The iPhone 17 Pro Max Has Excellent Cameras for Photography, But Wait Until You See This Rival
Apple’s iPhone 17 Pro Max continues to impress with its dependable camera system, powered by the Photonic Engine and finely tuned computational imaging. Its strength has always been in consistency, lifelike colors, balanced exposure, and an ability to make almost any shot look clean and natural. But as smartphone photography evolves, a new contender challenges the notion that “accurate” is always “better.”
Mobile Photography Showdown: iPhone 17 Pro Max vs Mystery Flagship
We compared the iPhone 17 Pro Max against a mysterious flagship that approaches photography with a very different philosophy, one focused on character, depth, and emotion rather than pure precision. The results show just how far smartphone imaging has diverged in style.
Bright Light
In bright light, the iPhone 17 Pro Max delivers its trademark realism. Colors are faithful, contrast is moderate, and details are well-preserved across shadows and highlights. It is a strength Apple has refined over years of hardware and software integration.
Yet, the mystery rival paints a different picture, literally. Its photos lean toward cinematic contrast, richer saturation, and dramatic skies. While Apple shows the world as it is, the other phone shows how it feels. If you look at the picture of the light fixture, it’s noticeably greener and brighter on the iPhone whereas here, everything else but the light fixture looks more subdued, giving it a more cinematic focus to the subject.
Low Light
In low light, the iPhone still captures a balanced exposure quickly, preserving bright sources without overexposing them as much as it can. From the first picture, it has trouble with the shop sign, which is more visible in the second photo as everything else has less exposure. In the last photo, you can see that it struggles to focus on the ice cream, resulting in a slightly blurry look.
Its rival on the other hand reveals more in the shadows, producing a brighter and cleaner night scene that looks closer to what your eyes perceive in person. Unlike the iPhone, you can see the shop sign clearly in the first picture while the second one is more balanced in terms of lighting. The ice cream photo also has better focus, resulting in some nice bokeh.
Portraits and Subject Focus
For portraits, Apple remains the gold standard for natural results. The iPhone 17 Pro Max captures accurate skin tones and fine edge detail, especially around hair and textured clothing. When capturing people, it doesn’t try to brighten up the skin tone, giving a more natural look whereas for objects, it seems to make it look a bit more vibrant.
But the mysterious contender’s portrait shots are strikingly different. Skin tones appear warmer and brighter, while the object is less vibrant. Personally for me, portraits of humans look better on the mystery phone, especially the colors of the subject and the background, while the iPhone wins when it comes to objects.
Zoom and Close Ups
For the iPhone 17 Pro Max, macro shots are taken using the ultrawide camera. This results in a different look as well as having to bring the device much closer to the subject in order to get the shot. Sure, you can still use the telephoto lens to zoom but it will have trouble focusing on subjects that are too close. Not to mention, ultrawide cameras are usually more dependent on light for better results.
As for the zoom shots themselves, the iPhone 17 Pro Max can perform decently but it seems to have trouble getting subjects in focus. Beyond 10x zoom, some software magic takes place as it tries to retain as much detail as possible but it usually results in a softer look.
The rival camera counters with stronger macro performance. It can focus closer, rendering surfaces and textures with remarkable precision. Its dedicated focus control allows manual adjustments, letting users compose tiny subjects deliberately, something Apple’s automatic macro mode still doesn’t fully allow. Moreover, colors are generally more vibrant and pleasing here.
It also has an easier time focusing on subjects when zooming in. One area of criticism I’d have for it is that colors tend to be more washed out past 10x zoom but that is pretty much par for the course with most modern flagships these days. As it is, I’d rather have a more washed out photo than an out-of-focus one as it can still be fixed with a bit of editing.
Usability and Creator Features
The iPhone 17 Pro Max remains one of the most reliable camera phones to use. Its app launches fast, its interface is intuitive, and its ecosystem integration, from iCloud sync to Final Cut Pro, makes it seamless for creators working across Apple devices. The Smart Composition tool even offers real-time AI framing suggestions for effortless content creation. It’s designed for those who want to make their shooting experience as simple as possible.
The mystery rival takes a different path. It’s designed for creators who prefer control over convenience, offering manual adjustments for ISO, shutter speed, and white balance. Its built-in color modes emulate classic camera looks, and it also has customizable Leica-style presets for advanced users. The picture and the mention of Leica here should clue you in as to what this mystery phone is, and if it’s not obvious yet, it’s the…
The Reveal: Meet the Xiaomi 15T Pro
That mysterious rival? It’s the Xiaomi 15T Pro, a flagship co-engineered with Leica that redefines what a phone camera can feel like. Where the iPhone 17 Pro Max delivers precision and consistency, Xiaomi’s Leica-tuned lenses bring cinematic warmth and emotion straight out of camera. Some of its weaknesses like the duller colors can be fixed using the Leica-style presets if you don’t plan on editing much.
| Feature | Xiaomi 15T Pro | iPhone 17 Pro Max |
| Main Camera | 50MP 1/1.31″ sensor, f/1.6 aperture, OIS, multi-directional PDAF | 48MP 1/1.28″ sensor, f/1.78 aperture, OIS |
| Ultrawide | 12MP, f/2.2, 120° FOV | 48MP, f/2.2, 120° FOV, PDAF |
| Telephoto | 50MP, f/3.0, 5× optical zoom, OIS, PDAF | 48MP, f/2.8, 4× optical zoom, PDAF, 3D sensor-shift OIS |
| Chipset | Mediatek Dimensity 9400+ (3nm) | Apple A19 Pro (3nm) |
| Max Video Resolution | 8K 30FPS / 4K 120FPS | 4K 120FPS |
| Color Science | Leica Authentic & Vibrant Looks | Apple Photonic Engine, Smart HDR 5 |
| AI Features | Leica Photographic Styles, Xiaomi AI Image Engine, AI Erase Pro | Apple Neural Engine, Photographic Styles |
The more important part here is that a smartphone that costs about half of the iPhone 17 Pro Max can put up a good fight against it. After all, the Xiaomi 15T Pro retails from RM2,699 whereas the iPhone 17 Pro Max retails form RM5,999. Sure, you can save a bit by going for the iPhone 17 Pro instead but even that one starts from RM5,499, making the Xiaomi 15T Pro still much more affordable in comparison, even if you go for the range-topping 1TB model which retails for RM3,499.
Given that everyone has different use cases for smartphone photography, we can’t definitively say one is better than the other as both devices have their own strengths and weaknesses. For those who want effortless reliability, Apple’s approach still reigns supreme. However, if you crave artistic flexibility and photos that feel alive, the Xiaomi 15T Pro offers something Apple’s precision rarely does; personality.
Read more of our articles below!
