Feels like a strategic mistake by Apple - the iPhone 8 is pretty underwhelming (should be called 7S) and they were so caught up in the mystique of the ten year anniversary that they had to have something else.
The 8 might well be a 7s, in all but name, but is hardly underwhelming as compared other incremental iPhone releases in my view.
For me, it's a bigger improvement to my everyday use of the device by a mile than:
6: larger screen (maybe an exception for this reason)
6s: 3d touch; 2nd gen touch ID
7: jack-less; splash proof; shiny option
8: Heavier/premium feel, wireless charging, much bigger performance bump than usual
The 8 is the first phone where the phone can pretty much keep up with my thoughts, which makes it an incredibly different experience. The rhythm of using the device is just an order of magnitude different.
The 8 is forgettably underwhelming on its spec sheet (except speed), a marvel and delight in person. Bottom line for me is that the spec sheet is increasingly irrelevant to my satisfaction with a device.
I also have zero desire to be the guinea pig for all the new stuff on trial in the X.
edited: fixed touch id introduction -- thanks
I think (but this might be my rose-tinted glasses) that every iPhone since the 3GS ran everything at 60 FPS, and that app launches were mostly limited by the launch animation, until each phone got its first major update. The one obvious outlier is the iPad Pro 10.5 with its 120 Hz display, where everything is smoother than it could possibly be on older devices.
I'd love to see data on this that's more accurate than sketchy YouTube comparisons.
I'm sure iOS 12 will slow it down, but for now I feel like my productivity is finally getting back to Blackberry days. My nostalgia for the instant response of those devices has grown over the past few years as phone os's and apps have become increasingly bloated. I really think there'd be a market for an email / messaging only device intended to be carried along side a phone if it did that one thing very well.
The 8 Plus camera is also noticeably better even for someone who doesn't pay much attention to photo quality. People have remarked how I've learned to take better pictures. I haven't.
I'm really excited for the screen (not the notch). True blacks are where Apple has really suffered. I love reading at night on my iPad but it's a much worse experience than my Samsung tablet with an OLED screen. The move to OLED by Apple is really the biggest thing here that people aren't paying much attention too.
It's the biggest change to the most popular smartphone ever.
The X obviously fixes that. There are rumors a big percentage of the supply will be going to China, more than even distribution.
We’ll see.