About a week ago, I went over three things I love about the new Apple (AAPL 0.14%) iPhone 8 Plus. The display, the ultra-zippy A11 Bionic processor, and the beautiful glass back are all things that made me quickly fall in love with this new device.
As I've had some more time to use the iPhone 8 Plus -- and I tend to use my smartphone a lot -- my enthusiasm for the device has only grown.
Image source: Apple.
Here are three more things I love about the iPhone 8 Plus.
The louder speaker
One thing I really enjoyed about my old iPhone 7 Plus was that it had a much louder speaker system than did my old iPhone 6s Plus, and it also included stereo speakers, which enhanced sound quality rather noticeably.
Even the best built-in speakers won't hold a candle to a real speaker system or a good pair of headphones, but there are times when using the built-in speakers is the most convenient listening option.
Image source: Apple.
The speakers on the iPhone 8 Plus take things to an entirely new level. Apple says the speakers in the iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus are, yet again, 25% louder than their predecessors and offer, in Apple's words, "deeper bass."
Apple wasn't kidding. These speakers are quite loud, and the bass is noticeably deeper. This dramatically improves the experience when watching TV shows and movies, and it even makes listening to music a pretty enjoyable experience.
The built-in speaker in the iPhone 8 Plus is a huge jump from that on the 7 Plus. The jump from the older 6 and 6s devices seems downright magical.
Fast charging
Although everyone seems to be gushing about the wireless charging capability of the new iPhones, I'm thrilled with the fast charging implementation in the iPhone 8 Plus. Since I'm a heavy smartphone user, I burn through my battery far more quickly than a typical user might. Though it's a bummer that I had to pay about $75 for a 29-watt charger and a Lighting-to-USB-C adapter to take advantage of fast charging, it's really cool how quickly the iPhone 8 Plus can charge compared with, say, my old iPhone 7 Plus paired with a 15-watt iPad charger.
Image source: Apple.
This isn't a whiz-bang feature, but it makes my life a lot easier. I love it.
I love gold!
My very first iPhone was an iPhone 5s in gold. I bought the 6 Plus in gold, and the 6s Plus in rose gold. I broke my pattern with a black 7 Plus, but when Apple introduced the iPhone 8 and 8 Plus, there was no doubt in my mind that I wanted the gold one.
Image source: Apple.
Apple really got the gold model right this time. It doesn't look too yellow, as the gold finishes of the previous iPhones did, nor does it look too pink, as the rose gold finishes of the iPhone 6s and 7 did -- though, to Apple's credit, the rose gold finish of the iPhone 7 did look noticeably better than the one on the 6s.
It's an elegant, subtle gold color that, in tandem with the glass back, looks remarkable.
It's a darn shame that Apple couldn't get the iPhone X in a gold finish to yield properly, as such a device, especially with a stainless-steel band properly colored to match the gold glass back of the phone, would've been stunning.
In fact, if Apple were to launch a gold iPhone X mid-cycle, I might not be able to resist it.
