Editorial: Who will buy iPhone 8?

Posted:
in iPhone edited September 2017
A variety of early reviews for Apple's new iPhone 8 & 8 Plus sought to dismiss the latest models as already "obsolete" in the face of the upcoming iPhone X. Many of their concerns focus on the idea that buyers really want an all-new design. They're wrong, here's why.

iPhone 8

Veiled hate for iPhone 8

Scott Stein of CNET complained that the new phone had a "pedestrian design" and was "essentially the iPhone 7S.'"

Nilay Patel of The Verge echoed that sentiment in listing of cons that included a "design falling behind" and that it "lacks [the] exciting notch controversy" of iPhone X.

For Business Insider, Steve Kovach wrote that iPhone 8 "has a curious place in Apple's new iPhone lineup that I can't quite figure out," stating that it was only "a short step below the X." (It is actually $300 less expensive.)

Geoffrey Fowler, writing for The Wall Street Journal, dismissed Apple's newest model with the most contempt in his conclusion that "Apple's confusing iPhone family now includes three pairs of practically identical phones: the regular and Plus versions of the iPhone 8, 7 and 6s. Don't buy the spendiest one."

The idea that there's no sense in buying a product that looks familiar is bizarre. After all, in the history of smartphones the most popular and loyal buyers were initially fans of RIM's Blackberry. They bought it not because it had a nice design or one that changed each year, but because it was familiar, easy to use and worked with their company's messaging system.


Blackberry retained the same basic design for over a decade


Conversely, despite coming out on diverse new case designs from its licensees each year, Microsoft's old Windows Mobile never developed a sizable following of loyal buyers. On the other hand, Microsoft has attracted tremendous loyalty for its Xbox gaming platform, which across the last fifteen years has significantly changed just three times.


Windows Mobile tried tons of designs, with little success


In the ten years since iPhone appeared and revolutionized the industry, Apple has been targeted as being "boring" and faulted for not changing up its design radically enough virtually every year, even as iPhone sales keep crushing every other premium phone and while the company attracts the highest loyalty and satisfaction rates the consumer electronics industry has ever seen--along with an incredibly tight grasp on the vast majority of profits.Clearly there's a huge disconnect between what so many tech reviewers prize and what consumers actually find important.

Clearly there's a huge disconnect between what so many tech reviewers prize and what consumers actually find important.

iPhone 8 delivers crowd pleasing speed

More than a new shape, smartphone buyers have demonstrated an interest in paying more for performance. Performance benchmarks are generally a niche interest, but consumers are well aware of the real world frustrations of slow delays, jittery animations and an unresponsive UI.

Early on, iPhone built in premium GPUs and packed in more RAM than other smartphones, enabling smooth scrolling and sophisticated apps and games.

iPhone 8 is no exception. Its A11 Bionic is the fastest chip in smartphones, and delivers advanced new Neural Net capabilities demonstrated in its Face ID and other face mapping apps that apply augmented reality to enhancing live images.

While Apple has relentlessly invested in proprietary high-performance silicon, Google has flopped back and forth between pursuing the idea of blanketing emerging countries with super cheap phones--while casting shade on how expensive Apple's iPhones are--and alternatively trying to bring its own premium-priced devices to market.




However, with those cycles of vilifying premium, expensive hardware Google has shot off appendages it can't simply grow back. Android licensees now lack competitive SoC options and the economies of scale needed to compete with Apple in premium phones. As Androids plummet in asking prices, there's no budget to include high-end processors and GPUs across a broad enough audience to effectively bring down their cost.

By selling incredible numbers of high-end devices that all use the same super-fast chips, Apple has singlehandedly financed the development of the world's fastest mobile processors. Starting with iPhone 8, it also now includes its own internally-designed, Metal 2-optimized Apple GPU, meaning Android licensees can't just buy the iPhone's GPU technology off the shelf anymore.

Apple's first GPU in iPhone 8 already claims to be 30 percent faster than the Imagination GPU used in iPhone 7 models--which was already the leading graphics architecture in smartphones. As it enhances its Metal software and releases new versions of its GPU, it will further distance iOS devices from the generic graphics available to mid-range Androids.

