All the benefits of iPhone 8 Plus. Improved video creation capabilities in low light conditions. Triple-core graphics chip created by Apple

June 29 marks 10 years since the start of sales first iPhone. The device became Steve Jobs's main victory and revolutionized the consumer electronics market - our attitude to the world.

The iPhone 8, which will be released in September, will be perceived as a tribute to the memory of a genius. But it can be a fatal failure.

The smartphone will lose its fingerprint sensor

The main feature of the iPhone 8 will be a large OLED screen with almost no frames around it. Apple will significantly improve the efficiency of using the front panel of the smartphone. And will actually transfer the huge screen of the iPhone 7 Plus to iPhone case 7.

In this case, you will have to get rid of the Home button. In 8 there won’t even be a touch option for the key with simulating pressing through the Taptic Engine in the manner of 7. And instead, it will take place in the iOS 11 interface.

Until recently, we argued about the location of Touch ID - the fingerprint sensor, which is now built into this very button.

Opinions were divided into two camps. The first housed adherents of the in-screen scanner. And in the second, there are supporters of moving the sensor to the back of the body - as Samsung did in the Galaxy S8. And in the latter case, such a solution is being discussed due to the insufficient accuracy and safety of all current scanners that are located under the displays.

But Apple has another cunning plan. The company plans to get rid of Touch ID altogether - this was first reported by a specialist from the KGI Securities agency, known for truthful insights, named Ming-Chi Who, and then confirmed in the authoritative publication Bloomberg.

Instead of a fingerprint scanner, Apple will recognize the user by face

To do this, iPhone 8 will not only receive a special three-dimensional camera that can understand the volume of space, but also a special radio frequency sensor that will help the device see the user even without bringing it to the face.

Samsung has a negative experience in the security of recognizing the user's face - a special camera can be fooled even with the help of a paper photograph. Perhaps Apple will be able to cope with this problem, but it’s hard to believe.

Frameless screen will be stupid marketing

Today, not the standard, but one of the best in terms of efficiency in using the front panel is Xiaomi company with the Mi Mix smartphone - the display of this device occupies more than 91%. And when compared with the iPhone 7 with its 66%, you just want to laugh.

But immediately after the end of the September presentation, a special section will appear on Apple’s official website, which the company will devote to the iPhone 8. It will definitely talk about the record-breaking performance of the device, new stereo speakers with cool sound, a cool dual camera and a screen that set a record.

According to my rough calculations, the iPhone 8 will boast a screen size of about 95% of the front panel area. At first it’s impressive, but this figure is nothing more than a marketing technique that the company will use to force us to make an expensive purchase.

The fact is that even Apple did not learn how to integrate cameras, service sensors and auxiliary sensors directly into the screen until 2017. Therefore, at the top edge of the display in in this case there will be a disgusting island with all this junk - most insiders, including Veniamin Geskin, insist on this.

The space to the left and right of it is not of much use. And despite the fact that the approach to the question only causes laughter, it allows one to boast of large numbers.

The maintainability of the 8 will fall below the plinth

Recently, Greenpeace, together with iFixit, assessed the maintainability of popular smartphones and compared it. iPhone 7 with Plus version was among the leaders with a score of 7 on a 10-point scale. This is a very good indicator, which means that the device can be repaired without major problems.

At the same time Samsung Galaxy The S7 and Galaxy S8 received 3 and 4 points respectively. Such low ratings were the reason large screens and the abundance of glass in the design of devices.

At the same time, there is every reason to believe that the iPhone 8 will receive a similar glass body, which will be held by a central metal frame.

The fact is that the latest messages from Ming-Chi Kuo once again confirm iPhone support 8 wireless charging. Most likely, Apple uses the induction principle of energy transfer, which is not compatible with a metal layer. Therefore, the company will have to switch to an alternative material.

As a result, we can talk about problems with repairs - it will turn out to be overly complicated and may cost too much.

The company will destroy sales of a device worth

The approximate price of iPhone 8 in Russia will be 80-90 thousand rubles. For this money you can buy not the most empty MacBook in one of the current or in last year’s line. This will prove to be a more worthwhile investment.

Of course, there are enough people who want to buy a flagship smartphone for that amount. But most may switch to the iPhone 7s (Plus), which should be introduced along with the 8, or will remain on the iPhone 7 (Plus) and older models.

The bells and whistles of smartphones have long since faded into third place, giving way to convenience

The iPhone 8 will be great in terms of performance, but it won’t be possible to find good software to test it in practice. The smartphone will delight enthusiasts with wireless charging, but most will only be convinced of its uselessness. And in the end we will only get big screen with an ugly island and a face scanner instead of Touch ID - dubious innovations.

High expectations will probably kill the device

New information about the smartphone appears almost every day, and many of us are looking forward to the autumn presentation at which it should be presented.

But in the end the revolution will not happen. We will see another iPhone with a number of advantages and no fewer disadvantages. There will definitely be a desire to try it. But the real feasibility of switching from 7 for a reasonable price may fall too low.

And in 2017, it seems to me that we are generally tired of the iPhone as such. The ideal smartphone does not change and does not give a fan of emotions. That's why I'm looking forward to HomePod. But that's a completely different story.

