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iPhone 8/Plus What some reasons the iPhone 8 Plus is better than the X?

nouveau_redneck said:
I share some of your thoughts here as well. I was horribly disappointed when I saw the X really was delivered with that notch, narrow screen, lack of touch ID, all those round lines, etc. I had my 6S+ for two years at that point, and wanted an upgrade so bad. Ultimately I bought the 8+, which I really like, but at the same time wanted a OLED and larger screen. I know some people like the X, but it is an unmitigated disaster in my opinion.
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It sounds like what you want is an iPhone X+, and you might get your wish this year! I'm afraid you might have to accept the notch, but honestly it isn't that bad. I don't really notice it. I'm very happy with the X, because I've never wanted to carry a plus phone.
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joeblow7777 said:
People say that the 8 Plus is too big, but it’s my first plus sized phone and it seriously only took a day to feel perfectly natural to me. Now the non Plus iPhones, including the X, actually seem too small. I know that the X’s display is larger on paper, but I’ve actually held them and used them side by side and the wider display of the Plus definitely feels bigger and displays more content.

That, combined with a home button and TouchID, and a larger battery make the Plus a superior phone for my personal preferences. The fact that it also costs less is icing on the cake. I still would have chosen it if they were priced the same.
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I thought the iFixit teardown determined that the X has more battery than the 8+? From the teardown:
"This phone is packing a 10.35 Wh (2716 mAh at 3.81 V) battery, just beating out the 10.28 Wh 8 Plus battery, but a drop in the bucket compared to the Galaxy Note8 with its 12.71 Wh behemoth."

Of course they are in the same ballpark, but anyone's mileage may vary when it comes to how long a single charge can get you.

I think it really comes down to the differences in display, home button or not, TouchID vs FaceID, and the slightly better camera specs on the X. Yes there is a difference in price as well, but the X is not much more of a stretch. I'm glad I bought the X, but as dazzling as OLED is I prefer LCD. I go back and forth between my X and my iPad Pro. Both have great displays, but the OLED has a bit of color shift in dark settings. Looks great in daylight or typical indoor lighting though. I would gladly buy an iPad with FaceID and no home button. Using the X feels more fluid, and it's often like there are no locks at all because FaceID just works without me having to touch or do anything (this is especially noticeable when launching secure apps that can leverage FaceID). Both the X and the 8+ beg to be held and used with two hands, but I feel I can more securely and comfortably operate the X with one hand. This is why it's important for people to try them both in the store. Handling them side by side you are usually drawn to one more than the other. That said, I spent a lot of time with my mother's 8+ and I don't think you can go wrong with either device.
 
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sean000 said:
It sounds like what you want is an iPhone X+, and you might get your wish this year! I'm afraid you might have to accept the notch, but honestly it isn't that bad. I don't really notice it. I'm very happy with the X, because I've never wanted to carry a plus phone.
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I thought the iFixit teardown determined that the X has more battery than the 8+? From the teardown:
"This phone is packing a 10.35 Wh (2716 mAh at 3.81 V) battery, just beating out the 10.28 Wh 8 Plus battery, but a drop in the bucket compared to the Galaxy Note8 with its 12.71 Wh behemoth."

Of course they are in the same ballpark, but anyone's mileage may vary when it comes to how long a single charge can get you.

I think it really comes down to the differences in display, home button or not, TouchID vs FaceID, and the slightly better camera specs on the X. Yes there is a difference in price as well, but the X is not much more of a stretch. I'm glad I bought the X, but as dazzling as OLED is I prefer LCD. I go back and forth between my X and my iPad Pro. Both have great displays, but the OLED has a bit of color shift in dark settings. Looks great in daylight or typical indoor lighting though. I would gladly buy an iPad with FaceID and no home button. Using the X feels more fluid, and it's often like there are no locks at all because FaceID just works without me having to touch or do anything (this is especially noticeable when launching secure apps that can leverage FaceID). Both the X and the 8+ beg to be held and used with two hands, but I feel I can more securely and comfortably operate the X with one hand. This is why it's important for people to try them both in the store. Handling them side by side you are usually drawn to one more than the other. That said, I spent a lot of time with my mother's 8+ and I don't think you can go wrong with either device.
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I’m not talking about which has a bigger battery, I mean which lasts longer, and most sources (including Apple’s own site) agree that the 8 Plus has at least slightly better battery life.
 
