Apple iPhone 17 Pro Max vs Oppo Find X8 Pro

EDITORIAL: Apple decided to introduce an aluminium frame for it's Pro phones after years of promoting steel and titanium as better options. The camera bump now stretches across the top portion of the back to allow for a bigger battery and the new cooling chamber. These make for the biggest design changes in years and its a needed move considering there is much more Android competition in the premium segment. All of the back cameras are now 48MP but photography is not showing improvement over 16 Pro Max while phones from Vivo, Huawei, Vivo and Xiaomi now offer better pics. A new 18MP selfie produces great photos (as did the old one) and iPhone Pros still record the best videos, front and back. New A19 Pro is a good processor but not as powerful as are the latest SnapDragon and Mediatec chips. iOS 26 brings Liquid Glass design language while keeping the fundamentals same. UI design feels a bit outdated with multiple pages of icons and (while labels can now be removed) the overall design is not as flexible as with Android competition.

EDITORIAL: The best Oppo phone of 2024 is a full feature, mature flagship. Outstanding performance, excellent build with a silent-vibrate-ring slider and a new "control button" to start the camera, zoom and take a photo. Feels smaller and easier to hold due to both font and back 4 side micro-curved glass panels. 5 years of very stable OS and a great main camera with 2 zoom lenses but Oppo is saving its best for the X8 Ultra, expected in early 2025. Still no AF on selfie, no memory expansion or desktop replacement software.