iPhone X Vs iPhone 8: What's The Difference?

The iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus are now on sale (and there are important differences between them), but you will have to wait longer for the iPhone X which is by far the most interesting of Apple’s new iPhones. But the iPhone X is also over 40% more expensive than the iPhone 8, so is it worth the substantial extra outlay? 

Let’s break it down...

Displays - The Past Vs The Future

There’s only one place to start when comparing the iPhone X and iPhone 8: their displays…

• iPhone X - 5.8-inch 18.5:9 True Tone OLED, 2436 x 1125 pixels (458 ppi), 82.9% screen-to-body ratio
• iPhone 8 - 4.7-inch 16:9 True Tone LCD, 1334 x 750 pixels (326 ppi), 65.6% screen-to-body ratio

The difference couldn’t be more stark. The iPhone X display is dramatically larger (though an 18.5:9 aspect ratio also means it is more elongated), while the shift to OLED delivers a much greater contrast ratio (1,000,000:1 vs 1,400:1) and power savings. Meanwhile the increased resolution and pixel density of the iPhone X are the highest ever seen on an iPhone

Where the iPhone 8 does match the iPhone X is support for Apple’s True Tone technology (which colour balances against ambient light for greater accuracy) and High Dynamic Range (HDR) content which is appearing on iTunes, Netflix and Amazon.

It is also worth noting the iPhone X is merely playing catch up to its rivals with the Samsung Galaxy S8, LG G6 and (incoming) Google Pixel 2 XL all delivering similar specifications this year as well as higher 2K (2960 x 1440) resolutions.

Design - Bulky Vs Compact

Comparing iPhone X and iPhone 8 screen sizes suggests the former should be huge, but another highlight of Apple’s flagship phone is how compact it is:

• iPhone X - 143.6 x 70.9 x 7.7 mm (5.65 x 2.79 x 0.30 in) and 174g (6.14 oz)
• iPhone 8 - 138.4 x 67.3 x 7.3 mm (5.45 x 2.65 x 0.29 in) and 148g (5.22 oz)

Yes the iPhone X may be slightly taller than the iPhone 8, but it is barely any wider or thicker and only 17% heavier. Contrast this also with the 5.5-inch iPhone 8 Plus - 158.4 x 78.1 x 7.5 mm (6.28 x 3.07 x 0.32 in) and 202g (6.63 oz) - and it emphasises why the removal of the top and bottom bezels on the iPhone X is such a big deal.

Performance - Ballistic Missiles

While the iPhone X and iPhone 8 could not be more different on the surface, internally they are deliver almost identical performance

• iPhone X and iPhone 8 - Apple A11 ‘Bionic’ chipset: Six Core CPU, Six Core GPU, M11 motion coprocessor, 3GB RAM (iPhone X), 2GB RAM (iPhone 8)

The extra RAM may seem important, but with the iPhone 8 driving a lower resolution screen and a single lens camera (again more in the Camera section) the real world performance of the two iPhones will be pretty much identical.