What makes the iPhone X better than the iPhone 8?

I have had a lot of my friends ask me which new iPhone they should get over the past few days so I decided to put together this post which will explain the key differences between the iPhone X and the iPhone 8 (and 8 Plus). It’s up to you to ultimately determine which iPhone you go with, but I hope this information helps.

All three of the new iPhones have the same core components, including the A11 Bionic processor, a 12MP camera, the True Tone display technology, and wireless charging (that works with Qi charging devices). The real gem of each of these iPhones is the Apple-designed A11 Bionic chip which means you’re going to get the same great performance from any of the models. That being said, there are some key differentiators between the iPhone X, iPhone 8, and iPhone 8 Plus. Here’s what you need to know.

Display

The iPhone X sports an OLED screen which Apple calls Super Retina Display and has a 2436 x 1125 resolution at 458 ppi (pixels per inch), meaning the iPhone X has the highest pixel density of any of the new iPhones. A higher pixel density means it’s even more difficult to see individual pixels on the screen. It’s also the only new iPhone with an HDR display with 1,000,000:1 contrast ratio. Meanwhile, both iPhone 8’s have Retina HD LCD screens — Full HD on iPhone 8 Plus (1920 x 1080-pixel resolution at 401 ppi) and HD on iPhone 8 (1334 x 750-pixel resolution at 326 ppi) — with 1,400:1 and 1,300: 1 contrast ratios, respectively.

Camera

Both iPhone X and iPhone 8 Plus feature dual rear cameras (the iPhone 8 only has a single camera on the back), but the iPhone X has a telephoto lens with better aperture — f/2.4 compared to f/2.8 for the Plus model which will allow more light to come in. The iPhone X is also the only one featuring dual optical image stabilization which makes taking photos where you are zooming in less jittery.

Because the iPhone X has a more complex front facing camera that Apple is calling a TrueDepth camera (as opposed to a FaceTime HD camera on the iPhone 8’s), it’s also the only iPhone that offers the really cool Portrait Mode and Portrait Lighting on the front facing (selfie) camera. The iPhone 8 Plus has Portrait Mode and Portrait Lighting but only on the rear camera–not the front facing one. Oh and of course, with the TrueDepth camera on the iPhone X you can have a lot of fun with the brand new Animoji feature on your iPhone X.

Video playback

Of the three new iPhones, only the iPhone X has the ability for High Dynamic Range with Dolby Vision playback.

Biometrics

The iPhone X has the brand new Face ID facial recognition system, while the iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus come with Touch ID fingerprint sensors.

Battery life

Size differences between the iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus favor the bigger model. The iPhone 8 Plus gets 21 hours (talk time), 13 hours (internet use), 14 hours (video playback), and 60 hours (audio playback). The iPhone 8’s estimates are at 14 hours (talk time), 12 hours (internet use), 13 hours (video playback), and 40 hours (audio playback).

The iPhone X, meanwhile, is almost able to match the iPhone 8 Plus battery performance. You will get one hour less of internet use, and one hour less of video playback, according to Apple’s estimates.

Size

The iPhone X is about the same size as the 4.7-inch iPhone 8, but its 5.8-inch screen is bigger than the iPhone 8 Plus’s 5.5-inch display. The iPhone 8 is the lightest of them all, weighing in at 148g. The iPhone 8 Plus is the heaviest at 202g, and the iPhone X’s 174g place it between its siblings.

Conclusion

There aren’t very many differences between the iPhone 8 Plus and the iPhone X–in fact, there’s really only around three key differences: the edge to edge OLED display, the fact that on the iPhone X the second camera (telephoto one) also has optical image stabilization, and lastly that the front facing camera on the iPhone X is also capable of taking advantage of the Portrait Mode and Portrait Lighting features which will be great to have if you’re really big on selfies.

If you’re asking me which I’m buying, well I already told you.