Augmented Reality (AR)

In fact, all the AR features have long been used in Sony smartphones, but Apple, as always, managed to make an “innovation” out of old-new technology.

The game The Machines was shown at the presentation. When launched, the camera opens, a flat surface nearby is scanned, onto which a virtual battlefield is projected. Robots walk around and beat each other to pieces.

I don’t even understand what’s going on in the game, but everything looks cool, of course! Literally a minute later, like a child, I was crawling on the floor with a smartphone, looking behind virtual mountains, crawling under bridges and looking at robots from all sides. The entertainment is extremely entertaining, but only for 10 minutes if you are over 16 years old.

The next application is IKEA Place (in Russian App Store not yet available). It scans the surface of the apartment and places virtual furniture on it. You can select items from the current catalog, move furniture back and forth, twist, twirl, and so on. It sounds cool, but in practice the application is glitchy and often objects end up on the ceiling, too large for your apartment, or jumping around on their own, as if at the behest of a pike.

In general, AR is a cool and promising thing. But not now.

Oh yes! 20 minutes of playing The Machines ate up about 20 percent of my iPhone 8 Plus. One percent per minute is augmented reality, baby!

Cameras

The most important thing why people buy the plus versions is the double rear camera at 12 Megapixels. Now I’ll tell you what’s what.

Keep in mind, the main plus camera with wide-angle lens is exactly the same as in , so please go to iPhone 8 review, where I tested the new product in detail.

Here I will share a few more examples and make a brief conclusion:

Apple iPhone 8Plus shoots great! This is absolutely one of the best camera phones on the market. Everything works simply and elegantly, according to the “point, shoot, get an excellent result” principle.

By the way, there is an HDR function in the settings. It's enabled by default, and rightly so. Here are examples:

If anything, we take all examples in original quality.

Portrait mode

The most important advantage of the Plus over its younger brother is the portrait mode. Dual camera iPhone 8 Plus can blur the background, unlike single .

However, the background of the iPhone 8 Plus does not lather well. I couldn't get anything good off. Pay attention to the hair - the rough work of software algorithms is visible.

There were more successful situations, mostly not with people.

However, even here the automation does not always work and this is what happens...

And now, just to expand your horizons, here are some shots from, which can do the same thing.

I hope that all the bugs will be corrected in the next iOS updates and the new super smart processor will finally begin to evaluate the frame more intelligently.

Portrait lighting

New exclusive feature for Apple iPhone 8 Plus. It's still the same portrait, only Apple added some cool filters.

For clarity, let’s look at what the company is proud of on its official website.

Now let's look at the examples that I came up with.

After a couple of dozen frames, I understood how to shoot in order to create something more or less worthwhile.

We turn on, for example, “Stage Light”, tap on the model’s face, the smartphone focuses, but we don’t click on the final button yet, we immediately lower the exposure slider with our finger, the picture becomes darker, but the subject is still visible and only after that we can press the shutter .

However, only one frame out of ten is suitable. What can I say? No wonder Apple warned that the function is in beta testing mode.

By the way, portrait lighting does not work with subjects - the face must be in focus.

Optical zoom

I have never seen a smartphone that takes the same cool and high-quality picture with the second camera as with the main one. iPhone 8 Plus is no exception.

On the screen of the device, the frames turn out bomb. You download it to your computer and it’s immediately clear that the notorious “Optical Zoom” is just a feature, not a serious tool at all. They can only remove the ad at the entrance if they don’t want to come closer.

Regarding the second camera, only the lens aperture is known - f/2.8. This is a lot, less light hits the matrix, and the picture turns out to be of lower quality.

But it works on both modules optical stabilization. This is, of course, cool. You can safely zoom in on the image while recording a video and it will not shake.

Front camera

Exactly the same as in number eight. Moreover! It is the same as in 7 and 7 Plus. It shoots well, there is no problem with the exposure, in the dark the face turns into mush, but the flash of the Retina Flash screen saves the situation.

Video recording or video blogger's dream

Both new iPhones shoot amazing 4K videos.

Among the innovations, we have access to shooting at a frequency of 60 frames per second. The end result looks amazing and this iPhone characteristics 8 Plus does it the best smartphone on the roar. And period!

Even at night, the videos are of quite decent quality.

Separately, I was pleased with the work of optical stabilization. It’s not what you expect - the picture is vibrant, it’s clear that it was taken handheld and not from a tripod. But at the same time, the “stub” eliminates the smallest hand tremors - the most important thing. In addition, there is no “jelly” when all the images distort every second, as is the case on almost all Android flagships, including the .

There were some downsides too. The flow rate in these videos is so high (109 Mbit/s) that they can only be safely played on powerful computers. For example, on my 2011 iMac 27 with a Samsung SSD drive, the video slows down and is impossible to watch. But last year's MacBook 12 easily copes with this task.

We continue to praise Apple, fortunately there is a reason for it. Eights shoot excellent Slow Motion video: resolution 1920 x 1080, frequency 240 frames per second. Not a single smartphone can do this, and many flagships still produce pitiful 720p at 120 FPS.

A tale of glitches in iOS 11

iOS 11 is great! I finally really like the look of the operating system. I don’t know why, but for the first time since the release of iOS 7, the new operating system looks and works like a full-fledged, complete system.

