iPhone X vs iPhone 8 vs iPhone 8 Plus

The iPhone 8, 8 Plus and iPhone X have some very significant differences, but they also have a lot in common. Find out which is the best iPhone

iPhone X vs iPhone 8 vs iPhone 8 Plus

Apple announced three new iPhones at its special event on 12 September 2017: the iPhone 8, iPhone 8 Plus, and the iPhone X (pronounced iPhone Ten). If you are thinking about upgrading your phone, you are likely to be wondering which new model will suit you best.

If you want a bigger screen, you have the choice of the iPhone 8 Plus and the iPhone X. Here you will have to weigh up the high price of the iPhone X against the bigger and heavier handset of the iPhone 8 Plus. 

If you are not keen on the idea of a large handset you have the choice of two phones, the iPhone 8 and the iPhone X. These two iPhone models are smaller and lighter than the iPhone Plus models.

Alternatively, you may be excited by the new features of the iPhone X but wondering whether you really need to pay around £1,000, or if the iPhone 8 or 8 Plus will give you the features you want the most.

iPhone X vs iPhone 8: At a glance

If you're looking for a quick comparison of the iPhone 8, iPhone 8 Plus and iPhone X, you can find that in the table below. For a more in-depth look at the difference between the two, read on.

	iPhone 8	iPhone 8 Plus	iPhone X
iOS	iOS 11	iOS 11	iOS 11
Colours	Gold, Silver, Space Grey	Gold, Silver, Space Grey	Silver, Space Grey
Display	4.7in Retina HD (1334x750, 326ppi) IPS	5.5in Retina HD (1920x1080, 401ppi) IPS	5.8in Super Retina Display (2436x1125, 458ppi) OLED
Processor	Apple A11 Bionic, M11 co-processor	Apple A11 Bionic, M11 co-processor	Apple A11 Bionic, M11 co-processor
Storage	64GB/256GB	64GB/256GB	64GB/256GB
Rear camera	12Mp, f/1.8, 5x digital zoom, quad-LED flash	12Mp wide-angle, f/1.8, OIS + 12Mp telephoto, f/2,8, optical zoom, 10x digital zoom, Portrait Lighting, Portrait Mode, quad-LED flash	12Mp wide-angle, f/1.8, OIS + 12Mp telephoto, f/2.4, OIS, optical zoom, 10x digital zoom, Portrait Lighting, Portrait Mode, quad-LED flash
Front camera	7Mp FaceTime HD, f/2.2, 1080p video	7Mp FaceTime HD, f/2.2, 1080p video	7Mp FaceTime HD, f/2.2, 1080p video
Video recording	4K at 24/30/60fps, 1080p slo-mo at 240fps	4K at 24/30/60fps, 1080p slo-mo at 240fps	4K at 24/30/60fps, 1080p slo-mo at 240fps
Biometric security	Touch ID	Touch ID	Face ID
Wireless charging?	Yes	Yes	Yes
Waterproofing	IP67	IP67	IP67
Dimensions	67.3x138.4x7.3mm	78.1x158.4x7.5mm	70.9x143.6x7.7mm
Weight	148g	202g	174g
Price	£699/£849 ($699/$849)	£799/£949 ($799/$949)	£999/£1,149 ($999/$1,149)
Buy SIM-free	From Apple	From Apple	From Apple
Buy on contract	From Carphone Warehouse	From Carphone Warehouse	From Carphone Warehouse

Availability

When the phones first went on sale this may have been the deciding factor: the iPhone 8 and the iPhone 8 Plus went on sale earlier than the iPhone X and there was plenty of stock.

The iPhone X didn't go on sale until Friday 3 November, and when it did, stocks ran out quickly, with expected delivery date stretching to days, or even weeks, later. 

Price

The price of these three iPhones is probably the biggest divider and it may well be your budget that is the deciding factor.

However, note that while there are huge discrepancies between the prices if you buy your handset directly from Apple, if you are spreading payments over a two year period with your mobile network the difference may only be a few pounds a month.

Also note that there is less difference in price between the 256GB version of one handset and the 64GB version of the next model up. For example, the 256GB iPhone 8 Plus costs just £50 less than the 64GB iPhone X. So the choice is really between flag-ship phone and the extra space.

