Apple iPhone 8 Plus vs iPhone 12: What Will The 12 Add?

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Photo by Emilio Garcia on Unsplash

Luis Silva (October 2020, updated: February 2021)

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Introduction

Whether you're finally considering an upgrade, or you're just checking out what you'll lose by going for an iPhone 8, you're in the right place.

While Apple's iPhone 12 hit stores in October of 2020, Apple's iPhone 8 Plus went on sale in September of 2017.

Here you can look at the iPhone 8 Plus and the iPhone 12, compare each other's features, and decide which one is best for you. Let us delve into the finer details.

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

These two have a considerable price difference between them. That's something you should keep in mind when comparing them.

You'll also see down below a "Tek-Score" for every section that we analyze. For a quicker analysis of how far they are from each other, we'll consider all their specifications. The global score will help you compare them 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. It's for you to know how well they relate to the ones from similarly priced smartphones.  ? 

Here is their competitors' full list: i  but we've only included smartphones within a 40% price range.

Some features are also shortcuts to the best 10 phones on that for all budgets.

Price*			vs.
Device	iPhone 8 Plus	iPhone 12
Release Date	2017, September	2020, October	3y.
OS Updates	6 years	6 years	0y.
Security Updates	6 years	6 years	0y.

*Reference: Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra.

Performance

Inside the iPhone 12 is the Apple A14 SoC, while on the iPhone 8 Plus, there's the Apple A11 chipset.

Just because they share their GPU name doesn't mean Apple didn't improve its tech.

On the multicore portion of Geekbench 5, which measures overall performance, the iPhone 12 was, on average, 74% quicker while finishing its tests. Even if you don't value a smooth device that much, be aware of that difference, as it will be very noticeable.  ? 

The iPhone 12's performance does stand out if you consider its rivals. While they got a rate of about 2962, it has 4067. That puts it 37% above them.

One can entitle the iPhone 12 as high-end.

The iPhone 8 Plus carries out iOS 11 OS, while the iPhone 12 comes with iOS 14.1.

Performance*			vs.
Features	iPhone 8 Plus	iPhone 12
SoC	Apple A11	Apple A14
Graphics	Apple GPU	Apple GPU
Geekbench 5 Score	2332	4067	1735
OS	iOS 11	iOS 14.1
Tek-Score	5.9	8.8	2.9

*Reference: Apple iPhone 12.

Display

Would you prefer the 6.1" AMOLED display of the iPhone 12 or the smaller 5.5" LCD panel of the iPhone 8 Plus? Which one would you choose? Most people seem to prefer AMOLED for its saturated colors and higher contrast.

If you're trying to keep your phone's display small, there aren't many devices to consider besides the iPhone 8 Plus. There are just not that many choices in its class.

If you're looking for the most high-resolution display, the iPhone 12 is a winner here.

Screen bezels are shrinking in size almost every passing day, so be aware: The iPhone 8 Plus is shielded with an Ion-strengthened glass. The iPhone 12 display is preserved with the latest Gorilla Glass Victus.

There's no Always-On display feature here.

If you're looking for the brightest display, the iPhone 8 Plus can do 530 nits, while the iPhone 12 does 639 nits.  ? 

Most similarly priced devices stay in the ballpark of 687 nits, while the iPhone 8 Plus can only do 23% less.

Usually, anything below 500 nits will disappoint you when in direct sunlight or displaying HDR content. Speaking of HDR content: The iPhone 12 is capable of displaying HDR10 video formats.

As you can see, the iPhone 8 Plus has a lower-specced screen.

Bearing in mind 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. But only 22% of them have over 60hz of refresh rate and feature Gorilla Glass 6 or Victus.

Concerning the iPhone 12, I should say that 94% of its rivals can play HDR content and have an Always-On display. Plus, all of them have an AMOLED screen, and 82% have Gorilla Glass 6 or better.

Display Density (DPIs)*			vs.
Features	iPhone 8 Plus	iPhone 12
Size	5.5	6.1	0.6
Screen Type	LCD	AMOLED
Resolution (px)	1080x1920	1170x2532	888840
Refresh Rate	60hz	60hz	0
Dots per Inch	400.53	457.25	56.73
Always-On-Display	No	No
Notch	-	Wedge
Peak Brightness	530 nits	639 nits	109
HDR	-	HDR10
Sub Tek-Score	1.4	2.9	1.5
Protection	Ion-strengthened glass	Corning Gorilla Glass Victus
Tek-Score	2.9	7.5	4.6

*Reference: Sony Xperia 1.