Recall that Google once banked on Texas Instruments's OMAP4 for advanced Android GPUs, and later hailed Nvidia's Tegra. Due to inadequate device sales supporting those advanced GPUs, both companies eventually gave up and exited the smartphone business.

In contrast, Apple has created a massive installed base of premium mobile computing users. That's enabling it to drive App Store sales of high-end games and sophisticated apps that make use of its advanced CPU and GPU designs.

It has also laid a foundation for ARKit apps, which distinguish iOS as a platform. ARKit builds upon all the work Apple has done to build a cohesive platform of calibrated devices that share the same motion-sensing hardware and cameras. Google can copy the software, but there's not a large base of Androids powerful enough (or similar enough) to run it well.




Running apps, games, animations, image effects and new AR experiences faster and with excellent responsiveness is a far more compelling feature than simply changing the case design. Speed sells. Of course, Apple's powerful A11 Bionic isn't just fast; it's also power efficient, extending its battery life dramatically when it isn't working hard.

iPhone 8 delivers popular camera features

In addition to seeing the need to control its own SoC brains, Apple also realized early on the importance of investing in camera technology. iPhone's sophisticated Image Signal Processor is a specialized brain dedicated to rapidly performing the billions of operations required to perfect focus, exposure, white balance and even detect faces.

Apple's internally designed ISP has helped set apart iPhone as a competent camera for years, and the technology piggybacks on the same A11 Bionic chip next to ARM CPU cores and GPU graphics cores, sharing the same advanced fabrication process and the incredible economies of scale that make the whole package affordable enough to deliver to the masses.

Apple not only sells millions of advanced computer phones, but also includes an advanced camera in the same package, making it by far the largest manufacturer of mobile devices in both categories. Other companies also work on advancing technologies in these fields, but their best work doesn't get sold across 170 million copies each year.

Matthew Panzarino, writing for TechCrunch, displayed the unusual insight of reviewing iPhone 8 as a camera. Sure, it's called iPhone, but it's always been a mobile computer that just had the ability to make calls. There are many people, myself included, who take far more photos with iPhone than use it as a telephone.Apple's attention to photography--and its efforts to rethink what a photo can be--are on full display in iPhone 8

Apple's attention to photography--and its efforts to rethink what a photo can be--are on full display in iPhone 8. Next to time-lapse, pano and slo-mo, Apple previously invented Live Photo as a new hybrid of photograph and video and enabled developers to run with the idea (resulting in Google's Motion Stills). iOS 11 also builds upon Live Photos with new modes for Loop, Bounce and Long Exposure, each interpreting the same captured data in new ways.

On a different level, Apple last year introduced Portrait mode on iPhone 7 Plus, which made use of its dual cameras to capture and calculate a differential depth map, which, when paired with the standard photo, enabled new post-processing techniques.

Initially, Apple only exposed the Portrait mode feature of blurring of the background, but with iPhone 8 Plus you can now perform a variety of novel effects that use the 8 Plus enhanced depth map to enable sophisticated augmented reality Portrait Lighting effects (below) that are not only flattering to the subject, but enable the photographer to feel satisfied in their abilities.




The combination of these new artistic AR effects, faster capture (4K at a rapid 60fps, high speed slo-mo at 1080p), better ISP logic, larger camera sensors and an enhanced flash system (that advances the natural-looking lighting Apple began pursuing with TrueTone flash) all add up to a mobile camera that is far more important to buyers than "the camera bump" or some other arbitrary case design that reviews so often prefer to quibble about.

In a word, Panzarino called the iPhone 8 camera "killer."

iPhone 8 erases rival exclusives

While critics flogged the cliche notion that iPhone 8 needed a radical new case design, it's actually true that the new models do indeed look distinct from earlier models. Apple essentially expanded upon the popular Jet Black finish of iPhone 7 to deliver a glossy, less slippery glass-backed design for iPhone 8.

