IPHONE 8

Wireless charging on the iPhone 8 is just as slow as the included charger, but that could change with an upcoming iOS 11 update

iPhone 8 plus wireless chargingHollis Johnson/Business Insider
Android phones have had wireless charging for years, but Apple only now introduced the feature for its new iPhone 8 and iPhone X models.
Better late than never, I suppose.
Wireless charging is a nice, if not essential, feature to have. It's slightly more convenient than reaching for your charging cable; just place your iPhone on a wireless charging pad as if it were resting on a table. No plugging or unplugging necessary.
But that's the only benefit to going wireless, at least for now. 
In theory, wireless charging with Belkin and Mophie's 7.5W wireless chargers sold from the Apple store should also mean faster charging, so that you can replenish you phone's battery in less time. But as we can see from this chart from Apple Insider, the difference between charging your iPhone 8 with the standard 5 watt power cable that's included and using a 7.5 watt wireless charging pad is negligible. 
Both methods take about two and a half hours to reach 98% fully charged. During a quick 15 minute charging session, you'll get an extra 2 percentage points of power.
It turns out that even though the wireless chargers are designed to transfer 7.5 watts, the iPhone 8 currently only accepts 5 watts of power from wireless charging sources.AppleBefore Apple rolls out an update that'll supposedly increase wireless charging speeds, the 7.5W wireless chargers charge the iPhone 8 just as slowly as the included charger.Apple Insider
With that in mind, buying one of the $60 Belkin or Mophie 7.5W wireless chargers from Apple doesn't make much sense, unless the convenience of wireless charging appeals to you. 
Speed bump coming soon?
However, the iPhone 8's wireless charging speed it set to change in the near future, as Apple plans to roll out an iOS 11 software update later this year that will allow its new iPhones to accept up to 7.5W of wireless charge.
When the update rolls out, the iPhone 8 will make full use of Belkin's and Mophie's $60 7.5W wireless chargers sold on Apple's site, and buying a wireless charger that charges up to 7.5W could make sense if the included 5W charger is too slow for your liking. 
In the meantime, if you need to inject the most juice into your iPhone in the shortest amount of time, your best bet is to do one of the following options:
  • Plug the iPhone 8 directly into a USB-C Mac computer (you'd also need to buy Apple's USB-C-to-Lightning cable)
  • Use or buy the 12W charger that comes with Retina iPads (you can use the regular Lightning cable that came with your iPhone)
  • Use the USB-C charger that comes with USB-C Mac laptops (you'd also need to buy Apple's USB-C-to-Lightning cable)
  • Buy Apple's 29W charger with Apple's USB-C-to-Lightning cable
  • Buy a third-party USB-C charger with Power Delivery (you'd also need to buy Apple's USB-C-to-Lightning cable)
  • SEE ALSO: These chargers will fast-charge all the new iPhones – and they're cheaper than Apple's chargers NOW WATCH: I won't trade in my iPhone 6s for an iPhone 8 or iPhone X — here's why 

    iPhone 8 Plus vs Galaxy Note 8: New camera tests say it's too close to call

    Video: Dissecting Apple's iPhone 8
    Oft-cited camera-testing outfit DxOMark recently rated the iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus as the "new standard" for smartphone cameras, snatching the top spot from the Google Pixel and HTC U11.
    But the new iPhones have now been joined at the top of the rankings by Samsung's Galaxy Note 8, the company's first dual-camera phone.
    DxOMark's newly published test of the Samsung Galaxy Note 8 has awarded it the same score of 94 that the Apple's iPhone 8 Plus achieved -- just ahead of the iPhone 8's score of 92. However, the two top devices attained the scores due to high performance in differing areas.
    The iPhone 8 Plus outdoor photography quality was a standout, with improved capture of HDR scenes, and exposure calculation. It also had a great zoom and closed in on a true optical blur for the 'bokeh' effect, thanks to a blurred foreground and background. It also scored highly on video performance.
    The Note 8 meanwhile offered the best zoom capabilities of any mobile device it's tested, according to DxOMark's Paul Carroll.
    "A phenomenal photo sub-score that breaks new ground as the first smartphone to hit 100 points makes the Note 8 the current class-leader for stills, thanks to excellent zoom quality, good noise reduction and detail preservation, as well as fast and accurate autofocus," Carroll notes.
    According to DxOMark, the Note 8's zoom achieved excellent results with its x2 optical zoom lens, and "impressive resolution" using digital zoom at x4 and x8. The optical zoom also performed well in low light, but the digital zoom only performed excellently in bright light.
    However, the Note 8 didn't perform as well as on video, lagging behind the Google Pixel, iPhone 8 Plus, and HTC U11.
    Despite this, the Galaxy Note 8's video did perform solidly on exposure, autofocus, noise reduction, white balance and color rendering.
    The Note 8's bokeh effect did a great job of blurring the background most of the time, but the review found that the effect sometimes isn't visible even when enabled. The camera also featured extremely fast and accurate autofocus and has a solid flash unit.
    iphone-8-plus-35.jpg
    Apple's iPhone 8 Plus now has to share the top spot with the Galaxy Note 8 in DxOMark's smartphone camera rankings.
    Image: Sarah Tew/CNET Previous and related coverage
    iPhone 8, iPhone X vs Android flagships: Speed tests say it's not even close
    Apple's new A11 Bionic chip is by far the highest-performing system on the market.
    DxOMark report: Apple iPhone 8 and 8 Plus set new standard for smartphone cameras
    The HTC U11 and Google Pixel reigned at the top of the DxOMark ratings for several months, but the new Apple iPhone 8 and 8 Plus just beat them out and set the new bar for smartphone cameras.
    Read more about the iPhone 8 

