
iPhone 8 - antr
https://www.apple.com/iphone-8/
======
Lramseyer
This may sound like the most ridiculous criticism, but I was really
disappointed that the iPhone still uses the lightning charger port and not
USB-C. Every other device charges with it including Apple's own laptops.
Though seeing how long they take to adopt some features that seem standard to
android users (like 4G LTE and wireless charging) in their smartphones, I
guess this is to be expected.

~~~
umeshunni
It's very valid criticism. I was hoping that with the move to Qi for wireless,
Apple would also move to USB-C for wired charging. It's ridiculous that you
can buy a new iPhone and a new Macbook pro and they need a USB to lightning
adapter to connect to each other.

~~~
whyenot
It's pretty silly, Apple used to pay attention to details like this. But, how
often do people plug their phones into their computers these days? Speaking
for myself, it's probably been a couple of years since I last did that.

~~~
hobarrera
I do so when I need to charge it anywhere outside home. I don't bring a power
adapter, just the cable.

Also, for those who have USB-C laptops, it would mean one-cable to rule them
all -- even if they don't plug the phone into the laptop itself.

------
Androider
Neat, wireless charging, exactly like I had on my Nexus 5, around 5 years ago
:) The best thing about the iPhone 8 is that it might finally make wireless
chargers more commonplace, they are extremely convenient as Android users have
been trying to tell for years.

Here's another one trick Apple might want to pick up on: I own both an iPhone
7 and a Nexus 6P, and the fingerprint sensor being in the middle of the back
on 6P is unquestionably a better choice (Samsung messes up the placement). You
can pick up the phone, unlock, and pull down the notification shade in one
single natural motion. Maybe a few years from now...

~~~
theshrike79
Wireless charging will only work if it's everywhere. This new iPhone (and all
future models) will make sure it catches on.

McDonalds and Starbucks _will_ have Qi charging tables by the end of next
year.

~~~
sahaskatta
Starbucks has had wireless chargers for a long time in most Bay Area stores.
However, these are usually PMA chargers -- not Qi.

I have never been able to charge my Nexus devices which only have Qi at
Starbucks, however my new Galaxy S8 which supports both Qi and PMA work at
Starbucks just fine!

This does unfortunately mean that new iPhone won't work at Starbucks locations
unless they replace the hardware.

~~~
dave5104
In the past 6 months, I've seen all of that hardware disappear. Can't find a
Starbucks offering the power mats in the tables anymore (and the circle
dongles you would have to plug in).

~~~
asavadatti
The Starbucks in the Hillsdale Mall has power mats in the table.

------
Tepix
It was interesting to see how Apple tried to market the fact that you have to
look at the phone for FaceID to work. I see that as a hassle, not a feature.

~~~
DanHulton
I don't think it went far enough. Consider the circumstance where an office or
agent wants your phone unlocked. Your passcode is protected, your thumbprint
is currently in debate, but holding your phone to your face? If that just
always unlocked your phone without any sort of interaction from you? That's an
uncomfortable level of privacy loss.

~~~
LeoPanthera
They did say you have to look directly at the phone. If looking away is enough
to prevent it from unlocking, that doesn't seem too bad.

~~~
devwastaken
Effectively you'll need to have your head on the table if you're ever
detained, or be closing your eyes shut and not able to walk, or waving your
head around. Any of those could be seen as not complying with police.

~~~
manmal
Just as not providing your thumb would.

------
stevewillows
This is a pretty phone -- but I really wish they'd make a smaller phone around
the size of the 5S with the option to change the resolution (e.g.
LittleBrother in Cydia).

My 5S is slowly dying -- but I can't find a good replacement (new or used)
that can be jailbroken. For me its the perfect phone, but I'm an extremely
light phone user (email, phone, imessage, Simon Tatham's Net and Galaxy
puzzles).

I guess I was hoping that they'd update the SE.

Dear Google, please build a native desktop client for one of your many SMS
apps. -