Should owners of sevens update to it? Of course yes! Those using the 6S and 6S Plus should do this too. Nothing bad will happen.

Owners of sixes, just sell your smartphones and buy yourself a seven or something on Android. For example, .

However, like any other release of Apple's operating system, it was not without glitches. This is what I managed to catch.

Skype doesn't work at all. It doesn’t start, it crashes, so we’re waiting for a new version. If anything, the jamb assembly is 8.6.

Next, I decided to measure the volume of the speakers on both eights, and almost simultaneously the Music application closed itself. I had to restart it. If anything, the Music crashed the moment I decided to turn on airplane mode - I just didn’t want to be distracted by external notifications.

I didn’t notice any more problems and that’s a victory!

This is the first time that we have such a highly optimized system right out of the gate.

Autonomy

There's nothing new in terms of battery life. A freshly baked “apple+” works as long as the previous one. Even despite the reduced battery capacity. The new A11 Bionic chipset is built on a 10-nanometer process technology, which means it consumes less energy than its predecessor (16 nm).

If you do not use AR applications, the new product will last one day from dawn to dusk.

The huge advantage of the Plus version over it is that when you leave home, you don’t need to take it with you. portable battery. “Powerbank” for its younger brother is the first accessory to buy, after the case, of course.

Almost the main feature of the new device is support for wireless charging. Thank you, Apple, for taking the industry standard - Qi technology. Thanks to this, you can charge your iPhone using any compatible docking station, even from Samsung.

I specifically bought a Belkin charger from the Apple Store and here are the results of my measurements.

The smartphone charged from zero to one hundred percent in 3 hours and 40 minutes.

This is quite strange. After all, it took only ten minutes less to charge. And the difference in battery capacity is huge: 2675 mAh for the plus and 1821 mAh for the 8.

Moreover! From the included charger, the new plus takes 3 hours and 57 minutes to charge. It turns out that wireless charging is faster than traditional charging.

A few more facts about wireless charging. Energy is supplied in medium-thick plastic cases, and the device itself heats up just a little. Not critical at all.

Bottom line

iPhone 8 Plus is very cool and powerful smartphone. However, if you go down to earth, you can conclude the following:

“Everything is very cool, powerful, but there is no point in buying it at all.”

Let me explain. Never copes with all, literally all tasks outdated iPhone 7Plus. Yes, the predecessor shoots a little worse, but the difference is not so critical as to make you drop everything and rush headlong to the store for a new product.

If we compare the iPhone 8 Plus with its Android competitors, then at the moment he's better than most of them in almost every way. Of course, if you do not take into account the outdated and not very successful design. The hefty dimensions of the case, the wide frames - in the universe of the “green robot” they can simply be laughed at.

Last but most important is the cost.

In the USA, a smartphone costs 699 bucks for a basic 64 GB configuration (there are states where they don’t charge VAT, so don’t bother me about tax) or 40 thousand rubles. In Russia, a smartphone costs $990 or 64,990 rubles in US currency. AND buy iPhone 8 Plus we have the official price... sorry, but this borders on madness and lack of minimal respect for yourself and your money.

Okay, let's skip the question of money. In any case, you need to very clearly understand why you need the iPhone 8 Plus, if in a month the iPhone X comes out, which is in every way better than plus. Even I, a tech blogger, can’t imagine why I need an 8 Plus when I can get an iPhone ten. We think and reflect...

In September 2017, Apple announced the release of three new smartphones: IPhone 8, IPhone 8 Plus and the cutting-edge IPhone X. These three phones can be purchased for $699, $799 and $999, respectively. And although the eighth models look very interesting, most people are focused on the X model, which will go on sale on November 3rd. However, there are many reasons why you should buy the eighth iPhone rather than the iPhone X.

These two smartphones have the same “stuffing”

Functionality is one of the main reasons why you should choose the eighth iPhone over the iPhone X. Their functionality is almost identical, they have very similar technical characteristics. Each of the three phones houses the A11 Bionic neural chip and M11 motion coprocessor. The only difference is how smartphones use their features. iPhone X uses these chips to support the facial recognition function, which is not present in the eighth model.

Fingerprint recognition is a proven feature, but facial recognition is not

Since the release of the iPhone 5S in 2013, Touch ID, or the fingerprint scanner, has changed the way people use their smartphones. Now you could use your fingerprint to unlock your phone, eliminate complex passwords, and pay for goods. Touch ID is a proven feature that works reliably. And at the moment it is unknown how well facial recognition will replace Touch ID.

The eighth iPhone supports both fast and wireless charging, just like the iPhone X

All three new phones support the same wireless charging standards, as well as accelerated charging. The downside is that you will have to purchase additional accessories if you decide to use one of the new charging methods. Today, Apple offers you to purchase several different charging platforms for wireless charging, as well as a special charger to speed up the process.

The iPhone 8 Plus has almost the same camera as the iPhone X.

