I’ve been using the new iPhone 17 Pro Max for just under a month, and it blows my mind that it’s still the go-to camera phone for so many photography enthusiasts. Don’t get me wrong, it’s competent, but compared with what Vivo’s just released, it already feels dated. The X300 Pro, by contrast, is a reminder of how exciting smartphone photography can be.
Most people stick with Apple, Samsung, or sometimes Google because their phones are familiar and widely available, but for anyone who prioritises photography and uses an iPhone, Galaxy, or Pixel, you could get a lot more for less. Noisy lowlight shots that are low on detail, photos that crumble when you pinch in or crop them, oversharpening and punched up saturation, and weak zoom performance despite Apple's marketing suggesting its phone has eight cameras around the back (it doesn't).