So, as you can see, the iPhone 8 is smaller and thinner, but only slightly. That’s difference of half a centimetre in height and even less than that in width. And as for that half a millimetre difference in depth, we don’t think it will really be noticeable.

So if your choice was going to be based on the size and shape of the iPhone then there is very little difference here.

When it comes to weight, the difference is greater, however.

• The iPhone X weighs 174 grams.
• The iPhone 8 weighs 148 grams.
• The iPhone 8 Plus weighs 202 grams.

So here the iPhone 8 wins - with a difference of 26 grams. Apparently a teaspoon of sugar is roughly equivalent to 4 grams, so that’s about 6-7 spoonfuls of sugar, enough for a very sweet cup of tea, but we doubt that it will weigh you down all that much.

The iPhone 8 Plus is quite a bit bigger and heavier - which used to be the price you'd pay for a bigger screen... until the iPhone X launched.

Conclusion:

So, if it’s a small iPhone you are looking for then there is not really a significant difference here. It’s certainly not worth disqualifying the iPhone X over a few millimetres in size, and with just 26 grams between them, the iPhone X is hardly going to feel hefty in comparison to the fractionally lighter iPhone 8.

If you really want a small iPhone then there is another iPhone you could consider. The iPhone SE is Apple's smallest iPhone:

• The iPhone SE measures 123.8mm by 58.6, is 7.6mm thick.
• It weighs 113 grams.

Screen size

The iPhone X and iPhone 8 may be almost identical when it comes to size and weight but there is one very big difference: the size of the screen.

• The iPhone X has a 5.8-inch Super Retina HD display.
• The iPhone 8 has a 4.7-inch Retina HD display.
• The iPhone 8 Plus has a 5.5-inch Retina HD display.

When it comes to screen size it looks like there is one clear winner here, the iPhone X. However that 5.8-inch diagonal measurement is deceptive.

If you measure the screen's height and width the results are:

• iPhone X screen is 62 x 135mm.
• iPhone 8 Plus screen is 69 x 122mm.
• iPhone 8 screen is 59 x 105mm

So, there is a world of difference between the iPhone 8 and the iPhone X screen, but in terms of the iPhone 8 Plus, there is just an extra 13mm in height on one phone and an extra 7mm in width on the other.

Except even that extra 13mm isn't entirely accurate.

If you exclude the iPhone X notch (the area at the top of the display that houses the Face ID camera) from that measurement then the screen is more accurately 62mm across x 130mm down (so 8mm longer than the 8 Plus). But it’s still bigger than the iPhone 8 Plus screen, and given that the handset is itself smaller, that is something to celebrate.

Except that, because the iPhone 8 Plus is a bigger handset, the screen can be wider. And there are lots of reasons why a wider screen can be beneficial (not least if you are working on a Pages document in portrait mode). 

But for many the iPhone Plus series is just too big and cumbersome to hold comfortably. The choice isn't really about screen size, but rather it is about how much of a sacrifice you are prepared to make to get a larger screen.

• The iPhone 8 Plus has a large screen, but it's a large phone and may be uncomfortable to hold.
• The iPhone X has the longest screen, but it's no wider than the iPhone 8

Put that way, it's hard to recommend one phone over the other in terms of the screen size. It depends on what you want.

Conclusion:

The first question is: Do you want an iPhone screen that is longer, or an iPhone screen that is wider.

The second question is: Will you be using your iPhone to watch movies and TV shows filmed in 16:9 aspect ratio, because where the iPhone 8 and 8 Plus are 16:9 screens, the iPhone X screen is a 19.5:9 screen and as a result you may end up choosing to watch movies in a letterbox format rather than crop elements.

Screen quality

There is one other thing to say about the display on the iPhone X - it's an OLED screen that Apple is calling a Super Retina display. 

• The iPhone X display has a TrueTone, 2436x1125-pixel resolution at 458 ppi, with 1,000,000:1 contrast ratio.
• The iPhone 8 display offers a Retina Display, 1334x750-pixel resolution at 326 ppi, and a 1400:1 contrast ratio.
• The iPhone 8 Plus display is a Retina Display, 1920x1080 pixel resolution at 401 ppi, and a 1300:1 contrast ratio.

