This feels like an entirely unnecessary risk. Yes, it would be good to having plenty of iPhone Xs available for the holidays, but they're a year-round seller, and they'll sell a ton whenever they come out.
Feels like a strategic mistake by Apple - the iPhone 8 is pretty underwhelming (should be called 7S) and they were so caught up in the mystique of the ten year anniversary that they had to have something else.
The 8 might well be a 7s, in all but name, but is hardly underwhelming as compared other incremental iPhone releases in my view.
For me, it's a bigger improvement to my everyday use of the device by a mile than:
6: larger screen (maybe an exception for this reason)
6s: 3d touch; 2nd gen touch ID
7: jack-less; splash proof; shiny option
8: Heavier/premium feel, wireless charging, much bigger performance bump than usual
The 8 is the first phone where the phone can pretty much keep up with my thoughts, which makes it an incredibly different experience. The rhythm of using the device is just an order of magnitude different.
The 8 is forgettably underwhelming on its spec sheet (except speed), a marvel and delight in person. Bottom line for me is that the spec sheet is increasingly irrelevant to my satisfaction with a device.
I also have zero desire to be the guinea pig for all the new stuff on trial in the X.
I had a 6 Plus (which has Touch ID) for the last couple years, bought just before the 6S launched, and my main complaint with it was that I had to build in a slight pause to every non-keyboard touch to ensure that the phone had caught up. This didn't even always work, if it was slightly slower that day. I bought the 8 Plus, as I had no desire to lose Touch ID, and I've been quite impressed with the speed improvement. The pauses are almost always unnecessary, now, and I would say that the phone keeps up with what I want more than 50% of the time, which with the 6 Plus was "almost never".
The 8 Plus camera is also noticeably better even for someone who doesn't pay much attention to photo quality. People have remarked how I've learned to take better pictures. I haven't.
Is the iPhone 8 on iOS 11 merely faster than other phones running iOS 11, or faster than, for example, an iPhone 5s running iOS 7?
I think (but this might be my rose-tinted glasses) that every iPhone since the 3GS ran everything at 60 FPS, and that app launches were mostly limited by the launch animation, until each phone got its first major update. The one obvious outlier is the iPad Pro 10.5 with its 120 Hz display, where everything is smoother than it could possibly be on older devices.
I'd love to see data on this that's more accurate than sketchy YouTube comparisons.
I've used iPhones since the 3gs, and the iPhone 8 allows me to be more productive than any modern phone (had the Samsung S4, s5 and an early Google nexus device) I've owned since the blackberry.
I'm sure iOS 12 will slow it down, but for now I feel like my productivity is finally getting back to Blackberry days. My nostalgia for the instant response of those devices has grown over the past few years as phone os's and apps have become increasingly bloated. I really think there'd be a market for an email / messaging only device intended to be carried along side a phone if it did that one thing very well.
I'm not so sure they will sell a ton. Most of the talk I've heard has been "meh" regarding it. I'm personally holding off until I see more hands on reviews and feel comfortable that I wont be a beta tester for Apple.
I'm really excited for the screen (not the notch). True blacks are where Apple has really suffered. I love reading at night on my iPad but it's a much worse experience than my Samsung tablet with an OLED screen. The move to OLED by Apple is really the biggest thing here that people aren't paying much attention too.
That’s thought to be one of the reasons why. There are 3 years of phones that are effectively identical looking so if want to show off you have the ‘new shiny’ you really can’t because without close inspection no one can tell.
The X obviously fixes that. There are rumors a big percentage of the supply will be going to China, more than even distribution.
Ya, the X was definitely designed to solve that problem. I don't think it will be nearly as successful in the west as it is in the east (just like larger phones in general).
Feels like a strategic mistake by Apple - the iPhone 8 is pretty underwhelming (should be called 7S) and they were so caught up in the mystique of the ten year anniversary that they had to have something else.