iPhone 8 Plus VS iPhone 7 Plus — Should You Upgrade It?
“Should you upgrade your iPhone 7 or 7 Plus to iPhone 8 or 8 Plus?” — This is a hot topic since Apple unveiled its latest and greatest iPhone, the iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus. There are some similarities for sure. The eye test alone can tell us the 7 and 8 are, in fact, twins from the outside. Don’t believe us? Just put your iPhone 7 case on iPhone 8. Or put your iPhone 7 Plus case on the iPhone 8 Plus. That’s right. They fit perfectly onto both models. The exactly same cutouts and almost exact same length and width… just … “twins” from the body shape alone. Of course, the physical stops there though since the new iPhone (8 or 8 plus) featured glass display and glass back panels. It’s the strongest glass ever used on smartphones besides Apple puts the wireless charging ability on the new iPhone so … the look on the back are different to a degree. For instance, the gold color looks milky; therefore, we have a nick name for that … it’s “milky gold” iPhone 8/8 plus.
Let’s go through the similarities and differences also some new and fun features then we will reach to a conclusion on “should you upgrade or not if you have an iPhone 7 or 7 Plus?”.
Specs Chart
You can take a look at the specs chart for iPhone 7 and iPhone 8 side by side from “digitaltrends.com” here.
Similarities
1) Size
You can see from the chart above that it’s not the same but it’s just about 0.1mm ~ 0.2mm different on 3 dimensions. Also, the cutoffs are all on the exactly same spots.
2) Screen
Tech terms aside, they have exactly same screen although 8 version is a bit better. Take a look at the following video that most mainstream consumers aren’t going to notice the difference though.
Resolution is 1,334 × 750 pixels on both phones.3) RAM, Connectivity, Cameras
Those are essentially the same components packed inside of the new iPhone. Although the cameras are being upgraded for a slightly better components but, again, the difference is just not that noticeable for most of the mainstream consumers though.
The photos below are from “dxomark.com”. It’s just a glance to show you how different are those photos taken by 7 and 8 series. For detailed comparisons, you can visit their site here.
Differences
1) Processor
iPhone 8 and 8 Plus are using Apple’s A11 Bionic chip (with 64-bit architecture, M11 motion coprocessor). 7 and 7 Plus are using Apple A10 (Fusion with 64-bit architecture, M10 motion coprocessor).
We know that stating the name isn’t going to cut the race … so … plain English here is that … iPhone 8 and 8 plus is way faster than 7 and 7 Plus. How much faster? Our eye tests tell us that it’s about 50% faster on all tasks. It’s just lightening fast if you are used to 7 or 7 Plus speed (although 7 and 7 Plus are already the top line of the smartphones … now … you might be able to imagine how good the 8 series are, right?)
2) Display
We know that we mentioned that the display is the same but, in fact, if you are a tech enthusiast (like us) or a fanatic Apple fan, you will notice the major difference here which is the true tone display on the 8 series. It makes a major difference when you use phones under different lightings. Well… again… plain English here is that 8 series present more vivid colors on its display and it looks extremely NICE ^_^.
3) Studio lighting On Portrait Mode
It’s a marketing gimmick and we know that. However, after playing it for a bit, we need to admit that it’s fun and it’s really looking great when you want to make some artful photos.
5 different lightings that you can use on the portrait mode:* natural light
* studio light
* contour light
* stage light
* stage light mono
4) The AR (Augmented Reality)
This is one of the most exciting features on the iOS11 and new iPhone 8/8 plus. Try the IKEA Place and you should know that how big impact this is going to be.
By the way, you don’t need to upgrade to the new iPhone 8 series to play with AR apps. As long as you have the iOS 11 on your iPhone 7 or 7 Plus, you will be able to experience those AR apps. Although the cameras on the 8 series are tuned to be working for those AR stuff so … it’s nice to have it if you are into the augmented reality things.
Note:AR and VR are already big on real estate industry. They use it to have virtual tours and placing furnitures on properties. It's another digital revolution move made by the smartphone invention.
5) The Glass Featured 8 Series Are Actually Stronger
It’s hard to believe, isn’t it? But according to “@EverythingApplePro”, the iPhone 8/8 Plus are even stronger than the iPhone 7/7 Plus even though they have glass display and back panels. Take a look at the video below,
“iPhone 8 Plus vs 7 Plus DROP Test!” from — @EverythingApplePro
Fast forward to 2:46 to watch how he experienced the drop test on both phones.
6) Wireless Charging & Fast Charging
Apple finally brings us the long waited wireless charging feature to the 8 series. Also it sports the fast charging capability as well. iPhone 8 and iPhone X fast charge battery to 50% in 30 minutes; however, the caveat here is that you will need to buy a USB-C power adapter and … they aren’t cheap though.
For the wireless charging feature, here are 5 fantastic wireless charging pad/stations which are all less than 20 bucks (4 of them are from $11 to $14 bucks) that you can buy from Amazon today.
Conclusion
“Should you upgrade from iPhone 7/7 Plus to iPhone 8/8 Plus?” The answers should be very clear here that … you need to know which group of consumers you are in.
1) If you care about cameras …
e.g., parents, photographer, youtuber, instagram influencer, or tech enthusiast, YOU SHOULD UPGRADE. You are the one who can really appreciate the differences that Apple gives to the 8 series. Well… since you are able to notice those slight differences and those slight changes/improvements will have significant impacts on your professional works.
2) If you are NOT belonging to the group above,
you should NOT UPGRADE. You will have a hard time to tell what those differences are and why you shaved couple extra hundred dollars to purchase a phone that you already have. You will be in a buyer’s remorse mode for a very long time.
In sum, the plain English is that if you can notice and appreciate those slight changes/improvements that you can get from the iPhone 8 or iPhone 8 Plus, you should go ahead and upgrade your phones. If not, don’t 🙂
Originally published at techinwire.com on September 24, 2017.
