iPhone 8 vs iPhone 8 Plus: Which is Better?

Are you committed to buying an iPhone, but you do not know which model to buy? Read this iPhone 8 vs iPhone 8 Plus comparison review to discover two viable options you can choose from. 

iPhone 8 vs iPhone 8 Plus: At First Glance

The iPhone 8 and 8 Plus, released in September 2017, belong to the old generation of iPhones. That makes them almost 5 years old in January 2022 when we published this review.

This implies that the iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus are nearing their end days for system and security updates. 

Although both models were discontinued in April 2020, you will still be able to get them from retail outlets. The iPhone 8 and 8 Plus are some of the reasonably priced iPhones you can get right now. 

Speaking of their prices, at the time this comparison review was written, the iPhone 8 starts at $189.00 on Amazon. Meanwhile, the iPhone 8 Plus starts at $197.00. 

Enough has been said about the iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus in this introductory section. Hence, let us proceed to help you decide which of these iPhones to buy! 

iPhone 8 vs iPhone 8 Plus: Design, Dimension, and Weight

The iPhone 8 and 8 Plus are nearly identical iPhone models save for their size and weight. Speaking of size, the iPhone 8 measures 138.4 x 67.3 x 7.3 mm (H x W x D). 

Whereas the iPhone 8 Plus which is the bigger model measures 158.4 x 78.1 x 7.5 mm (H x W x D). Despite their size differences, you have to consider which of the models best suits your need. 

If you want a phone that is easy to grip and carry around, then the iPhone 8 is your best bet. Meanwhile, if you are a big fan of movies or games, you might prefer the larger iPhone 8 Plus. 

When it comes to weight, the iPhone 8 weighs 148 g, while the iPhone 8 Plus weighs 202 g. Meanwhile, research shows that most smartphone users love their phones between 140 to 170 g. 

Hence, the iPhone 8 falls within the ideal weight, while the iPhone 8 Plus falls outside this range. 

Having talked about the size and weight, let us proceed to the other design features of the iPhone 8 and 8 Plus. We will do this by taking a tour of both iPhone models. 

To do this, we will start with the front view.

The front view of the iPhone 8 and 8 Plus are similar except for their difference in screen sizes. 

Specifically, the iPhone 8 has a screen size of 4.7 inches, while the iPhone 8 Plus has a screen size of 5.5 inches. Other than the screen size, every other thing on the front view of the iPhone 8 and 8 Plus are similar. 

Speaking of the similarities, the screen of both models are framed by the prominent top and bottom bezels. That is an indication that the iPhone 8 and 8 Plus retained the famous home button. 

The home button which doubles as a fingerprint reader, sits on the bottom bezel as usual. Meanwhile, the top bezel houses the front camera, sensor, and earpiece. 

Moving on to the back view of the iPhone 8 and 8 Plus, the backplates are made from glass, unlike the aluminum build of the previous iPhone models. The glass backplate is beautiful and sophisticated. 

However, it is easily covered in fingerprints, and the slippery glass poses a risk of cracking when they drop. However, you can ensure some level of protection by using a protective pouch. 

Meanwhile, the only difference in the backplate of the iPhone 8 and 8 Plus is in their camera layout. The camera modules are located in the top left corner of both models. 

The iPhone 8 has a single circular camera layout with an aluminum rim. Meanwhile, the iPhone 8 Plus has a horizontal dual-camera layout also with an aluminum rim. 

Furthermore, the camera module on both the iPhone 8 and 8 Plus is followed by a microphone and LED flash. On the backplates, you will also find an Apple logo that is typical of iPhones. 

Further below the backplate, both models also have an “iPhone” branding. That brings us to the end of the back-view features. 

Now we can move on to the edges. The edges of the iPhone 8 and 8 Plus are made with 7000 series aluminum. 

There are no ports or features on the top edge of both model. However, the bottom edge houses speaker grilles, a microphone, and a lightning connector. 

The right and left edges are also busy as well – they have two antenna lines running across each edge. Additionally, the left edge also houses the mute switch and volume buttons. 