This isn't a mere 'new coat of paint' change. The case design of iPhone 8 is literally new, with an aluminum frame housing front and back glass panels. And despite being different materials, their seams feel perfectly joined, as if they were one solid piece.

Beyond looking classy, the rear is glass ("the most durable glass ever in a smartphone," Apple says) is used to enable wireless charging, a convenience feature that has existed for years among competitors. However, wireless charging is generally pretty slow, fragmented among different standards and typically requires a separate pad for each device you want to charge.

Apple is working to improve on that by supporting the already popular Qi standard (it's what Ikea sells, and works at Starbucks), while offering extensions to enable multiple device use on the same pad. Apple showed off its prototype AirPower charger with the ability to charge an iPhone 8, a new Apple Watch and a new AirPods charger, all at once.




From the way iPhone 8 was demonstrated to communicate with the other devices that were charging, it appears that it could be using BLE (Bluetooth Low Energy) to negotiate the configuration of multiple Qi hotspots. Apple only said it will offer details about how AirPower actually works later next year.

Last year, Apple similarly introduced water resistance on iPhone 7 models--a feature that had already grown common on rival flagship models. Apple's catching up in water resistance and wireless charging show that rather than being uniquely tasked with developing new technologies that its rivals quickly turn into commodities, it's actually the other way around.

There are increasingly few things Android makers can do to set apart their high-end offerings that Apple can't also adopt. On the other hand, Apple keeps investing in deep technologies that are expensive to duplicate and difficult to copy correctly, from Touch ID; to silicon advancements in the CPU, GPU and ISP; to the AR features tied to its vast installed base of calibrated, effectively identical iPhones with similar cameras and six-axis motion sensors.

iPhone 8 and iPhone X

When Apple erased the advantage Samsung once held in selling large phones, it turned out to be catastrophic for Samsung and resulted in massive sales growth for iPhone. Samsung responded by creating a more expensive, flashier version of its flagship branded "Edge," featuring the new case design that Android reviewers fetishize.

This year, Apple is again doing something similar: enhancing its standard iPhone 8 flagships in parallel with introducing a dramatically new, more expensive model in iPhone X. While more ambitious than just adding a new curved display, iPhone X serves the purpose of attracting those seeking to be on the cutting edge of design and technology.




I don't remember ever hearing Samsung reviews declare the Galaxy S7 or S8 as "obsolete!" due to the availability of the more expensive S7 or S8 Edge. Nobody feigned confusion at the wider array of options, nor did the New York Times write up a story listing things you could buy if you didn't pay extra for the Edge. That's a pretty stark example of the hypocrisy and, well, phoniness of all the concerned handwringing that is so often exclusively applied to Apple.

However, we do have a pattern of what happens when companies copy Apple imperfectly and Apple copies them back with greater competence. It was devastating for Microsoft, crippling for Google's Android and thermonuclear for Samsung.

With iPhone X, Apple now has something else Samsung has long held as an exclusive of sorts: a second flagship that it can use to hold out as an upgrade option to not only increase its Average Selling Price, but also shorten its replacement cycle length.

Lots of Samsung fans bought a Galaxy S and then upgraded to a Note, some within the same year. In significantly revamping its iPhone 8 line before iPhone X even ships, Apple can sell users on its best standard iPhone 8--a comfortable, familiar, affordable sale--even while dangling X as a fancier upgrade in the future that is only a bit more once you resell the 8.

The quality of Apple's phones allows them to retain top resale value. This is particularly the case during their first year. There's no doubt that lots of iPhone buyers will remain skeptical of Face ID, the lack of Touch ID, the phone's new gestures and other features (the notch!) that the media has instinctively jumped up to criticize.

Once iPhone X begins to trickle out, some percentage of iPhone 8 buyers will decide to take advantage of their phone's high resale value to upgrade to iPhone X.

Apple can't be too worried if iPhone X takes some time to stock up or to catch on as an expensive new tier of luxury. It will likely find it difficult to build enough of the entirely new model immediately, so upgrades that occur later in 2018 will actually help ease the rollout--as well as smooth the cyclical sales cycle.

Knowing this should make upgrading to iPhone 8 or 8 Plus an easier decision for users on the fence about which model they should get.

