iPhone 8 and 8 Plus: 6-core A11 “Bionic” SOC with Apple-designed GPU, glass back, Retina HD True Tone display, 12MP cameras, Qi wireless charging
Romain Dillet / TechCrunch :
Context & Ripple Effects
Reports ahead of the iPhone 7 had already centered Apple’s upgrade narrative on the A10 processor and 12MP cameras. The iPhone 8 generation extends that hardware-led cadence while adding a new charging option and an Apple-designed graphics component.
The immediate design case was mixed: a same-day hands-on called the glass-backed redesign a major aesthetic improvement but found True Tone less visibly differentiated from the iPhone 7. A follow-up review also found wireless charging worked well, making charging convenience a more tangible point of separation.
First-order effects
- iPhone 8 and 8 Plus buyers gain Qi wireless charging alongside the A11 Bionic, Apple-designed GPU, glass back and 12MP camera package.
- Apple makes processor, graphics, cameras and charging—not the display alone—the principal hardware changes for customers moving from the iPhone 7 generation.
Second-order effects
- Because the related hands-on found True Tone not noticeably better than the iPhone 7’s display, Apple’s upgrade pitch depends more heavily on the glass design, camera and performance improvements, plus Qi charging.
- The addition of Qi compatibility gives existing wireless-charging products a direct path to iPhone 8 and 8 Plus users, rather than requiring a separate Apple-specific charging proposition.
Third-order effects
- The progression from the A10-focused iPhone 7 cycle to A11, followed by Apple’s later A13 transistor and efficiency claims, points to custom silicon becoming a durable anchor for Apple’s annual iPhone differentiation.
- If that cadence holds, visible industrial-design changes will increasingly be paired with performance and power-efficiency gains that Apple can define through its own chip roadmap.
The trend: Apple is making each iPhone generation a combined custom-silicon, camera and charging upgrade, with chip advances providing the recurring performance narrative.