The mute switch is useful for toggling between silent and ring modes. 

For the right edge, it is home to the side button and SIM tray. A light press on the side button will lock the phone and put it to sleep or wake it from sleep, as the case may be. 

For the SIM slot, it houses a single Nano-SIM on both the iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus. To access the SIM tray, you can use a pin-like tool to eject it. 

Having completed our 360 degrees tour of the iPhone 8 and 8 Plus, let us discuss other features like color options and water-resistance rating.

For color options, the iPhone 8 and 8 Plus are available in Gold, Silver, Space Gray, or product Red colors. The Space Gray color option is somewhat black. It is one of the colors to go for if you want black bezels. 

The black bezels blend nicely with the rest of the screen which makes watching movies and playing games more immersive. On the other hand, the Space Gray option is a perfect choice for people who want to go discreetly without drawings a lot of attention. 

The product Red options are special editions which means that they are not as readily available as the other colors. The Red options have black bezels as well. 

Meanwhile, both the Gold and Silver color options of the iPhone 8 and 8 Plus have white front bezels. The white bezels give a sharp contrast to the rest of the screen. 

Hence, the Gold and Silver options are conspicuous and suitable for people who want their phones to be easily noticed. 

Furthermore, the iPhone 8 and 8 Plus are rated IP67 for dust and water resistance. Hence, they will survive submersion in 1 meter of water for up to 30 minutes. 

Finally, the iPhone 8 and 8 Plus are similar on most fronts in their design aspects. The only major differences are their physical size, weight, and display screen size. 

For the purpose of this review, I will rate the iPhone 8 a 9 for its ideal weight and its portability. Meanwhile, I will rate the iPhone 8 Plus an 8.5 in this iPhone 8 vs iPhone 8 Plus design features comparison section. 

iPhone 8 vs iPhone 8 Plus: Display Features

Next up in this iPhone 8 vs iPhone 8 Plus comparison review is the display features comparison. To deliver on that, we will consider display features such as screen resolution, technology, size, aspect ratio, etc. 

For a start, let us consider the screen sizes. As I mentioned in the design features section, the iPhone 8 has a screen size of 4.7 inches. 

Meanwhile, the iPhone 8 Plus has a screen size of 5.5 inches. According to our research, the ideal screen size of phones is between 5 to 5.5 inches. 

Hence, the iPhone 8 falls outside this range by being too small. Whereas the iPhone 8 Plus conforms to the screen size standard. 

The next display feature we will consider is the aspect ratio. Both the iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus have an aspect ratio of 16:9. 

Hence, you will be able to watch videos on widescreen. 

Moving on to the screen technology, the iPhone 8 and 8 Plus use Retina IPS LCDs. IPS LCDs might not be the best display technology out there. 

However, they have fast refresh rates, great color accuracy, and contrast. 

Next, the iPhone 8 has a display resolution of 750 x 1334 pixels and a display density of 326 PPI. Meanwhile, the iPhone 8 Plus has a resolution of 1080 x 1920 pixels and a pixel density of 401 PPI. 

Consequently, images on the iPhone 8 Plus are sharper than those on the iPhone 8 due to their higher resolution and pixel density. 

Moving on, let us also consider the black value and contrast ratio of the iPhone 8 and 8 Plus. These factors determine how black colors are represented on the screen. 

A smaller black value coupled with a higher contrast ratio translates to deeper blacks. The iPhone 8 has a black value of 0.44 cd/m² (lower is better) and a contrast ratio of 1373:1 (higher is better). 

On the other hand, the iPhone 8 Plus has a black value of 0.38 cd/m² and a contrast ratio of 1471:1. Hence, the iPhone 8 Plus produces truer blacks than the iPhone 8. 

Moving on to the screen brightness, the iPhone 8 has a maximum brightness of 604 nits. Meanwhile, the iPhone 8 Plus has maximum screen brightness of 559 nits. 