If you buy an iPhone in order to make high-quality and beautiful photos, then the “8 Plus” and “X” models have identical cameras. The eighth iPhone also takes good pictures, but the Plus model has an additional telephoto lens, which significantly improves the quality of the image and allows you not to lose it when zooming in. The only difference between the iPhone 8 Plus and X cameras is that the latter has optical image stabilization for both wide-angle and telephoto lenses, which allows you to take clearer photos, especially in low-light conditions. In the iPhone 8 Plus, this function is present only for the wide-angle lens.

The front cameras of the two models are also identical except for a few additional features.

On paper, the front camera found on the 8 and 8 Plus models is identical to the one found on the iPhone X. All of these cameras have 7 megapixels, an ƒ/2.2 aperture, and can also shoot video in 1080p quality. The only difference is the "exclusive" software features that the iPhone X has: portrait mode for the front camera, Portrait Lighting, which allows you to remove the background from a selfie for a more dramatic effect, and Animoji, a feature that allows you to send to your friends animated emojis that imitate your facial movements and can even speak in your voice.

The eighth iPhone doesn't have the dreaded bar at the top of the screen

The camera is the only place where the iPhone X's continuous display, which stretches from edge to edge in all directions, is interrupted. The resulting stripe looks truly terrible. Fortunately, there is no such strip on the iPhone 8 and 8 Plus.

iPhone X is more expensive than iPhone 8

The iPhone 8 starts at $700, while the larger 8 Plus model will cost at least $800. As for the iPhone X, it will cost you at least a thousand dollars. Then it's simple math: you can save from 200 to 300 dollars if you buy an iPhone 8 or 8 Plus, which are also new and modern.

If you are replacing the seventh iPhone with the eighth, your covers and cases will fit

The sizes of the iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus are almost identical to the sizes of the previous models in the line. New phones are a little heavier, so they differ slightly in height, length and depth. However, each difference is less than one millimeter, which means that your old cases will fit the new phones. The dimensions of the iPhone X are completely different from the sizes of previous models, so your cases will not fit it, and this is another cost, given the considerable cost of the device itself.

You can find the eighth iPhone on sale

Considering the fact that absolutely everyone is focused on the iPhone X, you can easily find and purchase the eighth model. At the same time, the iPhone X is in huge demand, which Apple is not always able to satisfy, so many people will wait weeks after the release of the smartphone to get it, while you are already enjoying your brand new iPhone 8. which has all the main advantages of the iPhone X, but is cheaper.

It would be more logical to call the iPhone 8, announced this fall, the iPhone 7s. And all because the “eight” incorporated a number of improvements to the already existing iPhone: new processor, wireless charging. Externally, the difference between the old and new model is extremely insignificant. From the front, both are the same. The difference lies only in the back side. In the iPhone 8 it is made of glass, while in the iPhone 7 it is aluminum. Well, we’ll figure out what’s so interesting about the eighth iPhone, and why it costs so much.

It just so happened that almost immediately after the presentation of the apple company’s new smartphones in 2017, people began to look askance at the iPhone 8. The reason for this is that it has earned the title of flagship. But the “eight” was only a kind of cosmetic improvement of the iPhone 7 announced a year ago. An aggravating circumstance is that the iPhone 8 is incredibly expensive at the start of sales. The price of a similar, and in some places even more advanced, is at least 10 thousand lower than an Apple smartphone.

In technical terms, the iPhone 8 has very solid characteristics. The smartphone is equipped with a 6-core Apple A11 Bionic processor, 3 GB of RAM, and 64 or 256 GB of internal memory. Compared to the iPhone 7, the performance of the built-in cameras has been significantly improved. But the Retina screen remained exactly the same as four years ago - 4.7 inches diagonal, resolution 750x1334 pixels.

Externally, the G8 is not much different from its predecessor. Front side - accurate copy iPhone 7, but the back one received a glass panel. Thanks to this, the smartphone can be charged wirelessly.

Technical specifications of Apple iPhone 8

Apple iPhone XR price

Delivery package and first impressions

Like all Apple smartphone models, the iPhone 8 comes in standard hard cardboard packaging. The color of the box depends on the color of the device body. Well, since there are three color options: gold, silver, “space gray,” the packaging is golden, white and black. The front side shows the phone facing backwards. On the sides there is the logo and the inscription “iPhone”.

Inside is the standard iPhone 8 package, which includes:

Apple iPhone 8 64Gb or 256Gb

Power adapter Apple USB Power adapter

Wired stereo Apple EarPods with Lightning connector

Apple Lightning Connector to USB Cable

Lightning to 3.5mm Headphone Out Adapter

"Master key" for a SIM card

Instructions

Quick Guide

iPhone 8 is very tiny by the standards of modern smartphones. Its dimensions are 138.4 x 67.3 x 7.3 mm and its weight is 148 grams. The apple phone feels great in your hands. The only thing I can note is that the body of the device is quite slippery. This applies to the glass backdrop. For this reason, you need to be extremely careful when placing your phone on uneven surfaces; it can simply slip and fall. An option to solve the problem could be to buy a case or a protective bumper: it will protect against falls and the appearance will not deteriorate over time.

There are no problems with carrying a smartphone in the pockets of tight clothes. The ergonomics are familiar. The phone is convenient.

Design and appearance

The design of the iPhone 8 is nothing new. Outwardly, this is still the same good iPhone 6, iPhone 6s, iPhone 7 (underline as appropriate). That is, this is the fourth generation of iPhone with this design.