The distorted reality of Android phone reviewers

Certainly, there are people who love arbitrary new design changes. There are even people who buy a new phone multiple times throughout the year to try out each one. However, nearly all of these buyers area already sold on premium Android flagships.

And really, their numbers are quite small relative to Apple's huge volume of mainstream iPhone buyers, even if their voices are wildly overrepresented in online comments, and within many of the articles they're commenting on.

Apple's iPhone sales are vastly larger than all of the premium models of all Android licensees combined, from Galaxy, LG and Moto to Pixel and Essential. Reviewers often like to talk about these iPhone competitors as if there is a liquid market for commodity phones, but the reality is that no flashy new phones have successfully grabbed new market share or substantially shifted the industry for many years now.Apple's iPhone sales are vastly larger than all of the premium models of all Android licensees combined

iPhone is the most popular smartphone in the United States (according to Kantar Worldpanel) and the world (according to IHS Markit). The only way to marginalize Apple is to compare it against all models from all vendors collectively, including tens of thousands of phone models--most of which sell for very little and make no money.

Now that Apple has solidly taken the mainstream (with premium priced phones, no less) it has two directions to go in. It can try selling middle tier or lower-end phones at lower cost (it's currently pursuing this via discounted sales of older models and the refreshed classic iPhone SE) or it can seek to eat up (and expand) the ultra high-end (which it is clearly aiming at with iPhone X).

It's not a secret or mystery why Apple has attracted such a large base of loyal buyers. For the last decade Apple has been uniquely focused on a series of iPhone features that are clearly compelling to the majority of mainstream buyers, rather than just floating gimmicks and novel hardware design changes.

These features include speedy performance, solid app capabilities, regular OS updates, security and privacy--all features reviewers seem to gloss over as they focus on the imagined demand for annual design changes. The facts spell it out clearly: these reviews are simply wrong.

Apple's "boring" shape so popular everyone copies it

The shape of iPhone hasn't changed materially in three solid years, but Apple hasn't been hemorrhaging customers because of it. Rather, it maintains the highest loyalty repurchase rate in the world--even in China, where the world's cheapest and most rapidly changing lineup of Android phones from five major brands has done little to erode Apple's extremely valuable 80 percent domination of all phones above $600, and subsequently, the vast majority of all profits.

The flashy flagships of China's Huawei, BKK's Oppo and Vivo brands, Xiaomi and ZTE have a buyer repurchase rate half that of Apple's, while Samsung's is far lower in China--despite coming up with "fresh looks" multiple times per year.

Samsung's efforts to launch radically new flagship designs in each generation since the Galaxy S4 have not enabled it to expand its premium sales, which remain stuck at 2014 volumes!

Galaxy sales actually fell from their peak after Samsung stopped copying the iPhone nearly verbatim; its newer curved screens and other body revamps haven't triggered a recovery in Galaxy S demand. Conversely, Apple's iPhone sales haven't ever slipped back to their 2014 levels despite a lack of gratuitous body manipulations since iPhone 6.

Clearly, while consumers appreciate good design, their buying decisions are not grounded upon whether a phone has an all-new design each year. That's not just an opinion, it's just an inarguable restatement of sales figures.

If there were something actually wrong with the design of iPhone 6/6s/7/8 models, surely that criticism would also apply to all of the Android phones that are intended to look nearly indistinguishable, such as Google's Pixel. If smartphone buyers didn't like the "boring" iPhone, Xiaomi and other brands desperately trying to be the Samsung of China would be successfully inventing new form factors rather than building nearly identical clones of the iPhone.


Steve Jobs, on the 1998 iMac: "The back of our computer looks better than the front of their computers!"

More people will buy iPhone 8 this year than any other: ~100M

Each new generation of iPhone 6/6s/7 models has sold about 170 million phones in its first year. That's far ahead of any Galaxy S flagship and way beyond premium-priced handsets even when including China.

