Buy an Apple iPhone 8 Plus
Learn more about the Apple iPhone 8 Plus
The Apple iPhone 8 Plus scores 4.5 out of 5 from over 13589 reviews
13589 reviews
Its main features include an aluminum design with a durable glass back, a new 12MP dual camera for better photos, a big and colourful 5.5” Retina HD display, a faster and smarter A11 Bionic chip, improved battery life and supports wireless charging and is water and dust resistant.
Some cool facts about the 8 Plus:
- The iPhone 8 Plus was released in September 2017 and in May 2018, it became the top-selling smartphone globally
- A used iPhone 8 Plus’ price averages around R9,231. A new one averages around R15,000, making a used model almost 40% cheaper
- It has a good resale value depending on its condition, it’s able to maintain 60% of its value if its sold within a year to two.
- Battery life of a used 8 Plus ranges between 8-10 hours depending on usage
Camera
You love a good selfie. We do too. This is what you get...
12MP Dual Camera
The new 12-megapixel dual camera adds that much more detail and clarity to your photos with two lenses: A wide-angle lens to capture better landscapes, cities and streets and a new telephoto lens for stunning portraits and better zoom for distant subjects such as wildlife or sports. All of this adds up to memories that are brighter in colour and a more realistic representation of colour in life.
7MP Selfie Camera
The 8 Plus has a 7-megapixels front-facing camera also known as a selfie camera.The camera also has a flash - something older iPhone models did not have.
Portrait Mode
Portrait mode gives your photos more depth and subjects more focus, giving you much more professional looking photos. You also get various lighting effects such as natural lighting, studio lighting, contour lighting and stage lighting.
Optical Zoom
You get 2x optical zoom which works the same way as a zoom lens on a traditional or DSLR camera. Optical zoom is much better than digital zoom at taking photos from far away as it does not degrade image quality. The model also includes a 10x digital zoom.
Video
Record video up to 4K. The main benefit of 4K video is you get much smoother, sharper and clearer video that’s just beautiful to look at. The iPhone 8 Plus’ video also gives you extra features like time lapse which condenses an entire day into a few seconds, slow motion to catch every detail of that action shot and optical image stabilisation that removes that “shaky hands” look.
Time Lapse
The time lapse feature lets you record a period of time in a sped-up fashion. For example. Record a whole day into a few seconds by perching your iPhone on a tripod on your rooftop. You can choose how many frames per second you want, allowing you to control the speed of the time lapse.
Slow Motion
Capture those often fast, unseen moments with the slow motion feature. You can shoot up to 240 frames per second, so now you can slow-mo that video of you popping a water balloon, doing a move on your skateboard or surprising a friend for her birthday.
Augmented Reality and your Camera
One of the biggest features in the 8 Plus is Augmented Reality (AR). At its essence, AR is digital information overlaid with the real world using your camera. The best way to understand how it works is through the new Measure app: You hold your phone up to an object or area and use a virtual tape measure to give you the length and height of it. Both cameras on the iPhone 8 Plus, are individually calibrated with new gyroscopes and accelerometers to accurately track motion. For example, you can have a video chat with an animated face over your real face and as you blink your eyes, your animated face also blinks. It’s the same with mouth and tongue movements. At a restaurant and need help choosing a bottle of wine from the menu? Via the Vivino app, Hold your camera up to the wine list and it will give you ratings on each wine! AR games like the global phenomenon Pokemon Go create new and exciting worlds via your camera.
Flash
Your night shots are about to get LIT. The 8 Plus has Quad-LED True Tone with a Slow Sync flash, giving your photos well-lit backgrounds and foregrounds. The front-facing camera also has a flash for great selfies!
Tap-to-Focus
Just tap the part of the photo you want in focus and the camera will automatically bring focus to that part on the screen, allowing you to quickly capture moments more accurately.
Screen and Display
- The iPhone 8 Plus features a 1080x1920 pixel resolution HD screen
- The 8 Plus’ screen makes use of True Tone, which automatically adjusts and matches the surrounding light and color balance for a more natural viewing experience
- The screen has fingerprint-resistant oleophobic coating so a simple rub against your shirt will remove the day’s finger marks
- The 8 Plus’ screen has 326 pixels-per-inch (ppi) density, which means more clarity and detail on your screen
- 3D Touch is integrated, which is a pressure-sensitive feature that can pick up three different kinds of pressure applied by your fingers for various tasks. The device responds differently according to each degree of pressure.
