The Tree in Bhutan
September 27, 2017
iPhone 8 Vs iPhone 6S: What’s The Difference?
September 27, 2017
Which new iPhone should you buy? While I have written guides to help you choose between the iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus and if you should wait for the iPhone X, there is perhaps a bigger question: Should you upgrade to Apple’s AAPL +1.72%
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new iPhones in the first place? Comparing the iPhone 8 and iPhone 6S in particular, the answer is not as clear as you might imagine.
Here’s the breakdown…
AppleiPhone 6S (left) Vs iPhone 8 (right) – the differences are more than skin deep
Design – Different But The Same
As the picture above shows, for the fourth successive generation Apple has made few external changes to its 4.7-inch iPhone. Furthermore, the changes the iPhone 8 makes might not be universally popular with iPhone 6S owners.
- iPhone 8 – 138.4 x 67.3 x 7.3 mm (5.45 x 2.65 x 0.29 in) and 148g (5.22 oz)
- iPhone 6S – 138.3 x 67.1 x 7.1 mm (5.44 x 2.64 x 0.28 in) and 143g (5.04 oz)
Yes, the iPhone 8 is fractionally taller, wider, thicker and heavier than the iPhone 6S but more important is the reason why: the iPhone 8 swaps the durable aluminium back of the iPhone 6S for glass. Drop tests have already shown the iPhone 8 glass back shatters just like the front display and replacing it will be more expensive, so why do it?
AppleGlass backs add vulnerability and weight of the iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus, but they do bring wireless charging
Because the iPhone 8 finally adds wireless charging (more in the Battery Life section) and to do this Apple required a conductive back so glass was in, aluminium was out. How you feel about this will come down to how interested you are in wireless charging. If you don’t care then the iPhone 8 might not be for you.
The second big downgrade is the iPhone 8, like the iPhone 7 before it, has removed the headphone jack which you’ll find on the iPhone 6S. The arguments for/against this has been made a thousand times, but for some its loss will be a deal breaker.
AppleiPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus are IP67 dust and water resistant just like the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus
These two changes aside, there are some solid improvements in the iPhone 8. Whereas the iPhone 6S is unofficially water and dust resistant, the iPhone 8 is officially IP67 certified so it can survive full submersion in up to one metre of water for up to 30 minutes. The iPhone 8 also has loud stereo speakers while the iPhone 6S has a mediocre mono speaker.
That said, there’s clearly not enough in the iPhone 8 to upgrade from the iPhone 6S in design alone.
Displays – Tonal Changes
It’s a similar story with the iPhone 8’s display. On paper the iPhone 8 and iPhone 6S look identical:
- iPhone 8 and iPhone 7 – 4.7-inch LED-backlit IPS LCD, 1334 x 750 pixels (326 ppi), 65.6% screen-to-body ratio
Seeing Apple stick with 750p and LCD over OLED (which only features in the eye-wateringly expensive iPhone X) will be disappointing to iPhone 6S owners two years later. But there are important upgrades hidden under the surface.
AppleiPhone 8 Tone Tone technology ensures correct colour balance in any ambient light
While the iPhone 8’s contrast ratio is unchanged from the iPhone 6S (1400:1), brightness has increased from 500 nits to 625 nits (the same as the iPhone 7) which aids reading outdoors. The iPhone 8 also integrates Apple’s ‘True Tone’ technology from the iPad Pro range which measures and reacts to environmental light so colours are correct at all times.
For movie fans the iPhone 8 also delivers. It adds support for the main HDR (high dynamic range) standards – Dolby Vision and HDR10 – which have been adopted on Netflix, Amazon Video and iTunes. Yes you’re not getting Full HD (let alone Ultra HD) on an iPhone 8, but HDR is well worth having.
Performance – A Ballistic Upgrade
Where Apple has blazed a trail with the iPhone 8, however, is performance. Compared to the iPhone 7 the iPhone 8’s new A11 Bionic chipset is 25% faster at top speed, 70% faster when idling and 70% faster multitasking. Graphics are 30% faster.
AppleApple’s A11 Bionic is the most powerful smartphone chipset even made and is used the iPhone X, iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus
And to put this in full context, the iPhone 7 had a 40% faster CPU and 50% faster GPU than the iPhone 6S. So yes, this is a big multi-generational jump and means the iPhone 8 is not only the fastest smartphone on the market right now but it is likely to remain faster than Android rivals well into 2019 as well (yes, 19).