The potential market for iPhone 8 does appear to be lower this year, if only because it is competing against the even fancier iPhone X. While initial expectations have generally thought of iPhone X as selling to a small niche of early adopters, analyst Ben Bajarin of Creative Strategies reported that Apple's suppliers are gearing up to build 40-50 million iPhone X units by the end of this calendar year--close to half of the inventory Apple is expected to sell.

Apple's premium-priced Plus version has attracted a larger percentage of sales in the overall iPhone mix each year, so it's not hard to fathom that the new iPhone X could account for a solid chunk of new sales--it's not just larger, but packs a larger display into a regular size body, along with its futuristic TrueDepth sensor that unlocks all kinds of new potential.

However, iPhone 8 models appear certain to outsell the X, based on pricing alone. Further, while reviewers like to focus on the flashy and new, it's clear that the majority of users are slow to accept big changes, even when there's compelling reasons to do so and price isn't a big factor. The relatively slow (but growing) adoption of Plus models is a sign of that, as is the trailing but significant interest shown in iPhone SE, an updated classic.

iPhone 8 and 8 Plus shouldn't have any trouble finding buyers.
jahbladeradarthekatwatto_cobra
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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 73
    Some people actually prefer a bezel. I don't want my fingers to cover part of the screen while I'm using my iPhone, or that sensor notch covering part of the image when I'm using the camera. Put me down for an iPhone 8.
    SoundJudgmentSpamSandwichflashfan207watto_cobra
  • Reply 2 of 73
    Any0ne who wants the latest tech but doesn’t want to spend $999+ on It.
    jahblade[Deleted User]StrangeDaysflashfan207
  • Reply 3 of 73
    I’m amused by the iPhone haters who think they’re bashing Apple when they talk about the “6sss,” or call the 8 the 7s. Far from being the clever insult they intend, it actually puts the focus on what’s really important—the unique features and capabilities that the iPhone provides, maximized by cutting edge silicon and tight integration of HW and SW.

    Each year’s model brings sufficient improvement, overall, such that a decent percentage (10%??) upgrade yearly, and many more (40-50%?) upgrade every two years (furthered by 24 month carrier financing plans). They trust that the newer iPhones are “worth it,” even if they do look similar, and Apple keeps up their end of the bargain. (Their old iPhones are often sold or passed on to other family members, where they continue to give good service for another yep or three years.)

    The willingness to purchase similar looking phones year after year also disproves the never ending, tired claims that iPhone buyers only care about showing off the latest iPhone as some kind of elitist status symbol—as if the actual product inside the case is irrelevant, as long as it’s got that Apple logo. 
    jahbladedeepinsiderradarthekatpujones1netmagelkruppbaconstangflashfan207watto_cobra
  • Reply 4 of 73
    Who will buy the iPhone 8?

    Of course existing iPhone users will buy it at first place.

    iPhone 8 and 8 Plus are single-hand devices. iPhone X requires both hands and it lacks Reachability. The use of both hands is default in Android world. So Android switchers will buy the X (if they can afford the price) and existing iPhone users will buy the 8 series.

    Edit:
    http://appleinsider.com/articles/17/09/13/58-iphone-x-designed-for-two-handed-use-as-apple-apparently-drops-support-for-reachability
    edited September 2017 radarthekatbrakken
  • Reply 5 of 73
    Who will buy the iPhone 8?

    Of course existing iPhone users will buy it at first place.

