September 12th, 2017 will go down as a big day for Apple. The tech company announced 3 new iPhones alongside a new Apple TV 4K and the Apple Watch Series 3. With all of these big product reveals, wondering which one is right for you may be the number one question on your mind. The $999 iPhone X may be out of your price range. Maybe the loss of the home button and TouchID is a deal breaker for you. Luckily, the iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus were both introduced today by Apple and they both cater to people who might not be enamored by the iPhone X. Let’s compare and contrast the two new devices from Apple. iPhone 8 vs iPhone 8 Plus: which one is right for you?
Display
The iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus are very similar to the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus that came before them. When comparing the iPhone 8 vs iPhone 8 Plus, the biggest consideration is the display size. What will fit best in your hand? Do you like to watch multimedia on your device? The iPhone 8 sports a 4.7-inch display while the iPhone 8 Plus has a 5.5-inch display. Unlike the iPhone X, the iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus don’t use an OLED display. These two devices use an LCD display like you can find in the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus. While the OLED display is certainly a beautiful display, both the iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus are great devices as well. There aren’t a lot of differences when comparing the iPhone 8 vs iPhone 8 Plus other than the size. The iPhone 8 Plus also gets a small bump in resolution over the iPhone 8 but, for most people, that difference won’t be very noticeable.
Camera
The camera will be the most noticeable difference when comparing the iPhone 8 vs iPhone 8 Plus. This is very similar to the situation we saw in the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus. In the iPhone 8 you will find a 12-megapixel camera. Apple did go the extra mile and add optical image stabilization to the iPhone 8. The iPhone 7 did not have this feature and if you wanted the benefits of OIS you had to upgrade to the iPhone 7 Plus. With the iPhone 8 Plus you get two 12-megapixel camera sensors that build on the amazing pedigree of the iPhone 7 Plus. The dual camera sensors make Portrait Mode one of the best smartphone camera features on the market currently. Only the Galaxy Note 8 and iPhone X can really compete with the offering from the iPhone 8 Plus. If you want a top notch smartphone camera; look no further than the iPhone 8 Plus.
Performance
The only performance difference you will see when comparing the specs of the iPhone 8 vs iPhone 8 Plus is the amount of RAM onboard. The iPhone 8 has 2GB of RAM while the iPhone 8 Plus has 3GB of RAM. Both feature the new Apple A11 processor. This new processor is more powerful than the A10X processor found in the iPad Pro which is a huge selling point for the new iPhone lineup. As well, this is the same processor you will find in the iPhone X. That’s great news for iPhone fans who want great performance without having to jump all the way up to Apple’s newest premium device which, obviously, also has a premium price tag. I wouldn’t read too much into the amount of RAM on these devices. Apple is highly regarded for optimizing their smartphones very well. No matter which device you choose, you will get great performance out of Apple’s newest processor.
iOS 11
Both devices will also be launching with iOS 11. Apple’s newest version of iOS brings several new features to the iPhone lineup and these new devices are perfectly positioned to make use of those features. Control Center customization is now available as well as a wide range of other features. Experiencing the newest iOS features on the newest iOS devices is one reason to upgrade to the iPhone 8 or iPhone 8 Plus. Best of all, both devices are sure to get new iOS updates for years to come.
Price
There is a bit of a price difference when considering the iPhone 8 vs iPhone 8 Plus. A 64GB iPhone 8 will set you back $699 while a 64GB iPhone 8 Plus will cost $100 more. That’s not a huge difference but some people may not see the price jump as being worth it. Still, they are both great devices and you can’t go wrong at either budget level.
What To Get?
The difference when comparing the iPhone 8 vs iPhone 8 Plus isn’t huge. There is a small price difference and the obvious size difference. However, in my opinion, the reason to make the jump from iPhone 8 to iPhone 8 Plus is because of the camera. If you want a top notch camera then the choice is clear if you are comparing these two devices. If the camera isn’t a major concern and you aren’t interested in the larger display size then the iPhone 8 is probably the option for you. No matter which one you choose, you will get to enjoy the latest A11 processor from Apple – the same processor that’s found in the $999 iPhone X. Don’t you love getting top-of-the-line components at a reasonable price?
