The iPhone 17 Pro is completely worthy of its rating among the many best camera phones you should purchase in 2026. Because of its trio of lenses and options like ProRaw, It is able to taking gorgeous pictures — in broad daylight or within the dead of night — that may rival skilled mirrorless cameras. However whereas Apple could have held its crown as cell pictures champ for a very long time, there are an rising variety of flagship Android phones that provide unimaginable digicam expertise as nicely — and the Oppo Find X9 Pro is simply such a tool. Its digicam setup is superb and I’ve taken some stunning pictures with it utilizing each its huge and 200-megapixel zoom cameras.
The Discover X9 Professional is a powerhouse telephone in all respects, which is why it scored so extremely in my full overview — and why it was given a coveted CNET Editors’ Alternative Award. So to see simply the way it stacks up in opposition to the iPhone 17 Professional, I took it out on a collection of picture missions round my stunning house metropolis of Edinburgh.
Earlier than we dive in, a fast be aware concerning the pictures. They have been all shot with every telephone’s default digicam mode in JPEG with no different settings utilized (the Photographic Fashion on the iPhone was set to Normal). The photographs have been imported into Lightroom for the needs of comparability and exporting at file sizes that can play properly on the web, however no different edits, sharpening or noise discount have been utilized.
Watch this: One Month Later: The iPhone 17 Professional Strikes Again
Keep in mind that whereas some selections about which pictures look higher could be apparent (akin to a scarcity of element or picture processing aberrations), others will merely come down to non-public opinion. I’m a professional photographer, so I usually search for a picture that captures the scene extra naturally. You might like a extra vibrant picture with excessive distinction, so take my findings with a pinch of salt.
With that mentioned, let’s dive in.
Broad cameras comparability
iPhone 17 Professional, shot on the primary digicam.
Oppo Discover X9 Professional, shot on the primary digicam.
Beginning off with this straightforward snap overlooking the prepare tracks. Each telephones have uncovered their pictures above nicely however the Oppo’s shot has extra pure heat tones on the brickwork on the wall — the iPhone’s look extra magenta. The Oppo’s colours are extra vibrant, too, however not overly so.
iPhone 17 Professional, shot on the ultrawide digicam.
Oppo Discover X9 Professional, shot on the ultrawide digicam.
Switching to the ultrawide lens, the blue sky positively appears oversaturated within the Oppo’s shot. And this is the place we’ve got to dive deeper; Oppo’s picture has had extra digital sharpening utilized to it, which helps some particulars look crisp, nevertheless it’s additionally received a number of noise discount, which smooths particulars in different areas.
Element crop with the iPhone 17 Professional on the left and Oppo Discover X9 Professional on the appropriate.
If we glance up shut at this part of wall, we are able to see that the sturdy strains of mortar between the bricks look sharper within the Oppo’s picture on the appropriate. However the bricks themselves look virtually polished as they have been stripped of element by the noise discount. The iPhone’s picture has retained that element.
iPhone 17 Professional, shot with the primary digicam.
Oppo Discover X9 Professional, shot with the primary digicam
One other bizarre one to research. The wood field of the library is definitely sharper on the Oppo’s shot, with even the minute scratches on the perspex being clearly seen. However as quickly as we glance additional out towards the sides of the body, that element plummets.
Element crop with the iPhone 17 Professional on the left and Oppo Discover X9 Professional on the appropriate.
Zooming in shut on a piece to the appropriate aspect of the body, it is clear that the Oppo’s picture severely lacks element in comparison with the iPhone’s picture. Whether or not that is a picture processing problem or because of the high quality of the lens, I am unsure, nevertheless it’s shocking to see, particularly given how sharp the remainder of the picture is.
iPhone 17 Professional, shot with the primary digicam.
Oppo Discover X9 Professional, shot with the primary digicam.
This indoor shot on the primary digicam seems like a barely simpler win for the Oppo. Its picture is brighter and colours look richer with out being too punchy. As earlier than, it each sharpens some areas and reduces texture in others. There is a lack of element towards the sting of the body, however you’d solely discover for those who actually rise up near the pixels. Total, I want the look of the Oppo’s shot.
iPhone 17 Professional, shot with the ultrawide digicam.
Oppo Discover X9 Professional, shot with the ultrawide digicam.