~~~
jotjotzzz
I'm happily using the iPhone SE. I switched from an iPhone 6 because I like
the form factor of the iPhone 5. I too wish that they would update the SE, but
in all honesty it is powerful enough with the right camera specs and it is a
perfect traveler camera... For now, I'm staying put. I also still love using
the headphone jack.

~~~
stevewillows
This is fantastic. I'm definitely going the SE route. It seems that with most
new designs of Apple hardware there is a design choice I actively want to
avoid -- e.g. lack of headphone jack with the new phones, the bar on the MBPs.

A week or two ago a few dead spots started happening with my 5S. I can do
_most_ things, but I can't use the delete button when entering a phone number,
and a certain row in Net can't be moved (this is my main concern...)

Now, if I can only find one on 9.3.3 I will be in paradise.

------
CydeWeys
Who wants an all-glass phone? I get that the designers want this, but do
actual users really want something so fragile? I've only ever had phones with
plastic or metal backs, and I've never bemoaned the fact that they weren't
breakable enough.

~~~
wlesieutre
iPhone 4S was my first and favorite smartphone. Glass front/back with a metal
edge.

Back when phones were hand-sized they were a lot harder to drop.

~~~
NathanCH
iPhone 4/4S design was awesome.

It's funny how Apple is calling this an all-new glass design when other phones
on the market have a similar design and Apple themselves had this design five
years ago.

~~~
jsjohnst
> all-new glass design

It's technically true, it is all new. No other phone was the same (just very
very damn similar). Yes, it's a cheap marketing phrase that's meaningless,
kinda par for the course with an Apple keynote.

------
tryingagainbro
I was in tech when iPhone came out, the original one. I thought that they
might make money but to a tiny, tiny percent of people. Boy was I wrong...in
some countries an iPhone costs like 6 months of net-salary, yet they buy it.
Status symbol, you don't know I'm a "loser" making $150 a month, but you know
that I have an iPhone.

So I'm willing to trust that Apple knows what they do. Of course they will
know what they do....until they don't :)

~~~
monkmartinez
> Status symbol, you don't know I'm a "loser" making $150 a month, but you
> know that I have an iPhone.

So very sad. Generally you see this with people that can afford it the least.
$999 for the base model is just ridiculous. Next year Apple will offer the
"first ever", "incredible" 10 year amortization on the iPhone XI. Soon they
will reach price parity with the MBP and one could have apple gear or a down
payment on a nice house Phoenix.

~~~
shinratdr
> $999 for the base model is just ridiculous.

Why? It's not the "base model" it's the lowest capacity of the absolute
highest end phone in the lineup, which now comprises five different phones at
much more reasonable price points.

So your argument is basically that no phone should be that expensive? I can't
speak for anyone else but I hate that. What is wrong with a super-premium
phone? If anything phones are frustratingly constrained by their price point.

People use them in the way they used laptops 10 years ago, they're your
central communication hub and for many people their secondary or even primary
computer. What's wrong with having a high end option for those that use their
phone more than everything else.

I'm buying the iPhone X day one. Why wouldn't I? I haven't upgraded my
desktop, laptop, gaming PC, tablet, or smartwatch in 2-4 years, but that's
because I don't use any of those things even close to as much as I use my
phone.

If I'm spending multiple hours a day every day using something, you'd better
believe it should be the best one available. If you don't feel that way, there
are four other iPhone options and countless Android options at your disposal.

~~~
baak
>If I'm spending multiple hours a day every day using something

Yikes.

------
brunt
>All battery claims depend on network configuration and many other factors;
actual results will vary.

They may not be the only offenders but it bugs me that the tech specs don't
tell you the battery capacity in mAH. Instead they give a relative number of
hours and compare to previous phones. Those aren't tech specs, they're
claims-- which they can say in fine print are unreliable.

~~~
333c
On the other hand, a capacity in mAH is not the _only_ spec about battery life
they should provide. Each new phone tends to consume more battery, due to new
processors, bigger screens, or other factors, so an indication of typical
battery life is useful.

~~~
GFischer
Not always. The newer Qualcomm chips consume significantly less battery due to
changing to 14nm and 10nm processes.

Switching to OLED (as Apple did) also increases battery life.

------
jra101
First Apple SoC using their own GPU design, no more PowerVR IP.

