iPhone X vs iPhone 8 vs iPhone 7: should you upgrade?

There are three new iPhones this year. The slick, all-screen iPhone X and the updated iPhone 8 and 8 Plus, now with wireless charging. Decisions decisions...

 Should you upgrade to the oh-so-expensive iPhone X, settle for the cheaper but less exciting iPhone 8, or stick with what you have? Here we run through what's new this year and what's different between the iPhone X, iPhone 8 and older iPhones like the iPhone 7.

How do the new iPhones look different?

The iPhone X has a dramatically different look to other iPhones. It follows in the footsteps of the Essential Phone and the Samsung Galaxy S8 by increasing its screen-to-body ratio. By slimming down the bezels and removing the home button (a staple of the iPhone since the original launched in 2007), Apple has crammed a 5.8-inch OLED display into a smaller body than the iPhone 7 Plus and iPhone 8 Plus. There is, however, a love-it-or-hate it indent in the top of the display to make room for the front-facing camera and array of sensors that include an IR camera, "Dot Projector," and "Flood Illumination."

iPhone X front and rear
Credit: Apple

Apple has also replaced the aluminium frame used since the iPhone 6 with a glass back, while retaining the comfortable curved edges, which are now made of a "medical grade" stainless steel on the iPhone X. Despite Apple's claims that the "glass is the most durable ever in a smartphone," glass is a fragile material, meaning that not only do you have to contend with potentially cracking your display when you drop your phone, but also the rear too. If you're particularly clumsy, investing in a case—official or otherwise—is advised. Or, consider sticking with your existing iPhone.


Left: iPhone 8 Plus; right: iPhone 8

Credit: Apple
Meanwhile, the iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus look near identical to the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus at first glance—which in turn look just like the iPhone 6—sporting chunky bezels and a home button/fingerprint reader. If you're coming from an iPhone 5S, the iPhone 8 design with its larger display is a big step up, but those with an iPhone 6 or newer may struggle to see the upgrade from a design point of view. It's also worth noting that Apple has added a glass back to the iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus, making it more fragile than its predecessors.

How big is the iPhone X compared to other phones?

We get it. Some people are very attached to the diminutive, easy-to-use-in-one-hand dimensions of the iPhone 7 and co. The good news is the 'no bezel' design means the iPhone X is closer to the iPhone 8 than the Plus, despite its large screen, as the below comparison from Apple shows.

Left to right: iPhone 8, iPhone X, iPhone 8 Plus
Credit: Apple

In numbers, the iPhone X is just 5.2mm taller than an iPhone 8, but the iPhone 8 Plus is a considerable 14.8mm taller than the iPhone X. The iPhone X is also about the same size as a Samsung Galaxy S8, so if you don't mind how it feels in your hand then you'll be fine with the iPhone X.

How does the iPhone X work without a home button?

Using swipes. So, for example, you swipe up from the bottom of the screen on the iPhone X to go back to the homescreen just like the example below.


To get to the Control Center you swipe down from the top of the screen on the left side; swiping down from the right side opens your notifications. They're small changes, so they shouldn't be too difficult to learn. TouchID, which was built into the home button, has been replaced by FaceID on the iPhone X but TouchID remains on the iPhone 8 and 8 Plus.

What the heck is FaceID?

Since Apple has removed the home button from the iPhone X and with it the fingerprint sensor, it's had to come up with a replacement. Enter FaceID, a facial-recognition security system that allows you to unlock your phone with your face. Unlike Samsung's take on the concept, which debuted in the Galaxy Note 7, FaceID uses the iPhone X's new depth sensing camera to verify your features, meaning it can't be fooled with a photo in the same way Samsung's system can.

Credit: Apple

It works by using a "Flood Illuminator" (which appears to be a fancy name for a light) to provide enough light for an infrared camera and "Dot Projector" to fire "30,000 invisible IR dots" at your face. The IR image and dot pattern are then pushed through neural networks to create a mathematical model of your face, which is then compared to a stored 3D model. The facial information is protected by same "secure enclave" used by TouchID, while data processing is done on-device instead of the cloud. Apple claims its tech is so good that FaceID will work in the dark and if you decide to do something like grow a bead, wear glasses, or take up the fine art of hat wearing.
While a fine idea on paper, it remains to be seen whether FaceID can live up to Apple's promises (that FaceID failed in Apple's live demo isn't exactly a good sign). Besides which, there's little about FaceID that makes it an upgrade over TouchID—it's more of a replacement and a questionable one at that. Since the iPhone 8 and iPhone Plus lack the iPhone X's 3D camera, they don't support FaceID, but stick with a fingerprint reader instead.

