review: IPhone

iPhone X vs iPhone 8: Which is the true Apple flagship?

Apple has just taken the wraps off three new phones, but which one should you buy? Or is better just to skip them all?

Apple has ditched the iPhone 7S and jumped straight to the iPhone 8, which is unusual in itself – but the surprises don’t stop there. The iPhone X (or iPhone 10) is a special celebratory device designed to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the iPhone line, and it’s a radical departure from previous models.

iPhone X vs iPhone 8 Design: What’s the difference?

The biggest difference between the iPhone 8, iPhone 8 Plus and iPhone X is the industrial design. Apple’s lack of real advancement in design dampened the iPhone 7 and left us with a phone that felt the same as the iPhone 6.

Related: iPhone X: Everything you need to know

Thankfully things are slightly different this year, but mostly just for the iPhone X. Apple’s most ‘out-there’ phone design yet instantly makes the X stand out, even though it’s been leaked to death in the past few months. Like the Samsung Galaxy S8 and LG V30, the screen on the iPhone X stretches right to the edges and the once huge bezel has been shrunk right down. It’s a striking, futuristic design that is so much more eye-catching than your typical iPhone.

The biggest design oddity will likely be the cut-out at the top that dips into the screen. This houses a myriad of sensors and the front-facing camera, and it looks a lot like the Essential Phone. It’ll be interesting to see whether or not having a portion of the screen blocked off will be annoying, but we suspect it’ll be easy to get used to. Both latest iPhones all have glass backs, which we do think looks nice but we’re not convinced about its durability.

Each new iPhone is water-resistant with the same IP67 rating as before, but the iconic circular home-button that has sat below the display on every iPhone has gone the way of the headphone jack on the iPhone X. That also means that Touch ID is now only available on the iPhone 8, not on the iPhone X. Instead, the X benefits from a new feature called Face ID. This face-scanning tech looks to be similar to the face recognition on the Note 8, but you’ll be able to use it for authorising iTunes purchases along with unlocking the phones.

iPhone X vs iPhone 8 Specs: Which phone is more powerful?

In typical Apple fashion, there wasn’t a whole of deep-diving during the keynote about the in-depth specs of these new phones.

Instead, we got the usual presentation slides about improved performance for both the CPU and GPU. The iPhone 8 and iPhone X are powered by the A11 Bionic chip, which is likely built using the same 10nm process as the Snapdragon 835. This new manufacturing process means a more efficient device with hopefully smoother performance and better battery life. Apple’s A11 CPU has two performance cores, which are 25% faster each than the iPhone 7, plus four high-efficiency cores.

Apple didn’t reference the amount of RAM in either phone, so we’ll have to wait for the inevitable teardowns to learn how much memory they’ll get.

Both the iPhone 8 and iPhone X might have similar internals, but they’re very different in terms of display. The iPhone X is the first of Apple’s phones to ditch an IPS LCD display for OLED – the same screen tech used by Samsung and LG.

OLED offers perfect blacks and much more vivid colours than LCD displays, and all the best phones use it. If you plump for the iPhone 8 or 8 Plus, you’ll be stuck with the IPS LCD panels. The OLED in the iPhone X is also Dolby Vision and HDR 10 capable. It also offers a much higher resolution 2436 x 1125, rather than 720p or 1080p.

Related: What is Face ID? | What is HDR?

iOS 11 will come pre-installed on all the new phones and boasts new features like an improved Siri, brand-new Control Center and a redesigned App Store. The Touch ID lacking iPhone X will also have some exclusive iOS tweaks like the addition of a virtual home button.

The cameras on the back of the iPhone X are similar to the ones on the iPhone 8 Plus. The smaller iPhone 8 is still stuck with one 12MP sensor, both the 8 Plus and have dual-12MP cameras with the extra sensor acting as an optical telephoto zoom lens. The iPhone X benefits from OIS on both these sensors, whereas the 8 Plus has it just on the regular sensor. Another exclusive feature for the iPhone X is a new front-facing camera that can achieve similar effects to the Portrait Mode on the back.

iPhone X vs iPhone 8 Price

The iPhone 8 will start at £/$699 for the smaller model for 64GB and £/$849 for the 256GB model. If you want the 8 Plus model you can add an extra £/$100 to each of those. The iPhone X is, obviously, pricier. It’ll start at £/$999 for 64GB and £/$1,149 for 256GB

OUR VERDICT

Apple's done what we all expected - finely balanced its latest phone. 3D Touch is a genuine innovation, and the phone works fluidly at nearly every task - but it's very similar to 2014's model.

