With the iPhone 8 range having been released, many people will be keen to see the results of an iPhone 8 vs 8 Plus comparison. Certainly there will be many consumers contemplating the two handsets, so without further ado here is ValueWalk’s rundown of the major qualities of the two Apple mobiles.
Size
The iPhone 8 measures 138.4 x 67.3 x 7.3 mm (5.45 x 2.65 x 0.29 in), which is naturally smaller than the iPhone 8 Plus, which features dimensions of 158.4 x 78.1 x 7.5 mm (6.24 x 3.07 x 0.30 in). The phablet status of the iPhone 8 Plus inevitably means that it is considerably larger than the iPhone 8, but it also has the advantage of a larger display. However, many consumers consider phablet devices to be unwieldy, and the iPhone 8 will certainly appeal more to iPhone buyers of this persuasion.
Weight
Equally, it is rather obvious that the iPhone 8 Plus weighs more than the iPhone 8, given that it is a significantly larger unit. However, the disparity in weight between the two units is perhaps slightly surprising, with the iPhone 8 weighing just 140g, and the iPhone 8 Plus being a surprisingly hefty 202g.
This weight disparity hardly seems justified, and it means that the iPhone 8 will appeal to many consumers more than the iPhone 8 Plus. However, the phablet also has strengths in other areas, which we will discuss later in this comparison.
Display
One area where the iPhone 8 vs 8 Plus comparison tilts towards the iPhone 8 Plus is in the display department, with the phablet featuring a 5.5-inch display that is far superior to the 4.8-inch screen included in the iPhone 8. Those users wishing to view a large amount of media with the new Apple smartphone will undoubtedly give the iPhone 8 Plus serious consideration, as it simply provides a superior platform.
In all honesty, the display of the iPhone 8 is beginning to look both diminutive and dated, particularly when compared to the OLED iPhone X.
Resolution
And the iPhone 8 vs 8 Plus battle also favors the iPhone 8 Plus by a considerable distance in resolution, with the phablet having a superior resolution and pixel density to its smaller cousin. The iPhone 8 is capable of displaying 750 x 1,334 pixels (~326 ppi density), while the iPhone 8 Plus will display 1,080 x 1,920 pixels (~401 ppi density).
There is no doubt that coupled with the larger display this means that the iPhone 8 Plus is a much better buy for those wishing to view videos, photographs and other media via the device.
Camera
Cameras in smartphones are always tricky to compare, so let’s firstly look at the specific qualities of the two cameras.
iPhone 8 – 12 MP, f/1.8, 28mm, phase detection autofocus, OIS, quad-LED (dual tone) flash
iPhone 8 Plus – Dual 12 MP, (28mm, f/1.8, OIS & 56mm, f/2.8), phase detection autofocus, 2x optical zoom, quad-LED (dual tone) flash
The most notable difference here is that the iPhone 8 Plus features a dual-camera, while the iPhone 8 is reliant upon a single-lens units. There is a 2x optical zoom feature also included in the iPhone 8 Plus, and these two additions alone mean that the phablet is a considerably better photographic device than the iPhone 8.
This doesn’t mean that the iPhone 8 is completely useless in terms of photography, but those wishing to use the iPhone 8 range as a camera would be well advised to opt for the iPhone 8 Plus.
Memory
There is no change from the previous generation in this department, with the iPhone 8 featuring 2GB of memory, compared to the 3GB of memory of the iPhone 8 Plus. Whilel this suggests that the phablet has the edge, it requires the extra memory in order to deal with the larger screen and resolution of the device, meaning that there is little discernible performance disparity between the two.
Storage
However, there is no difference in storage between the two devices, with both offering 64 and 256 GB options.
Battery
The iPhone 8 features a non-removable Li-Ion 1821 mAh battery, which is significantly smaller than the non-removable Li-Ion 2691 mAh battery included in the iPhone 8 Plus. It is perhaps slightly disappointing that there is no flexibility with the cells that the two iPhone devices deliver; essentially you are stuck with them indefinitely. But the lifecycle of the iPhone 8 Plus is generally considered to be superior, even though the improved and larger display undoubtedly saps the battery to some extent.
Benchmark performance
In the iPhone 8 vs 8 Plus comparison, one might expect the phablet to outperform the smartphone. But in fact the performance of the two smartphones in Basemark is as follows:
iPhone 8 – Basemark OS II 2.0: 3934
iPhone 8 Plus – Basemark OS II 2.0: 3601
This underlines how the larger display and resolution of the iPhone 8 Plus impacts on the performance of the device, meaning that it is slightly outperformed by the smaller iPhone 8.
Price
A key area of the the iPhone 8 vs 8 Plus battle is price, and the $100 discount associated with the smartphone means that it is arguably better value for money. Nonetheless, the $799 price tag of the iPhone 8 Plus still seems relatively reasonable, particularly compared with Apple’s own iPhone 8, and competitors such as the Galaxy Note 8.
Conclusion
When making the iPhone 8 vs 8 Plus comparison, there is no doubt that the iPhone 8 Plus has the superior specs. However, considering that the iPhone 8 does outperform the phablet in some departments, and also provides the more compact package at a lower price point, it can certainly be considered an excellent buy as well. We can probably assume that the iPhone 8 will sell more units than the iPhone 8 Plus, and based on this comparison this is absolutely justified.
However, as a photography or media-viewing device, the iPhone 8 Plus is undoubtedly superior.
