The IPhone 7s—sorry, that was supposed to say 8.  The IPhone 8. It’s a marginal improvement over the IPhone 7, but still superior in every way.  The IPhone 8 is easily one of the best phones on the market today. It has all of the features of any other IPhone: 3d touch, Touch ID, one of the best cameras in the business, and of course, QI Wireless Charging.  But are all of these features worth the price?

In a word, yes; but let me elaborate on that a little for you.  If you buy the IPhone 8 for one reason, make it because of wireless charging.  The saving grace of this phone. In order to implement the wireless charging, Apple had to make the back of the IPhone 8 glass.  Because of this, it is heavier than the IPhone 7. This extra weight doesn't bother me in day to day use. Yes, it did feel heavier at first, but I stopped noticing it after about 3 days, and my arm never got tired from holding it.  An extra 10 grams is an easy justification for wireless charging. Wireless charging is probably my favorite thing about this device. Most people who don't have a phone capable of wireless charging are cynical about it. Many of my friends have told me it isn't a big deal to have to plug in their phone everyday.  I would agree with them. Wireless charging was not put into phones because there was something wrong with plugging in a phone. It was implemented because it is more convenient. Trying to find the charging cable in the dark, then guessing where the charging port is, missing a few times, then getting frustrated and turning on your light, is no longer a problem.  Just set your brand new IPhone down on a charging pad, and it just works. Apple also decided to use the QI charging standard. This means the IPhone 8 is compatible with any wireless charging pad on the market (yes, even the Samsung pads).

The wireless charging is not the only thing great about this phone.  It's also faster. In just day to day use, it really is noticeable. Opening apps is much faster and feels more responsive; the OS feels smoother, opening apps feels faster, and app performance is (and alway has been) phenomenal.  The benchmarks also show this improvement. Geekbench.com, a benchmarking utility that can measure processor speed, gave the IPhone 8 a score of 4223 on the single core test. This is up 20% from the IPhone 7’s score of 3403. The multi core test was even better.  The IPhone 8 scored 10138 on the multi core test. The IPhone 7 scored 5792. This means the IPhone 8 is 43% faster when using multiple cores. On top of just being faster, Apple is offering double the storage from the IPhone 7. The IPhone 7 offered 32 or 128gb of storage, the IPhone 8 offers 64 or 256.  For most people, 64gb of storage is more than enough to hold all of your photos, apps, videos, etc. The 64gb model is also the base model of the IPhone 8, so you are getting enough storage for less; or you can upgrade and quadruple the amount of storage available.

Alright, wireless charging is great.  More storage is fantastic. But I cant buy a phone based upon just two features.  Why else should I buy the IPhone 8? Touch ID. It’s fantastic, and it has been for around 3 generations now.  It’s back on the IPhone 8, and feels just as responsive and fast as before. Touch ID is also the reason I would recommend the IPhone 8 over the IPhone X (other than price, as the IPhone 8 is at least $200 cheaper).  I am not saying Face ID is terrible. Face ID is fast, and only requires you to look at the phone to unlock it. The problem, is the notch on the front. In Apple’s pursuit of an “edge-to-edge” display, they had to make a notch on the top in order to incorporate Face ID and a front facing camera.  The IPhone 8, because it is using Touch ID, and not using an OLED display, does not have this notch, and instead has two large bezels on the top and bottom where the home button and camera have been placed. If I am being completely honest, I really don't care about this edge-to-edge pursuit. I can live with some bezels on the top and bottom of a phone, if it means I get Touch ID; which is, in my opinion, the best biometric/fingerprint scanner in the business.  I also value having a very nice camera, and more importantly, a very nice speaker on the top of the device. The IPhone 8 has both of these. The front facing camera is definitely up to standard for 2018, and Apple’s implementation of stereo speakers on the IPhone 7 has been brought back on the IPhone 8. Both the speakers on the top, and on the bottom, sound amazing.

While I do love the IPhone 8, I should talk about my main complaint with the product.  My main (and only major) complaint, is the display. We have had almost the exact same display on IPhones since the IPhone 6.  You heard me right.  The IPhone 6.  The one and only difference between the IPhone 6’s display, and the IPhone 8’s display, is the peak brightness.  A marginal improvement, up 125 nits, from 500 to 625, is just disappointing. This jump in brightness came from the IPhone 7, as it also has 625 nits of peak brightness.  This means the IPhone 8 has nothing new about its display. I was hoping Apple could bring HDR to the mainstream with the IPhone 8; but if you want that, you must buy the IPhone X.  The IPhone X’s display says it is HDR, but it really isn't.. It boasts an OLED display, and claims to have HDR support. The OLED (Organic Light Emitting Diode) display is able to illuminate each individual pixel with its own backlight; giving the display deeper blacks, and less washed out colors in general.  The IPhone X’s better color accuracy allows for “HDR” (High Dynamic Range). Deeper blacks, brighter whites, and more true to life colors, are all benefits of HDR. This on paper looks like a huge improvement, but when you look at the display, it's not “true” HDR. “But Apple said it was HDR on their website and advertising!”  I hear you cry. Yes, the IPhone X is MOSTLY HDR capable; but it does not meet the HDR10 qualifications for one reason only. The peak brightness.  Again, the IPhone X has a peak brightness of 625 nits. In order to truly have HDR on a phone, its display must reach a peak brightness of 1000 nits, among many other qualifications.  The IPhone X’s peak brightness is the exact same as the IPhone 8’s. This growing “HDRnt” trend (credit to Linus Sebastian, of Linus Tech Tips for that term), where a device seems HDR capable, and says it is, but in reality is lacking in as little as one category, is one I hope Apple can break with the release of their next phone.

The display is really my only major complaint about the device.  Many would have written about how it is heavier, or how the design has not changed for three generations.  The reason I didn't, is because I just don't care. The design is, and always has been, at the top of its game.  While it would be nice to see a design shift, Apple is operating under the philosophy of, if it ain't broke, don't fix it.  I agree with apple on this one. And the weight? The extra weight adds wireless charging to the phone, so it is well worth the tradeoff.  

This is IPhone 8.  It doesn't try to sell you with fancy first generation party tricks, or amazing edge-to-edge displays.  It’s a workhorse. It gets the job done. It takes what was great about IPhones, and just makes it better.  No “courage” from removing the headphone jack (it still doesn't have one though), or removing the home button.  No fancy, but still at times, gimmicky Face ID, no low in supply OLED display, no stupid gesture based and confusing OS, just functionality.  The IPhone 8 is what you need, not what you want. It's an improvement over the last generation. It's the IPhone 8.