The iPhone X has an OLED screen, should I care?

While Samsung has been using OLED displays in its devices for years, the iPhone X is the first Apple phone to do so. The IPS LED displays Apple typically uses are very good, but OLED technology allows for richer colours and deeper blacks, thanks the ability to turn each individual pixel on or off when needed.
Whether or not you prefer the more vivid image of an OLED display compared the an IPS display is largely down to personal preference. However, the display is technically sharper with a 2436x1125 pixel resolution at 458 PPI (the iPhone 8 Plus has a mere 1080p display), while also supporting Dolby Vision and HDR10 content.
What may help sway you is the elongated aspect ratio of the iPhone X. While direct comparisons to the more traditional 16:9 widescreen displays of the iPhone 7 and iPhone 8 Plus are difficult, you're able to read more lines of text inside apps without additional scrolling on the iPhone X's elongated screen. The slimmer profile also makes the iPhone X more comfortable to use with one hand, while still sporting a bigger display than the iPhone 7. You do, however, have to put up with vertical black bars around 16:9 video content (i.e. most video).
The iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus have the exact same screen sizes and resolutions Apple has used since the iPhone 6. Any other year, Apple would be calling them the iPhone 7S and iPhone 7S Plus. Both the iPhone X and iPhone 8 and 8 Plus support Apple's "True Tone" tech, which recalibrates the white balance of the display on-the-fly, depending on ambient lighting conditions, but isn't a huge selling point.
On balance, OLED is a nice upgrade mainly thanks to the fantastic contrast of OLED screens, which is great for videos and photos. There's a reason everyone wants an OLED TV these days, so it's good news Apple has made the switch even if it's late to the game.

Are the new iPhones faster?

The iPhone X and iPhone 8 have a new six-core A11 system-on-a-chip (SoC), made up of four low-power core and two performance cores, which is built on a 10nm FinFET manufacturing process instead of the 16nm process of the A10 Fusion in the iPhone 7. By shrinking the process, Apple can pack more transistors into a smaller space, boosting performance and battery life. Apple claims the iPhone X lasts two hours longer on a charge than the iPhone 7, while also coming in 25 percent faster on the performance cores and 75 percent faster on the energy efficient cores.
Meanwhile, Apple has designed its own Graphics Processing Unit (GPU) for the A11 SoC, breaking its ties with Imagination Technologies. That too is faster, although, both it and the faster processor will be most noticeable in content creation apps and games. If all you do is flick through Facebook and snap photos, you're unlikely to notice the difference over the likes of the iPhone 7, or even iPhone 6S.


IPHONE X SPECS

COLOURS
Silver, Space Gray
DISPLAY
5.8-inch 2436x1125 (458 PPI) HDR OLED
STORAGE
64GB, 256GB
CHIPSET
Six-core Apple Fusion A11
MEMORY
3GB
CONNECTIVITY
LTE Advanced/802.11a/b/g/n/ac Wi‑Fi
CAMERA
Two 12-megapixel sensors with one f/1.8 wide-angle lens, one f/2.4 telephoto camera, 4K 60FPS video recording, 120FPS 1080p video recording, optical image stabilisation on both sensors
FRONT-FACING CAMERA
7-megapixel TrueDepth camera with FaceID
EVERYTHING ELSE
Apple-designed Image Signal Processor for sharper photos, hardware noise reduction, AI-powered Portrait Lighting, A11 Bionic chip for FaceID and Augmented Reality applications, IP67 water resistance
PRICE
From £999/$999
RELEASE DATE
Pre-orders open October 27 with availability beginning November 3
Surprisingly, both the iPhone 8 and 8 Plus have the same A11 SoC as the iPhone X. However, the A11 remains a tough sell if you're an iPhone 7 user if you're into new features, since general usability is likely to remain the same. iPhone 6S users can hold fire too.
However, those still using the iPhone 5S, 5C, or iPhone 6 may notice a significant boost in app loading times and responsiveness with the latest phones. It's also worth noting that iOS 11, the latest and greatest version of the iPhone software, is only being made available to iPhone 5S devices or newer. If you're still holding onto an iPhone 5, now's the time to upgrade.

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