The picture below from the linked thread is a major reason why the 8+ is better! Sometimes pictures speak louder than words.

https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/returning-my-iphone-x-today.2084587/

BB8DB310-8201-4907-AFA7-90B25DD8C196.jpg
 
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nouveau_redneck said:
The picture below from the linked thread is a major reason why the 8+ is better! Sometimes pictures speak louder than words.

https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/returning-my-iphone-x-today.2084587/

View attachment 746479
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Why is the video on the X zoomed and it’s not on the 8+? If you don’t zoom the video then it will not be cropped like that and you won’t see the notch. Yes the physical picture size will be a tad smaller on the X than it is on the 8+. It is a smaller phone after all. ;)
 
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sean000 said:
Why is the video on the X zoomed and it’s not on the 8+? If you don’t zoom the video then it will not be cropped like that and you won’t see the notch. Yes the physical picture size will be a tad smaller on the X than it is on the 8+. It is a smaller phone after all. ;)
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Without the zoom to take advantage of the full screen it’s considerably smaller on the X. Comparable to the 4.7” display of the non Plus models.

Yes, it’s a smaller phone, but the whole selling point of the “bezel less” screen is supposed to be that you get a Plus sized display in a non-Plus body. The picture above shows how you don’t really.
 
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joeblow7777 said:
Without the zoom to take advantage of the full screen it’s considerably smaller on the X. Comparable to the 4.7” display of the non Plus models.

Yes, it’s a smaller phone, but the whole selling point of the “bezel less” screen is supposed to be that you get a Plus sized display in a non-Plus body. The picture above shows how you don’t really.
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Actually you do get a significantly larger display for apps, web browsing, iMessage, etc. With the X you get significantly more vertical. I really appreciate the extra vertical space for many of the apps I use. Why is video always used in these examples? There are millions of us who don’t watch video on our iPhones. I might watch short videos on the X (and they do look fantastic), but if I’m going to watch something longer I will watch it on the TV... or at least on my iPad. I guess if I wanted a phone for movies and gaming I might prefer the 8 Plus, but for how I use my iPhone (usually one handed) I prefer the form factor of the X.
 
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QueenTyrone said:
Better battery life
More optimized screen (no black bars)
Touch id (if you love it)
Same performance if not better due to the 8+ having an lcd and being less power hungry.
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More optimized screen? that statement makes no sense whatsoever.
 
4RunnerHeaven said:
Not slightly. The 8 plus out lasts it by several hours.
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That's dependent on a lot of factors. Most data and reviews I've seen suggests that the Plus usually gets maybe an extra hour or so of screen on time, but that's still a notable advantage.
 
Kram Sacul said:
I'll take a small notch on one side vs big ugly bezels on all sides any day. You also don't need a purse to carry the X around in.
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I think you missed the main point of the image. The text is cut off. In order to take advantage of full-screen video/photos, you need to zoom in. Which cut off 1/4" of text.
 
I bought the X and and tried my best to dislike it, coming from a 7 plus. I really liked everything about it but I couldn’t reconcile the screen size.
I returned it and got an 8 plus and I’m very happy. The X plus will be the one, I’m convinced.
 
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Mlrollin91 said:
I think you missed the main point of the image. The text is cut off. In order to take advantage of full-screen video/photos, you need to zoom in. Which cut off 1/4" of text.
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So? Don’t zoom the video! Watch it in its native aspect ratio. If the picture isn’t big enough, and you plan to watch a lot of movies, buy the 8 Plus instead. Want an even bigger picture? Buy an iPad or a laptop. Not every phone needs to be designed around the most common video aspect ratio. Many of us do not even watch much video on our phones. And when it comes to photos, the iPhone 8+ is also going to crop parts of the photo if you zoom to full screen, because most photos are taken in an aspect ratio that does not match the iPhone 8+ display.

