(Image credit: Sanuj Bhatia / Tom's Guide)

With the iPhone 18 Pro Max , Apple has made some major changes to the camera hardware. For the first time, the company has introduced a variable aperture on the iPhone 18 Pro series, allowing the main camera to switch between f/1.48 and f/4.0.

This means the camera can physically control how much light enters the sensor, which should result in better photos across different lighting conditions. Or at least that's the theory.

But as Android smartphones have shown us time and again, iPhones don't necessarily take the best smartphone photos . I've had the chance to use the Oppo Find X10 Pro Max for the past two weeks, and after capturing more than 200 photos with both phones, I think it's pretty clear that despite the new hardware, Apple still has quite a bit of catching up to do.

Oppo Find X10 Pro Max vs.…