Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

Early Adopters of iPhone 8 Impressed With Glass-Backed Design and True Tone Display

MacRumors

MacRumors

macrumors bot
Original poster
Apr 12, 2001
67,482
37,743



As customers around the world begin to receive their new iPhone 8 or iPhone 8 Plus today, some early adopters have turned to the MacRumors forums to share their first impressions of Apple's latest smartphones.

iphone-8-plus-space-gray-800x688.jpg
iPhone 8 Plus in Space Gray shared by MacRumors forum member Veridis​

We've already seen iPhone 8 reviews from the media, but opinions shared by regular customers can provide additional insight. We've rounded up some of the comments below, which we've edited slightly for clarity.

Many of the reviews complimented each device's new glass-backed design, which has drawn some comparisons to the iPhone 4.
o "Picked up my iPhone 8 Plus from Summit Mall in Akron, Ohio this morning," said MacRumors reader John. "Coming from the iPhone 7 Plus, I wasn't expecting a huge surprise, but I have to say the glass back is a thing of beautiful. Love the naked feel in my hand of the iPhone 8 Plus."

o "I really appreciate the glass back, as the iPhone 6 and iPhone 7 were just way too slippery, which made it impossible to use them without a case," said MacRumors forum member 0837990, who said he purchased a space gray iPhone 8 Plus. "I can comfortably use the 8 Plus without a case!"

o "I am impressed," said MacRumors forum member cleebrown93, who said he purchased a gold iPhone 8 Plus. "I am happy with it. Camera is for sure improved. Speakers are clearer and louder. Glass back is a welcome change back from the iPhone 4. True Tone display works great. It is more of an iPhone 7s, but I still think it was worth it for those not interested in the iPhone X."

o "Upgraded from the iPhone 7," said MacRumors forum member ApplePersonFreak. "Love the glass back, and it's so zippy. For what I use my phone for, it works for me and is a great upgrade. Can't wait to use wireless charging eventually."A few forum members are concerned the glass on their iPhone 8 isn't properly aligned. With millions of iPhones coming off the production line, it's common for a few to have manufacturing defects, but based on the pictures shared, it's hard to see much of any problem being described.
o "Love the glass back, but my phone's glass on the back is not seamless," said MacRumors reader Christian Terra. "The bottom right side feels sharp and raised compared to the rest of the back. I will probably take it to get replaced. I don't want issues with waterproofing or just placing my finger on a sharp edge, as I tend to go caseless."

o "Just had my iPhone 8 Plus delivered and I'm happy for the most part," said MacRumors forum member Macs4u. "Only issue I have is that if you look at the phone, the left top seems to have a little more gap between the glass and the aluminium than the right top. I don't know if that would decrease its waterproofness?"MacRumors forum member Alexander.Of.Oz shared a few beautiful photos he shot with his iPhone 8 Plus--the first with the stock Camera app and the second with third-party app PureShot--but he did note some shortcomings.

iphone-8-iris-photo-800x800.jpg
Shot on iPhone 8 Plus with default Camera app​
I took the first photo using the built-in Camera app with Portrait mode turned on and set to natural, then exported the image as a JPEG. I made the built-in camera expose for the highlights on the iris's pistil, where all the white and yellow is, and made it lock the exposure for that as I took the shot. As can be seen, it didn't cope very well with the highlights presented here--there's very little detail there and in other sections of the flower with whites present.
Click to expand...
iphone-8-pureshot-800x800.jpg
Shot on iPhone 8 Plus with PureShot app​
I took the second image using the app called PureShot, which allows manual control of the camera. I used spot metering on the whites, selected where I wanted the focus to be, underexposed by a stop, and exported the image as a RAW file. PureShot does not have the portrait mode background blurring--the background here is what the lens actually sees. There's a lot more detail to this one, both in the darker and lighter regions, which gives a good indication of what the camera is actually capable of.
Click to expand...
Many early adopters were also impressed with the new True Tone display on the iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus.

With True Tone, which debuted on iPad Pro, the iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus displays automatically adapt their color and intensity to match the color temperature of the light in the surrounding environment.

If you are standing in a dimly lit room with incandescent light bulbs, for example, the display would appear warmer and yellower. If you are standing outside on a cloudy day, the display would appear cooler and bluer.
o "True tone works as advertised and is a welcomed feature," said MacRumors forum member gmillz22.

o "Man, did I miss this on my iPhone 7," which doesn't have a True Tone display, said MacRumors forum member gui0312. "Having the 10.5-inch iPad Pro with True Tone was awesome, and now on the iPhone, it just completes the package. At least for me, this little thing makes a nice difference among others."

o "Got my space gray iPhone 8 Plus this morning," said MacRumors reader Keenan. "Really love it over the iPhone 7 Plus. The screen with True Tone is great and I love the glass back. The extra weight feels better in the hand. The pictures from the camera also seem a lot brighter than the iPhone 7 Plus."

o "So I upgraded from an iPhone 6s Plus to an iPhone 8 Plus," said MacRumors forum member Creep89. "I love the True Tone display. The only thing missing is the higher frame rate like on my iPad Pro."
iphone-8-front-back-800x294.jpg
iPhone 8 Plus in Silver shared by MacRumors forum member AintDutchNotMuch​

MacRumors forum member AintDutchNotMuch gave an all-around positive review of the iPhone 8, in which he said he is impressed with its battery life, performance, louder speakers, cameras, and build quality.
I really love my iPhone 8 Silver 64GB. Battery life is amazing. Around 8 to 10% of battery loss in an hour of browsing, watching YouTube videos and taking pictures with brightness set at 50%. It's blazing fast, loud speakers which provide quality sound, great camera also in low light and the build quality is very good too. The glass back is grippy and it seems like it's made of a solid kind of glass too. Apple did a great job with this phone!
Click to expand...
Not everyone was impressed with every aspect, or felt it is worth upgrading to, the iPhone 8 or iPhone 8 Plus.
o "I got my iPhone 8 Plus this morning and I am moving from an iPhone 7 Plus," said MacRumors forum member earthdog. "Honestly, I am already struggling to find a good reason to keep it. The differences are so slight. I am going to use it over the weekend to see if I can justify the move. I really want to love it, but right now I just am not impressed."Overall, however, those who aren't waiting for the iPhone X are mostly impressed with the iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus. Share your thoughts in our first impressions discussion topic on the MacRumors forums.

Article Link: Early Adopters of iPhone 8 Impressed With Glass-Backed Design and True Tone Display
 
Article Link
https://www.macrumors.com/2017/09/22/iphone-8-8-plus-first-impressions-customers/
  • Like
Reactions: brianvictor7 and Michaelgtrusa
Return of the glass back is the best part. The iPhone 4 was an incredible design, and I definitely think this will hold up better than the previous design. Might make some of that case anxiety go away - I'd probably be brave enough to go naked from day 1. Something about the aluminium back always felt very fragile, as well as slippery! Don't think I'd feel that with a glass back. It's a shame they kept the edges aluminium (which is soft and will crumple/dent on impact), they could have given them the same brushed steel that the iPhone 4 had - which held up really well if I remember correctly.

Hopefully the glass back is something that sticks around for some years to come! Which it should if Apple want to keep wireless charging as a feature.

I wonder if this means we'll see the return of iPhone 4-style bumper cases, as people don't feel the need to protect the back so much!
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: sracer, SackJabbit, PaladinGuy and 9 others
The things that stand out for me is:

- The iPhone 8 glass case helps a lot with grippiness, and helps make the Plus model have less of a size problem. Gruber pointed it out first and it surprised me how little thought I had given to this, and it's confirmed by these early reports. It helps bridge the gap to the iPhone X in terms of "way more user friendly large display area", but is of course no true replacement or as cool as the iPhone X.
- The iPhone 8 Touch ID system is battle tested and will guarantee no child diseases or issues with waking it up with your face away, like when it's on a table.
- The iPhone 8 camera is shockingly good, especially in capturing a large dynamic range (HDR), the portrait/studio modes. With the iPhone X only having a slightly wider aperture on the telephoto lens, probably not that noticeably worse than on that model.

It's an interesting smartphone that I think would sell much better if the iPhone X would launch in summer 2018.
 
EsmeraldaDoll said:
The first 3 iPhones 2007/2008/2009 were the same design.

2010/2011/2012/2013 practically the same design actually. Just the 5/5s stretched.
Click to expand...

Agreed.

We need to get pass the notion that we need a radical redesign in order for something to be good. There are only so many ways to make a rectangular mobile phone.

Porsche would like to have a word with you.
 
  • Like
Reactions: pianophile, OTACORB, idmean and 14 others
blairh said:
I am so over this 4 year old design.
Click to expand...

So how would you re-design it? Tall and skinny iPhone 5? Tall and skinny iPhone 4/4s? The reality is that there aren't many more options to completely revolutionize phone design. They all look the same, except for a few gimmicks like snap on accessories or a power button on the back.
 
Hi, this morning I tried the iPhone 8, and was impressed by that rear glass back.

Makes the phone very handy!

I've had the opportunity to play with the iPhone 8 this morning -not the Plus-. I generally use my smartphones with one hand, that's why I have an SE. Until now, iPhones like the 6, 6S or 7 were almost impossible to use without a case, because the metal was just too slippery. But this has dramatically changed with the iPhone 8, due to the glass back.

I've been using it for a lot of things, using one hand. Putting it horizontally in order to take pictures, switching again back to vertical position, all with my right hand, and the grip with the back of the iPhone is great. If you put your open hand, almost vertical, with the iPhone 8 on it, it won't fall.

This feature is awesome, and if I some day purchase it, I'll gladly use it without any kind of case. Hopefully that glass will be strong enough, in case of accidental drop.

The phone is pretty much an iPhone 7S, with rear glass, and wireless charging. It has a significant CPU bump, and a high quality camera, yes, but that rear glass design makes the difference for me.
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back