Showing a picture of someone who made the conscious decision to zoom (by default, video displays in its native aspect ratio), and therefore crop, a video on the iPhone X only confirms differences in phone size and shape that are already obvious. Some will prefer the OLED of the X even though it displays smaller videos because it’s an HDR display with a better contrast ratio. Others will prefer the display on the 8+ because it’s a physically bigger display area for 16:9 and the IPS LCD will have less color shift when viewed from an angle.

I’ve spent a lot of time helping my mother with her 8+. It’s a fantastic smartphone, but I just can’t get past the size. The iPhone X is already stretching the limit for the largest size smartphone I’m willing to carry.
 
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nouveau_redneck said:
The picture below from the linked thread is a major reason why the 8+ is better! Sometimes pictures speak louder than words.

https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/returning-my-iphone-x-today.2084587/

View attachment 746479
Click to expand...

If you don’t zoom on the X, you get the full picture. Is a bit smaller? Yes. Can you handle watching something on it? Sure. I mean, a 65 inch TV is slightly bigger than a 64 inch screen, but I’m not sure it makes that big of a difference.
 
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The screen is smaller. I see this everyday when I use 7 Plus besides my X although the full screen effect helps to mask it a bit.

All those who say it's the perfect size and it's not a big deal don't realise what they are missing till the X Plus comes out this year with the same width and a bigger screen than the Plus.
 
Since I use my phone at 100% brightness most of the time, the iPhone 8 Plus gives me noticeably better battery life than the X did. Using max brightness also increases the chance I would experience burn-in at some point with my X, so it's nice to not have to worry about that at all on my 8 Plus. Although the notch never bothered me, it is pretty nice to have more screen real estate in the form of no notch and home indicator. I never experienced headaches like some X owners do, but I do think the LCD screen on the 8 Plus is easier on my eyes.

Smaller advantages for me include the fact that the 5.5" Plus screen is natively supported by every app I use, and it's easier to find properly proportioned wallpaper for the Plus screens. Both of those advantages will diminish over time, of course.
 
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Radon87000 said:
The screen is smaller. I see this everyday when I use 7 Plus besides my X although the full screen effect helps to mask it a bit.

All those who say it's the perfect size and it's not a big deal don't realise what they are missing till the X Plus comes out this year with the same width and a bigger screen than the Plus.
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I already know what I'm missing: Carrying a larger smartphone than is necessary for me! ;)

I know there technically isn't a huge difference in the size, but we all have our personal tolerances for what we are willing to use and carry. The current form factor of the iPhone X is already pushing it for me. My iPhone 6 before that was about my perfect max size, and I do notice the every so slight height increase of the X (I'm using reachability much more often). I'm far more tempted by the idea of an iPhone X SE than I am by the idea of an iPhone X+. Not all of us shop for smartphones wondering which one will be best for watching movies. Some of us just want the biggest display we can get and still feel like we can pocket it or operate it one-handed without dropping it. If I watched more movies and played more games on my phone, perhaps I would be okay going to an even larger phone. But where does that stop? And what if people complain that the iPhone X+ size is deceptive because full screen video is cropped? What will people want then? A physically larger iPhone x/8 Plus that is 16:9 from home bar to notch?

One thing is for sure: The differences are subtle and each phone has pros and cons. This is why it is so important to try them out side by side. I have spent a lot of time using my mother's 8+ and I like it just as much as my X, but for different reasons. After spending a lot of time with both, I'm confident that I made the right decision in going with the iPhone X. Others will find that the Plus is a better phone for them.
 
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Kram Sacul said:
Yawn.

The real funny thing is when you put the 8 Plus next to the X it instantly looks ancient. You can land planes on all that bland white bezel.
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Ancient? No...flip phones are ancient
Kram Sacul said:
Yawn.

The real funny thing is when you put the 8 Plus next to the X it instantly looks ancient. You can land planes on all that bland white bezel.
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It’s not “ancient” by any means. Yes it may be several years dated, but it’s got all the same internal hardware as the X. Just as fast and preforms just the same!
 
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