iPhone X vs iPhone 8: Which Apple handset should you buy?
We compare the iPhone X with the iPhone 8
If you’re after a brand new iPhone right now, you’ve got three options – the iPhone 8 Plus, the standard iPhone 8, and the all new iPhone X. While the iPhone 8 is the incremental yearly upgrade to Apple’s handset, the iPhone X is in a league of its own. Featuring a number of firsts for Apple – including Face ID, an OLED screen and much more – the X is the future of iPhones. But is it worth buying right now?
To find out if you should pick the regular iPhone 8, or opt for Apple’s all-new iPhone X, we’ve compared the specs, features – and most importantly, price – of both handsets, to work out the best iPhone for you.
iPhone X vs iPhone 8: Release date
The release date of either phone isn’t really an issue, but it’s worth noting you can’t go out and buy an iPhone X right now. Although Apple unveiled both handsets at the same time, the iPhone X won’t be out until 3 November. In contrast, the iPhone 8 is in stores now.
iPhone X vs iPhone 8: Design
Both handsets are made by Apple, and that means their designs follow the same broad strokes we see in all the company’s previous handsets. Switched off, and from a distance, both handsets look almost identical, and feature a mixture a glass front and back, curved aluminium edges and the same Lightning Port as most modern iPhones.
However, the iPhone X is slightly larger than the normal iPhone 8. Apple’s flagship handset measures 143.6 mm by 70.9 mm by 7.7 mm, while the iPhone 8 is slightly smaller at 138.4 mm by 67.3 mm by 7.3 mm.
Despite its fractionally larger footprint, the iPhone X has a much larger screen, and that’s due to its lack of phone button and edge to edge display. Turn the iPhone X on, and you’ll see a small notch at the top of the handset. This houses its new Face ID sensors.
iPhone X vs iPhone 8: Features
Camera
The iPhone 8 has one of the best cameras you can buy right now, but it’s eclipsed in pretty much every way by the snapper in the iPhone X. The standard iPhone 8 packs an impressive 12MP rear-facing camera, but the iPhone X borrows the same dual-lens array seen in the iPhone 8 Plus. That means it comes with a pair of 12MP cameras, one wide-angle and the other telephoto. The result? The iPhone X gives you a cleaner zoom, and it also features Apple’s interesting Portrait Mode. What’s more, there’s also dual optical image stabilisation, to stop your pictures blurring.
Biometric ID
Biometric ID technology lets your body become your password and can use anything from your eyes, fingerprints or face to verify your identity. Like the iPhone before it, the iPhone 8 uses Apple’s Touch ID fingerprint sensor. Now a somewhat mature technology, it works well and is quick and easy to use.
In contrast, the iPhone X comes with Face ID, because Apple has removed the Touch ID from the new handset. Instead on a fingerprint sensor, the X uses a TrueDepth camera to accurately verify your identity.
iPhone X vs iPhone 8: Specs
Processor
Both the iPhone 8 and iPhone X use Apple’s brand new A11 Bionic chip with 64-bit architecture, which we found to be extremely quick. Whichever iPhone you get, it’ll be fast.
Display
The iPhone 8 has a commendable 4.7-inch 1,334 x 750 IPS display, and features the widest colour gamut Apple has ever managed on an IPS screen – but the iPhone X blows it out of the water. Apple’s new flagship comes with an edge-to-edge 5.8-inch 2,436 x 1,125 HDR, OLED screen, so it should be clearer, brighter and sharper than the iPhone 8.
Battery life
The iPhone 8 has roughly the same battery as the iPhone 7 before it, but Apple says the iPhone X will give you an extra two hours compared to the 8. That’s not a huge deal, but it is impressive when you consider the increased side of the screen and the power-hungry OLED tech. Both handsets also feature wireless charging and use the widely supported QI standard.
iPhone X vs iPhone 8: Price and Verdict
The iPhone X starts at £949 for the rather small 64GB version and rises to £1,109 for the 256GB version. In contrast, the iPhone 8 will set you back just £659 for the 64GB model, and £809 for the 256GB version.
So which one do you buy? If you’re somebody who always wants to be at the cutting-edge of technology, you’ll want to get the iPhone X. It represents the future of Apple’s smartphone plans, and it comes with all the technology you’d need to make a formidable foe to Android. But you do have to pay a great deal of money for it.
Check out iPhone X contract deals from Mobiles.co.uk here
If, however, you want an iPhone that just works, and features all the technology you’ll probably need to use, get the iPhone 8. It’s still a great phone, and the addition of wireless charging makes it that bit more practical than the iPhone 7.
