The iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus are
smartphone
A smartphone is a mobile phone with advanced computing capabilities. It typically has a touchscreen interface, allowing users to access a wide range of applications and services, such as web browsing, email, and social media, as well as multi ...
s developed and marketed by
Apple Inc. They are the
eleventh generation of the
iPhone
The iPhone is a line of smartphones developed and marketed by Apple that run iOS, the company's own mobile operating system. The first-generation iPhone was announced by then–Apple CEO and co-founder Steve Jobs on January 9, 2007, at ...
. The iPhone 8 was released on September 22, 2017, succeeding the
iPhone 7 and
iPhone 7 Plus, respectively.
The designs of the iPhone 8 and 8 Plus are largely similar to that of their predecessors except for the addition of a glass back. The iPhone 8 and 8 Plus were the final flagship iPhone models to feature the home button and
Touch ID. Notable changes include the removal of the rose gold and jet black color variants,
addition of
inductive charging, a faster processor, and improved cameras and displays. The iPhone 8 and 8 Plus share most of their internal hardware with the iPhone X.
The iPhone 8 and 8 Plus were discontinued as of February 2020, having sold 86.3 million units worldwide, making them one of the
best-selling smartphones of all time. They initially shipped with
iOS 11
iOS 11 is the iOS version history, eleventh major release of the iOS mobile operating system developed by Apple Inc., Apple, being the successor to iOS 10. It was announced at the company's Worldwide Developers Conference on June 5, 2017, and w ...
and supported up to
iOS 16
iOS 16 is the iOS version history, sixteenth major release of Apple Inc., Apple's iOS mobile operating system for the iPhone. It is the successor of iOS 15, and was announced at the company's Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) on June 6, 202 ...
, and do not support
iOS 17.
The
second
The second (symbol: s) is a unit of time derived from the division of the day first into 24 hours, then to 60 minutes, and finally to 60 seconds each (24 × 60 × 60 = 86400). The current and formal definition in the International System of U ...
and
third generations of the entry level
iPhone SE retain the iPhone 8's exterior dimensions and Touch ID, with upgraded hardware.
History
Apple invited the press to a media event at the Steve Jobs Theater in the Apple Park campus on September 12, 2017. The iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus were announced at that event, and released on September 22, 2017.
On April 9, 2018, Apple introduced an iPhone 8 with a red color finish and a black front, in support of their partnership with
Product Red and their
AIDS
The HIV, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is a retrovirus that attacks the immune system. Without treatment, it can lead to a spectrum of conditions including acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). It is a Preventive healthcare, pr ...
fundraising campaign.
In November 2018, just over a year from initial release, Apple started selling refurbished iPhone 8 models starting at $499. The price was lowered to
US$
The United States dollar (Currency symbol, symbol: Dollar sign, $; ISO 4217, currency code: USD) is the official currency of the United States and International use of the U.S. dollar, several other countries. The Coinage Act of 1792 introdu ...
319. Refurbished iPhone 8 Plus models were available starting at $599. The price was also subsequently lowered to
US$
The United States dollar (Currency symbol, symbol: Dollar sign, $; ISO 4217, currency code: USD) is the official currency of the United States and International use of the U.S. dollar, several other countries. The Coinage Act of 1792 introdu ...
469 and later to $359.
On April 15, 2020, Apple announced the
second-generation iPhone SE and discontinued the iPhone 8 and 8 Plus, which share the external form factor but has upgraded internals including an
A13 Bionic processor. On March 8, 2022, Apple announced the
third-generation iPhone SE with the same exterior dimensions, but with an upgraded camera and
Apple's A15 processor.
Specifications
Hardware
Display
The iPhone 8 and 8 Plus retain the Retina HD Display found in the
iPhone 7, but they now feature True Tone technology, allowing for automatic screen adjustments based on surrounding ambient lighting.
They can play
HDR10 and
Dolby Vision content despite not having an HDR-ready display, done by down-converting the HDR content to fit the display while still having some enhancements to dynamic range, contrast, and wide color gamut compared to
standard content.
Camera
The iPhone 8 and 8 Plus feature a 12 MP camera with
autofocus, f/1.8
aperture and
optical image stabilization capable of capturing
4K video at 24, 30, or 60
frames per second, or 1080p video at 30, 60, 120 or 240 frames per second,
and a Quad LED True Tone Flash with Slow Sync.