This is the first time an iPhone has been available with an OLED screen. OLEDs have a lot of excellent features including absolute blacks - hence that 1,000,000:1 contrast ratio - and a wider viewing angle.

When we used the iPhone X we were impressed. Colours were bold and bright, and the whites more true to life, also perhaps a shade more yellowy than on the iPhone 8 Plus, which seemed have a bluer tint. In comparison to the iPhone 8 Plus dark areas were brighter and clearer. This is thanks to the other feature of the screen - HDR (high dynamic range) - which expands the range of both contrast and colour.

When we watched dark scenes in movies there was a lot more clarity on the iPhone X than on the other iPhone models.

The problem with OLEDs is they can suffer from screen-burn - a ‘ghost’ image that remains on the screen (something plaguing the Google Pixel 2), colour shifting can also be a problem. Apple says that it has taken steps to guard against this.

Conclusion:

The OLED screen on the iPhone X is a sight to behold, especially thanks to the incorporation of HDR. But we feel the dimensions of the screen are the wrong aspect ratio to really enjoy movies - which is where HDR would be of most benefit. We are also slightly apprehensive about some of the issues OLEDs are known for.

Processor

When it comes down to processor there is really not a significant difference between the three phones as each phone uses Apple's A11 Bionic system-on-chip.

In fact, when it came to benchmark tests, we found that the Geekbench scores were practically identical although we actually found that the iPhone 8 Plus and iPhone 8 scored slightly higher than the iPhone X when we tested them.

Conclusion:

With Multi-core scores around the 10,100 mark - almost twice what the iPhone 7 Plus scored - and more than the competition (the Samsung Galaxy Note 8 scores around 6,471 while the Google Pixel 2 scores 6224) - we think that which ever iPhone you choose the processor speed will not disappoint.

Camera

All three phones have a 12MP camera on the back but there are some key differences.

The iPhone X and the iPhone 8 Plus have two cameras on the back. That’s a ƒ/1.8 aperture wide-angle and ƒ/2.4 aperture telephoto camera that combine to create the stunning portrait shots with the blurred background that those phones can take. The iPhone X and Plus also have an optical zoom and can digital zoom up to 10x.

The iPhone 8 just has the one 12MP camera on the back with a ƒ/1.8 aperture, so it can’t take the fancy portrait shots, and it’s digital zoom goes to 5x.

Another dfference is the fact that the rear-facing lenses on the iPhone X both have optical image stabilisation (OIS), which should equal better low light, while only the wide-angle lense on the iPhone 8 Plus has this.

In our photo tests we found that macro photos taken with the iPhone X were better than those on the iPhone 8 Plus, and the additional OIS is probably the reason for that.

There is also new technology in the A11 Bionic chip that allows Apple to go a step further with this portrait photography in the iPhone X and 8 Plus. The 'Neural Engine' in the image signal processor can allow you to change the lighting conditions after taking the photograph.

Portrait Lighting options include Natural Light, Studio Light, Contour Light, Stage Light, and Stage Light Mono. The latter two options black out the background while the other options change how the light appears to fall on your face. Right now the feature is in beta - and it doesn't always give the best results, but its a fun way to enhance the already good portrait style shots.

We love the portrait shots we take with our iPhone 7 Plus so we’d recommend getting a phone with that capability.

If you take a lot of shots of people and would like to create the bokeh effect then we think you’d love this feature of the iPhone X. If you don’t know what the bokeh effect is we’d probably suggest you don’t really need it.

Turning to the camera on the front of the iPhones. The selfie/FaceTime camera on the front of the iPhone X is different to that found on the iPhone 8 and 8 Plus.

On the iPhone 8 models you will find a 7MP FaceTime HD camera with Retina Flash (the same as on the iPhone Plus) but on the iPhone X there is a 7MP TrueDepth front camera with Portrait mode and Portrait Lighting.

This TrueDepth camera is what makes Face ID possible - as we will explain later.