Consequently, the display of the iPhone 8 and 8 Plus are sufficiently bright and should pose no problem for outdoor usage. However, the screen of the iPhone 8 is a tad brighter than that of the iPhone 8 Plus. 

Moving on to color reproduction, the iPhone 8 and 8 Plus has wider color gamut support than previous models. Hence, it is no surprise that both the iPhone 8 and 8 Plus cover 99.9% of the sRGB color gamut. 

Color gamut refers to the different levels of colors that can be produced by a device. Since the iPhone 8 and 8 Plus have an impressive color reproduction value, they are suitable for use in professional settings. 

For color accuracy, the iPhone 8 Plus has a DeltaE value of 1.3, while the iPhone 8 has a DeltaE value of 1.2. DeltaE values represent the degree of deviation in color rendering accuracy. 

A lower DeltaE score is better because it implies that there lesser color deviations. Consequently, the iPhone 8 has a slightly more color-accurate display than the iPhone 8 Plus. 

Moving on, the iPhone 8 and 8 Plus include support for Apple’s True Tone technology. With the help of the ambient light sensor, True Tone technology uses the surrounding light to ensure accurate color correction. 

Furthermore, the iPhone 8 and 8 Plus supports 3D Touch which is a pressure-sensitive feature that enables more interactiveness with the screen. 

3D Touch works when you press down on the screen; this will pop up more menu options. With more menu options, you can do more things than just taps and swipes of conventional screens. 

Another display feature we will talk about in this section is viewing angles. Although viewing angles on IPS LCDs are not as excellent as OLEDs, the viewing angle stability of the iPhone 8 is acceptable.

You will only notice a slight brightness drop when you view the screen from acute angles. The iPhone 8 Plus, on the other hand, produces a more noticeable color and contrast drop when viewed from acute angles. 

Moving on, the iPhone 8 and 8 Plus displays support Dolby Vision and HDR10. These features will enable a more enjoyable dynamic range when watching HDR videos. 

For display protection, the iPhone 8 and 8 Plus displays are Ion-strengthened which gives them a respectable level of resilience. However, it is advisable to use a tempered glass screen protector. 

Furthermore, the iPhone 8 and 8 Plus’s screens have oleophobic coatings, which help to keep the screens clean from fingerprints. 

Finally, the iPhone 8 and 8 Plus displays are similar on some fronts and different on others. For instance, the iPhone 8 Plus has a larger screen, better resolution, and pixel density. 

Meanwhile, the iPhone 8 has a brighter screen, greater color accuracy, and better viewing angles. Hence, this puts me in a tough spot to make a top pick. 

However, the higher resolution and higher pixel density of the iPhone 8 Plus are not visible to ordinary eyes when compared with the iPhone 8. In contrast, the increased brightness and better viewing angles of the iPhone 8 are more noticeable. 

Putting these into consideration, I will make the iPhone 8 my top pick in this section. Thus, I will rate the iPhone 8, an 8 in this iPhone 8 vs iPhone 8 Plus display features comparison section. 

On the other hand, I will rate the iPhone 8 Plus a 7.5. 

iPhone 8 vs iPhone 8 Plus: Camera Features

In this camera features comparison section of the iPhone 8 and 8 Plus, we will start with the front cameras. The iPhone 8 and 8 Plus are equipped with similar front cameras. 

The front cameras of both models have a resolution of 7 MP and an aperture size of f/2.2. The front cameras support wide color capture for photos as well as live photos. 

Live photos are created by making a short video clip before and after taking a picture. Hence, live photo is a feature that creates motion pictures. 

Additionally, the front cameras of the iPhone 8 and 8 Plus also support Auto HDR for photos. Auto HDR helps to increase exposure details and reduces noise in still photos. 

Another feature common to the front cameras of the iPhone 8 and 8 Plus is auto image stabilization. Auto image stabilization helps to stabilize low-light images to combat handshakes and prevent blurry photos. 

Performance-wise, the front cameras of the iPhone 8 and 8 Plus produce decent daytime selfies. The details, contrast, and colors are good, but they are not the best in class. 