You’ll also find a faster (600Mhz vs 300MHz) and more efficient 4G modem in the iPhone 8 (even if rivals have 1GHz support) and Touch ID is as quick as ever and – crucially – still there after Apple controversially removed it from the iPhone X in favour of Face ID.
Cameras – Brains Not Brawn
Another biggie. Just like the design and display, the core specs of the iPhone 8 don’t appear dramatically better than the iPhone 6S. There’s still a 12 megapixel camera on the back (though with a faster f/1.8 aperture vs f/2.2 and larger pixels – better for taking in light) and a bump to the front facing camera from 5MP to 7MP (both still f/2.2).
AppleiPhone 8 (right) is now the only new iPhone not to have a dual rear camera
Still the differences between the iPhone 8 and iPhone 6S are dramatic. While the iPhone 7 largely stood still, Apple has harnessed the remarkable power of the A11 Bionic to integrate its own Image Signal Processor (ISP) for the first time. The result: far better image processing, low light autofocus and noise reduction.
Yes, you’ll still need to jump to the iPhone 8 Plus for dual cameras but with the iPhone 8 Apple has caught up with Android rivals which had built up a considerable lead in recent years.
Battery Life And Charging – Upgrades With Big Catches
Apple has been slow to improve the battery life on its 4.7-inch iPhones and the iPhone 8 continues this disappointing trend. Despite removing the headphone jack, there is little difference in battery capacity between the iPhone 8 and the iPhone 6S as Apple used the space it saved for other components:
- iPhone 8 – 1821 mAh
- iPhone 6S – 1715 mAh
Thankfully the greater efficiencies of the A11 Bionic mean you’ll get a few more hours Internet browsing and video watching compared to the iPhone 6S.
AppleComparing iPhone 6S and iPhone 8 battery life shows the big difference is the charging.
As such the real headline news is the iPhone 8’s charging, though there are some significant caveats in the small print to which you should pay attention. The first is fast wired charging which can deliver a 50% charge in just 30 minutes (from flat) but you’ll pay $75 for this as the required faster charger and USB-C to Lighting cable are not included in the box.
Secondly wireless charging. While the addition of Qi-compatible wireless charging should be a good thing, the iPhone 8 (and all Apple’s new iPhones) only charge at 5W when Qi has both 7.5W and 15W fast charging standards which are used by rival phones. Apple has promised improved wireless charging with its impending ‘AirPower’ standard (coming 2018) but that is unlikely to be compatible with standard 15W Qi-chargers.
AppleiPhone X and iPhone 8 support wireless charging
Plus the iPhone 6S has a secret. If you plug an iPad charger into it the iPhone 6S will charge twice as fast as with the standard charger. That’s still not as fast as true fast charging, but it might be enough to bridge the gap for those unsure if they want to upgrade.
Storage And Price – Both Go Up
By now you’ll spot the iPhone 8’s differences with the iPhone 6S are a mixture of good and bad news and that’s the same with the price and storage:
- iPhone 8 – 64GB ($699), 256GB ($849)
- iPhone 6S – 32GB ($449), 128GB ($549)
While Apple has raised the price of the iPhone 8 and cut out the popular 128GB middle tier, you now get double the entry level storage. Meanwhile the iPhone 6S actually remains on sale and has received a further price cut (it was first cut after the iPhone 7 launch) which makes it far cheaper than the iPhone 8 – but you’ll get less storage.
So the question is whether some may be tempted to buy the 128GB iPhone 6S and save $150 over the 64GB iPhone 8. Personally I’d opt for the newer model as it will be supported two years longer, but it’s a personal call.
AppleiPhone 8 is not Apple’s most exciting iPhone upgrade, but it is a superb small form factor smartphone
Bottom Line
The iPhone 8 makes for a polarising upgrade over the iPhone 6S. On the surface very little has changed and two of the biggest will divide opinion (glass back, no headphone jack). The additions of wireless and fast wired charging are also not without significant extra cost and the base price of the iPhone 8 makes it the most expensive 4.7-inch iPhone Apple has ever made.
That said for those who prefer the 4.7-inch form factor, there is nothing else on the market that will touch the iPhone 8 in terms of performance and photography. The iPhone X with its dramatic design changes will get all the attention, but that phone is delayed and the iPhone 8 matches most of what it can do for $300 less.
Many will see the iPhone 8 as perhaps Apple’s least interesting iPhone to date and it’s not the slam dunk upgrade iPhone 6S owners might have expected. But the iPhone 8 is also, without doubt, by far the best small form factor smartphone you can buy…
Originally Published on: forbes.com
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