Apple iPhone 8, iPhone 8 Plus launched with A11 Bionic chipset, AR support

Behold. The new iPhones are here.

Apple iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus are here. (Apple)

It's official. Apple's new iPhones are out. And they are called the iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus. In one of the most anticipated phone launches of the year, tech giant Apple introduced the two phones at the unveiling event at their headquarter in Cupertino, California, on Tuesday. Both the phones, upgrades of last year's iPhone 7 and 7 Plus, will have glass back panel "reinforced" by steel and feature faster processors, a True Tone display, and upgraded cameras.

The iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus, available in 64GB and 256GB storage variants, will go for up pre-order on September and will be available from September 22.

Apple Senior Vice President of Worldwide Marketing, Phil Schiller, introduces the iPhone 8. (REUTERS)

Apple Senior Vice President of Worldwide Marketing, Phil Schiller, introduces the iPhone 8. (REUTERS)

Apple iPhone 8, Apple iPhone Plus: Specifications, features

The iPhone 8 boasts a 4.7-inch display whereas the iPhone 8 Plus had a 5.5-inch display. Just like the previous years, the new iPhones also come with 3D Touch. The smartphones are powered by the A11 Bionic 64-bit hexa-core processor. It is a six-core chip with two performance cores that are 25% faster than the A10. It is about 30% faster in terms graphic performance. The SoC has a built-in pixel processor for better photography through the new iPhones.

The company has introduced the same True Tone technology it offers on the 10.5-inch iPad Pro to automatically adjust the screen based on the ambient light in the room to offer more accurate colours.

The glass back on both the phones enables one of the biggest internal changes in both the phones: To help wireless charging. It wouldn't have worked with the aluminium shell of last year's models. Also, like the iPhone 7, the new phones won't have the 3.5mm headphone jack either.

Schiller intoduces the camera panel of the iPhone 8. (REUTERS)

Schiller intoduces the camera panel of the iPhone 8. (REUTERS)

iPhone 8 comes with 12-megapixel sensor with deeper pixels, optical image stabilisation and HDR. The iPhone 8 Plus has 12-megapixel dual cameras with f/1.8 and f/2.8 apertures with optical image stabilisation, portrait mode. The iPhone 8 Plus also comes with portrait beta, which delivers better photos and different light effects from the portrait mode. The iPhone 8 Plus is also claimed to deliver the highest video quality with faster video frame rates and real-time image stabilisation. It shoots full HD videos at 240 fps. The cameras for both the phones have also been calibrated for the Augmented Reality.

The iPhones come with Bluetooth 5.0 and faster LTE connectivity. The new iPhones also come with wireless charging support. This will be the first time Apple has brought in wireless charging support for its iPhones. Apple's wireless charging will based on Qi standards. The company revealed that a few partners like Belkin will be launching wirelsss chargers for the iPhone.

The company is touting the iPhone 8 as the first smartphone designed for augmented reality, with cameras calibrated for AR, along with a new gyroscope and accelerometer for better motion tracking.

The iPhone 8 will start at $699 for a 64GB model, while the 8 Plus will start at $799 for 64GB of storage. Both models will also have larger 256GB models, for as yet unannounced prices. Both phones will be available for preorder starting Friday, September 15th, with a release date a week later on September 22.