- The 8 Plus has wide colour display, which means you more colour for your photos and videos. This leads to better colour reproduction than any other iPhone that came before it
- The screen is made of Gorilla Glass and includes a 50% deeper strengthening layer compared to previous models and a new steel substructure giving you one of the most durable screens in a smartphone.
- The 8 Plus has dual-domain pixels giving you a better viewing experience from different angles. Look at your from phone from an angle on your desk and you will be able to read what’s on the screen much clearer
Battery Performance
Let’s look at the numbers…
- Battery capacity of 2691 mAh
- Wireless talk time: Up to 21 hours
- Internet use up to 13 hours
- Video playback: Up to 14 hours
- Audio playback: Up to 60 hours
- Capable of charging the battery up to 50% in 30 minutes with an 18W charger
- Wireless charging possible with Qi chargers
- USB Charging
Dimensions
- The iPhone 8 Plus weighs 202 grams
- It's height is 16 cm
- It's length is 8 cm
- It's width is 1 cm
Chip Set
We like chips - The iPhone 8 Plus A11 Chip, that is.
This phone is fast. Like, really fast, and it’s all due to the A11 Bionic chip present in the iPhone 8, 8 Plus and X. The chip takes performance and speed to new heights, with apps launching 40% faster than before. The keyboard display is also faster - up to 50% faster.
The chip has six cores - four for high efficiency and two for high performance. This means that the A11 promises 25% faster cores for performance and 70% faster efficiency cores than the A10. Because there’s such an improvement in efficiency, less battery life is used per action or activity.
The chip also has the Neural Engine, a small piece of silicon attached to the chip that process 600 billion operations at one time and also holds the memory for facial ID and a person’s predictive text.
iPhone 8 Plus Durability Test
The iPhone 8 Plus was tested for its durability in real-life situations such as being dropped from a pocket onto a tar road, being sat on or having excess pressure applied to the screen. The screen on the iPhone 8 Plus is strong and able to survive falls from your bag or pocket onto concrete. In 50% of the cases, the phone’s screen cracked and the other 50% saw the phone’s screen holding strong. Depending on which angle the phone hit the surface, the back glass cracked in 70% of the drops which could have been saved with a good phone cover. The frame held up very well and does not bend easily when being sat on. Overall, we give the iPhone 8 Plus a 7/10 durability score.
Specifications
Display
LED-backlit IPS LCD
Capacitive touchscreen
16 million colors
Retina HD display
5.5-inch (diagonal) widescreen LCD Multi-Touch display with IPS technology
1920x1080-pixel resolution at 401 ppi
1300:1 contrast ratio (typical)
True Tone display
Wide colour display (P3)
3D Touch
625 cd/m2 max brightness (typical)
Dual-domain pixels for wide viewing angles
Fingerprint-resistant oleophobic coating
Support for display of multiple languages and characters simultaneously
Display Zoom
Reachability
OS
Originally iOS 11, latest iOS 12,which includes new features
Faster performance
Screen Time to track time spent on your phone
Grouped Notifications for Multiple Messages
Memoji: Custom emojis that look like you
Group FaceTime
Sharing suggestions in Photos app based on who’s in the photo
A rebuilt stocks app
Apple News
A Shortcuts App that strings together multiple actions in one go through Siri
Activate “Do Not Disturb” to stop all notifications from alerting you, except emergency messages
Primary Camera
12-megapixel dual camera
ƒ/1.8 aperture
Wide-angle: ƒ/1.8 aperture
Telephoto: ƒ/2.8 aperture
2x optical zoom; digital zoom up to 10x
Optical image stabilisation
Six-element lens
Quad-LED True Tone flash with slow sync
Panorama (up to 63MP)
Sapphire crystal lens cover
Backside illumination sensor
Hybrid IR filter
Autofocus with Focus Pixels
Tap-to-focus with Focus Pixels
Live Photos with stabilisation