For low-light images, the light sensitivity is not so impressive which leads to grainy pictures. However, there is a Retina flash that helps to improve night pictures. 

The Retina flash works by turning the screen to a burst of light that brightens the face in night photos. Impressively, the Retina flash gives a nice natural skin tone. 

For videos, the front cameras of the iPhone 8 and 8 Plus are capable of recording 1080p resolution videos at 30fps. Thankfully, the auto image stabilization helps to steady the selfie videos to prevent jitters. 

Moving on to the rear cameras, the iPhone 8 has a single wide-angle camera. Meanwhile, the iPhone 8 Plus has a wide-angle and a telephoto camera. 

Wide-angle cameras enable you to capture a wide field of view. On the other hand, a telephoto camera allows you to take close-up shots by creating optical zoom on images. 

The wide-angle camera of the iPhone 8 and 8 Plus has a 12 MP sensor with an aperture size of f/1.8. Meanwhile, the telephoto lens of the iPhone 8 Plus has a resolution of 12 MP and an aperture size of f/2.8. 

The wide-angle cameras of the iPhone 8 and 8 Plus support phase detection autofocus (PDAF). Additionally, the telephoto camera of the iPhone 8 Plus supports phase detection autofocus as well. 

The rear camera of the iPhone 8 supports up to 5x digital zoom. Meanwhile, the rear camera of the iPhone 8 Plus supports 10x digital zoom and 2x optical zoom via the telephoto lens. 

Furthermore, the rear cameras of the iPhone 8 and 8 Plus support live photos with stabilization. They also capture wide-color photos and live photos. 

Similar to the front cameras, the rear cameras of the iPhone 8 and 8 Plus also support Auto HDR and auto image stabilization for photos. 

Due to the lack of a telephoto lens on the iPhone 8 Plus, it does not support portrait mode. However, the iPhone 8 Plus supports portrait mode thanks to its telephoto lens. 

For clarification, Portrait mode is used to create a blurry background effect on pictures which gives enough focus on the subject. The iPhone 8 Plus’s rear camera also supports five portrait lighting effects to create more professional shots. 

In addition to the conventional JPG formats for saving images, the iPhone 8 and 8 Plus allows support HEIF. The HEIF format allows up to two times compression and storage for twice the photos while retaining picture quality. 

Saving your photos in HEIF format is beneficial because you save more storage space.

Performance-wise, pictures taken with the iPhone 8 and 8 Plus rear cameras are great thanks to their effective noise reduction. The resulting images are sharp; they also have natural colors and a high dynamic range. 

Furthermore, the iPhone 8 and 8 Plus’s wide-angle rear camera supports optical image stabilization (OIS). With the help of the OIS and the image signal processor, the rear cameras produce decent low-light images. 

The dynamic range, detail, contrast, and colors of low-light images are great as well. 

The OIS allows the iPhone 8 Plus to drop the shutter speed to as low as 1/4s when shooting handheld. This, combined with the wide aperture, the new sensor, and the image processor, allows the iPhone 8 Plus to take great low-light images. 

The iPhone 8 and 8 Plus also has a quad-LED True Tone slow sync flash. The flash is said to be four times brighter than you will find on previous iPhone models. 

Additionally, with the help of the surrounding ambient light, the sensors take natural-looking night shots with a uniformly brightened background and foreground. 

For videos, the iPhone 8 and 8 Plus rear cameras are capable of recording 4K resolution videos at 24, 30, and 60 fps. Additionally, the camera can also record 1080p resolution videos at 30, 60, 120, or 240 fps. 

That is not all; the rear camera of the iPhone 8 and 8 Plus also supports 720p resolution videos at 30 fps. Likewise, the camera supports 1080p slo-mo videos at 120 or 240 fps. 

Meanwhile, videos on the iPhone 8 and 8 Plus are saved in the high-efficiency H.265 HEVC and the conventional H.264 formats. The HEVC video format allows two times compression and storage for twice the videos while retaining the video quality. 

