As reported in my rundown of the 8S recently (https://goo.gl/XQS6bJ) the newer unit is physically heavier, classier in the hand, substantial - almost a piece of jewellery which I likened to a fine piece of Lladró. Beautifully designed, a joy to just own. But let's get beyond that and try to be a bit more pragmatic. (My initial thoughts on the Nokia 8 are at https://goo.gl/Bs2GuX.)
The 8 has a 5.3" screen but with bezels, which makes it feel bigger. But it's far from huge. It's nowhere near the size of, say, the Nokia 7 Plus, but yes, it could be smaller. The chin is populated with an HTC-style letterbox-shaped fingerprint scanner flanked by capacitive, fixed Back and Recents buttons. Might come a bit unstuck with Android P, as there's currently no way to turn them off. They can be lit when the screen is on and, on the plus side, you do get the whole screen to use for content. The 8S screen is much more modern feeling, 5.5" but because it glides silkily around the edges of the unit, it feels smaller than the size might dictate. In the hand, they both feel great. Much better than most 6" 18:9 units these days. The 8 employs glass front and 6000-series aluminium while the 8S thrills with glass back and front and stainless steel as a frame between. The 8S does better in weather-proofing, being protected to the IP67 level, whereas the 8 only gets to IP54 'splash'.
The 8 has an IPS LCD screen which is amazingly bright - the brightest LCD I've ever used. How they do that when others can't, who knows. It's excellent in use, indoors and out. Auto-brightness works well. The 8S uses an LG originated P-OLED screen, which should be super-bright, but it's not as bright as the 8's. It is a typical LG OLED though with nice deep rich blacks but, sadly, with a blue 'cast' across the panel. As the screen disappears around the curves left and right, Samsung style, it becomes even more blue when observed at certain angles. Like the Pixel 2 XL before it, the user gets used to this personality trait of the the LG panels and some argue that they no longer notice. I tend to agree now. It would be better if it were pure white, but it's not! Both screens are 16:9 and 1440 x 2560 pixels and offer GG5 protection.
One of the differences which some will focus on is the audio-out. Yes, the 8 has retained the 3.5mm jack and the 8S has moved to USB-C use, but both produce sounds through them with a 24-bit DAC component. The 8S does have Qi charging, so those who might argue about listening/charging issues, will be somewhat knocked down as you can certainly do both, with both! Also present in both units is the 3-microphone OZO Audio recording available for use while shooting 4K video (sadly, only).
Both phones have dual camera setups and with recent software updates, have the Nokia Camera features. They do differ, however, in a number of ways. The main cameras of the 8S are 12MP f1.8 and 13MP f2.6 (for 2x Zoom and Bokeh effects) but no OIS, whereas the 8 has two 13MP f2 units - one for colour, one for mono - so no 2x zoom, but it does have OIS. They both boast Zeiss optics. The front-facing camera on the 8 has a bigger 13MP f2 sensor and higher video recording resolution than the 8S's 5MP f2. They're both perfectly good for most uses, but it's interesting to see how the prettier flagship's specs have changed in terms of the camera and in some senses, downgraded over the older unit.
One of the ways in which the 8S outshines the 8 is via the Always-On, Glance Screen functionality and options. The 8's display on that LCD is dim, can only be lit for a maximum of 20 minutes and has limited information compared to the much brighter, true 'always on' (optionally) display of the 8S, where more information and integration with the phones' apps have been allowed. More options for different looking clocks, day, date. Altogether, much better.
The 8S is one of the new Nokia units which comes as a part of the AndroidOne programme. It 'feels' more up to date than the 8, though actually, HMD/Nokia have been good to their promise with these units, both being on 8.1.0. and (as I write) June 2018 Google Security Updated. You can read about the AndroidOne programme elsewhere, but I like it and think it has legs going forward. Having said that, both of these phones use a clean, uncluttered version of Android with nothing but Nokia Support and Camera apps added. Updates are quick on both and many would see this as a real selling point. Both phones have a Snapdragon 835 chipset and they fly. No need for 845. There really isn't, certainly yet.
The 8 has a MicroSD Card slot, so my unit here with 128GB onboard, coupled with my 400GB Card gives me a staggering 528GB of storage! Try and fill that with 4K video and OZO sound! The 8S does not have a slot, so the 128GB storage is what you get. The 8 is available with, like mine, 128GB storage and 6GB RAM or 64GB and 4GB RAM, as I touched on earlier. The 8S has 6GB RAM.
The bottom-firing speaker on both units is very good, compared to almost all other similarly-equipped units with which I've had hands-on experience. They're loud, fairly good quality, but won't challenge best-in-class, with which we've been spoiled. Perfectly good for all everyday uses - just don't plan a DISCO!
The 8 has a 3090mAh battery with QC3 whilst the 8S has a 3260mAh unit with QC4 and Qi Charging. The battery performance of both these units is much better than many others out there, even before any tricks are used to save juice via the usual software tricks and apps. They both get me well past the get-to-bedtime standard. The clean Android seems to make the most of what appear to be batteries with average ratings. In my opinion, they both perform like other units with 500mAh+ more on paper. I'm paranoid about battery power and running out, but I really shouldn't be with either of these.
The position of fingerprint scanners causes as much division it seems as the value of a 3.5mm audio-out socket! The 8S has a scanner on the back, making the most use of space on the front and keeping things clean. This positively means that it’s easy taking the unit out of the pocket - when you get it to your hand, it’s on. Not so good if the phone is sitting on a table/desk or Qi charging unit. There’s always DDTW I guess, but in that situation you can’t really argue with the convenience of having the scanner on the front. As I said earlier, the 8 has the scanner on the front, chin, and it’s great for on desk use. But it takes up a bunch of the front of the unit and is arguably less useful to switch on when taking it out of a pocket. But YMMV and it’s a very personal thing.
The 8 is available is a few subtle colours but the 128GB version only in shiny blue! The 8S is only available in black and feels a bit like a limited edition unit in that respect. I’m sure it’s not and that Nokia are fully committed to it ongoingly. But that does bring us to cost. Cash. Money. Loot. And the fact that the 8S is twice the price, in round terms, taking into account special offers, importing options etc. and will have a huge impact on anyone considering the two units. I think that if you can afford the outlay - justify it as a two year spend, for example, the 8S is a delight to own and is beautiful. If you’re looking for a functional, better in some ways, value-for-money phone which delivers on almost every level, you’d be hard pushed to remove the 8 from your shortlist. I’m pleased to have both, but personally think that, even given some of the benefits highlighted here of the 8 over the 8S, the 8 would much more likely be the one which ends up on PSC Classifieds!
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