If you’re in the market for a new iPhone and looking for a budget-friendly option instead of buying one of the current models, then iPhone 8 or iPhone X would still be a great choice. Both phones were released in the same year and shared fairly similar specs.
But if they’re so much alike, then you might be wondering about the nearly $300 price gap between them. Let’s get into all their differences and give you some more information that’ll help you decide which iPhone will be better for you.
iPhone 8 vs X: What are the differences?
As we mentioned earlier, iPhone 8 and iPhone X were announced at the same time and for a very strategic reason. The models straddled the line between the old and familiar versus what was in store for iPhone. Internally, the two phones share a lot of the same specs like RAM and processor speeds, but if you hold them side-by-side, there are some noticeable differences.
- iPhone X has no home button. Apple did away with the home button on iPhone X, replacing it with touchscreen gestures.
- iPhone X has an edge-to-edge display. With no home button, Apple was able to extend the iPhone X’s OLED display almost to each edge.
- iPhone X introduces FaceID. Because there’s no home button, that means there’s no TouchID. iPhone X is equipped with facial recognition to unlock your phone instead.
iPhone 8 vs iPhone X: The camera
Even though both iPhone 8 and iPhone X have a 12 MP camera, the thing that separates them is their lenses. While iPhone 8 only has a single wide-angle lens, iPhone X has a dual lens that offers both a wide-angle and a telephoto lens.
Thanks to that added telephoto lens, you get not only clearer zoomed-in images, but also the extra Portrait Mode feature. And since Portrait Mode requires dual lenses to blur out the background of pictures, this feature isn’t available on iPhone 8.
However, if the camera is a deal breaker for you on iPhone 8, then you might want to consider iPhone 8 Plus. Both iPhone 8 Plus and iPhone X have a dual lens and offer Portrait Mode.
iPhone 8 vs iPhone X: The dimensions and weight
The iPhone 8 and 8 Plus came in the two sizes that were familiar and had come to be expected from Apple. But in terms of its physical dimensions, the iPhone X sat firmly between the two, just a little bit bigger than the 8 and not quite as large as the 8 Plus. Although here’s the thing, the iPhone X has a bigger screen than both of them because the display goes almost edge-to-edge. Don’t believe it? Here’s some of the iPhone 8 vs iPhone X specs:
iPhone 8
- 5.45 x 2.65 x 0.29 in
- 5.22 oz
- 4.7-inch LCD display
iPhone X
- 5.65 x 2.79 x 0.30 in
- 6.14 oz
- 5.8-inch OLED display
So is iPhone X better than iPhone 8?
The short answer is: Yes. While they’re both very similar in specs, there are a few notable features that give iPhone X just enough of an edge over iPhone 8. iPhone X is a little more comparable to the current models, while the iPhone 8 is more comparable to the iPhones that came before it.
Is iPhone X a better purchase than iPhone 8? Well, that’s entirely up to you and what you’re hoping to get out of a phone. With iPhone X’s newer features like FaceID and the larger display, also comes a heftier price tag.
If you’re hoping to find a phone that can get you by until you can afford one of the current ones, then the iPhone 8 is definitely a great device to get you through. But if you’re hoping for better longevity, then you might as well go for the more modern iPhone X. Both are great phones, it’s just a matter of figuring out which will work best for you.