[ ] The Slow Sync flash, 4K 60fps, and 1080p 240 fps options are new features for the 8 and 8 Plus, over the options available on the iPhone 7 and 7 Plus.
The iPhone 8 Plus, like the iPhone 7 Plus, adds a second,
telephoto, lens. A new AI-driven option is available for the iPhone 8 Plus, called Portrait Lighting--making use of the more capable image signal processor in the A11 SoC.
Both models have a 7 MP front camera with an f/2.2 aperture capable of capturing 1080p video at 30 frames per second and 720p video at 24 frames per second, along with
face detection and
high-dynamic range.
The iPhone 8 and 8 Plus record videos with
single channel audio (mono).
Still photos with 6.5 megapixels (3412×1920) can be captured during video recording.
Chipset
The iPhone 8 and 8 Plus contain the
Apple A11 Bionic system-on-chip, a hexa-core processor that the company says features two performance cores that are 25% faster than those found in the iPhone 7's A10 processor and four efficiency cores that are 70% faster than those in the prior model. The phones also feature an Apple-designed
graphics processing unit 30% faster than prior units, with the same level of performance as the A10 at half the power.
Other
The phones have glass backs instead of the complete aluminum housing found on prior models, enabling the use of
Qi inductive charging.
The phones are rated
IP67 for water resistance and dust resistance.
Both models come with 64, 128, and 256
gigabytes storage options, and are offered in silver, gold, or Space Gray color options.
A Product Red special edition version in red with a black front was released on April 9, 2018.
The iPhone 8 and 8 Plus were the last iPhones with white front in Silver and Gold colors.
In addition to Qi wireless charging, the iPhone 8 also supports wired charging using Apple's proprietary
Lightning connector. It can fast-charge from a charger providing
USB Power Delivery combined with a special USB-C to Lightning adapter cable supporting fast charging.
The iPhone 8 has a 6 out of 10 reparability score from
iFixit, mainly due to the use of excessive glue for the back glass.
Software
Both the iPhone 8 and 8 Plus were supplied with
iOS 11
iOS 11 is the iOS version history, eleventh major release of the iOS mobile operating system developed by Apple Inc., Apple, being the successor to iOS 10. It was announced at the company's Worldwide Developers Conference on June 5, 2017, and w ...
on launch,
and support
iOS 12
iOS 12 is the iOS version history, twelfth major release of the iOS mobile operating system developed by Apple Inc., Apple. Aesthetically similar to its predecessor, iOS 11, it focuses more on performance than on new features, quality improvemen ...
,
iOS 13
iOS 13 is the thirteenth major release of the iOS mobile operating system developed by Apple for the iPhone, iPod Touch and HomePod. The successor to iOS 12, it was announced at the company's Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) on June ...
,
iOS 14,
iOS 15 and
iOS 16
iOS 16 is the iOS version history, sixteenth major release of Apple Inc., Apple's iOS mobile operating system for the iPhone. It is the successor of iOS 15, and was announced at the company's Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) on June 6, 202 ...
. Apple announced that the iPhone 8 and 8 Plus, as well as the
iPhone X
The iPhone X (Roman numerals, Roman numeral "X" pronounced "ten") is a smartphone that was developed and marketed by Apple Inc. It is part of the List of iPhone models, 11th generation of the iPhone. Available for pre-order from September 26, 2 ...
, would not support
iOS 17 due to hardware limitations. However, the devices still receive security updates.
Reception
Reception of the phones was generally positive, with reviewers praising the addition of inductive charging, fast charge capability, and the new
Apple A11
The Apple A11 Bionic is a 64-bit ARM-based system on a chip (SoC) designed by Apple Inc., part of the Apple silicon series, and manufactured by TSMC. It was only used in the iPhone 8 and 8 Plus, and iPhone X which were introduced on Septemb ...
processor, while criticizing the aging design that was introduced with the
iPhone 6 and
iPhone 6 Plus in 2014.
Samuel Axon of ''
Ars Technica
''Ars Technica'' is a website covering news and opinions in technology, science, politics, and society, created by Ken Fisher and Jon Stokes in 1998. It publishes news, reviews, and guides on issues such as computer hardware and software, sci ...
