Yesterday, Apple announced their new generation of iPhones, the iPhone 11 and the iPhone 11 Pro. They have updated cameras, updated processors, updated displays and so much more.
However, the best thing about the announcement of new iPhones is that previous flagship iPhones become cheaper. That is why it is not recommended to buy a new iPhone in August or the beginning of September.
The announcement of the iPhone 11 and iPhone 11 Pro led to older iPhones getting a price cut. The iPhone XR now starts at $599, down from $749 last year and the iPhone 8 now starts at $449. The iPhone XS/XS Max and the iPhone 7/7 Plus were dropped officially from the Apple store.
Apple selling the iPhone 8 at $449 means that it now drops to the mid range smartphone market. If you think about it, Apple now has a mid-range iPhone at this incredibly competitive price bracket that is way more powerful than most people give it credit for.
The iPhone 8 has a lot of features going for it that are rare in this bracket. It sports the A11 Bionic chip which is the most powerful processor in this price bracket. It has a single primary 12MP camera with an f/1.8 aperture with optical image stabilization that is probably one of the best in this range for taking photos. That primary camera can shoot upto 4K videos at 60fps and slow motion 1080p videos upto 240fps which is incredibly rare too at this price range.
However, the phone has two major gripes, the battery and the display. The battery capacity is small and it is heavily pummeled by competitors on the Android ecosystem. The display is disappointing on the resolution side on paper (1334 x 750) but since it is a tiny 4.7″ panel, it is not as bad as people point it out to be. The contrast ratio is pretty good (1400:1) and supports a wide color gamut unlike most phones.
You also get fast charging (if you buy a separate cable and fast charging brick), Touch ID if you’re not a fan of FaceID and Qi wireless charging. It also has IP67 water resistance which is usually reserved for flagship phones.
For $150 more, you can get last year’s iPhone XR, which has Face ID, same camera but with improved camera algorithms that bring extended HDR on video and photos the newer Apple A12 Bionic chip and way better battery life. However for $449, you’re getting a pretty good phone here with the iPhone 8, that is if you don’t mind the battery life and the ‘low resolution’ screen.
