Why Apple's iPhone 8 and 8+ may already be obsolete...

Maybe it was the success of Samsung's S8 series and the NOTE 8 release a week before Apple's own iPhone 8 release. In any case, the iPhone 8 series has not even been around for a full week and here is what we already know. These phones should have been designated the iPhone 7s and 7s+ because they are not different enough to be anything else. The iPhone 8 has a slightly better camera feature with some portrait options but aside from the new glass casing, there's very little difference to the 7 model.  If I was to get an 8 series model, though, it would have to be the 8+ model. This one does have a far better battery life and a much better shooter than the regular 8 model. It also adds the super retina screen and dual optical image stabilization. The glass backs facilitate wireless charging but at what cost? Our colleagues at BGR say APPLE totally lied about the strength of their new glass cases.

I could care less about wireless charging, especially if it compromises the strength of my device's case. The same thing happened to the Samsung model that was tested. Both totally shattered upon impact after being dropped. This tells me that this feature may not be ready for prime time. While I have not heard much from anyone using iPhone 8 series models yet, I have heard from folks who have downloaded the new iOS 11 operating system from Apple on their current iPhone models. Don't do it! The biggest complaint is applications slowing down and battery drainage up to 60% more than the previous iOS 10. speaking of battery performance, a recently read an interesting article by Lance Whitney explaining that most people overcharge their SmartPhones which results in depleting their battery life faster than necessary. Don't charge overnight unless necessary was the most interesting message.

I held on to my Apple 6S+ until now, because I did not see a substantial upside to moving to the iPhone 7 series. I was also not willing to lose my 3.5mm headset jack or have to use (and ultimately lose) a stupid dongle to make my JBL Stereo headset compatible. I also like the way my device lays down on it's back flatly. The new iPhone 7+ and 8+ seem to have a bulge where the camera is and are not flush with the back case. I've been eying the 8+ model but have decided to wait until the end of the year to first evaluate the soon-to-be released iPhone X.  There is no question that the iPhone 8 series is more of the same and the iPhone X is a glimpse of things to come. A great analogy one of my colleagues made was, "Do you want the most proven and best Piston engine on the market, or a new jet engine. The X model is that jet technology (augmented reality) and a total re-make of everything Apple has done. Yes, this model will set the standard for years to come. I can understand Apple not providing support for T- Mobile's new "Band 71" on the iPhone 8 series. I cannot understand why this would not be available on the iPhone X model though as it has not even been released yet. If I'm going to drop $1k plus on a Smartphone, it better have the latest and greatest bandwidth support.  The iPhone X will not. The only question is will it be $300 better than the iPhone 8 series.