The new iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus

At its annual September iPhone event, which took place on September 12, Apple unveiled three new iPhones: the iPhone 8, the iPhone 8 Plus, and the iPhone X. While the iPhone X is the new high-end flagship device, the iPhone 8 and the iPhone 8 Plus both feature some major improvements.

Like the iPhone X, the iPhone 8 and the iPhone 8 Plus feature an all-glass design, with new aluminum-framed glass bodies available in Space Gray, Gold, and Silver. Apple uses a seven-layer color process for “precise” hue and opacity, and the devices are constructed from the most durable glass ever used in a smartphone.

Aside from the glass design, the two new devices are otherwise nearly identical to the iPhone 7 and the iPhone 7 Plus, available in 4.7 (iPhone 8) and 5.5-inch (iPhone 8 Plus) size options with Touch ID and standard bezels. Both the iPhone 8 and the iPhone 8 Plus are IP67 water and dust resistant, and the speakers in the device are 25 percent louder with deeper bass.

New Retina HD displays have been added, with support for True Tone to match the color of the display to the ambient lighting for a more natural paper-like viewing experience. The display is the same brightness as the display in the iPhone 7 and continues to offer cinema-standard wide color gamut.

A new A11 Bionic chip features a six-core CPU design with two performance cores that are 25 percent faster and four efficiency cores that are 70 percent faster than the A10 Fusion chip in previous-generation devices.

Apple is introducing a new second-generation performance controller that’s able to harness all six of the cores at the same time, for 70 percent better performance for multi-threaded workloads. The A11 Bionic also includes a three-core GPU that’s up to 30 percent faster than the previous-generation GPU.

There’s an improved 12-megapixel rear camera in the iPhone 8, with a dual-camera setup again available in the iPhone 8 Plus. Both models feature larger and faster sensors, a new color filter, and deeper pixels. With a new image signal processor, there’s advanced pixel processing, wide color capture, faster autofocus in low light, and better HDR photos.

A new quad LED True Tone Flash with Slow Sync provides more uniformly lit backgrounds and foregrounds when using the flash.

When it comes to video, the camera can capture 4K video up to 60fps and 1080p slo-mo up to 240fps. A new video encoder offers up real-time image and motion analysis for better quality video.

On the iPhone 8 Plus, there’s a new Portrait Lightning feature available for Portrait Mode, which is designed to allow iPhone users to add studio lighting effects to Portrait photos.

The iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus have been designed with augmented reality experiences in mind. Each camera features individual calibration with new gyroscopes and accelerometers for more accurate motion tracking.

With their glass bodies, the iPhone 8 and the iPhone 8 Plus support Qi-based inductive wireless charging and are able to charge using a range of Qi-supported charging mats.

The iPhone 8 and the iPhone 8 Plus are available in 64 and 256GB capacities, with pricing starting at $699 for the iPhone 8 and $799 for the larger iPhone 8 Plus.

Apple plans to begin accepting pre-orders for the iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus on September 15, with the devices seeing an official launch on September 22.