Apple’s iPhone 8 isn’t the newest Apple phone on the market, but it remains a solid pick if you don’t want to pay skyrocketing flagship prices.
Apple’s iPhone 8 wasn’t even the top-of-the-line iOS phone when it came out, but it’s still a robust choice for functionality and speed, with a traditional home button packing an easy-to-use Touch ID fingerprint sensor to boot. In short, it’s as powerful as the iPhone X at a notably lower cost – which is still impressive years after both phones have come out. If you’re scouring for the best iPhone right now, consider Apple’s newest iPhone 12 range, which includes four phones. They’re three years newer than the iPhone 8, but a fair bit pricier to match. Thankfully, the price for the iPhone 8 has dropped since it launched. When Apple announces new iPhones, it typically drops a few aging devices, but the iPhone 8 has manage to survive unscathed, and enjoys the new features in iOS 14 to boot. Apple still considers it a ‚budget‘ entry to the iPhone series for people who want Apple’s tech without paying for a high-end phone, though it’s now more in line with the new mid-range iPhone SE 2020. That means it’s still very easy to pick up the iPhone 8 from a variety of places at half (or more) off the price tag of the latest iPhone. The 8 is a legacy iPhone through and through: if you’ve owned an Apple handset from the iPhone 6 onwards, you’ll know exactly what you’re getting with this smartphone. There haven’t been too many changes over previous models, but for some, that’s a bonus. iPhone pessimists and Android fans (sometimes the same people) will be quick to point out the seemingly minor incremental upgrades over 2016’s iPhone 7, but for those with an iPhone 6S or before, that’s less of a problem – especially with the 8’s more powerful chipset. While it may not offer much over its direct predecessor, the iPhone 8 has enough about it to make it an exciting upgrade for those with older iPhone handsets. It also enjoys all the goodies in iOS 14, like widgets, Dark Mode and a range of app speed increases, so you can make the most of your iPhone experience. Apple hasn’t reinvented the wheel here – if you’re craving innovation (within the iPhone bubble, at least) see the new iPhone XS (which has replaced the iPhone X). You’ve probably already heard, but the differences between these two phones is pretty vast – and the first point is the cost. At launch, the iPhone XS started at $999 / £999 / AU$1,579 if you want the 64GB model, where the iPhone 8 now starts at $599 / £599 / AU$979 for the same capacity. Those prices have gone down since, though the iPhone 8 isn’t sold directly by Apple as it’s been replaced in the lineup by the iPhone SE 2020, so the pricetag may vary by retailer. So what are you getting for that extra money – and is it worth buying? The first thing is the screen – you’ve got a bezel-less 5.8-inch display with a 1,125 x 2,436 resolution, and it’s OLED display technology too – that’s superior to the 4.7-inch 750 x 1,334 screen on the iPhone 8. You’ll notice a huge difference between the two.