Once again, the benefit of saving videos in HEVC format is to save you space on your iPhone’s internal storage. You will appreciate this more when you read my storage comparison review section later in this article.

Furthermore, the optical image stabilization supported by the wide-angle camera helps to keep the videos steady and prevent shakes. 

In conclusion, the iPhone 8 and 8 Plus are great smartphones; their camera features are similar on most fronts. However, the iPhone 8 lacks a telephoto camera which makes it unable to take portraits like the iPhone 8 Plus. 

Putting these into consideration, I will rate the iPhone 8 Plus a 9. Meanwhile, I will rate the iPhone 8 an 8.5. 

iPhone 8 vs iPhone 8 Plus: Battery Life and Talk Time

In this section, we will compare the battery features and endurance ratings of the iPhone 8 and 8 Plus. Firstly, the iPhone 8 is equipped with a 1,821 mAh Li-Ion non-removable battery. 

Meanwhile, not surprisingly, the iPhone 8 Plus has a larger battery capacity of 2,691 mAh. 

According to Apple, the iPhone 8 will deliver up to 13 hours of video playback and up to 12 hours of internet use. On the other hand, the iPhone 8 Plus was claimed to deliver 14 hours of video playback and 13 hours of internet use. 

However, according to the video playback test carried out by noteboocheck.net, the iPhone 8 lasted 11 hours 38 minutes. Meanwhile, the iPhone 8 Plus lasted 12 hours and 13 minutes. 

Additionally, the web surfing test performed by notebookcheck.net had the iPhone 8 drained out at 9 hours and 45 minutes. Whereas the iPhone 8 Plus drained out at 10 hours 57 minutes. 

The battery runtime of the iPhone 8 and 8 Plus is not terrible; however, it could have been better. Meanwhile, you will find a 5W charger boxed with the iPhone 8 and 8 Plus. 

However, it will take the 5W charger about 3 hours and 3 minutes to fully charge the iPhone 8 and up to 2 hours and 17 minutes for the iPhone 8 Plus. Sadly, this slow charge time can be quite frustrating. 

Hence, it might be relieving to hear that the iPhone 8 and 8 Plus supports fast charging. With an 18W or higher fast charger, you can achieve a 50% charge in 30 minutes.

Thankfully, you will be able to purchase a fast charger at about $20 if you do not mind the extra cost. 

Furthermore, the iPhone 8 and 8 Plus also supports wireless charging, thanks to their glass backplates. Hence, with compatible Qi wireless chargers, you will be able to charge your iPhone 8 or 8 Plus wirelessly. 

In conclusion, the battery life of the iPhone 8 and 8 Plus are not outstanding. However, the iPhone 8 Plus has a larger battery capacity, and despite being the larger option, it lasts longer than the iPhone 8. 

Therefore, I will rate the iPhone 8 Plus a 7.5. Meanwhile, I will rate the iPhone 8 a 7. 

iPhone 8 vs iPhone 8 Plus: Storage Options and Performance

On the storage front, the iPhone 8 and 8 Plus are sold in only two storage options. There is the 64 GB baseline storage option and the 256 GB high-end storage option. 

For an average smartphone user, the 64 GB model should be sufficient. Meanwhile, for a little more bucks, heavy storage users can opt for the 256 GB model, which should be sufficient for their needs. 

However, you should bear in mind that you will not have the entire 64 or 256 GB for your consumption. That is because the iOS and system files will occupy a significant portion of the internal storage. 

For instance, on a 64 GB iPhone 8 Plus with iOS 11, there will only be about 55 GB of usable storage space. Meanwhile, on a 256 GB model, you will get about 244 GB to store your data. 

Before you go ahead to buy an iPhone 8 or 8 Plus, you should make a prior decision on the storage model that will be sufficient for your needs. That is very important because iPhones do not support external storage expansions. 

However, iPhones are strong on data backup thanks to iCloud. iCloud is Apple’s cloud storage service that helps all iPhone users to store their data securely. 

With the help of iCloud, you don’t have to worry about losing data even when you change your phone. 

