Our Verdict
The XS ’s screen is large , sharp , and considerably at hand over blacks ; you also get a noticeably better rear - facing photographic camera , Portrait Mode on the front camera , and a newer processor silicon chip that assure fantabulous future - proofing . We ’re head over heels in love with the XS , in fact . But it ’s hard to justify the terms , and those who are used to a Home button will also need to learn a Modern set of gesture . For those who need to keep an oculus on the budget the 8 Plus , which remains a hefty and reliable handset , is probably the more sensitive choice .
Apple ’s all - covert X - series earpiece ( such as the mega - desirableiPhone XS ) get all the attention , but mickle of people would like to keep their Home button , give thanks you very much . TheiPhone 8 Plusmight look a lilliputian outdated but as the final organic evolution of the companionship ’s classical French telephone design it still has much to proffer – and at a far more affordable price than the XS .
In this article we liken the iPhone XS and the iPhone 8 Plus , contrast their design , feature set , specs and value for money to help you decide which is right for you .
iPhone history
These iPhones have been supercede with new models . Find liaison below to our reviews of all iPhone models , including the latest generation.iPhone 16is expected to establish in September 2024 ( seewhen is the better time to corrupt a raw iPhone ) . You might also care ouriPhone buying pathfinder , best iPhone dealsandcomparison of every iPhone that is available to grease one’s palms today .
Price & Availability
Both phones areavailable now . The XS is from Apple ’s latest generation , having launch in September 2018 , whereas the 8 Plus was release in September 2017 .
The iPhone 8 Plus is n’t exactly sleazy and cheerful , starting at £ 699/$699 for the 64 GB edition ; but the XS is a true exchange premium option , adding £ 300/$300 at each storage tier up . For the really well - heel , Apple offers a cool half - terabyte pick with the XS , which costs a heavy £ 1,349/$1,349 .
Design & Build
Put the two phones side by side and the remainder are desolate .
The 8 Plus has a Home button below the screenland in the traditional iPhone design , whereas the XS has ditched this clitoris entirely : this means you get almost the whole front of the equipment as sieve . The XS consequently has a slightly larger screen despite coming in a smaller chassis .
Put like this it seems square : the X - serial publication blueprint is good , with a more immersive showing ( it ’s also sharper , as we ’ll hash out in thespecs section ) and a more portable material body . And we ’d concur with that , albeit with the caveat that the departure of the Home button mean you ’ll want to relearn a lot of activity ; in our experience it does n’t take long to get used to the young setup , but some buyer will favour the comfort of closeness .
We cover the new gestures and push button usage ( you still get the volume and side buttons , which have to take on some new functions ) inHow to apply the iPhone XS .
A related issue is that the Home button control the Touch ID fingermark digital scanner , so the iPhone XS alternatively uses Face ID facial realization to unlock the gadget , validate App Store purchase and so on . confront ID is tremendously telling but , again , it ’s something unexampled to get used to . ReadFace ID vs Touch IDfor more on this .
iPhone XS in pictures
iPhone 8 Plus in pictures
Specs & Features
The XS is a generation newer than the 8 Plus , and it will fall as no surprisal that it has a markedly just specification sheet . Let ’s work through the highlighting :
Speed
The XS has an A12 Bionic processor and 4 GB of RAM ; the 8 Plus has an A11 Bionic and 3 GB of RAM . Apple claims you ’ll get a 15 % speed boost from the microprocessor chip advance alone , but behave in mind that this is mostly theoretical at this point ; there plainly are n’t any apps on the depot that are demanding enough to give the A11 any problem . Give it a class or two and you ’ll start noticing a difference in the performance of these two devices .
Like telephone number ? The 8 Plus mark 10,190 in the multicore section of the Geekbench 4 swiftness test and the XS managed 11,082 – that ’s a small under 9 % high .
Screen
As well as being bigger , the XS ’s show is higher - resolution : you get a pixel denseness of 458 pixels per column inch ( ppi ) , compared to 401ppi on the 8 Plus . Mind you , 401ppi is still high , so it ’s debatable how obtrusive the departure will be .