And it is the identical once I switched to the ultrawide lens — the Oppo takes the win right here.
iPhone 17 Professional, shot with the primary digicam.
Oppo Discover X9 Professional, shot with the primary digicam.
I really like the balanced publicity from each telephones on this vibrant out of doors scene, however I want the hotter tone of the Oppo’s shot. The iPhone’s picture appears prefer it noticed all of the golden colours and set its auto white steadiness on the cooler aspect to compensate. The Oppo produced a extra true-to-life picture and I believe it is an ideal shot because of this.
iPhone 17 Professional, shot with the primary digicam.
Oppo Discover X9 Professional, shot with the primary digicam.
I do not just like the Oppo’s effort right here, although. It artificially brightened the shadows manner an excessive amount of, giving this scene a faux HDR look that screams, “I took this on an Android telephone.” The iPhone takes a straightforward win with its extra pure deal with on shadows.
iPhone 17 Professional, shot with the primary digicam.
Oppo Discover X9 Professional, shot with the primary digicam.
I am conflicted on this one. The Oppo’s shot is brighter and extra vibrant, nevertheless it’s virtually an excessive amount of. The blue sky is a bit on the electric-blue aspect for my style, whereas the buildings within the middle of the body look barely too brilliant. Nonetheless, I believe I want its rendition to the iPhone’s, which does look somewhat drab by comparability.
iPhone 17 Professional, shot with 2x zoom.
Oppo Discover X9 Professional, shot with 2x zoom.
At 2x zoom, this indoor scene appears stable on each telephones. Total, I believe the Oppo’s shot takes the win because it’s brighter and sharper than the iPhone’s.
iPhone 17 Professional, shot with 8x zoom.
Oppo discover X9 Professional, shot with 6x zoom.
Taking every telephone as much as its most default zoom ranges (8x on the iPhone, 6x on the Oppo), the outcomes look fairly dramatically completely different. The colour steadiness is wildly completely different for one factor, with the iPhone leaning extra into teal tones whereas the Oppo’s picture has a extra magenta solid to it. Truthfully, neither one appears particularly life like, with each telephones going a bit too exhausting in several instructions. What I’ve seen is that the Oppo’s picture has gone overboard with the digital sharpening, leading to a crunchiness to the small print that I am not a fan of.
Element crop with the iPhone 17 Professional on the left and Oppo Discover X9 Professional on the appropriate.
The massive quantity of digital sharpening on the Oppo’s shot is evident while you zoom in on the small print.
iPhone 17 Professional, shot with 8x zoom.
Oppo Discover X9 Professional, shot with 6x zoom.
That is an odd one; at max zoom, the Oppo has catastrophically did not render the small print on the aspect of the constructing.
Element crop with the iPhone 17 Professional on the left and Oppo Discover X9 Professional on the appropriate.
Take a look at this detailed crop; I do not know what the Oppo was doing in its picture, however that constructing has been changed into a weird, smeary mess. The iPhone has executed an excellent job of capturing these distant fantastic particulars.
iPhone 17 Professional, shot with 8x zoom.
Oppo Discover X9 Professional, shot with 6x zoom.
Seagulls on a log. There’s little or no to decide on between both telephone on this instance. Take your choose!
iPhone 17 Professional, shot with 8x zoom.
Oppo Discover X9 Professional, shot with the Hasselblad zoom lens.
The Oppo Discover X9 Professional does have a secret weapon relating to zoom, although, within the type of the Hasselblad telephoto zoom accent. This elective lens attaches to the telephone and provides enormous zoom lengths — as much as 40x — whereas retaining wonderful high quality. You may see the distinction right here within the most zoom vary of the iPhone in opposition to the zoom of the Discover X9 Professional with the lens connected; it is each nearer and sharper.
The telephoto lens appears identical to an actual Hasselblad digicam lens. It is nice enjoyable to play with.
Oppo Discover X9 Professional, shot with the Hasselblad telephoto zoom lens.
I completely love utilizing the lens add-on for avenue pictures, as you will get some nice candid moments with out anybody noticing. It is value conserving in thoughts, although, that the Hasselblad lens for the telephone is an eye-watering £435 or $580 (based mostly on a tough conversion of the 499 euro worth), and third-party telephoto lenses from the likes of Sandmarc are additionally accessible for the iPhone.
Night time pictures
iPhone 17 Professional, shot with the primary digicam, night time mode.