~~~
Crespyl
And still pushing Metal...

------
bryanlarsen
No update to the SE? My wife has been holding on to her 4S for a long time
because she thinks the 4.7" model is too big.

~~~
a_c_s
Nope, unless one counts dropping the price.

However since it was released in March many Apple-watchers expect any updated
version to also be released in the Spring as well. (This seems more likely now
since Apple didn't kill the iPhone SE)

------
gallerdude
Doesn't seem like a huge improvement over the 7 - I guess they're trying to
put all the focus on the X, but it'll be curious to see where they go from
here.

~~~
Skunkleton
I like the neural processor. More things being local is nice.

------
Alex3917
I'm disappointed that this doesn't support any of the 600mhz spectrum that is
now coming online. This actually provides a fairly strong reason not to
upgrade, since anyone buying a phone this year is going to miss out on this
functionality next year unless they want to upgrade after only a year.

~~~
bpicolo
I don't think Qualcomm/Intel are ready to ship 600mhz chips at scale yet (is
probably the issue)? That's what's suggested by a cursory googling

------
acomjean
The memory is finally enough even on the base model (64/256). I know a couple
people who bought the lowest before (16gb) and it was painful. They'd actually
swap apps in and out.

Solid upgrade. I'll hang onto my 6s and my wired headphone ways a bit longer
though.

~~~
giarc
I'd argue that 64GB is not enough. I was surprised to see that level of
memory.

I imagine 4K video at 60fps would eat up a lot of that 64GB.

~~~
dawnerd
4k video using hevc actually helps cut size down a lot. 64 is still not very
much but should be good enough for most people, especially if they rely on
icloud.

------
emersonrsantos
So many people already complaining of iPhone X black strip, how they overlook
something so basic?

~~~
nnutter
I was ok with it until they played a video clip and it played it with the
(partial) black strip.

~~~
BinaryIdiot
Same. I think you can get used to the notch itself but if you're watching a
video fullscreen then they _really_ need to fill in the rest so it's a solid
black bar versus it obscuring part of the actual video.

------
santaclaus
Does a case block the wireless charging?

~~~
saagarjha
It needs to be a thin one. Wireless charging usually requires the device to be
within a couple millimeters.

------
ngrilly
The only thing my S7 Edge lacks compared to this is the telephoto lens.

~~~
saagarjha
Well, there's iOS for one…

------
rdudek
They said water resistant, but can I drop it in pool and still use it?

~~~
nsxwolf
I bet they still don't cover water damage.

~~~
rdudek
That's what I'm afraid of. I have the 6s Plus right now and when going
swimming with kids and recording stuff, I'm always terrified of dropping the
phone into the water. Yet, the apple watch can be submerged fine.

~~~
pilsetnieks
6S wasn't rated as water resistant, only 7 was.

------
pc2g4d
This 8/X split is confusing me. Is one supposed to be higher/lower end? Or are
they just different?

~~~
nostrademons
X is the flagship phone, and it's implied that it's the beginning of a new
line of phones (the same way OS X was the beginning of a new line of operating
systems, breaking with MacOS 9). 8 is the latest generation of the traditional
iPhone line, succeeding the iPhone 7.

------
maxxxxx
Do people still get excited about phones? It seems they are pretty much
commodity now. I haven't seen anything really interesting over the last few
years.

~~~
LeoPanthera
I am shocked that this is the top comment. It's entirely negative and has
nothing useful to say.

The fact that this post is on the front page pretty strongly implies that
people care, doesn't it? We live with our phones with us practically 24/7\. If
you're a dev, surely that's still exciting.

------
clydethefrog
Yes, the planet got destroyed, but for a beautiful moment in time we created a
talking poo app.

~~~
saagarjha
Are you trying to make a reference to the environment here? iPhone is one of
the most environmentally friendly phones you can buy.

~~~
mannigfaltig
Unfortunately, the most environmentally friendly phone is still a horrible
polluter because it is purposefully built to justify an upgrade each year, as
required to survive in our beautiful free market.

------
jaytaylor
No reintroduction of the headphone jack? Apple seems completely detached from
the reality of what the trend setters actually desire.