The changes affected only the rear panel. It is now made of glass rather than aluminum. Thanks to this, you can use wireless charging (purchased separately). When dropped, glass is susceptible to destruction and cracking. Reviews confirm this iPhone buyers 8, who dropped the phone on asphalt, concrete and stones. Evidence of this can be found in large quantities in photos on the Internet. By the way, the average replacement cost broken screen for iPhone 8 is 16 thousand rubles. In this regard, I recommend that all owners of the device buy a case, bumper, etc. accessories. This will be significantly cheaper than replacing the screen.

iPhone 8 has a very effective oleophobic coating. Although fingerprints appear on the surface, they can be removed very quickly with a cloth and other available materials.

On the front side of the smartphone you can see a 4.7-inch IPS screen with a 2.5D effect (slightly rounded edges) and fairly large frames. Above the display is a speaker for phone calls. On the left you can see 7 megapixels front camera, as well as a variety of sensors, including a light sensor, accelerometer, etc.

Located under the screen Home button. It has a built-in fingerprint scanner. Everything is standard here.

The back panel of the phone is made of tempered glass. Here you can also see a protruding 12 megapixel camera module with a built-in flash.

The layout of the controls is typical for Apple phones. So, on the left side there is a lever that turns on silent mode, just below there are two volume buttons. On the right side is the on/off button, below is a compartment for nanoSIM-sized SIM cards. It is worth noting that the smartphone supports only one nanoSIM-sized SIM card.

At the bottom end in the center there is Lightning connector(used to connect charging, headphones and interface cable), there is a speaker on the right. Speaker volume on high level. The sound quality is also very decent. The sound is loud, high quality and spacious. The device also uses two microphones: one at the bottom end, the second at the rear of the camera unit. The noise reduction system works averagely; in noisy conditions, your interlocutor hears extraneous sounds.

The phone is powered by a built-in battery. There is support for wireless charging.
The smartphone has IP67 protection. It can be immersed in water to a meter depth and kept there for half an hour. But there is a footnote on Apple's official website that says water damage may be outside the warranty. So you should be careful with this.

The quality of workmanship and assembly of the Apple iPhone 8 deserves the highest praise. Not the least role in this was played by the materials of the case and the sensations they evoke.

Screen. Graphics capabilities

The iPhone 8 uses a 4.7-inch touch screen, displaying 16.7 million colors. Compared to the G8’s display, it’s noticeably weaker. The screen resolution here is only 750x1344 pixels, versus 1440x2960. The pixel density is 326 ppi. For a high-tech company like Apple, this is more of a minus than a plus.

Nevertheless, the picture is clear, the fonts are not grainy, but for fans of the sky-high performance that Korean devices demonstrate, this will not seem enough.

Another talk of the town is the width of the frame around the iPhone 8 display. It is very wide. At least much wider than competitors. It looks out of date and attracts attention. Still, it would be possible to make them smaller, thereby providing either a larger screen or a smaller body.

iPhone 8 uses True technology Tone. Using the RGB sensor on the front panel, it evaluates lighting conditions and shifts the white balance point. Colors are more natural; for this reason, the picture looks more naturalistic, regardless of the intensity of external lighting. iPhone 8 screen contrast is 1400:1.

Hardware platform: processor, memory, performance

At my disposal was an Apple iPhone 8 with 64 GB of memory on board. There is also a 256 GB version on sale. Memory is distributed dynamically between thematic sections.

iPhone 8 uses Apple's most advanced processor, the A11 Bionic. This is a 64-bit processor with six main cores. The Bionic prefix means that AI algorithms are supported, this is almost the same thing that is used in the Snapdragon 835 and similar chipsets.

In order not to constantly use the power of the main A11 processor, Apple used the M11 coprocessor, which is responsible for monitoring motion and position sensors. In this way, energy consumption can be stabilized.
The device has 2 GB of RAM. There is no shortage of RAM in the smartphone. User Interface The pre-installed iOS 11 works very quickly and beautifully. No freezes found. Traditionally, the iPhone demonstrates some of the highest results in synthetic tests.

Communication capabilities

Main communication Apple tool iPhone 8 uses an interface cable or Bluetooth 5.0 to communicate with a computer. The phone is determined as removable disk on any operating system. It is possible to transfer files from an apple phone to a computer.

The smartphone supports Russian LTE networks (A1905), frequency aggregation.

The device supports Wi-Fi 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz band and 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac standards. Maximum speed wireless network reaches 150 Mbit. In standby mode, the user can launch the Wi-Fi Network Wizard. He can background search for them and, if necessary, connect to such networks. Work with wireless networks is implemented efficiently. In theory, the iPhone is perfectly suited for surfing the Internet via Wi-Fi.

iPhone 8 has NFC support, there is also the popular payment service Apple Pay, which uses user identification using Touch ID.

The smartphone can also be used as a navigator. Here it is used GPS navigation, GLONASS. Installed applications work smoothly and quickly. The location is determined with an accuracy of 3 m.