    iPhone 8 and 8 Plus are single-hand devices. iPhone X requires both hands and it lacks Reachability. The use of both hands is default in Android world. So Android switchers will buy the X (if they can afford the price) and existing iPhone users will buy the 8 series.
    The X requires two hands in what way? I’ve never used reachability on my 7 other than when I invoked it by accident.
    [Deleted User]redgeminipallama
  • Reply 6 of 73
    dewmedewme Posts: 5,328member
    I agree that the iPhone 8/8+ is a remarkable product and a significant design, engineering, and production achievement. So is the iPhone X. The problem here is one of marketing, not product. Apple has not previously had to deal with presenting a new product mix at product launch. Apple sellers and buyers are unaccustomed to having the choices that they are now facing with the iPhone 8/8X and iPhone X and it's not certain how this will play out because it's new and different for Apple and its customers. If Apple had called the iPhone X the iPhone Pro instead, then it would be very clear what Apple's intentions were and customers would have some historical leanings to apply. Apple's MacBook, Mac, and soon, iMac product lines follow the same pattern with a "pro" moniker attached to the higher spec'd version in the product line. Heck, the iMac Pro even followed the same path. Whether having "pro" designations really matters from a product perspective is a different argument, but having them conveys a simple (marketing) message from Apple to its customers about how the product mix is laid out. Customers pick up on the message about the mix and their perspectives define the reality for how the product mix is dealt with in the sales channels and by customers. Apple's launch of the iPhone X only dealt with the product and was clear as mud about the mix. Apple could have done a better job here to avoid the confusion that's playing out now.
  • Reply 7 of 73
    brucemcbrucemc Posts: 1,541member
    Apple is so far ahead in silicon performance, the iPhone 8 will still crush the top end Android phones next year. 

    And no, this isn't loving specs now that Apple has a lead (BTW, specs are things like CPU clock speed, number of cores, number of pixels, amount of RAM, etc) - this is talking about performance which is 100% related to user experience. 
    redgeminipatmaySoundJudgmentericthehalfbeeradarthekatpujones1watto_cobra
  • Reply 8 of 73
    asdasdasdasd Posts: 5,686member
    Who will buy the iPhone 8?

    Of course existing iPhone users will buy it at first place.

    iPhone 8 and 8 Plus are single-hand devices. iPhone X requires both hands and it lacks Reachability. The use of both hands is default in Android world. So Android switchers will buy the X (if they can afford the price) and existing iPhone users will buy the 8 series.
    The X requires two hands in what way? I’ve never used reachability on my 7 other than when I invoked it by accident.
    I dont think it was possible on the 7 to swipe back without reachability - which was admittedly a bit of a hacky solution. The X moves that to the bottom. 
  • Reply 9 of 73
    Who will buy the iPhone8? me! :smile: 
    And why? because it is faster? maybe.
    Because of the design? not really.
    Why then? Because:
    • I like my privacy to be protected
    • I like a company that has updated my 3 years' old iPhone with iOS11 and still works really well, thank you very much
    • Apple strives to use 100% renewable resources in anything it does (and I know about it - what are other companies doing? do we know?)
    • Apple offers an integrated environment that makes it easy to share my life with whom I decide to (and not to advertisers)
    • the 8 has what appears to be from first tests, a fantastic camera that will likely make selling my DSLR a no brainer (and not because it is a replacement of a DSLR, but because for the usage patterns I have, it perfectly fulfills the task and even outperforms) and it is the key reason to upgrade from the 3 years' old 6
    • and yes... because the X is fantastic, but too expensive for my budget and is a first gen tech and the notch I don't really like.
    Looking forward to the X3 in 3 years! :smile: 
  • Reply 10 of 73
    asdasdasdasd Posts: 5,686member
    My upgrade from the 6 to the 8 will be an amazing increase in functionality. I must try and work out exactly what I am getting ( a cpu and gpu that are miles ahead). 
    mike1radarthekatAMcKinlay21watto_cobra
  • Reply 11 of 73
    Who will buy the iPhone 8?

    Of course existing iPhone users will buy it at first place.

    iPhone 8 and 8 Plus are single-hand devices. iPhone X requires both hands and it lacks Reachability. The use of both hands is default in Android world. So Android switchers will buy the X (if they can afford the price) and existing iPhone users will buy the 8 series.
    The X requires two hands in what way? I’ve never used reachability on my 7 other than when I invoked it by accident.
    Just because you cannot reach the Home indicator with your thumb. Even if you reach, dragging it upwards will not be as easy as single tap on or clicking the Home button. All the hands-on videos show the Home gesture performed with the other hand. Meaning that none of the authors took the risk to ruin the video by failing in performing the Home gesture single-handedly.