Cameras

Who's gonna win this battle? The iPhone 8 Plus's primary camera has a 12 MP sensor, with an aperture of f/1.8, a 28mm wide-angle lens, four flash LEDs, HDR abilities, and Optical Image Stabilization. Videos on its shooter have a maximum resolution of 2160p.

It also has another shooter with a 12 MP sensor and an aperture of f/2.8 plus a 57mm telephoto lens.

With the selfies camera, you get a 7 MP shooter, with an aperture of f/2.2 and a 32 mm lens.

DxOMark gave this shooter a rate of 104. By including its telephoto lens, you'll end up with a score of 112**. For a thorough review, click here.

Before moving on, 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. Yet, only 17% of them feature a macro lens.

The standard camera on the back of the iPhone 12 has a 12 MP sensor and a 26mm, f/1.6 aperture, wide-angle lens. It also has four flash LEDs, HDR capabilities, and Optical Image Stabilization. When it comes to recording videos, it can do 2160p. In addition to its primary sensor, you'll also get a 12 MP camera with an aperture of f/2.4 plus a 13mm ultra-wide-angle lens.

The selfie camera has 12 MP, an f/2.2 aperture, and a 23 mm wide-angle lens.

The guys over at the DxOMark labs rated this camera with 132 points. And by adding its wide-angle lens, we get a score of 139 points. For an out-and-out review, click here.

Finally, just to let you know, all of its rivals can record videos in 4 or 8K, have an ultra-wide-angle lens, and feature Optical Image Stabilization. That said, none of them feature a macro lens.

You should note that the iPhone 12 is in the neighborhood of 14% above other competitors at about this price-tag. And it should be your option today.

We can classify the iPhone 12 more like a high-end.

The iPhone 8 Plus has something neat about its cameras: a 2x optical zoom. It will enable you to get a closer view of the subject before taking your picture.

**Please take this with a grain of salt, at least for phones with no zoom and up to 35 to 40MP. They just changed their 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 12
Megapixels	12	12	0
Aperture	1.8	1.6	-0.2
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	139	27

*Reference: Huawei Mate 40 Pro.

Extra Camera(s)	iPhone 8 Plus	iPhone 12	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	7	-1

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

	iPhone 8 Plus	iPhone 12	vs.
Tek-Score	6.6	8.2	1.6

Body

The iPhone 8 Plus comes at 158x78 mm (6.23x3.07 inches). The iPhone 12 is 12 mm smaller and 7 mm narrower (about 0.47 by 0.28 inches).

Both are 7 mm thicker (about 0.28 inches).

A front and back glass body does make these phones look premium on your hands. The iPhone 8 Plus is 38 g. (1.34 oz) heavier than the other, weighing about 164 g. (5.78 oz). If you're looking for a lightweight device, the "weight to display size" rate of the iPhone 8 Plus is 0.7, meaning it's one of the heaviest phones for its display size. Having said that, the iPhone 12 has 6.9, which is pretty nice.  ? 

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, Red, White, Green, and Blue with the iPhone 12.

If the iPhone 8 Plus is small enough for you, that's neat. If not, then really consider getting the other one.

Is the lack of a fingerprint scanner a deal-breaker to you? There's one on the front of the iPhone 8 Plus but not on the iPhone 12.

You can still use biometrics to log in on the iPhone 12. Usually, logging in with a fingerprint scanner is faster, but at least you'll get a Face ID scanner.

The iPhone 8 Plus is water-resistant in up to 1 meter, but the iPhone 12 should hold up to 1 to 3 meters. But remember: it's for a maximum period of half an hour, in standby mode, so no underwater photos.

Looks*			vs.
Body	iPhone 8 Plus	iPhone 12
Size	158 x 78 x 7 mm (5.57 x 2.75 x 0.25 in)	146 x 71 x 7 mm (5.15 x 2.50 x 0.25 in)	-13706
Weight	202 g. (7.13 oz)	164 g. (5.78 oz)	-38
Build	Front and back glass	Front and back glass
Colors	Gold, Silver, Space Gray, and Red	Black, Red, White, Green, and Blue
Screen To Body Ratio	67.67%	88.18%	20.52
Disp.Size To Weight Score	0.7	6.9	6.1
Looks	5.5/10	10.0/10	4.5
Waterproof	IP67	IP68
Biometrics	Front Fingerprint	Face ID
Tek-Score	4.7	8.6	3.8

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

Battery

When it comes to battery life, in theory, the Apple iPhone 12, with its 2815 mAh of battery capacity, wins over the Apple iPhone 8 Plus, with only 2691 mAh of battery capacity. But is that so? If you do this experiment after a complete charge, this is how the iPhone 8 Plus comes out of it:  ? 

• 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, this phone should end up with 63%.
• By talking for 1 hour, browsing the web for 1 hour, and playing videos for 3 hours, this is where your battery will be: 65%.