Duration of work

iPhone 8 is equipped with a battery with a capacity of 1821 mAh. Claimed run time is approximately 12 hours when used mobile Internet, 12 hours music playback, 40 hours audio playback.
The battery capacity has decreased compared to the iPhone 7, but the battery life remains the same. This is due to optimized hardware and the Apple A11 Bionic chip.

Under testing conditions, with a number of calls of 25 - 30 minutes per day, and listening to an mp3 player through a headset for 3 hours, with Wi-Fi/4G always on, the device worked for 20 hours. When continuously watching video, the device lasted 10 hours under test conditions, and when listening only to music - 1.5 days. If you use the phone as a navigator, it can last for 3.5 hours. If you disable data transfer, the phone will work for 2 days.

To be honest, these are not the best indicators for premium smartphones. The same one works exactly 2 times longer, and - 1.5 times longer.

The phone charges in about two hours.

iPhone 8 supports Qi wireless charging. To charge, you need to buy a separate accessory. Apple wireless charging costs about 6,000 - 7,000 rubles.

User Interface and Operating System

Apple iPhone 8 comes pre-installed operating system iOS 11.

Thus, the iMessage application introduced synchronization of messages between devices, end-to-end data encryption and support for payments between users. When logging in from a new device, all messages and images are downloaded from iCloud, and if the user deletes a sent message, it is deleted from everywhere.

Changes in iOS 11 affected almost all standard programs. HEVC support in the Camera application allows you to make videos less voluminous while maintaining the same quality, and photos are saved in a new HEIF format, instead of JPEG.

In iOS 11, the company has completely updated the Control Center interface. Firstly, it now consists of one page, while in iOS 10 there were two. Secondly, it actively uses the 3D Touch function to adjust various parameters. Looks much simpler and more intuitive.

The Photos app now has three options for processing Live Photos. Users were able to remove frames from the middle of live photos, loop video playback, and apply shooting effects such as long exposures. According to the developers, Live Photos will become a real tool for digital creativity.

The Apple Maps application has received an update. It now includes indoor navigation for airports and shopping malls. In navigation mode, maps will prevent the user from being distracted by messages, and will even allow you to send quick responses to incoming requests in iMessage.

iOS 11 has radically updated the store interface Apps Store. The application is designed in the style of Apple Music with large titles, fonts and covers. New sections “App of the Day” and “Game of the Day” have appeared on the main page of the store. In the "Games" tab, application information includes information about in-game purchases.

Augmented reality technology deserves special mention. It provides fast and reliable tracking of movement and ambient light.

iOS 11 includes a new Files app for working with local files and data in cloud services. iCloud, Dropbox, Google Drive, One Drive and others are supported. From the application you can retrieve files for attachment in your email client.

Camera. Photo and video capabilities

iPhone 8 received a 12 megapixel main camera with an ƒ/1.8 aperture. There is optical zoom and 10x digital zoom. The camera received optical image stabilization, a six-element lens, and a True Tone Quad-LED flash with Slow Sync function.

It also has a BSI sensor, autofocus with Focus Pixels technology, touch focusing, extended color range for photos and Live Photos, HDR when taking photos.

The quality of photographs obtained from iPhone cameras 8 is extremely high. Takes similar pictures Portrait mode now called Portrait Lightning and artificially changes the lighting of the scene. For this purpose, there is a scene depth algorithm in the Apple A11 Bionic processor. It cuts out the face of the person you are filming, changes the light, distorts the color, etc. There are several new filters.

It is also worth noting that the smartphone can record 4K video at 24, 30 or 60 fps, 1080p HD video at 30 or 60 fps, and 720p HD video at 30 fps. There is optical image stabilization, optical zoom, 6x digital zoom, slow-motion video shooting with a resolution of 1080p and a frequency of 120 or 240 fps, face and figure recognition, video recording in HEVC and H.264 formats.

The front camera in the iPhone 8 has a resolution of 7 megapixels. It is noteworthy that selfies can now be taken in “studio light” mode, in which the lighting of the person and the background changes. The settings are analyzed by the True Depth depth sensor, which Apple installed for the first time in the front camera. On the street and in good lighting, the technology works great, but in difficult conditions the picture becomes blurry.

Results

In terms of its technical equipment, the iPhone 8 is a direct competitor to devices Huawei Honor 9, Samsung Galaxy A5 (2017), Xiaomi Mi6, Huawei P10. The Apple device has a familiar design, an average screen, powerful hardware, and a standard set of telecommunications capabilities. The only thing that distinguishes an Apple smartphone from its competitors is a better camera. At the same time, the device costs 2-2.5 times more than its competitors, and this is the main problem. What’s even more surprising is that the iPhone 8 in the minimum configuration is sold more expensive than the more advanced one. It's just the finish line!

In addition, the iPhone 8 has a number of obvious disadvantages. And the most significant is the short battery life. On average, you have to charge your phone at the end of each day. Under heavy load, the battery lasts only 20 hours. It's unnerving.

It is also worth noting that constantly detected in iOS 11 software errors. Thank God this is being fixed with the next update.

The glass body of the phone is a cause for concern, as it can easily be broken simply by dropping the phone in an unfortunate way. It is better not to use iPhone 8 without a case or bumper.