What youwillnotice is the difference in the lineament of onscreen blacks . The XS has an OLED screen , whereas the 8 Plus gets the same LCD screen technical school iPhones have boast since time immemorial . OLED are more power - efficient , thin and better at displaying vibrant coloring material , deep blacks and bright whites . Read more inOLED vs LCD .
Cameras
The XS and 8 Plus both have matching keister - look cameras ( rated at 12Mp ) , enable them to provide an attractive background knowledge - blurring bokeh effect when you activatePortrait fashion . They both get Portrait Lighting , too , and both have 7Mp front - facing cameras .
There are differences , though . The XS ’s Portrait Mode is a little more advanced , offering the ability to edit the deepness of the essence in tangible sentence or afterwards , and you’re able to access Portrait Mode from the XS ’s front - facing photographic camera as well – handy for produce attractive selfies . mark that this is purely software package - based , since there ’s still only one lens at the front , so it is n’t quite as convincing as the impression both phones reach with the twinned lenses at the behind .
The XS ’s telephotograph lens has an f/2.4 aperture , compared to the 8 Plus ’s f/2.8 , and it feature OIS on both rear - face lens rather than just one as on the 8 Plus . The XS becharm stereo sound when recording video . And , perhaps most importantly , it can use the Neural Engine in the A12 C.P.U. for a feature article Apple calls Smart HDR – where the camera uses AI to assess varying lightning conditions across a pellet and tweak circumstance to answer for for each . We ’ve consider the XS enchant some fantastic shot in difficult condition , although your mileage may vary .
Water resistance
Both phone are well set up to survive a reasonably brief liquid immersion , but again the XS is ahead here . It ’s rated as IP68 ( generally speaking the maximum evaluation give way to commercial products ) , which Apple interpret as “ water - resistant to a depth of 2 m for up to 30 minutes ” . The 8 Plus get a rating of IP67 , which is the same only to just 1 m.
Battery life
At last we get to an country where the 8 Plus is ahead . Apple claims a assault and battery life of up to 20 60 minutes of lecture time for the XS , and up to 12 hours of net use ; for the 8 Plus those number are 21 and 13 hours severally .
Miscellaneous differences
Two last items deserving mention .
The XS supportseSIMsas well as featuring a nano - SIM slot ; the 8 Plus tolerate nano - SIM only . And the XS indorse gigabit LTE ; the 8 Plus does not .
iPhone XS full specs
iPhone 8 Plus full specs
Software & Apps
Both phones guide Apple ’s very own iOS operating system , which deserves its reputation for safety and user - friendliness . Buy now and they will total with the former edition ofiOS 12 , which let in Screen Time , a suite of features to help you monitor and ensure your gimmick usage .
Both will be able-bodied to update toiOS 13for free when it do out in fall 2019 , and ( unless Apple behaves very unexpectedly ) both will get iOS 14 the year after too . But when the axe falls and on-going software support is end , it will for obvious intellect shine on the 8 Plus around a twelvemonth earlier than the XS .
Unless youjailbreak your deviceyou’ll only be capable to buy and install apps from the prescribed App Store . In an ideal macrocosm we ’d hump to have admittance to an open market for iOS apps , but much speaking this is n’t much of a restriction ( there are literally billion of apps on the prescribed store , including umteen free options ) and it does make it harder to accidentally download malware .
Verdict
The XS is a better speech sound – make no mistake about that . But is it well by a big enough gross profit to justify the £ 300/$300 premium you ’re pay on top of the 8 Plus ’s ( already fairly in high spirits ) price tag ? That depends on what you need from your French telephone .
The big difference is the projection screen , which is fully grown on the XS ( despite the twist being small than the 8 Plus ) , sharp-worded , and better at rendering blacks in fussy . But the back end - face tv camera is also perceptibly expert , and you get Portrait Mode on the front camera ( andAnimoji ) . The gimmick itself is more time to come - proof thanks to its new processor chip and excess tup .
On the down side the XS is ( as previously mentioned ) a lot more expensive , and will also require a little muscle - store recalibration because the Home button has been removed . Oh , and battery life-time might be a ghost low than on the 8 Plus , but we ’ve not had any issues with that in daytime - to - day use .
We ’re head over hound in love with the XS , but it ’s hard to justify the cost , and for those who need to keep an optic on the budget the 8 Plus is in all probability the more reasonable option .
