Steve Jobs promised the world a device with a single button, the home button. And it worked perfectly. Now, after ten years, Apple delivered a handset with no home button and this will most likely become a part of our lives too sooner or later. The tech giant just launched three new smartphones, the iPhone 8, the iPhone 8 Plus, and the iPhone X. The iPhone 8 and 8 Plus might be quite similar to what we’ve seen before, however, the iPhone X is truly a game-changer for Apple. The Cupertino- based company doesn’t usually go out of its comfort zone but it did it this year. The iPhone X is indeed a device that is appropriate for marking the tenth anniversary of the iPhone. It’s almost as revolutionary as the first iPhone was back in 2007.
2017 is without a doubt the year of big design changes. First, Samsung ditched the home button and went for the Infinity Display, now Apple plans to do the same thing. Of course, this is the most visible change in the iPhone X but it isn’t the only one. The changes brought to us by the iPhone 8 and the iPhone 8 Plus might be minor at the first sight but they are actually quite important.
The changes brought to us by the iPhone 8 and the iPhone 8 Plus might be minor at the first sight but they are actually quite important. The new handsets look a lot like last year’s iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus but they are actually faster, overall better and they come with a series of new features. Probably the most important change is the addition of wireless charging support. Both the iPhone 8 and the iPhone 8 Plus now come with glass back, just like the iPhone 4 did. That model only featured a glass back to look good, the new ones also have a mission for the glass on their back. Curiously, all of the new iPhone models support wireless charging but Apple doesn’t offer any wireless chargers of its own. Instead, users can purchase third- party chargers for their new smartphones. Of course, this will also make them pay extra.
Let’s take a closer look at each of the new handsets. The iPhone 8 is the lowest- end of the three. It looks mostly like the iPhone 7 did last year, with the round home button we all got to know and the rather thick bezels on the top and the bottom of the device. It has a 4.7-inch display just like its predecessor. Unfortunately, the iPhone 8 didn’t get the OLED display some users were hoping for. Apple kept that feature for its flagship device. The 1334 x 750 pixels resolution is quite disappointing for a 2017 device, especially for one that is considered to be high- end, however, I am almost certain that Apple fans will take it as it is and simply enjoy the new product. The iPhone 8 Plus gets a higher- quality 5.5-inch display with a full HD resolution. Of course, other flagship smartphones now feature 4K displays, but if we are to be honest, the majority don’t really need such a high resolution. Even so, it’s nice to see those beautiful displays and Apple should really reconsider its screens.
Under the hood, both the iPhone 8 and the iPhone 8 Plus house A11 Bionic chipsets which will turn the smartphones into quite fast ones. According to Apple, these chipsets are a lot faster than any other SoC. The chipset uses all six cores at once, making it super fast. The handsets run iOS 11 out of the box, bringing a set of interesting new features to users. The iPhone 8 could come with only 2GB of RAM which is, again, a little surprising as other handsets already come with up to 8GB of memory included. The iPhone 8 Plus could offer 1GB more, including a total of 3GB of RAM. This might seem insufficient, but Apple seems to be able to make its smartphones work fast even with 2GB or 3GB of RAM. How they do it? With their great processors, according to the company. The fact is, iPhones do offer a smooth users experience, even if they include a lot less memory than other handsets. After all, the quality is more important than the specs sheet.
Just like last year, the lower- end model comes with a single primary camera. The iPhone 8 Plus brings the dual rear camera back in all its glory. Without a doubt, the new models’ cameras are just as great, if not greater, as the ones on the previous devices. The iPhone 8 Plus features facial recognition and an iris scanner. These security features don’t come with the iPhone 8, unfortunately. Other features of these handsets include a Smart connector, improved AR and VR performance, and more. The price of the iPhone 8 starts at $699, while the iPhone 8 Plus takes it a little higher, to $799. Naturally, larger storage will increase these prices.
The iPhone X (Ten) is, as we all expected it to be, the flagship device of Apple. This is obvious at first glance, as it brings a totally new and modern design. Even though the new design is already a big step up from previous models, it isn;t the only thing the iPhone X has to offer. It also comes with a number of new features that truly make it a high- end device. The beautiful glass back isn’t there only for fashion reasons, it also ensures wireless charging support. The iPhone X is the only one out of the three to ship with an OLED display, dubbed Super Retina display. The -inch screen of the iPhone X looks better than any other iPhone did. It also has the highest resolution so it is the clearest. The 5.8-inch display doesn’t turn this handset into a ridiculously large one. Actually, it quite nicely in one hand.
The menu of the iPhone X works a lot like the one we already saw on the BlackBerry devices in the past few years. With a simple swipe upwards, users can return to the menu or even multitask. The iPhone X is the first Apple smartphone to feature Face ID. Instead of relying on a fingerprint sensor, the new handset scans the user’s face to unlock. One great thing is that it even works in the dark as the IR camera takes an IR image. Face ID just took the place of the Touch ID Apple fans just loved. It even works with Apple Pay.
The iPhone X features a 12MP dual rear camera setup, just like the iPhone 8. However, the cameras on this handset are higher- quality and more powerful, enabling users to take even greater pictures and shoot even more amazing videos. Just like the iPhone 8, the camera of the iPhone X supports 4K video recording at 60fps. Naturally, it also supports all the other photo and video features the iPhone 8 has to offer. The handset is tuned for AR apps, ensuring a great user experience. The front- facing camera of the iPhone X is a True Depth camera that will capture amazing selfies.
Naturally, the iPhone X is just as powerful as the lower- end models Apple launched today. It has the same A11 Bionic chipset that will make this smartphone an incredibly fast one. Given the higher resolution of the display and the more powerful processor, it was only natural for Apple to increase the battery life of the handset. The iPhone X supports wireless charging, and users will be able to charge not only their iPhone X or iPhone 8 but also their Apple Watch and Air Pods using the same charger. Apple’s Air Power will become available sometime next year.
The handset will become available with 64GB or 256GB of internal storage. The starting price of the iPhone X, as many accurately predicted it, is $999. Naturally, this price will go higher for the iPhone X including 256GB of storage. Ths surely isn’t a small price to pay for a smartphone. Even so, there will certainly be many people who consider that it is worth every cent. Unfortunately, we have no information regarding the availability of the iPhone 8. It’s safe to assume that Apple will share this information with us later on.
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