is pretty much similar to the iPhone X in terms of the A11 Bionic chip that¡¯s powering both of them. Also, since Apple is uniquely placed in the marketplace, where it has complete control over the hardware and software that goes inside every iPhone -- not to mention, their very high standards for app developers -- everything on the iPhone 8 Plus runs very smoothly. Whether it¡¯s opening apps, clicking a photo, multitasking is as smooth as it can get.

Now that we're over with highlighting everything we like about the iPhone 8 Plus, let's get to the stuff we don't like.

Same old look

Ha, this is the iPhone 7 Plus -- which looks exactly like the iPhone 8 Plus, btw

The first thing you notice about the iPhone 8 Plus? Yeah, it's identical to the iPhone 7 Plus. Keep them side by side, and you can't tell one apart from the other. No one wants to buy an iPhone that looks like it was released last year. This is where the iPhone X scores above the iPhone 8 Plus, purely based on its looks.

Glass back can be slippery

The glass back panel on the iPhone 8 Plus can be a little slippery at first, and definitely takes time getting used to. Transitioning from the iPhone 7 Plus' smooth aluminium back to the 8 Plus' oleophobic curved glass panel takes some time, if you aren't putting the phone inside a case.

the iphone 8 plus has a mirror on the back

Over time, you learn to hold the phone more securely. Despite having dropped the phone a few times, the glass panel has held tight -- I don't want to imagine what might happen if the glass cracks! Yikes.

Heavy

If you're used to using the iPhone 6 / 6S or Plus, the iPhone 8 Plus will feel heavier in the hand, thanks to the glass back. Again, this takes getting used to, and not something you can't conquer easily, but between making something lighter vs heavier, lighter is generally better.

iOS 11 is buggy

Granted, this isn't an iPhone 8 Plus specific issue -- it technically affects every iPhone which is compatible to receive the iOS 11 update -- but like any other iPhone, the iPhone 8 Plus isn't immune to the buggy iOS 11 release. Apart from battery drain, everything else from weird screen freezes, predictive text issues, and the Wi-Fi and Bluetooth glitches can easily take a toll on you. If you buy the iPhone 8 Plus, you can't run away from iOS 11, unfortunately. Hoping Apple can sort out the mess quickly!

Wireless charger sold separately

wireless charger sold separately

While it's great to have the wireless charging capability on the iPhone 8 Plus, the phone doesn't come with a wireless charger in the box. Which means you have to shell out more monies for the spiffy new Qi charging feature. Ouch! Why you keep doing this Apple? Launch a great new feature in the phone, but get users to pay more for it? Uncool.

Not the best in terms of dealing with water

The iPhone 8 & 8 Plus have IP67 rating, in terms of their ability to withstand water damage. What that means is it can only withstand being dipped up to 1.5 metres in fresh water (not seawater) for 30 mins.

This is inferior to the higher IP68 rating received by other flagship phones like the Samsung Galaxy S8, Samsung Galaxy Note 8, LG V30. We've come to expect the best from Apple, and overlooking this aspect of damage resistance doesn't work in favour of its consumers, unfortunately.

It's not an iPhone X

It's a fact. Make no mistakes about it, this year's best iPhone is supposed to be the iPhone X. And while the iPhone 8 Plus very close to matching the iPhone X on paper, and retains some of the familiarity surrounding our iPhone experience, it's still not the iPhone X -- which comes with an OLED screen, drops the Home button for Face ID, and is probably the freshest iPhone seen in over four years.