Needlessly locking customers to Apple-only ecosystem of hardware since iPhone
7, Apple now signals clueless consumption rather than high-status to me.

Will be interesting to see what happens with the upcoming arrival of Pixel2.

 _Edit_ Why the downvotes? If you disagree I'd prefer (and be interested) to
hear how I'm wrong, rather than drive-by downvotes with no communication.

~~~
jsjohnst
1) if you have Bluetooth headphones, they just work. Any brand.

2) if you prefer wired headphones, they just work too using the contents of
the box your phone came in.

Seriously, you act like Apple released a smartphone without a screen. Grow up!

~~~
joe5150
I'm about to buy my _third_ Apple Lighting to 3.5mm adapter since last
September, so yes it "works", but I don't have to pretend that this flimsy
junk is how it should be.

~~~
djrogers
Why do't you just open a warranty claim and have Apple send you a new one?
Takes about 60 seconds on the website or in the apple support app.

~~~
joe5150
I can make a warranty claim for the original headphones (which did break
within about 6 months of use) themselves online, and pay $33 until I send the
broken ones back. As far as I know there's no online process for replacing the
adapter. I could take it to the Apple Store and probably get either replaced
at no upfront cost, but that's a two hour drive for me, and none of these
options solve the problem of Apple selling accessories that aren't remotely
reliable enough to justify their price tags.

~~~
jsjohnst
I have no vested interest other than trying to be helpful, but this is the top
rated adapter I saw on Amazon and it's less than $10 w/ prime:
[https://www.amazon.com/dp/B074Z471T7](https://www.amazon.com/dp/B074Z471T7)

~~~
joe5150
Added it to my cart, thanks!

------
45h34jh53k4j
The good model -- with TouchID. Buy this one, not that FaceID crap.

~~~
partycrusherr
and you have to watch to iphone now in order to unlock it. with touchid it was
unnecessary.

------
benbenolson
21.26MB is quite a high price for a single webpage. That's what's so obnoxious
about the Apple website; it's a huge amount of marketing and huge images.

~~~
givinguflac
You realize this page is specifically for marketing right? Would you prefer
they just posted a .txt?

------
partycrusherr
Why are all smartphones so thick and heavy nowadays??? Even my 3 years old
iPhone 5S is 7.6mm and weights 112 gramms. New model is 7.3mm and weights 150
gramm. It is worse than a 3 years old model!!!

~~~
djrogers
What do you expect them to fill them with, marshmallow fluff? The 8 and the 5s
have incredibly different dimensions, and batteries, screens, etc all have
mass...

------
adventist
So basically android of three years ago?

~~~
theshrike79
Whoa, Qualcomm really had some awesome processors 3 years ago!

Oh. Wait.

------
_benj
I'm so underwhelm right now... They are giving so much marketing to wireless
charging, seriously?? that's $11 on amazon years ago!! FaceID, hasn't
Microsoft and Android been experimenting with that for quite a while now?
Apart from what has been motioned here already... can I just find a facebook
picture of the person and unlock the phone!?

I miss the days when Android imitated apple...

~~~
Crespyl
The "picture of person" attack works for basic version of facial recognition,
like the one Google or Samsung have been doing for ages (though I think both
now allow you to require a moving face with blinking or whatever).

What Apple (and Microsoft via Hello) are doing is a little more interesting,
and they're actually capturing a 3D model of the face, using an IR projector
that works a bit like the Kinect did. They feed that model into an on-device
hardware accelerated machine learning engine to do the recognition, and the
results are substantially more robust than the traditional 2D versions.

Personally, I'm still not entirely sold on using _any_ kind of biometrics to
unlock my device, but this does represent an interesting improvement.

I'm more interested in just having that machine learning hardware readily
available and built into every new phone, it will be really interesting to see
what devs do with it.

~~~
theshrike79
Biometrics is always better than no passcode, using just a finger or 3D face
model is a major hurdle for your basic phone thief.

If your threat model includes state actors, then you shouldn't be using any of
these. Also start to toughen up your body for rubber hose crypto :)

