Get the most out of your new Apple-branded handset.
t’s a shame the iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus didn’t come with all new designs, because while they look like a slightly different iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus there are some massive improvements under the hood: ridiculously fast processors, even better cameras and some brilliant new features.
It’s a shame the iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus didn’t come with all new designs, because while they look like a slightly different iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus there are some massive improvements under the hood: ridiculously fast processors, even better cameras and some brilliant new features.
1. Squeeze the keyboard
The iPhone 8 is big, and the 8 Plus bigger still. If you’re struggling to type one-handed, press and hold the emoji button on the keyboard and you’ll see three keyboard icons: a left-hand side keyboard, the current standard keyboard and a right-hand side keyboard. Choose either left or right to squish the keyboard to that side for easier typing.
2. Customize Control Center
The redesigned Control Center is much handier than before, and you can make it handier still by changing its contents in Settings > Control Center > Customize Controls. You’ll find some interesting options in there, such as the option to add screen recording or control your Apple TV.
3. Drag and drop
iPhones haven’t yet got the power to drag and drop between apps, but you can now drag and drop inside Apple’s apps – so you can drag an attachment in Mail into a new message, drag text from one Note to another and so on.
4. Record at any resolution
The camera in the iPhone 8 and 8 Plus shoots 4K at 30 frames per second by default, but you can adjust that in Settings > Camera > Record Video to boost the speed to 60fps, drop it to 24fps or use a lower resolution such as 1080p or 720p HD. Naturally, the higher the resolution and frame rate the more space you’ll need to store your video.
5. Change lighting in Portrait mode
This one’s Plus-only, and it’s one of the headline features of the phone. Portrait mode has new lighting options that enable you to choose from different studio lighting and stage lighting effects, and the results are instant – there’s some serious processing going on to make the magic happen so quickly, and the original data is saved so you can change your mind later.