Taking into account all the pros and cons, I note that the iPhone 8 is extremely decent smartphone. True, it should cost no more than 35,000 rubles for the version with 64 GB of internal memory. In reality, the price is about 50,000 rubles. Hence the conclusion - there is no point in buying an iPhone 8. It’s better to take a closer look at alternative smartphones with prices up to 30,000 rubles. , which are worth paying close attention to.

Advantages

High quality build

Good camera with optical stabilization

Fast and beautiful interface

High-quality stereo sound from speakers

Fast charging support

Wireless charging

Flaws

Extremely short operating time when actively using Internet services

Errors in iOS work 11

Danger of breaking glass housing

No jack for standard headphones

Take advantage fast charging and wireless charging is possible only if you purchase additional accessories (6-7 thousand rubles each)

With every new one Apple smartphone tries to surprise users or diversify their experience with existing technologies. Sometimes it turns out really impressive, like with the iPhone 7 Plus. This article will review the iPhone 8 Plus and give you an opinion on whether it's worth the money.

Specifications

Below are the technical data iPhone smartphone 8Plus. More details are provided in the following sections.

A distinctive feature compared to the iPhone 7 Plus, which was also reviewed, is the ability to shoot in 4K resolution at 60 fps (only 30 fps was available in the 7 Plus). The battery has also become slightly smaller.

Official price - from 46,900 rubles.

Equipment

The iPhone 8 Plus is the same as the earlier model and differs only in size, which is exactly the same as the iPhone 7 Plus. This even allows you to use the same case.

On the other hand, using an old case for the iPhone 8 Plus is an unconvincing idea due to the fact that it won’t feel like a new smartphone if you had a 7 Plus before. Of course, what is new in the design sense is the glass back of the case.

Apart from the obvious advantage of appearance, there is also a practical benefit: the smartphone is less likely to be scratched compared to the iPhone 7 Plus in black. And this despite the rare use of the case.

However, it is obvious that using a case reduces the likelihood of external damage to the device and keeps it looking beautiful longer. Therefore its presence is recommended. This is understood in the most Apple, which has released a number of new cases. One of them is charcoal leather:

Regarding the colors of the gadget, it is worth mentioning that pink and “black onyx” do not color the iPhone 8 Plus. Instead, there are new colors - “space gray” and red, which are not suitable for everyone, unlike white and gold, which are more universal.

Display

The display parameters are no different from the iPhone 7 Plus: the same 5.5″ with 1920×1080 resolution and IPS matrix. From the point of view modern realities, these are not record values. But the quality of the picture on the screen depends not only on resolution, but also on other technologies.

The display surface is a glass plate with a mirror-smooth surface, which ensures no scratches. Its anti-glare properties are better than, for example, those of the Google Nexus 7.

The screen of the iPhone 8 Plus is darker (brightness in the photo is 104 compared to 113 for the Nexus). The splitting of reflected objects on the phone display is weaker. This indicates that there is no air space between the outer glass and the surface of the matrix (OGS - One Glass Solution screen type). Due to the smaller number of glass/air boundaries with significantly different refractive values, such displays look better under intense external illumination.

But if the outer glass is cracked, the repair will be very expensive, because you will have to completely replace the screen. By the way, it has a grease-repellent coating (the same quality as that of the Nexus 7), which means fingerprints appear less frequently and are removed better compared to regular glass.

The highest brightness level (when adjusted manually), displaying a white field on the entire screen, was approximately 580 cd/m², the lowest - 2.7 cd/m². These are tangible values, and taking into account the high-quality anti-glare, the readability of the information on the display even in bright sunshine outside will be pleasant.

In complete darkness, the brightness is reduced to a comfortable level. There is automatic brightness adjustment when using a light sensor, which is enabled by default. This allows the smartphone to automatically adjust the display brightness depending on the ambient lighting conditions, but depends on the position of the brightness slider that the user has set.

So, without external influence, the brightness level in complete darkness will drop to 3.0 cd/m², in office light (~500 lux) this value will be around 100-160 cd/m², and in very bright light (20,000 lux) - 670 cd /m², which is a higher value than with manual regulation.

The iPhone 8 Plus has a built-in Night Shift mode, which makes the image on the screen warmer (this level is user adjustable). This is a beneficial feature for the eyes, ensuring greater productivity and reducing additional stress on the eyes.

The system also has a True Tone function. When it is turned on, the color balance of the display is adjusted to the environment. For example, True Stone is activated, after which the phone is placed under led lamps with cool white light. As a result, the color temperature will reach 6900 K. With a halogen incandescent lamp - 6100 K. The actual operation of the function coincides with expectations.

Performance

iPhone 8 Plus is powered by the Apple A11 Bionic processor, a 64-bit SoC with six cores: two of them are high-performance, the rest are energy-efficient. At peak load, all cores work together. The Plus console also means that the amount of RAM has been increased to 3 GB compared to the younger version. These changes add up to the performance results shown below.

A good place to start is with tests in the Safari browser: SunSpider, Octane Benchmark, Kraken Benchmark and JetStream. The testing also included iPhone 8 and 7 Plus.

As expected, the 8 Plus is ahead of the 7 Plus by a confident margin, but the 8 could not be surpassed, despite the difference of 1 GB of memory.

