Apple discontinues iPhone 8 and 8 Plus in favor of iPhone SE
As suspected before the iPhone SE announcement earlier today, Apple has decided to officially discontinue the iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus from its lineup after originally introducing the two devices in September 2017.
The iPhone 8 is gone *pretends to be shocked*
The discontinuation of the 4.7-inch iPhone 8 isn’t at all surprising because the new iPhone SE is essentially a superior version that retails for $50 less – $399, to be precise. It’s packed with the A13 Bionic chipset which is considerably faster than the A11 Bionic found in the iPhone 8 and reportedly 3GB of RAM rather than 2GB.
The 12-megapixel camera sensor has been borrowed from the phone, although Apple is now calling it the best single-camera system on an iPhone ever. Why? Because the A13 Bionic and upgraded image signal processor enable Smart HDR, extended dynamic range for video, and stereo sound recording.
The iPhone 8 Plus should be replaced eventually
The discontinuation of the 5.5-inch iPhone 8 Plus, on the other hand, may come as quite the shock to some people. Apple has decided not to replace the smartphone with a newer model, leaving customers on the lookout for a new yet relatively cheap device with two options – the significantly smaller iPhone SE or the more expensive iPhone XR.
That isn’t an ideal situation, but fortunately it should be rectified in the near future. Apple is reportedly developing an iPhone SE Plus with a 5.5-inch display and Touch ID home button that will arrive later this year.
Apparently, the company was aiming for an unveiling alongside the standard iPhone SE. But production delays have forced the company to push back the launch.