Here’s the iPhone 8 Plus

Despite our better judgment, we decided to pull the trigger and get an iPhone 8 Plus despite the iPhone X scheduled for release a few weeks from now. We wanted to experience it ourselves given all the shade this latest iPhone has been getting from a lot of tech sites and pundits all over the world. We’ve been using it for a little over 48 hours now and we’d like to share with you guys our initial impressions.

Before anything though we recommend you watch our iPhone 8 Plus Unboxing video! Make sure you stay tuned until the end for some bloopers that we shot!

Okay now let’s jump right into our initial impressions.

Let’s Get the Obvious Out of the Way

Yes, it looks like the iPhone 7 Plus, iPhone 6S Plus, and the iPhone 6 Plus. The only thing Apple visibly changed was the glass back. That’s the only major aesthetic “upgrade” that you see. Everything else from the thick bezels, home button, and over-all size is the same.

We do feel the difference though when it’s in our hands. The glass back offers a much more elegant and premium feel compared to the aluminum / metal body from the previous generations. However as expected it is quite of a fingerprint magnet so best to always have a piece of cloth with you to wipe it clean every now and then.

So Have We Been Using it Differently Compared to the iPhone 7 Plus?

First let me give you guys some context. Our daily driver for the better part of the year has been the iPhone 7 Plus. After getting the iPhone 8 Plus we transferred our Smart Infinity Nano SIM and restored the latest back-up of our iPhone 7 Plus into the iPhone 8 Plus.

So what changed?

The only major difference so far in our “everyday iPhone use” is that we constantly keep the phone topped up with wireless charging. We didn’t have to buy new wireless charing plates because the Qi Charging plates that we bought before for our Samsung Galaxy S7 are compatible with the iPhone 8 Plus (as you saw in the unboxing video that we made above). Apart from wireless charging we used it the same way that we did the iPhone 7 Plus.

As far as initial impressions for under 48 hours go, that’s as much as we have to offer. Our most honest assessment is that the iPhone 8 Plus is like an iPhone 7 Plus with a better camera, glass back, and wireless charging. The new A11 Bionic Chip is more for Augmented Reality is something that you don’t really feel everyday. While it paves the way for new apps with Augmented Reality, there are only a few practical use cases for it so it’s more gimmickry for now.

Compared to the other flagships like the Xiaomi Mi Mix 2, Galaxy Note 8, or even the LG V30, the iPhone 8 Plus looks outdated. If this is a major concern for you (and if you have the extra budget), you’re better off with the iPhone X when it launches later this year.

We’re Excited About the Camera

Despite it looking and feeling the same, the major upgrade that we’re excited about is the camera. DXO Mark recently ranked the iPhone 8 Plus to have the best camera among all flagship devices so we’re looking forward to put that to the test in our full review. We’ll take this out for a photo walk in this week and report back with the sample shots that we took.

Samsung Galaxy Note 8 Review: Is The Most Expensive Android Flagship Worth It?

Unbox Non-Stop Giveaway: Smart Prepaid LTE Home WiFi (COMPLETED)

Make sure you check back in a few days for our full review of the iPhone 8 Plus! Who knows maybe we’ll throw this in our Unbox Non-stop Gadget Giveaway, lol.

To get your own iPhone 8 or iPhone 8 Plus, you can pre-order now from Smart Postpaid or you can buy directly with cash from Widget City.