    You mean you never used Reachability on 7 Plus? Because Reachability is not needed at all on 7. This is such a perfect design that most hands are able to accommodate that without using the other hand. The same is true even for the Plus. People with small hands may use it single handedly thanks to Reachability. And now Reachability is removed on the X. I try to be factual in my comments but you may discuss the meaning of this move further with your inner daemon.

    And AppleInsider was the first to point to that aspect of the X among sites:
    http://appleinsider.com/articles/17/09/13/58-iphone-x-designed-for-two-handed-use-as-apple-apparently-drops-support-for-reachability
    edited September 2017 icoco3
  • Reply 12 of 73
    asdasd said:
    My upgrade from the 6 to the 8 will be an amazing increase in functionality. I must try and work out exactly what I am getting ( a cpu and gpu that are miles ahead). 
    My brother has been using an iphone 6 since launch and he is picking up his new iphone 8 this Friday. The slightly smaller form factor while being a massive upgrade from every angle (that A11 is beastly)  is his reason. The plus line and now X are just too big. I prefer the plus and use a 7+. I will be skipping this upgrade cycle since the 8 plus isn't enough of a reason and I'll wait till they work out the kinks on the X and see what Apple has to offer next year.
    dws-2watto_cobra
  • Reply 13 of 73
    Who will buy the iPhone 8?

    Of course existing iPhone users will buy it at first place.

    iPhone 8 and 8 Plus are single-hand devices. iPhone X requires both hands and it lacks Reachability. The use of both hands is default in Android world. So Android switchers will buy the X (if they can afford the price) and existing iPhone users will buy the 8 series.
    Even when I upgraded from a 6 to the 6s Plus, I RARELY ever used reachability. I have average sized man hands, meaning I can't just thumb my way to the top of the screen with one hand, but I've grown accustomed to adjusting my grip if needed. Considering most of what I do on my iPhone, I have the option to just swipe back from the edge of the screen. Going from a Plus to the X shouldn't be much different, maybe even better, since it's actually not as wide as a Plus. Currently, I can usually use my 7 Plus one-handed with little to no issues. I'm going to give the new iOS 11 keyboard a try for one handed use. I have a feeling I'll probably turn it off, as I typically use either hand, depending on what I'm doing, and that means opening the submenu to switch the keyboard to the other side. Maybe iOS 12 will turn that into a gesture. 
    netmagewatto_cobra
  • Reply 14 of 73
    Come on Dan, citing Patel's rant in a critique isn't very nice of you. The guy has some kind of mental disorder (dear God, spike bracelets!) and his babysitter retired a couple of months ago. Damn I miss Walt, but even he could not keep that prima donna from being insufferable in the podcast.

    Now, be nice, and ignore The Verge, like we readers do. There is only Apple bashers, spewing clickbait, left there (cohf, cohf,... Ina Fried!... cohf, cohf)

    Great piece, as usual!
    StrangeDayswatto_cobra
  • Reply 15 of 73
    sog35 said:
    iPhone 8 is a wonderful product.

    But come on Bro.  The design is so FRICKEN OLD BRAH.

    4 years in a row the front of the phone looks EXACTLY THE SAME.
    You are naturally assuming that there is no good electrical reason for why newer phones can't be made smaller and still keep all the features and screen size it has now. Sometimes things are designed the way they are based on a logical decision, or physical limitation, or some other valid reason... not just laziness. And yet, customers demand each new model phone do **more** than the previous ones... or do things better than the competing manufactures' models.
    edited September 2017 Solimike1radarthekatnetmageStrangeDayswatto_cobra
  • Reply 16 of 73
    brucemc said:
    Apple is so far ahead in silicon performance, the iPhone 8 will still crush the top end Android phones next year. 

    ROFL. Really?
    What about the droves of Fandroid's who won't touch anything made by Apple with a 40ft Barge Pole?
    What about the retailers who only display Samsung devices but still carry iPhones (unmarked boxes in a locked room with a sign saying 'Rabid dogs inside' on the door)
    What about the retailers who promote the S7 Edge as the latest phone (not kidding here)
    etc
    etc
    etc

    There are dozens of reasons why the iPhone 8/X won't crush the top end Android phones and not should they. Competition is what keeps the market moving forward.