'' called the A11 processor "a marvelous feat of engineering", writing that it offers "industry-leading performance". Axon also praised the cameras, writing that "The colors are great, and low light performance is very good for a smartphone". Chris Velazco of ''
Engadget
Engadget ( ) is a technology news, reviews and analysis website offering daily coverage of gadgets, consumer electronics, video games, gaming hardware, apps, social media, streaming, AI, space, robotics, electric vehicles and other potentially ...
'' praised the speed of the A11 processor, the build quality and the "excellent" camera, while criticizing design familiarities with previous iPhone generations and limited water-protection levels compared to competitors.
John McCann of ''
TechRadar'' enjoyed the feel of the glass back despite criticizing the phone's overall design. McCann also praised the camera and called inductive charging a "useful" addition to the iPhone lineup.
David Pierce of ''
Wired'' similarly stated that the iPhone 8 models were overshadowed by the iPhone X, despite calling them "virtually perfect phones". Pierce praised performance, cameras, and displays, while repeatedly criticizing the "outdated" design.
Nilay Patel of ''
The Verge
''The Verge'' is an American Technology journalism, technology news website headquarters, headquartered in Lower Manhattan, New York City and operated by Vox Media. The website publishes news, feature stories, guidebooks, product reviews, cons ...
'' called the iPhone 8 the "default option", noting that the 8 models stand as almost universally overlooked by Apple's other new iPhone launched, the iPhone X. He nevertheless praised the device's form factor for being easy and non-slippery to hold and the display's addition of True Tone technology and upgraded speakers, though he cited issues with inductive charging speed through wireless pads as well as the price of the iPhone 8 Plus 256 GB, which was close to that of the iPhone X. Patel also criticized the iPhone 8's aging design, dating back to the iPhone 6 released in 2014; the most notable critique was of the thick bezels when compared to other 2017 smartphones, designed with nearly bezel-less faces to incorporate larger screens in a similar form factor.
The iPhone 8 and 8 Plus were also criticized for their durability, as drop tests performed showed that the rear glass is not "the most durable glass ever in a smartphone", as claimed by Apple.
Camera testing company
DxOMark gave the camera on the iPhone 8 a rating of 92 and 8 Plus a rating of 94, giving them the title of best smartphone cameras tested by the company. The
Samsung Galaxy Note 8 later matched the iPhone 8 Plus with an identical overall score of 94. They were later overtaken by the Google
Pixel 2
The Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL are a pair of Android (operating system), Android smartphones designed, developed, and marketed by Google as part of the Google Pixel product line. They collectively serve as the successors to the Pixel (1st generation) ...
, which scored a 98 rating.
Although being the first mobile phone to record 2160p at 60 frames per second, the iPhone 8, 8 Plus and X have been criticized in a review by GSMArena for its mono (single-channel) audio recording for videos, while
stereo audio recording for videos has been available on competing mobile phone models for several years, such as the
Samsung Galaxy S3 and
Sony Xperia S from 2012.
Issues
On August 31, 2018, Apple announced that a "very small percentage" of iPhone 8 devices released between September 2017 and March 2018 contained a manufacturing defect in the logic board. This fault affected iPhone 8 models sold in Australia, China, Hong Kong, India, Japan, Macau, New Zealand, and the United States. Defective devices may experience unexpected reboots, a frozen or unresponsive screen, or may fail to turn on. Users with an affected device, as determined by their serial number, can have their device replaced for free by Apple. This issue does not affect the iPhone 8 Plus.
See also
*
Comparison of smartphones
This is a comparison of the various internal components and features of many smartphones.
Hardware and OS
2020s
2025
2024
2023
2022
2021
2020
2010s
2019
2018
2017
2016
2015
2014
2013
2012
...
*
History of iPhone
*
List of iPhone models
*
List of best-selling mobile phones
*
Timeline of iPhone models
Notes
References
External links
* – official site
{{Authority control
*8
Mobile phones introduced in 2017
Computer-related introductions in 2017
Mobile phones with 4K video recording
Mobile phones with pressure-sensitive touch screen
Discontinued flagship smartphones