Oppo Discover X9 Professional, shot with the primary digicam, night time mode.
The iPhone’s night time mode shot right here does look brighter, however I want the richer distinction on the Oppo’s shot. In any other case, it is a fairly even match right here.
iPhone 17 Professional, shot with the primary digicam, night time mode.
Oppo Discover X9 Professional, shot with the primary digicam, night time mode.
Nevertheless it’s a a lot simpler win for the Oppo right here. The deeper distinction has helped preserve among the flare from the lights at bay, whereas the small print on the entrance of the constructing are a lot sharper.
iPhone 17 Professional, shot with the primary digicam.
Oppo Discover X9 Professional, shot with the primary digicam.
This indoor scene is brighter, hotter and extra vibrant on the Oppo and I a lot want it because of this.
iPhone 17 Professional, shot with the primary digicam, night time mode.
Oppo Discover X9 Professional, shot with the primary digicam, night time mode.
The iPhone’s picture is brighter right here, particularly within the sky, however for those who zoom in on the small print, the Oppo’s picture is sharper.
iPhone 17 Professional, shot with the ultrawide digicam, night time mode.
Oppo Discover X9 Professional, shot with the ultrawide digicam, night time mode.
And it is mainly the identical story while you change to the ultrawide lens.
iPhone 17 Professional, shot with 8x zoom, night time mode.
Oppo Discover X9 Professional, shot with 6x zoom, night time mode.
Once we bounce to the zooms, although, the Oppo has ramped up the sharpening once more, leading to a picture that appears somewhat over-processed.
iPhone 17 Professional, shot with 2x zoom.
Oppo Discover X9 Professional, shot with 2x zoom.
I caught an excellent sundown on one night however solely the iPhone managed to do it justice. I really like the iPhone’s pure tones and deep shadows, whereas the Oppo has delivered an oversaturated shot that appears like I’ve utilized a cheesy filter earlier than posting it to Instagram.
iPhone 17 Professional, shot with the primary digicam.
Oppo Discover X9 Professional, shot with the primary digicam.
And it is the identical right here with the Oppo’s shot trying saturated in opposition to the iPhone’s extra life like model.
iPhone 17 Professional, shot with 8x zoom.
Oppo Discover X9 Professional, shot with 6x zoom.
However the distinction was most evident when utilizing the zoom lenses on each telephones. The iPhone’s shot not solely has extra pure colours, however the Oppo’s heavy-handed processing has given the lighthouse an disagreeable halo (a light-weight haziness round its edges) that actually spoils the shot.
iPhone 17 Professional, shot with the selfie digicam.
Oppo Discover X9 Professional, shot with the selfie digicam.
I ended on a selfie and right here each telephones went in fascinating instructions. The Oppo is actually the winner to my eye — it is shot is significantly sharper (with out overdoing it) with extra pure pores and skin tones and an correct orange hue on my jacket. The background is a bit overly cyan nevertheless it’s actually a better-looking try than the iPhone’s.
iPhone 17 Professional vs. Oppo Discover X9 Professional: Which takes higher photographs?
I used to be stunned on the outcomes. Oppo’s telephones — and its sister firm OnePlus’s telephones — have had a historical past of leaning exhausting into picture processing with usually wildly brightened shadows, an excessive amount of sharpening and inaccurate colours that resulted in photographs that have been solely actually okay for informal snaps. The Discover X9 Professional does have a few of that (the picture of the purple restaurant entrance is a very egregious instance of shadow brightening) nevertheless it’s far more toned down than I anticipated.
The truth is, it delivered photographs in lots of situations that I most popular over the iPhone’s. The golden hues of the tree-lined pathway shot appeared chic on the Oppo, whereas the hotter, brighter tones contained in the pub have been a transparent victory for the X9 Professional. A lot of the pictures from the Oppo’s most important digicam I most popular over the iPhone’s, together with some at night time. It wasn’t a win in each occasion and it simply goes to indicate that every telephone’s picture processing will nonetheless journey up in several situations.
However general, I believe I’ve to provide the win to the Oppo Discover X9 Professional. Its capacity to seize scenes precisely with simply sufficient processing to assist in giving pictures that little pop however with out going overboard is admirable. It is secure to say then, for those who’re on the lookout for a excessive efficiency Android digicam telephone, the Discover X9 Professional is actually one to contemplate.