    Oh, and most buyers don't care one little bit about CPU specs. Shiny, shiny is what sells to around 50% of the market.

    Quote:
    iPhone 8 and 8 Plus shouldn't have any trouble finding buyers.
    Yep, all those who won't go near the 'X' for a variety of reasons including cost, TouchID and the 'notch'.


    edited September 2017
  • Reply 17 of 73
    mike1mike1 Posts: 3,275member
    Without having seen the X, I am leaning towards an 8. However, I will wait until the X is in stores so I can play with it before making the decision. I'll be upgrading from a 6, so either way it'll be a nice improvement for me. This will also be the first time I use the Apple Upgrade program, so worst case, I live with it for a year.
  • Reply 18 of 73
    There are iPhone users who always love to buy the best iPhone like X irrespective of need or price, While others who will buy iPhone 8/Plus simply because they need to upgrade due to aging current iphone or have carrier plan to help them upgrade. Than there are in-between who will go either way.
    edited September 2017 watto_cobra
  • Reply 19 of 73
    pakitt said:
    Who will buy the iPhone8? me! :smile: 
    And why? because it is faster? maybe.
    Because of the design? not really.
    Why then? Because:
    • I like my privacy to be protected
    • I like a company that has updated my 3 years' old iPhone with iOS11 and still works really well, thank you very much
    • Apple strives to use 100% renewable resources in anything it does (and I know about it - what are other companies doing? do we know?)
    • Apple offers an integrated environment that makes it easy to share my life with whom I decide to (and not to advertisers)
    • the 8 has what appears to be from first tests, a fantastic camera that will likely make selling my DSLR a no brainer (and not because it is a replacement of a DSLR, but because for the usage patterns I have, it perfectly fulfills the task and even outperforms) and it is the key reason to upgrade from the 3 years' old 6
    • and yes... because the X is fantastic, but too expensive for my budget and is a first gen tech and the notch I don't really like.
    Looking forward to the X3 in 3 years! :smile: 
    point 1.  err, the same 'privacy' risks exist on the iPhone8 and the iPhoneX.  FaceID doesn't increase your risk, except for 'normalizing' using an image for an identity (and if that is the issue, well, then, photo IDs were the beginning of your downfall).  6 vs 8 vs X is no trade off in privacy.  If you feel someone will unlock your phone  by forcibly opening your eyes infront  of your phone, you have bigger problems than thinking the 8 "protects" your privacy.  

    points 2,3,4,  motherhood and Apple(tm) pie arguments

    point 5: from a 6, yes, the 8 is a great camera.  8+ is better, and likely enough for anyone, like you, that the DSLR was only because you wanted 'good' pictures, not because you needed a photo platform for special needs/conditions (I still have a 12 year old 7MP DSLR, because it handles telephoto lenses, and I shoot sports in sketchy light.  I take 90% of my pics with an iPhone, and I think the larger sensor will tip the edge for moving away from my 66-206mm telephoto lens ).

    point last: Your last point is actually the right point (and/or it's confirmation bias of my primary concern).  'dotZero' releases from Apple, especially with hardware, need some burn in.  I've always bought 's' releases (3Gs, 4s, 6s, and even a 5SE for my work phone) for that reason.  As for the notch: I'm not holding my breath. my guess it's here for at least 1 more year, and after that, when a new geometry comes to the fore (they support too many now), they'll change the notch.

    I'm torn... I want the better camera of the 8+, but even with my big hands, I have small thumbs, so the screen is too big for 1 hand use.

    Me: I'm holding out for the 2018 'X' version, unless my cracked 6s screen drives me into buying an 8 before then.  At this point, Apple Watch 3/air pod2s is a more compelling 2017 spend (my first watch).
    netmage
  • Reply 20 of 73
    For the first time Apple releases an iPhone not an S cycle, and the insults roll in, are they confused by the name so much they can’t accept change? Also these are improved devices at the appropriate price point, the X is something more or lesss experimental at a $200-300 higher price, buy it if you want it!
    netmagechiawatto_cobra
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