Apple unveils 4.7-inch iPhone 8 & 5.5-inch iPhone 8 Plus, shipping Sept. 22 starting at $6...
At its Tuesday press event Apple introduced the direct successors to 2016's iPhone 7 series, the iPhone 8 and 8 Plus -- equipped with 4.7- and 5.5-inch LCD displays, and the company's new six-core A11 Bionic processor.
The A11 has two high-performance cores said to be 25 percent faster than the A10, and four high-efficiency cores that are 70 percent faster. An Apple-designed GPU is said to deliver a 30 percent speed boost. Also attached is a new image signal processor, providing faster autofocus in low light, improved pixel processing, and better noise reduction.
Beyond the A11, other changes include support for Qi wireless charging, and an according switch from aluminum backs to glass. The phones now also offer the True Tone technology previously limited to iPads, which matches a display's color temperature with ambient light.
Unlike the iPhone X, the 8 and 8 Plus continue to use physical home buttons with Touch ID. Storage options are limited to 64 and 256 gigabytes.
In addition to a bigger display, advantages of the Plus include a dual-lens camera with 2x optical zoom, and support for the iOS camera app's Portrait mode, which simulates bokeh to blur the background behind a subject. New is Portrait Lighting, debuting in beta status, which uses machine learning to enhance images with presets like "Contour," "Stage," and "Studio" light.
Both phones use 12-megapixel rear cameras, which Apple says have been specially calibrated for augmented reality, including pairing with new gyroscope and accelerometer sensors. The devices also have an Apple-designed video encoder, and can shoot in 4K at up to 60 frames per second, or in 1080p at up to 240 frames per second.
Onboard speakers are 25 percent louder, and should also provide deeper bass. Like the iPhone 7, the products are IP67-rated against water and dust.
Preorders are slated to begin on Friday, Sept. 15, and arrive on shelves and doorsteps starting Sept. 22. U.S. prices start at $699 for the iPhone 8, and $799 for the 8 Plus. iPhone Upgrade Program customers will have to pay at least $34.50 and $39.50 per month, respectively. Just three colors will be available: silver, space gray, and a new shade of gold.
Initial launch regions will include Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, mainland China, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, Mexico, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, Puerto Rico, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, the UAE, the U.K., the U.S., and the Virgin Islands.
A second wave of launches is due Sept. 29, bringing the phones to Andorra, Bahrain, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Greece, Greenland, Guernsey, Hungary, Iceland, India, the Isle of Man, Israel, Jersey, Kuwait, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Malta, Monaco, Poland, Qatar, Romania, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Slovakia, and Slovenia.
The A11 has two high-performance cores said to be 25 percent faster than the A10, and four high-efficiency cores that are 70 percent faster. An Apple-designed GPU is said to deliver a 30 percent speed boost. Also attached is a new image signal processor, providing faster autofocus in low light, improved pixel processing, and better noise reduction.
Beyond the A11, other changes include support for Qi wireless charging, and an according switch from aluminum backs to glass. The phones now also offer the True Tone technology previously limited to iPads, which matches a display's color temperature with ambient light.
Unlike the iPhone X, the 8 and 8 Plus continue to use physical home buttons with Touch ID. Storage options are limited to 64 and 256 gigabytes.
In addition to a bigger display, advantages of the Plus include a dual-lens camera with 2x optical zoom, and support for the iOS camera app's Portrait mode, which simulates bokeh to blur the background behind a subject. New is Portrait Lighting, debuting in beta status, which uses machine learning to enhance images with presets like "Contour," "Stage," and "Studio" light.
Both phones use 12-megapixel rear cameras, which Apple says have been specially calibrated for augmented reality, including pairing with new gyroscope and accelerometer sensors. The devices also have an Apple-designed video encoder, and can shoot in 4K at up to 60 frames per second, or in 1080p at up to 240 frames per second.
Onboard speakers are 25 percent louder, and should also provide deeper bass. Like the iPhone 7, the products are IP67-rated against water and dust.
Preorders are slated to begin on Friday, Sept. 15, and arrive on shelves and doorsteps starting Sept. 22. U.S. prices start at $699 for the iPhone 8, and $799 for the 8 Plus. iPhone Upgrade Program customers will have to pay at least $34.50 and $39.50 per month, respectively. Just three colors will be available: silver, space gray, and a new shade of gold.
Initial launch regions will include Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, mainland China, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, Mexico, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, Puerto Rico, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, the UAE, the U.K., the U.S., and the Virgin Islands.
A second wave of launches is due Sept. 29, bringing the phones to Andorra, Bahrain, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Greece, Greenland, Guernsey, Hungary, Iceland, India, the Isle of Man, Israel, Jersey, Kuwait, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Malta, Monaco, Poland, Qatar, Romania, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Slovakia, and Slovenia.
Comments
$799 for a 64gb version or
$949 for a 256gb version.
The 128GB from last year was a perfect size. If they wanted to reduce the number of skus in the supply chain, they did so by only having three colors.
And I guess the Jet Black was just a one year thing? Sure seems like a lot of R&D gone to waste.
Seems like a pretty weak lineup.
i jumped and screamed when they showed off the X. See how cool it feels to avoid rumors and leaks?
To up the security from 1 in 50,000 w/ TouchID to 1 in 1,000,000 is incredible. 2 more hours of battery life. I like the ease of opening. Good spot to open Control center and nice how you can "throw" the app back into it's icon.
This is what Apple does evolutionary improvements. I would say this is a serious upgrade.
The 8 is for me for sure.
I don't think the typical phone customer upgrades every year. No wonder you're not interested.
Seems better than the 7 in most areas (although they didn't mention all the stats), has wireless charging and more importantly for me way better than my 6. This phone isn't for those of you would bought the 7, people who upgrade every year will move onto the X model.
The 7 series had 6 options, including productRED. Not sure why Apple went back to Space Grey. Jet Black sandwiched between two glossy pieces of glass would have been most aesthetically pleasing. Also, the blush gold glass looks incredible—don't know why Apple would not extend the same colored glass to the front of the device as well? Instead you get white glass on the front and blush gold glass on the back. Meh.