FOR

Great design
3D Touch impresses
Stable OS

AGAINST

Battery life low
Live Photos don't always work
Price high for a low-res screen

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INTRODUCTION AND DESIGN

Apple's tagline for the iPhone 6S is 'the only thing that's changed is everything', highlighting that the brand knows this is a phone that looks an awful lot like 2014's model.

It makes sense that Apple would try its hardest to show that, despite the handset looking identical to the iPhone 6, there have been loads of changes under the hood that make this an attractive phone in its own right.

The chassis is stronger, the camera sharper – with a new Harry Potter-esque way of capturing your snaps – and there's even a completely new way of interacting with the screen. On paper, it's an impressive upgrade.

But when it looks identical to the iPhone 6, people will be desperate to know if the iPhone 6S is enough of an upgrade to justify the price. While the upgrades seem great, is it worth going all the way up to the iPhone 6S, or would the 6 do?

In terms of raw price, we're in a weird situation now. Samsung and the rest of the Android crew have been slowly ratcheting up the price of their high-end phones to the point where they're actually eclipsing the iPhone 6S at launch.

While Apple put its phone into a market where the Galaxy S6 was significantly cheaper there are new boys on the block in the for of the Galaxy S7, LG G5 andHTC 10. Either way, the iPhone 6S has a lot to live up to.

In the UK you'll likely have to part with between £50 and £100 upfront to get the phone for £36-£38 per month (if you want a decent slug of data and minutes) with the 6S starting at £539 (US$649, AU$1,079) for the 16GB model, £619 (US$749, AU$1,229) for the 64GB model and £699 (US$849, AU$1,379) for 128GB.

It starts at $649 if you're looking to pick it up off contract in the US, with the new $32.45 monthly cost if you're thinking of getting locked into Apple's yearly upgrade plan.

In reality though, the question of who this phone is aimed at isn't that hard to answer: for most people stuck on the iPhone 5S it's clearly the upgrade they're considering, although the recent arrival of the iPhone SE will surely tempt some of those users who want to stick with the smaller form factor.

Beyond that there's the disgruntled Android owner who's tired of looking at the slicker app experience Apple offers and seeing their own handset looking sketchy in comparison.

(Of course, there are a few people that tried Windows Phones as experiments, but they'd probably be happy with just about any other phone if they're still using a Nokia Lumia 930).

The difference between the iPhone 6 (left) and iPhone 6S (right) is nearly impossible to see

The issue Apple is trying to solve with the iPhone 6S (and the 6S Plus) is how it can convince users, especially in a market saturated with really rather brilliant smartphones, that the 'S' variant of the impressive iPhone 6 is a worthy phone to upgrade to in its own right.

When something is so visually similar, the onus is on the brand to show that the upgrades are really worth the extra cash.

Even if Apple keeps users within its own ecosystem there's every chance they'll look at the iPhone 6, which is now much cheaper – so it needs to make sure things like a stronger chassis, animated photos and a new pressable screen are worth the extra outlay when both phones will still work perfectly well in a couple of years' time.

Design

You've probably already heard, but the iPhone 6S is almost identical to the 6 in every way when it comes to the chassis. There are some very subtle differences, such as a slightly thicker frame and a little more heft, but it's so slight that I kept getting the two mixed up when doing side by side comparisons.

All cases fit both phones just fine too so, apart from a small S logo on the back of the phone, nobody is going to notice you've got the latest iPhone.

But there will be lots of you upgrading from the iPhone 5S, and in that case you'll need to be ready for a really big design change. The metallic chassis feels really nice in the hand, with a ceramic-like feeling on the outside (although if it's anything like the 6 then this can scuff over time if you keep it in a pocket with keys, so you'll need to think about the kind of case you'll want to keep it safe).

