Besides the rumoured and long awaited anniversary edition of the iPhone, Apple announces the iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus.
Similar to the anniversary handset it features a glass back design and is dust and water resistant. Packed with the new A11 Bionic chip and Retina HD display, the device gets the same Portrait Lighting features as well as support for wireless charging. It will run iOS 11, with AR capabilities as well as a new Siri debuting new male and female voices. Siri will be able to translate US English phrases into Chinese, French, German, Italian or Spanish.
The camera remains at 12-megapixels, with a larger and faster sensor, a new colour filter and deeper pixels. A new Apple-designed image signal processor delivers advanced pixel processing, wide colour capture, faster autofocus in low light and better HDR photos. The new quad LED True Tone Flash with Slow Sync results in more uniformly lit backgrounds and foregrounds.
The camera also allows better video stabilisation, 4K video up to 60fps and 1080p slo-mo up to 240fps. The Apple-designed video encoder provides real-time image and motion analysis for optimal quality video. With iOS 11, both iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus support HEIF and HEVC for up to two times compression and storage for twice the photos and videos.
The iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus sports a 4.7-inch and 5.5-inch Retina HD display respectively, with True Tone to adjust the white balance of the display to match the surrounding light for a more natural viewing experience. Redesigned stereo speakers are up to 25 percent louder and deliver deeper bass, enabling richer-sounding music, videos and speakerphone calls.
The iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus will be available in space gray, silver and gold finish in 64GB and 256GB variants. Both devices will be available for pre-order with a starting price tag of $699 beginning Friday, September 15 in more than 25 countries and territories, and in stores beginning Friday, September 22. No local availability or pricing has been announced yet.