All iPhone users are granted a free 5 GB iCloud storage which can quickly get filled up by apps, videos, music, photos, or files. However, an iPhone user can get more iCloud storage space by subscribing to iCloud+ at a cost. 

Finally, both the iPhone 8 and 8 Plus have the same storage capacity. Hence, they are both at a draw in this category. 

This brings me to rate the iPhone 8 and 8 Plus a 7 in this storage options comparison section. 

iPhone 8 vs iPhone 8 Plus: Security Features and Sensors

The iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus are loaded with a lot of useful sensors. Speaking of the sensors, there is the fingerprint, accelerometer, gyroscope, proximity, barometer, and ambient light. 

Starting with the fingerprint sensor, it is located on the home button. Just by placing a registered finger on the sensor, you will be able to unlock your phone. 

The fingerprint sensor on the iPhone 8 and 8 Plus registers the fingers fast without any downtime at all. 

In addition to unlocking the phone, the fingerprint sensor is also useful for authorizing payment; apps download, and sign-ups. 

Next, let us discuss the accelerometer. The accelerometer measures acceleration around the x,y, and z axes.

The importance of the accelerometer in smartphones cannot be understated. 

As an example, with the help of the accelerometer, you can see your speed in driving apps. The accelerometer also allows the tracking of your steps in fitness and health apps. 

Moving on to the gyroscope, it measures the speed of rotation along the x, y, and z axes. It is also a motion detector like the accelerometer; however, it measures more complex movements like up/down and left/right. 

Hence, the accelerometer and gyroscope work together to track motion accurately. Both sensors make it possible to detect the direction the phone is facing and change the orientation accordingly. 

Next up is the proximity sensor, which measures the distance of an object from the screen. The proximity sensor is located on the top bezel of the iPhone 8 and 8 Plus, where it can easily detect approaching objects. 

When an object gets close to the screen’s surface, the screen backlight goes off. For instance, when you move your phone close to your ear during a call, the proximity sensor senses the closeness and turns off the screen.

Consequently, there will be no unintended screen inputs that could occur if the screen is on. Additionally, putting off the screen is also an effective power management feature. 

Furthermore, the iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus also have a barometer. A barometer is used to measure atmospheric pressure. 

The barometer is responsible for weather forecasts on your smartphone. It also makes it possible for your smartphone to detect your altitude, like what floor you are on. 

There is also an ambient light sensor in the iPhone 8 and 8 Plus. The ambient light sensor is also located on the top bezel of the iPhone 8 and 8 Plus. 

The job of the ambient light sensor is to measure the intensity of light around the phone. This will determine the luminance of your phone’s screen. 

For instance, if the light intensity around the phone is low or you are in a dark room, the screen’s luminance will decrease. Consequently, this will protect your eyes from bright lights that can be damaging. 

Also, when the sensor detects high light intensity, especially outdoors, the screen’s luminance increases. Consequently, this will improve screen legibility allowing you to read the contents of the screen without difficulty. 

In conclusion, the sensors in the iPhone 8 and 8 Plus make them do so many smart and amazing things. For our section rating, the iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus gets a draw in this category 

Hence, I will rate both the iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus an eight in this security feature and sensors review section. 

Our Rating Summary

Frequently Asked Questions 

Conclusion

In January 2022, when this article was written, there was only a marginal price difference between the iPhone 8 and 8 Plus. Specifically, the iPhone 8 cost $189.00, while the iPhone 8 Plus cost just a little more at $197.00.

With a very close margin in the price of both models (though this might change in the future), it is easier to make a choice. Hence, I will highlight the advantages of each model to make your decision-making easier. 

Kindly read the paragraphs below to proceed. 

If you prioritize portability, a brighter screen, professional-grade display color accuracy, and excellent viewing angles, then I recommend the iPhone 8.

On the other hand, if your priority is watching media content, a telephoto camera for portrait shots, and decent battery life, I recommend the iPhone 8 Plus.

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For more Smartphone reviews, visit our Smartphone Comparison Reviews page. You may also find our Smartphone Specs page very helpful.