Apple iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus with A11 Bionic SoC, Retina HD display launched: Here’s everything you need to know

American tech giant Apple on Tuesday announced the launch of its two most-awaited smartphones, christened as the “iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus” at its 10th-anniversary event at the Steve Jobs Theatre in Apple Campus, Cupertino. The freshly launched iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus are the successors to the company’s previous iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus, which were launched last year. The newly launched smartphones now comes with several new upgrades in terms of built quality, power and performance. Talking about their main USP, both the smartphones come with aerospace‑grade 7000 Series aluminium chassis and a stunning reflective glass design at the back, giving them an overall premium and gorgeous outlook. The back panel of the iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus is made using a special six‑layer ink process for precise hues and opacity, delivering a rich depth of colour. However, the iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus packs the perfect blend of glass and metal design, premium build quality, style, and luxuriousness which are all associated with the Apple and iPhone brand.

iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus Pricing details and Availability:

Both the smartphones come in only two variants based on their internal storage capacity – 64GB and 256GB. The iPhone 8 with 64GB storage variant has been launched with a price tag of US$699, while the iPhone 8 with 256GB storage variant comes with a price tag of US$849. On the other hand, the iPhone 8 Plus with 64GB storage variant has been launched with a price tag of US$799, while the iPhone 8 Plus with 256GB storage variant comes with a price tag of US$949. Both the variants will be available for pre-order in the US, the UK, China, Australia and 25 other countries starting September 15 (Friday) and the smartphones will be going on sale starting September 22 (Friday). In the Indian market, the iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus will be available starting September 29th with a starting price of Rs. 64,000. The iPhone 8 price in India is Rs. 64,000 for the 64GB storage variant, while the 256GB version costs Rs. 77,000. Similarly, the iPhone 8 Plus price in India is Rs. 73,000 for the 64GB storage variant, while the top-spec model with 256GB internal storage is priced at Rs. 86,000.

iPhone 8, iPhone 8 Plus Features:

Both the iPhones come with Retina HD displays with True Tone feature that automatically adjusts onscreen white balance to match the colour temperature of surrounding light for a more natural, paper-like viewing experience in all kinds of environments. The iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus are powered by the all-new A11 Bionic chipset designed for extraordinary augmented reality experience, and the six-core CPU has two performance cores that are up to 25 percent faster and four efficiency cores that are up to 70 percent faster than the A10 Fusion chipset. “The most powerful and smartest chip ever in a smartphone,” according to the company. The A11 Bionic SoC also integrates an Apple‑designed three‑core GPU that offers up to 30 percent faster graphics performance than the previous generation. All these powers in A11 Bionic chipset are optimized for machine learning, immersive 3D games, extraordinary augmented reality apps and AR experiences. The smartphones also come with redesigned stereo speakers which deliver up to 25 percent louder audio and deeper bass. The iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus are IP67 certified that means both the smartphones are water and dust resistant. Both the iPhones run on the company’s latest iOS 11 and come with built-in rechargeable lithium-ion battery with Qi wireless charging as well as support for fast charging (wired) that can charge the devices up to 50 percent in just 30 minutes. The smartphones also feature Siri AI voice assistant and a front-mounted Touch ID fingerprint sensor (embedded into the physical Home button).

On the camera front, the iPhone 8 comes equipped with a 12-megapixel optically stabilised rear camera setup with an f/1.8 aperture, six‑element lens, 4K video recording support (at 60 fps), and Slo‑mo 1080p recording support (at 240 fps). The redesigned video encoder delivers real-time image and motion analysis for optimal quality video. The rear camera has a larger and faster sensor, a new colour filter and quad LED True Tone Flash. The quad LED True Tone flash delivers up to 40 percent more illumination, reducing hot spots. On the other hand, the iPhone 8 Plus houses a horizontally arranged dual rear camera setup which comes combined with two 12-megapixel cameras. The primary camera comes with wide-angle lens, an f/1.8 aperture, while the secondary camera comes with telephoto lens, an f/2.8 aperture. Other camera features on the smartphone include OIS (Optical Image Stabilisation), 2x Optical zoom, 10x digital zoom, six‑element lens, quad LED True Tone flash, 4K video recording support (at 60 fps) and Slo‑mo 1080p support (at 240 fps). The company has also introduced a new Portrait Lighting mode, which brings dramatic studio lighting effects to the Portrait mode photography. The company claims that Portrait Lighting uses facial detection and depth maps to capture portraits with striking shadows, spotlight effects, and more. Apart from this, the camera also comes equipped with Apple‑designed image signal processor to detect various scenes individually such as people, motion, etc. Both the smartphones feature 7-megapixel FaceTime HD camera with an f/2.2 aperture, and Retina flash for capturing selfies and making video calls.

iPhone 8, iPhone 8 Plus Specifications: