Apple iPhone 8 Plus vs 11 in 2021: Is It Time To Upgrade Yet?

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Photo by Vaishnav Chogale on Unsplash

Luis Silva (March 2020, updated: February 2021)

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Introduction

Are you ready for an upgrade?

Apple introduced its iPhone 11 model in September of 2019. Meanwhile, Apple's iPhone 8 Plus started to sell two years sooner.

We are looking at how the iPhone 8 Plus and the iPhone 11 compare to each other to help you decide which might be the right one for you.

If you have the time, click here to skip the spoilers and continue to the full comparison.

You'll never find the iPhone 11 at the price of the iPhone 8 Plus. Keep this in mind when comparing both iPhones.

You'll also see down below a "Tek-Score" for every section that we analyze. We evaluate all quantifiable specifications to help you quickly identify how much they are far apart. You'll find a global score at the end, which can help you compare to other phones if you're curious about other models aside from these two.  ? 

This score is based on research from Globalwebindex.com on what features users value on new smartphones.

For additional information regarding our smartphone comparisons, check this FAQ.

Some features are underlined with a red or green progress bar. That's so you can see how they compare with other smartphones with similar prices.  ? 

You can click here:  i  to view the ones we're comparing to, but we've only included smartphones within a 40% price range.

Some features are also shortcuts to the best 10 phones on that for every budget.

Price*			vs.
Device	iPhone 8 Plus	iPhone 11
Release Date	2017, September	2019, September	2y.
OS Updates	6 years	6 years	0y.
Security Updates	6 years	6 years	0y.

*Reference: Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra.

Performance

Apple decided to include the Apple A13 processor on its iPhone 11. In its turn, the Apple iPhone 8 Plus has the Apple A11 processor.

These GPUs are from different generations despite having the same name, but you should expect some performance improvements.

On the multicore portion of Geekbench 5, which measures overall performance, the iPhone 11 was, on average, 43% quicker while finishing its tests. You should also consider other features, but if you value every second you save, go for this one.  ? 

By the way, you can define the iPhone 11 as high-end.

The iPhone 8 Plus features the iOS 11 OS, while the iPhone 11 comes with iOS 13.

Performance*			vs.
Features	iPhone 8 Plus	iPhone 11
SoC	Apple A11	Apple A13
Graphics	Apple GPU	Apple GPU
Geekbench 5 Score	2332	3328	996
OS	iOS 11	iOS 13
Tek-Score	5.9	7.5	1.7

*Reference: Apple iPhone 12.

Display

While the iPhone 11 got a 6.1-inch LCD display, the iPhone 8 Plus got a smaller LCD display with 5.5-inches. Which one would you choose? AMOLED has perfect contrast and viewing angles, but its whites do hurt the battery life.

Do you despise big screens? Then, the iPhone 8 Plus is your holy grail. There are just not that many choices in its class.

If you're looking for the most high-resolution display, the iPhone 8 Plus is a winner here.

The iPhone 11 has one disadvantage over almost all of its competitors: Its display has a low pixel density.

Screens seem to get bigger each year, so let's get the elephant out of the room. The iPhone 8 Plus display is protected with an Ion-strengthened glass. The iPhone 11 with a Corning toughened glass.

Unfortunately, there's no Always-On display on any of them.

If you don't manually set the screen brightness, the iPhone 8 Plus can go up to 530 nits, while the iPhone 11 goes up to 644 nits.  ? 

Very few rivals share this maximum brightness. Usually, they max at 687 nits, but the iPhone 8 Plus can only go 157 nits below that.

If your next device can't do at least 450 nits, it can't do true HDR, nor is that great on a sunny day.

If you haven't noticed yet, the iPhone 11's display does stand out.

About the iPhone 8 Plus, you should know that 89% of its rivals can play HDR content, 94% have an AMOLED screen, and 78% of them have an Always-On display. However, only 22% of them have over 60hz of refresh rate and feature Gorilla Glass 6 or Victus.

Concerning the iPhone 11, just so you know, 89% of its rivals can play HDR content, 96% have an AMOLED screen, and 93% of them have an Always-On display.

Display Density (DPIs)*			vs.
Features	iPhone 8 Plus	iPhone 11
Size	5.5	6.1	0.6
Screen Type	LCD	LCD
Resolution (px)	1080x1920	828x1792	-589824
Refresh Rate	60hz	60hz	0
Dots per Inch	400.53	323.61	-76.91
Always-On-Display	No	No
Notch	-	Wedge
Peak Brightness	530 nits	644 nits	114
HDR	-	-
Sub Tek-Score	1.4	1.2	-0.3
Protection	Ion-strengthened glass	Corning toughened glass
Tek-Score	2.9	5.2	2.3

*Reference: Sony Xperia 1.

Cameras

Things are different when it comes to lenses. Apple's iPhone 8 Plus can record videos at up to 2160p. It also has a shooter with 12 MP, an aperture of f/1.8, a 28mm wide-angle lens, four flash LEDs, HDR capabilities, and Optical Image Stabilization.

You can also count on another 12 MP camera with an aperture of f/2.8 plus a 57mm telephoto lens.

There's also a 7 MP selfie camera with an aperture of f/2.2 and a 32 mm lens.

DxOMark tested this camera and gave it a rate of 104. If you also consider its telephoto lens, you'll end up with a score of 112**. For a thorough review, click here.

PS: all of its rivals can record videos in 4K or more and have an ultra-wide-angle lens, and 78% of them feature Optical Image Stabilization. On the other hand, only 17% of them feature a macro lens.

The iPhone 11 features a 12 MP (f/1.8) shooter and a 26mm wide-angle lens. You can also count on four flash LEDs, HDR abilities, and Optical Image Stabilization. It also records videos at up to 2160 pixels. Besides its primary camera, the iPhone 11 also features a 12 MP f/2.4 plus a 13mm ultra-wide-angle lens.

The front-facing camera features a 12 MP shooter with an aperture of f/2.2 and a 23 mm wide-angle lens.

DxOMark has rated this camera with a score of 132. By considering its wide-angle lens, that score goes up to 138**. For an out-and-out review, click here.

Furthermore, if you must know, all of its rivals can record videos in 4 or 8K, have an ultra-wide-angle lens, and feature Optical Image Stabilization. Moreover, only 19% of them feature a macro lens.

You should note that the iPhone 11 is in the neighborhood of 50% above other competitors at about this price-tag. And it should be your option today.

If you prefer, we can grade the iPhone 11 as a high-end.

The iPhone 8 Plus has something neat about its cameras: a 2x optical zoom. This gives you an extra bit of freedom when taking your photos.

**Please take this with a grain of salt, especially for cameras with no zoom and with less than 40MP. These guys recently updated their test protocol, and they don't have enough reviews for me to refine the pre-update camera rates.

Picture Quality*			vs.
Primary Camera	iPhone 8 Plus	iPhone 11
Megapixels	12	12	0
Aperture	1.8	1.8	0.0
Lens	28mm	26mm	-2
Lens Type	Regular	Wide-Angle
Flash	4	4	0
HDR	Yes	Yes
OIS	Yes	Yes
Video	2160	2160	0
Score	112	138	26

*Reference: Huawei Mate 40 Pro.

Extra Camera(s)	iPhone 8 Plus	iPhone 11	vs.
Megapixels	12	12	0
Aperture	2.8	2.4	-0.4
Lens	57mm (2x zoom)	13mm	-44
Lens Type	Telephoto lens	Ultra-wide-Angle
Score	8	6	-2

Selfie Camera	iPhone 8 Plus	iPhone 11	vs.
Megapixels	7	12	5
Aperture	2.2	2.2	0.0
Lens	32mm	23mm	-9

	iPhone 8 Plus	iPhone 11	vs.
Tek-Score	6.6	8.1	1.5

Body

The iPhone 8 Plus has a height of 158 mm (6.23 inches) and a width of 78 mm (3.07 inches). The iPhone 11 came out 0.32 inches (8 mm) smaller and 0.12 inches (3 mm) narrower.

When it comes to thickness, they're almost equal: 7 mm (0.28 inches) vs. 8 mm (0.32 inches).

The glass rear on these phones makes them feel great on the hand. The iPhone 8 Plus is 8 g. (0.28 oz) heavier than the other, weighing about 194 g. (6.84 oz). If you're curious, I've come up with an adapted "display size to phone weight ratio" rate. The iPhone 8 Plus got 0.7, meaning it's one of the heaviest phones for its display size. In the meantime, the iPhone 11 has 3.3, which suggests it's considerably hefty.  ? 

We do like having some color options. You get Gold, Silver, Space Gray, and Red in the iPhone 8 Plus. But you can get Black, Yellow, Green, White, Red, and Purple with the iPhone 11.

If you like having a big phone, you should consider the iPhone 8 Plus. If not, then you should choose the other one.

Do you value a fingerprint scanner? There's one on the front of the iPhone 8 Plus!

You'll still have Face ID on the iPhone 11. At least Apple opted for the Face ID sensor instead.

The iPhone 8 Plus is water-resistant in up to 1 meter, while the iPhone 11 can dive in up to 1 to 3 meters. It should be for less than 30 minutes, in standby mode, so no underwater photos.

Looks*			vs.
Body	iPhone 8 Plus	iPhone 11
Size	158 x 78 x 7 mm (5.57 x 2.75 x 0.25 in)	150 x 75 x 8 mm (5.29 x 2.65 x 0.28 in)	3732
Weight	202 g. (7.13 oz)	194 g. (6.84 oz)	-8
Build	Front and back glass	Front and back glass
Colors	Gold, Silver, Space Gray, and Red	Black, Yellow, Green, White, Red, and Purple
Screen To Body Ratio	67.67%	81.25%	13.58
Disp.Size To Weight Score	0.7	3.3	2.6
Looks	5.5/10	8.6/10	3.2
Waterproof	IP67	IP68
Biometrics	Front Fingerprint	Face ID
Tek-Score	4.7	7.1	2.4

*100% = 4+ colors + front and back glass + S2BR: 86+%.

Battery

When it comes to battery life, in theory, the Apple iPhone 11, with its 3110 mAh of battery capacity, wins over the Apple iPhone 8 Plus, with only 2691 mAh of battery capacity. But are the numbers really that clear? This is asking for a thorough test after a full charge. And that's what you can expect from the iPhone 8 Plus:  ? 

• For 1 hour of talking, 1 hour of web browsing, and 1 hour of video playback, you'll end up with 79% of the battery charge.
• After 1 hour of talking, 3 hours of web browsing, and 1 hour of video playback, you'll probably have 63% left for the rest of the day.
• From 1 hour of talking, 1 hour of web browsing, and 3 hours of video playback, you'll likely end up with 65% of the battery charge.

And this is where the iPhone 11 ends at:

• If you do 1 hour of talking, 1 hour of web browsing, and 1 hour of video playback, you'll end up with 83% of the battery charge.
• By talking for 1 hour, browsing the web for 3 hours, and playing videos for 1 hour, this phone should end up with 71%.
• From 1 hour of talking, 1 hour of web browsing, and 3 hours of video playback, you'll likely end up with 73% of the battery charge.

Have you noticed who the winner is? Yes, it's the iPhone 11.

So, you're not considering the iPhone 8 Plus because of its battery life. Apple didn't care that much about it. Its "battery to device size" rate is 1.9.  ? 

Fast-charging's here, and both iPhones support it. The iPhone 11 can go up to 18w, and the iPhone 8 Plus up to 15.

It's good to know that both iPhones support wireless charging at up to 5w.

Battery*			vs.
Features	iPhone 8 Plus	iPhone 11
Capacity (mAh)	2691	3110	419
1h Talk + 1h Web + 1h Video	79% left	83% left	4
1h Talk + 3h Web + 1h Video	63% left	71% left	8
1h Talk + 1h Web + 3h Video	65% left	73% left	8
Bat. To Phone Size Score  ?	1.9	5.6	3.7
Sub Tek-Score	6.9	7.6	0.7
Fast Charging	15w	18w	3
Wireless Charging	5w	5w	0
Tek-Score	6.2	6.7	0.5

*Reference: Samsung Galaxy A31.

Storage

In terms of RAM, the iPhone 8 Plus brings 3GB. In terms of storage, it has 64GB. There's no extra storage here. If 4k videos and games are your things, it could be an issue sooner than later. You should know that at this price level, its rivals deliver more RAM and more storage. They have 6GB of RAM and 121Gb of storage on average, but you can find better options.

The iPhone 11, in its turn, has 64GB of storage and 4GB of RAM. There's also no extra storage here. You may need a good data plan and some cloud storage. Again, you'll most likely get the majority of its rivals with more RAM and more storage. 8Gb of RAM and 154Gb of storage: that's the average, not the best you can find.

Both phones have more than enough storage and RAM for the average consumer. However, if you can't get enough of the record button, you'll find out that 64 GB won't be enough for you.

Storage*			vs.
Features	iPhone 8 Plus	iPhone 11
RAM (GB)	3GB	4GB	1
Internal (GB)	64GB	64GB	0
Micro SD	No	No
Tek-Score	2.8	2.8	0.0

*Internal Storage + 256GB Memory Card (Max: 512GB).

Connectivity

Both phones have Bluetooth 5.0, so nothing special here. As for the NFC chips, both have them.

About the 3.5mm jack: Now may be the time to consider moving to wireless earbuds. Want a piece of advice? Forget about adapters and go for the wireless buds.

These two are LTE compatible. If you want next-gen 5G connectivity, you should also check the iPhone 12 Mini.

Connectivity			vs.
Features	iPhone 8 Plus	iPhone 11
Network	LTE	LTE
Bluetooth	5.0	5.0
NFC	Yes	Yes
3.5mm jack	No	No
Tek-Score	4.6	4.6	0.0

Price

The Apple iPhone 8 Plus may not be the best bang for your buck. That, of course, depends on the place and the deals that you'll eventually find. On the other hand, you'll likely find the iPhone 11 at a higher price range, but I believe that it shouldn't come as a surprise at all.

You can check down below if it worths the extra cash.

I do hope you're considering buying the newest phone.

Here are the best deals on some major online stores:

I earn a small fee from qualifying purchases. It doesn't affect the price you pay nor my opinions, but it will mean a lot if you click on one of these buttons before purchasing your next phone. You'll be helping to take this to the next level.

Prices on eBay are in $US but Europe-based. You can click to check the prices in your country.

Prices marked with ! are from renewed/refurbished/carrier-locked phones (except eBay prices that, as a last resort, can be from bids or used devices).

How much of a "phone" can your money buy?
That's how much "score" you can get with $100 based on the global score that you'll see in the next section (higher is better).

Have you found better prices elsewhere? The formula is simple: score/price*100.

Value for money	iPhone 8 Plus	iPhone 11	VS
Amazon	2.70 !	- !	-
eBay	1.08	-	-
Best Buy	-	-	-
Wallmart	-	0.53	-

And this is the "The Best Smartphones On A Budget" list.

Want to know about that global rate? But first, let's see where its rivals are. They're in the ballpark of 6.3 for the iPhone 8 Plus and 6.9 for the iPhone 11.

Verdict: What Makes the Apple iPhone 11 Stand Out?

You're considering an upgrade, right? The real question here is, should you upgrade to the iPhone 11 already, or should you go for something cheaper, like the X, XR or XS? That's a tough question to answer (you can check down below for other comparisons). It's a lot easier to state that the iPhone 11 indeed is a great device. After all, it stands out in almost every department. I believe that the display resolution is the only caveat. Aside from that, the iPhone 11 is the clear winner here.

Pros	iPhone 8 Plus	iPhone 11
#1	Cameras	Performance
#2	Fast Charging	Cameras
#3	Wireless Charging	Battery Life
#4		Fast Charging
#5		Wireless Charging
#6		Glass Protection

Cons	iPhone 8 Plus	iPhone 11
#1	AMOLED	Screen Resolution
#2	Always-On-Display	AMOLED
#3	MicroSD Slot	Always-On-Display
#4	Weight	MicroSD Slot
#5	3.5mm Jack	Weight
#6	Price	3.5mm Jack
#7		Price

Relative Score*			vs.
Global Score	iPhone 8 Plus	iPhone 11
Gaming Score	3.7	4.2	0.6
Tek-Score	4.85	6.04	1.19

*Reference: Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra.

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