In terms of taking photos, the TrueDepth camera on the front of the iPhone X can take what Apple is calling Portrait Mode Selfies. In other words, the front facing camera can take photos with a sharp foreground and an artfully blurred background to create the same bokeh effect that the two cameras on the back of the iPhone X and Plus can achieve.

Conclusion:

When it comes to cameras the X gives you the extra image stabilisation and Portrait Mode Selfies.

The iPhone 8 Plus is more than adequate if you don't want to spend your days taking selfies (and we can't help but think that the people who do that are all using Snapchat anyway).

However, the camera in the iPhone 8 is still great, so, if you aren’t bothered by the addition of the rear-facing Portrait Mode, the iPhone 8 is more than adequate.

The missing Home Button

There is one huge difference between the iPhone X and the iPhone 8 and 8 Plus and it may be the thing that turns you off the iPhone X altogether.

The trade off for getting the bigger screen on the iPhone 8 is the demise of the Home Button. Yes, the trademark Home Button, which was perhaps as part of a design of the iPhone as the click wheel was on the iPod, has gone.

The removal of the Home Button means that Apple needed to make some changes to the iPhone interface. So if you were to buy an iPhone X you would have to learn a new way to navigate the interface. You may adapt to this quickly, or you may find yourself frustrated. It depends on how willing you are to embrace change, and how intuitive the new way of interfacing with the iPhone is.

Specs

Those are the main differences that will probably make the biggest difference to you. But there are a few more differences between the iPhone 8, 8 Plus and iPhone X in terms of specs.

There are also a few things that are identical as we will outline below.

Colour choices

• iPhone X: Space Grey / Silver
• iPhone 8: Gold / Silver / Space Grey
• iPhone 8 Plus: Gold / Silver / Space Grey

Capacity

• iPhone X: 64GB / 256GB
• iPhone 8: 64GB / 256GB
• Phone 8 Plus: 64GB / 256GB

Water resistance

• iPhone X: Rated IP67 under IEC standard 60529
• iPhone 8: Rated IP67 under IEC standard 60529 (SAME)
• iPhone 8 Plus: Rated IP67 under IEC standard 60529 (SAME)

Battery life

• iPhone X: Lasts up to 2 hours longer than iPhone 7
• iPhone 8: Lasts about the same as iPhone 7
• iPhone 8 Plus: Lasts about the same as iPhone 7

Processor chip

• iPhone X: A11 Bionic chip with 64-bit architecture, M11 motion coprocessor
• iPhone 8: A11 Bionic chip with 64-bit architecture, M11 motion coprocessor (SAME)
• iPhone 8 Plus: A11 Bionic chip with 64-bit architecture, M11 motion coprocessor (SAME)

Wireless Charging

• iPhone X Wireless charging (works with Qi chargers)
• iPhone 8 Wireless charging (works with Qi chargers) (SAME)
• iPhone 8 Plus Wireless charging (works with Qi chargers) (SAME)

We’ve skipped over wireless charging which is a new feature for the iPhone 8, 8 Plus and iPhone X. We aren’t convinced about how important a feature it is, but if it is something you are attracted to, it’s worth emphasising that the feature is available on both the iPhone 8 and iPhone X so it’s not a reason to choose one phone over the other. You can get wireless charging on an older iPhone now if you are really keen, read this to find out how: How to get wireless charging on an iPhone. 

OUR VERDICT

There are a few features that the iPhone X has that we’d love, such as the Portrait Mode Selfies and the improved Portrait Mode on the rear camera. The bigger screen on the smaller handset sounds great, but we feel it’s a little spoiled by the notch and the fact that it’s not actually any wider than that on the iPhone 8.

In addition, the removal of the Home Button means that not only do you need to re-learn the interface, but you can no longer use Touch ID. We find this very off-putting, however, we are suspicious that it is something we will all have to learn to live with, because the likelihood is that future iPhones will adopt this edge-to-edge screen and Face ID.

Right now though, we'd say go ahead and buy the iPhone 8 Plus if you want to use the improved Portrait Mode, or just stick with the cheaper iPhone 8 and enjoy the Home Button while you still can.

That's unless you want to be one of an elite using the new iPhone X and all the bragging rights that that entails. And we know quite a few people who fit into that category.