IPhone 8 Plus test
Apple’s headliner for the 2017-2018 season is naturally the iPhone X, the tenth anniversary iPhone, the most revolutionary in years. So revolutionary, with its “borderless” screen, that Apple has postponed its launch for the first time. Therefore, the brand has also launched the iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus, to occupy the ground at the start of the school year, but also and above all to constitute the heart of the range, with prices starting at 809 euros, much more reasonable than the 1149 euros requested for the iPhone X.
We tested the iPhone 8 Plus, a very high-end smartphone sold for 900 to 1100 euros, which we want to compare both with the Samsung Galaxy Note 8 at 1000 dollars and the OnePlus 5 at… 500 dollars.
DESIGN
What pushes us to compare a very high-end smartphone like the iPhone 8 Plus to a flagship killer like the OnePlus 5, it is on the one hand that we wonder how much an Android smartphone is half less expensive stands the comparison, and on the other hand that the traditional design of the iPhone does not compare with the avant-garde design of a borderless smartphone like the Galaxy Note 8.
SCREEN
If the edges of the screen are from another time, the screen itself is cutting edge. Granted, it’s not yet an OLED display, but it’s the epitome of LCD . Our probe has rarely measured curves as linear as with this Full HD IPS panel (1920 x 1080 pixels).
The contrast ratio is “only” 1400: 1 with a brightness of 200 cd / m2, the colors are not at all as flattering as on an OLED screen, but they look natural.
The greatest strength of this screen is also that it adopts True Tone technology, until then reserved for certain iPads. iPhone adapts the color temperature of the screen to the ambient color temperature to some extent. The technology goes completely unnoticed until it is deactivated in the settings. The gap between the screen and the real world is obvious.
PHOTO
iPhones are the most used cameras in the world, so Apple was expected around the corner. In the aftermath of its launch, the iPhone 8 Plus briefly held # 1 in the DxOMark rankings . But this is only a coincidence of the calendar since it was quickly joined by the Samsung Galaxy Note 8, released a little earlier. The Google Pixel 2 ‘s were dislodged in turn a few days later, despite their camera with a single sensor.
So much for an objective ranking based on measurements.
As for a more subjective judgment, it can be confirmed that the iPhone 8 Plus is a significant improvement over its predecessor . The level of detail is still a step above, the white balance is well mastered, including in mixed situations (mixture of natural and artificial light), and above all the dynamic range has been further improved, even if it is still the first to betray the smartphone when compared to a real camera.
The iPhone 8 Plus is still a bit more worthy than its predecessors to replace a dedicated camera, at least for the day. If we zoom in to 100%, we still have that speckle characteristic of tiny smartphone sensors, but it does not matter if the photos are intended to be shared on social networks. There is little more than at night that the dedicated cameras stand out clearly.
PERFORMANCES
Let’s move on to the performance of the iPhone 8 Plus, that is to say those of the iPhone 8, with which it shares its Apple A11 Bionic chip and its 3 GB of RAM. The new phone unlock service near me once again enjoy perfect vertical integration, as Apple is developing its own chip – with its own CPU microarchitecture and now its own GPU – perfectly suited to its iOS operating system.
As every year, the iPhone 8s are ahead of the competition, with scores of around 50% higher than those obtained with a Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 , the best SoC to date for Android smartphones.
Let it be said, it is largely oversized to date. There is no more slowdown on a OnePlus 5 or an iPhone 7 than on an iPhone 8. At least for the moment. Compared to Android smartphones, iPhones enjoy excellent longevity, not only because they are entitled to major iOS updates for many years, but also because their chip was so far ahead. This is what makes it possible to keep an iPhone 4 or 5 years, or to resell it at a lower discount.
Also Read: Computer Graphics For Beginners: How To Create?
SOFTWARE
Let’s briefly discuss the operating system of iPhone 8, iOS 11 to date. The author of this test is an eternal undecided who constantly carries an Android smartphone and an iPhone because he appreciates them almost as much as the other. The two OS have their advantages and their disadvantages, therefore their followers and their detractors, according to the criteria of each one.
With iOS we are at the hotel: everything is clean, everything is tidy, but we rely on the internal regulations, while with Android we are at home: we do what we want, but it is sometimes messy.
AUTONOMY
Our battery life measurement protocol does not work on iOS, so we cannot provide a score comparable to scores from Android smartphones. I can nevertheless confirm that the autonomy of the iPhone 8 Plus is significantly less than that of some Android smartphones of comparable dimensions. With my moderate use (playing music in the subway, instant messaging on the bus, a few calls), my OnePlus 5 lasts two days, but if the iPhone 8 Plus lasts more than a day, it does not last two full days .
Note, however, that the iPhone 8 are finally getting fast charging and wireless charging, failing to abandon Lightning in favor of USB Type-C .
They still come with a 5W charger, which is petty, but they now support the USB Power Delivery (USB-PD) fast-charging standard . So that with a compatible charger, such as the charger of a MacBook Pro or any other USB-C laptop, and with an optional USB-C to Lightning cable (25 euros just for 1 m), it does not only takes 30 minutes to recharge the battery to 50%.