Once again, the 8 Plus comes out ahead compared to its predecessor (especially noticeable in Geekbench's CPU and RAM tests). But there was no significant advantage against 8, and in AnTuTu the value was generally lower. Thus, we can say that the increase in RAM does not provide the necessary indicators for better results in these tests.

The next group of benchmarks is designed to test the performance of the graphics chip. For this purpose, we used 3DMark, GFXBenchmark Metal and Basemark Metal Pro, developed specifically for devices that support Metal technology.

Pay attention! Offscreen tests mean displaying a picture in 1080p, regardless of the actual display resolution. Onscreen adjusts the image to match the gadget's display. Therefore, the former indicate the abstract performance of the SoC, the latter - the comfortable operation of applications and games on a specific device.

Looking at GFXBenchmark, the iPhone 8 Plus did not significantly dominate the 7 Plus, but was again inferior to the 8. From a logical point of view, this is understandable: a lower screen resolution shows more frames per second. But in all tests with a specific resolution, the 8 Plus is ahead of the younger version.

As expected, the 8 Plus leaves the 7 Plus behind by a more significant margin than in the previous benchmark. But in comparison with 8, the difference seems to be a calculation error.

And finally - Basemark Metal Pro.

Again, the iPhone 8 becomes the leader, as in GFXBenchmark. However, the difference in the calculated points is not that big; even the iPhone 7 Plus is not so far behind.

After this, we can say that the iPhone 8 Plus is approximately equal to the iPhone 8, and the increase in RAM did not provide the expected performance gain. Compared to 7 Plus, the difference is more noticeable, but in different modes the values ​​vary reliably.

Cameras

As before, the difference between the cameras of two iPhones of the same generation comes down to the presence of a second lens with optical zoom in the Plus version. Regarding the iPhone 7 Plus, a weighty argument has emerged - the ability to shoot 4K video at 60 fps (7 Plus - at 30).

Camera shows good result even in the evening in cloudy weather or when there is wind. The program selects the exposure so that the leaves are not blurred and small details do not disappear due to noise.

The gadget has two cameras, just like in the previous Plus generation. In fact, only the focal length differs. In the G8, the optical zoom was removed and the cameras were given some tricks: it is recommended to use the wide-angle camera during regular shooting, and the telephoto camera for portraiture. However, it’s still worth looking at the zoom in action:

It can be seen that the portrait camera shows a slightly worse result: some places are blurry, there is more noise and, in principle, a “soft portrait image” is created. On the other hand, telephoto lenses in this form factor cannot yet do the same.

Here's the result of a typical portrait camera, albeit not in great conditions:

Insufficient lighting does not allow showing all the advantages of the camera, but it still shows good results. And since a wide-angle lens doesn't provide as much quality geometry at such a close-up, the quality of this camera is commendable. By the way, many modes have also been added for portrait photography for different scenarios.

Autonomous operation

At first glance, it may seem that the battery capacity is so small that the charge is barely enough for half a day. However, in practice, everything is different: with regular calls via mobile and Internet networks (about 1.5 hours a day), communication in instant messengers, active web surfing, push email notifications of about 40 emails per day and low intensity of camera use, as well as Apple Watch and AirPods - the battery lasts for two days. That is, if you start using your phone on Monday morning, the next charge will be needed on Tuesday evening.

This is an excellent performance, roughly similar to the iPhone 7 Plus given heavy use. Of course, using high-performance applications or watching videos for a long time, this value will be different.

The disadvantages include uneven battery discharge. If at the end of the first day about 65% of the charge remains, then at the end of the second it is practically gone (this despite the fact that 1-2% is consumed per night).

Tests in different operating modes showed the following results:

After using the Basemark Metal test twice in a row, the phone's thermal image showed the following:

The top one heats up the most right side gadget, where the SoC chip is likely located. According to the heat chamber data, the maximum temperature reached 41 ⁰C (at 24 ⁰C in the room). The 7 Plus gets just as hot.

You can't miss the presence of wireless charging. iPhone 8 Plus supports the most popular Qi standard. Finding wireless chargers in retail is not as easy as in online stores. Prices start from 1000 rubles.

We took the cheap Buro Q5 charger as an example.

The result of its work is not very rosy: half an hour after the start of charging, the iPhone was approximately 12% charged. It will take at least 4 hours to fully charge the gadget. It is worth noting that the current strength of Buro Q5 is 1 A. There are also two-amp devices on sale, but their price is at least 2000 rubles.

As for the proprietary AirPower wireless charging, users have differing opinions. The fact is that on the eve of the announcement of this device from Apple, the Chinese released a similar solution, which already shows decent results in practice and, of course, costs much less.

Conclusions

A full review of the iPhone 8 Plus gives you an opportunity to understand what advantages and disadvantages the user will encounter after purchasing it. When compared with the previous generation model, the performance gain is obvious.

The dimensions of the gadget are larger than the younger version, but a full battery charge lasts for a couple of days. iPhone 8 Plus is ideal for normal everyday use. There is no big reason to upgrade from 7 Plus or even 6S Plus, but if you have more old version phone, but you don’t want to overpay for the iPhone X, then the iPhone 8 Plus is the best option.