Wide colour capture for photos and Live Photos
Improved local tone mapping
Exposure control
Auto HDR for photos
Auto image stabilisation
Burst mode
Timer mode
Photo geotagging
Image formats captured: HEIF and JPEG
Edit raw images on your iPhone
Import photos and videos from a traditional camera
Camera Effects
Portrait mode
Portrait lighting
New filters
Editing tools
CPU
A11 Bionic Processor with 2.39 GHz hexa-core 64-bit
Resolution
1080 x 1920 pixels
16:9 ratio (~401 ppi density)
Battery
2,675mAh
Talk time: Up to 21 hours
Internet use: Up to 13 hours
Video playback: Up to 14 hours
Audio playback: Up to 60 hours
Fast-charge capable: Up to 50% charge in 30 minutes with 18W adapter or higher (available separately)
Dimensions
Height: 158.4 mm
Width: 78.1 mm
Depth: 7.5 mm
Sim Type
Nano SIM
Chip set
Apple A11 Bionic
Neural Engine
Secondary Camera
7MP camera
1080p HD video recording
Retina Flash
ƒ/2.2 aperture
Wide colour capture for photos and Live Photos
Auto HDR for photos
Backside illumination sensor
Auto image stabilisation
Burst mode
Exposure control
Timer mode
Video
4K video recording at 24 fps, 30 fps or 60 fps
1080p HD video recording at 30 fps or 60 fps
720p HD video recording at 30 fps
Optical image stabilisation for video
2x optical zoom; digital zoom up to 6x (iPhone 8 Plus only)
Quad-LED True Tone flash
Slo-mo video support for 1080p at 120 fps and 240 fps
Time lapse video with stabilisation
Cinematic video stabilisation (1080p and 720p)
Continuous autofocus video
Take 8MP still photos while recording 4K video
Playback zoom
Video geotagging
Video formats recorded: HEVC and H.264
RAM
3GB RAM
Accessibility Features for the iPhone 8 Plus
These features help people with disabilities make full use of their iPhone 8 Plus
VoiceOver
This feature allows users to type a message on their screen and have the iPhone read the text out aloud.
Zoom
Zoom allows users to magnify their screen making text and the overall appearance larger and easier to read. One can magnify the screen up to 15 times its original size.
RTT
Real-time text (RTT) allows users with hearing impairments to type and send a conversational text while on the phone
Dictation
The dictation feature allows a user to verbally relay a message while the iPhone types it out. This may be helpful for users who have impairments with their hands or fingers.
Type to Siri
Type to Siri is useful for people unable to speak. One can type a query to Siri instead of saying it.
Closed Captions
Closed captions were created for users who are deaf or hard of hearing. Closed captions are also known as subtitles for video or audio material.
Switch Control
Switch Control is for users who have very little mobility and allows them to control their iPhone or iPad using moves as small as a blowing, blinking or clicking a button. Other devices such as a joystick can work with Switch Control.
Assistive Touch
Assistive Touch helps users who have difficulty pressing buttons, applying 3D Touch and pinch-to-zoom on an iPhone or iPad. The feature provides an onscreen button which can be tapped instead of having to physically press it on the side.
Speak Screen
Speak Screen reads anything that’s being displayed on your phone.
FAQs
Got any questions about the 8 Plus? We’ve got the answers for you
A brand new iPhone 8 64GB costs start at R13,499 and goes all the way up to R18,499 for the 8 Plus with 256GB. A second-hand 8 Plus in excellent condition and a 12-month warranty ranges from R9,809 to R10,439 on Phonetradr.
From top to bottom, the 8 Plus is 158.4 x 78.1 x 7.5 mm.
You can get the 8 Plus in black, silver, space grey and rose gold.
The iPhone 8 has a 4.7-inch retina display and single-lens camera, whereas the iPhone 8 Plus has a 5.5-inch retina display and dual-lens camera system.
The 8 and 8 Plus have a 50 percent deeper strengthening layer compared to previous models along with a new steel substructure and the “most durable glass in a smartphone ever”.
The iPhone 8 and 8 Plus are water resistant.