If you're not ready to take the leap to the new, bigger form factor, Apple has the new iPhone SE to satisfy your 4-inch cravings.

One of the things that Apple is touting is the fact the iPhone 6S is made of 7000 series aluminum, which is the strongest thing it's ever used in iPhone construction. The obvious connection people will make is with 'Bendgate', when some users claimed their new phone had developed a slight curve in their pocket without much pressure.

The common belief was that these phones began to twist when placed in a rear pocket and sat upon. While it was proven that other metal phones actually were worse when it came to bending Apple didn't come out of the controversy well.

So it's no surprise that, while the company won't admit the real reason, the new iPhone is strong and never going to bend with such pressure. However, I feel like that we shouldn't feel happy our phones no longer bend – this seems like one of the minimum expectations I'd have of a smartphone, not a compelling reason to buy it.

The front of the phone is now covered in a new level of strength, with a glass that's far less prone to shattering when dropped on the floor – now that's something I can get behind. We've not drop tested it - we'll leave that to some other, braver reviewer - if the screen is stronger the responsiveness hasn't dropped.

In the hand, the iPhone 6S still feels like a dream. Even with the extra 14g over the iPhone it feels lightweight, easy to manipulate and really warrants the price. Samsung's new Galaxy S6 Edge invokes the same kind of feeling, and with it you don't mind spending the extra money over a more budget phone.

In terms of design, if you've seen the iPhone 6 then you've seen the 6S. The volume buttons, the power key, the silencer switch and the speaker are all in the same place as its predecessor, with the grille at the bottom very easy to cover when you're watching videos or playing games in landscape.

If you're using the 5S, this is leagues ahead. The construction is good, the materials solid and there's no wiggle in the buttons at all. While you probably never bent your 5S, the idea that the iPhone 6S is stronger will probably please you, however unnecessary the claim is.

Apple's not done anything great with the design of the iPhone 6S, but the iPhone 6 was such a well-created phone that using the same chassis isn't going to harm its chances of success.

However, combined with the higher price and the continued presence of the iPhone 6, I wish we were at least seeing some retooling of the phone to make it seem more attractive.

Screen

The screen on the iPhone 6S seems to be identical to the iPhone 6's: we're talking a 4.7-inch affair with 750p resolution, which keeps it firmly in the 'Retina' range that the firm debuted all the way back with the iPhone 4.

It's hard to rate the display, as while it fails on resolution (quite spectacularly actually - phones a seventh the cost of the iPhone 6S offer 1080p screens, Samsung's cheaper phone has four times the resolution of the 6S and Sony has, inexplicably, launched a 4K phone) it doesn't drop too badly on performance.

The iPhone 6S display is clear, bright, laminated to the glass and insanely colorful. The first time I saw it on the iPhone 6 I thought it was a fake picture stuck on top of a dummy unit, such was the clarity on offer.

So to use the same thing on the iPhone 6S makes sense - after all, the lower pixel count means it can be thinner and the battery can last longer, thanks to having fewer pixels to drive.

But there are some things missing: for instance, the contrast ratio (the difference between the brightest and darkest parts of the screen) is still poor, with the black areas looking a little grey. Samsung's Galaxy range predominantly uses OLED technology, which offers 'true' blacks and high brightness and packs a much better visual punch, and would have suited the iPhone down to the ground.

The sharpness in side by side tests is clearly lower too - the 326 pixels per inch is very low even compared the 401ppi of the iPhone 6S Plus - and most other models are over 500ppi to bring really, really clear displays.

Given OLED technology is used in the Apple Watch - and admittedly it looks brilliant - it's a shame the same thing couldn't have been done with the iPhone 6S.

It's important not to get too hung up on screen resolution in a phone - after all, if it's not serving a purpose (hey, Sony?) then it's just wasting battery. But the industry has moved on, and the higher pixel densities on offer are starting to really bring something to the table, with apps and general use looking pin sharp.

Here's hoping the iPhone 7 makes a massive jump forward to join the rest of the pack.