    Google Pixel 2 vs. iPhone 8, Samsung Galaxy S8 and LG G6

    100417-google-pixel-2-xl-7156
    Google's new Pixel 2 phone in "just black."
    James Martin/CNET
    After months of speculation and an accidental leak last month, Google formally announced its latest phones at an event in the San Francisco Jazz Center: the Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL.
    The phones are nearly identical in every way aside from size, battery and price. The Pixel 2, the smaller of the two, comes with a revamped camera, Daydream VR support and no headphone jack. On the outside the Pixel 2 looks similar to last year's Pixel phone. On the inside, the phone has a faster processor and is running the latest version of Android: Oreo 8.0.
    But how does it stack up against the competition? Read the spec chart below to see exactly how the Pixel 2 compares against the iPhone 8, Samsung Galaxy S8 and LG G6.
    Google Pixel 2 specs compared with iPhone 8, Galaxy S8 and LG G6 Google Pixel 2 Apple iPhone 8 Samsung Galaxy S8 LG G6 Display size, resolution 5-inch; 1,920x1,080 pixels 4.7-inch, 1,334 x 750 pixels 5.8-inch; 2,960x1,440 pixels 5.7-inch, 2,880x1,440 pixels Pixel density 441 ppi 326ppi 570ppi 565ppi Dimensions (Inches) 5.7x2.7x0.3 in 5.45x2.65x0.29 in 5.86x2.68x0.32 in 5.86x2.83x0.31 in Dimensions (Millimeters) 145.7x69.7x7.8 mm 138.43x67.31x7.37 mm 148.9x68.1x8 mm 148.9x71.97.x7.9 mm Weight (Ounces, Grams) 5.04 oz; 143g 5.22 oz; 148g 5.5 oz; 155g 5.7 oz, 162g Mobile software Android 8 Oreo iOS 11 Android 7.0 Nougat Android 7.0 Nougat Camera 12-megapixel 12-megapixel 12-megapixel Dual 13-megapixel Front-facing camera 8-megapixel 7-megapixel 8-megapixel 5-megapixel Video capture 4K 4K 4K 4K Processor Octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 A11 Bionic chip, M11 motion coprocessor Octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 2.35GHz Snapdragon 821 with Adreno 530 GPU Storage 64GB, 128GB 64GB, 256GB 64GB 32GB RAM 4GB TBD 4GB 4GB Expandable storage None None Up to 2TB Up to 2TB Battery 2,700mAh 14 hours of talk time on wireless; 12 hours of internet use; 13 hours of video playback on wireless; 40 hours of audio playback on wireless 3,000mAh 3,300mAh Fingerprint sensor Back cover Home button Back cover Back cover Connector USB-C Lightning USB-C USB-C Special features Google Assistant; unlimited cloud storage; Daydream VR-ready Wireless charging; splash, water and dust resistance Water-resistant (IP68), wireless charging, Gigabit LTE-ready 18:9 sceen ratio, wireless charging, IP68 Price off-contract (USD) $649 (64GB), $749 (128GB) $699 (64 GB), $849 (256 GB) AT&T: $750; Verizon: $720; T-Mobile: $750; Sprint: $750; U.S. Cellular: $675 AT&T: $720, Sprint: $708, T-Mobile: $650, Verizon: $672, U.S. Cellular: $597.60 Price (GBP) £629 (64GB), £729 (128GB) £699 (64 GB), £849 (256 GB) £689 £649 Price (AUD) AU$1,079 (64GB), AU$1,229 (128GB) AU$1,079 (64 GB), AU$1,329 (256 GB) AU$1,199 AU$1,008
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