And this is what you'll get out of the iPhone 12:

• From 1 hour of talking, 1 hour of web browsing, and 1 hour of video playback, you should have 79% of the battery left for the rest of the day.
• If you do 1 hour of talking, 3 hours of web browsing, and 1 hour of video playback, you'll probably have 64% left for the rest of the day.
• After 1 hour of talking, 1 hour of web browsing, and 3 hours of video playback, this is where your battery will be: 64%.

You shouldn't expect any real contrast here.

Alright, that's not a reason to make the iPhone 8 Plus shine. Apple should've put a bigger battery and/or energy-efficient hardware on it. Its "battery to device size" rate is 1.9.  ? 

The iPhone 8 Plus features quick-charging at up to 15w, but the iPhone 12 does it too, at 20w.

It's good to know that both iPhones support wireless charging at up to 5w vs. 15w. On any of the new iPhone 12 siblings, wireless charging is also magnetic. That's great, but it's yet another proprietary solution.

Battery*			vs.
Features	iPhone 8 Plus	iPhone 12
Capacity (mAh)	2691	2815	124
1h Talk + 1h Web + 1h Video	79% left	79% left	0
1h Talk + 3h Web + 1h Video	63% left	64% left	1
1h Talk + 1h Web + 3h Video	65% left	64% left	-1
Bat. To Phone Size Score  ?	1.9	6.4	4.5
Sub Tek-Score	6.9	6.9	0.0
Fast Charging	15w	20w	5
Wireless Charging	5w	15w	10
Tek-Score	6.2	6.6	0.4

*Reference: Samsung Galaxy A31.

Storage

The iPhone 8 Plus features 64GB of internal storage and 3GB of RAM. There's no extra storage here. It may not be a deal-breaker, but it sure is something to keep in mind. Be aware that at this price segment, others have more RAM and more storage. They have 6GB of RAM and 121Gb of storage on average, but you can find better options.

In its turn, the iPhone 12 has 4GB of RAM and 64GB of integrated storage. You'll also have a problem if you want to add storage later. You may need a good data plan and some cloud storage. Again, you can effortlessly get more storage and more RAM on most of its rivals. They'd give you around 139Gb of storage and 10Gb of RAM.

Most people should be OK with their internal storage. However, if you love to have or record tons of videos, you'll find out that 64 GB won't be enough for you.

Storage*			vs.
Features	iPhone 8 Plus	iPhone 12
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

Bluetooth 5.0 is here, on both of them. Both devices also feature the standard NFC module.

There isn't much to say about the 3.5mm headphone jack, except that it simply isn't here. You may go for an adapter as a last resort, but it really isn't the same.

The iPhone 12 has a single network variant: (LTE and) 5G.

Connectivity			vs.
Features	iPhone 8 Plus	iPhone 12
Network	LTE	5G
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. But that depends on the deals that you can find. Promotions aside, the iPhone 12 is more expensive, but I think that you can find some additional value in it.

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

Also, be aware that you'll have a hard time finding old phones in new condition.

Here are their recently updated prices:

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 12	VS
Amazon	2.70 !	- !	-
eBay	1.08	0.77	-0.31
Best Buy	-	0.85	-
Wallmart	-	-	-

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

So, what about that global rate? We'll get there. But first, let's see where its rivals are. They're at 6.3 (for the iPhone 8 Plus) and 7.2 (for the iPhone 12).

Verdict: What Makes the Apple iPhone 12 Stand Out?

Whether you're considering both or an upgrade, the iPhone 12 does give you a lot more compared to the iPhone 8. Performance and looks alone should be able to convince you that the newer iPhone is the way to go. If not, you'll also get a much better AMOLED screen, with more than enough outdoor brightness, HDR10, and Gorilla Glass Victus. You'll lose a telephoto lens, but its picture quality has improved a ton since the iPhone 8 Plus. It also is lighter and adds an extra Gigabyte of RAM.

Pros	iPhone 8 Plus	iPhone 12
#1	Cameras	Performance
#2	Fast Charging	AMOLED
#3	Wireless Charging	Cameras
#4		Fast Charging
#5		Wireless Charging
#6		Glass Protection

Cons	iPhone 8 Plus	iPhone 12
#1	AMOLED	Always-On-Display
#2	Always-On-Display	MicroSD Slot
#3	MicroSD Slot	3.5mm Jack
#4	Weight	Price
#5	3.5mm Jack
#6	Price

Relative Score*			vs.
Global Score	iPhone 8 Plus	iPhone 12
Gaming Score	3.7	6.3	2.6
Tek-Score	4.85	6.76	1.91

*Reference: Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra.

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