Friends+Design
- Exceptional build quality, with a glass based design - built to the highest standards, water-proof, and still one of the best-looking flagships, across all smartphones
- The design remains similar to the iPhone 7 Plus
Display
- Excellent class-leading IPS display, slightly improved from the iPhone 7 Plus - adds 'True Tone' support - a color warmth-adjusting ambient effect that the iPad Pro added last year - it makes the display seem less harsh in everyday reading
Software
- iOS 11 continues to be a highly refined and intuitive user interface, and is a solid update over iOS 10, with big and small improvements all over
- And of course, Apple has an industry-leading software update program - you are guaranteed to get all iOS updates in the next few years as soon as they are out
- The most amazing thing you can do with iOS 11 is augmented reality (will be supported iPhone 6s onwards) - Apple's ARKit works by fusing cameras and motion sensors to track the real world and layer virtual things on top of it, using your phone, promising immersive experiences without wearing any headsets or glasses - the initial apps are all pretty impressive - for instance in SkyGuide, you aim the phone at the daytime skyline and a night sky fades in, with superimposed constellations and star names - and the level of graphic detail in these apps is stunning - it feels richer than VR, even if in a sense it is less immersive
Performance
- Breathtaking, lightning-fast performance powered by Apple's new chip - A11 Bionic - the benchmark numbers are close to what MacBooks with Core i5 processors can achieve - on paper, they blow away the Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 chip that's in most competing top-end phones, including those from Samsung, LG and OnePlus
Camera
- Excellent rear dual camera setup - a solid upgrade over the already excellent iPhone 7 Plus camera - thanks to an all-new image sensor, photo quality has improved in low light, as has video quality - easily among the best cameras on a smartphone, period
- The new Portrait Lighting Mode is quite brilliant too, and just by itself might be reason enough to prefer an iPhone 8 Plus over an iPhone 8 for camera loving folks
- The front selfie camera takes some very nice images too, though not class leading
Audio
- The speakers also get a small but solid upgrade - they sound nice and loud, and now get a bit beefier with some bass - it's nice when you're sharing TV, movies or YouTube videos with friends, or even just using the iPhone for music at home
- The missing 3.5mm headphone jack is still an issue if you like to use your own headphones instead of the Apple's bundled ones
Battery
- The battery life is excellent - and about the same as the iPhone 7 Plus
- Added support for wireless charging, and fast charging
- Though fast charging is supported, a fast charger has to be purchased separately (the included charger does not have fast charging)
More
- The larger size means its on the heavier side, and not as ergonomic/comfortable for single handed operation, as the smaller iPhone 8