The rating for the Plus is “IP68” which means the new iPhone 8 are fully protected from dust and can handle being under freshwater for up to 30 minutes at a depth of 1.5 metres. If your phone gets dropped in a puddle, a shallow pool, or wet from the rain, it will be just fine. Steam from your bathroom shower, however, is not included in this rating, so rather keep it away from steam
The iPhone 8 and 8 Plus has the A11 Bionic processor. The chip is faster and smarter than any other chip that came before it. The chip has a six-core CPU (central processing unit) which means that the 8 and 8 Plus are 25% faster than the iPhone 7 and 70% faster than the previous model.
You can get the iPhone 8 Plus with 64GB or 256GB of space. For a better picture on how much 256GB is, it equates to an average amount of 73,224 photos. For the 64GB model, that’s approximately 15,000 photos!
The phone comes with 3G of RAM.
It has a 12-megapixel dual camera at the back and a 7-megapixel selfie camera at the front. The dual camera means you get more range in your photos - something the 7 doesn’t have.
Yes, portrait mode is available on the iPhone 8 Plus. Portrait mode focuses on the subject of the photo and blurs the background, providing more depth. For photography enthusiasts, portrait mode makes use of the phone’s 56mm-equivalent "telephoto" lens.
Open your Camera app, then select ‘Portrait” on the right side. Your lighting options will appear on your screen such as Natural Light, Studio, Contour and Stage Light. After selecting your lighting, hold up your phone and focus on the person you’d like to photograph.
When taking a photo, there is a 2x zoom option on the screen. Taping this will give you 2X optical zoom. If you hold the 2x button, it will expand to give you further digital zoom options. In other words, anytime you use zoom up to 2x, it will automatically be optical zoom.
You can easily record a demonstration of something from your phone using the built-in screen recorder.
- Go to your Settings, then select Control Centre. Tap into ‘Customise Controls’ then add “Screen Recording” to the list
- Exit your settings and then head to your homescreen. Swipe up the Control Centre and select the little white circle in the square icon. This is the Screen Recording icon.
- The recorder will count down from 3 and then whatever actions you take on your iPhone will be recorded.
- Once you’re done, tap the red recording timer at the top of your screen to stop the recording. You can find your recording in your camera roll and edit it just like a standard video such as trimming the start and end of it. Or, you can edit it in iMovie which comes free with your iPhone.
We would recommend that you invest in a case or cover. A good cover can protect your phone from cracked screens, from drops, dents, dirt, scratches and help keep it looking like new for when you’d like to sell it.
Regular use of your iPhone 8 Plus gives you about 12 hours battery life. If you don’t use the phone at all, it lasts about 21 hours.
It weighs 202 grams, which is slightly more than a can of tinned tomato and onion mix.
Created and developed by Apple Inc, iOS is the operating system used on the iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch. iOS is a system with a user interface based on multi-touch gestures using tapping, swiping, pinching and reverse pinching which all have specific actions and meanings within the iOS system. It was first released in 2007 and is updated every year with more features, better performance and an overall greater experience for the user. To date, all iOS updates to iPhone and iPad users have been free, even those with older models.
You’ve just turned on your iPhone for the first time. The first step will then be to select your country or region. This is important because it will determine your time, date and language.
- Now connect your device to WiFi to continue, then insert your SIM card.
- Now you will set up your Face ID or your Touch ID, depending on which iOS system you’re on. For Face ID, raise your screen directly in front of your face so that your phone can capture your features. For Touch ID, choose the finger you’d like to use to unlock your screen. Then enter a 6-digit code as your two-factor authentication.
- If you had an iPhone beforehand and backed up your data to iCloud or iTunes, select either ‘Restore from iCloud Backup’ or ‘Restore from iTunes Backup’. If you are transferring content from an Android, select ‘Move from Android’ and follow the steps above.
- Sign in your create your Apple ID which is usually an email address and a password. If you already have an existing Apple ID from your previous iPhone, you’ll be asked to enter a verification code on that phone.
- You can then set up Siri, Screen Time and automatic updates now or select ‘Set Up in Settings Manually’
- Tap ‘Get started’ to start using your phone!