vivo X300 Pro vs iPhone 17 Pro Max: Which is the right choice?

(Dan Tri) - Vivo X300 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are currently the two most high-end smartphones from the two brands vivo and Apple, competing directly with each other in the high-end mobile segment.

Over the past two years, the high-end smartphone segment in the Vietnamese market has become no longer just a playground between Apple and Samsung. After a period of absence, Chinese mobile brands have returned to this segment.

Thanks to that, the market is becoming more and more vibrant than before. Besides the two familiar names iPhone 17 Pro Max and Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra, users now have many other options such as Xiaomi 15 Ultra, OPPO Find X9 Pro or most recently vivo X300 Pro.

+ Editor's Advice:

The iPhone 17 Pro Max will be suitable for users familiar with the Apple ecosystem, long-time iPhone users who want to upgrade to a new device.

vivo X300 Pro will be for users who love mobile photography, need a device that supports a variety of AI features and allows multi-platform connectivity.

Design and display

vivo X300 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max share quite a few similarities in design as both devices are finished with an aluminum frame and a frosted glass back.

The most obvious difference lies in the back when the camera cluster of vivo X300 Pro is designed in a large circular shape and placed in the middle. Meanwhile, the camera cluster on iPhone 17 Pro Max stretches into a horizontal strip that takes up almost the entire width of the back.

The camera cluster on both devices is designed to protrude from the back. However, the iPhone 17 Pro Max still feels more comfortable to hold. The reason comes from the location of the camera cluster on the vivo X300 Pro, which makes it easy for users to accidentally touch the lens area with their fingers.

vivo X300 Pro is equipped with a new generation AMOLED screen from BOE, measuring 6.78 inches with a resolution of 2,800 x 1,260 pixels and a refresh rate of 120Hz. This screen has a maximum brightness of 4,500 nits and can be reduced to a minimum of 1 nit to help protect the eyes better when used in low light environments or at night.

The iPhone 17 Pro Max has a 6.9-inch Super Retina XDR display with a resolution of 2,868 x 1,320 pixels and a maximum brightness of 3,000 nits. ProMotion technology allows the refresh rate to vary from 1Hz to 120Hz, ensuring smooth scrolling and saving battery when displaying static content.

Currently, these are all screen panels with the best display quality on the mobile market, able to meet all usage and entertainment needs.

Camera

The camera system on the vivo X300 Pro includes a 50MP main lens using the LYT-828 sensor co-developed by vivo and Sony. Meanwhile, the 50MP ultra-wide-angle camera uses the Samsung JN1 sensor.

The highlight of this camera system is the periscope lens with a focal length of 85mm. The center of the system is a large 1/1.4 inch HPB sensor with a resolution of 200MP, co-developed by vivo and Samsung. This sensor has an aperture of f/2.67, is coated with ZEISS T* and has ZEISS APO certification. In addition, the device also integrates the vivo V3+ chip dedicated to image processing.

On the iPhone 17 Pro Max, Apple also focused on improving the camera system in both hardware and software. The main camera and super wide angle of the device still have a resolution of 48MP, supporting Smart HDR 5 technology.

Apple also made a big change to the telephoto lens. Instead of the previous generation's 5x lens, the iPhone 17 Pro Max is equipped with a completely new 48MP tetraprism sensor. This allows users to take 4x optical zoom photos and 8x "optical quality" zoom by cropping from the sensor's 12MP center area.

Here are some photos taken at zoom levels including 1x, 2x, 4x, 8x, 10x, 20x and 40x.

In well-lit conditions with zoom levels below 8x, the photo quality from both devices does not differ much in terms of detail and contrast. Photos taken from the vivo X300 Pro have a cold tone, while photos taken from the iPhone 17 Pro Max have a warmer tone.

The difference becomes more obvious with photos taken at 10x zoom or more. At this point, the photo quality from the vivo X300 Pro is completely superior in terms of detail, color and contrast. Meanwhile, photos taken on the iPhone 17 Pro Max lose a lot of detail, the image is grainy, the color is dull and almost unusable.

In night photography conditions, both cameras have good noise handling capabilities, images retain a lot of detail and can control the light without causing glare.

However, the vivo X300 Pro is still superior. When zooming in on the billboard on the right, the photo taken from the iPhone 17 Pro Max loses some details. The sharpness and detail of the text on the billboard are also less reproduced than the photo taken from the vivo X300 Pro camera.

With portrait mode, vivo X300 Pro supports shooting at 5 different focal lengths from 24mm to 135mm. Meanwhile, iPhone 17 Pro Max supports 3 levels of image zoom options including 1x, 2x and 4x.

In low-light portrait photography, both cameras reproduce details well, the subject stands out from the background. Difficult details such as glasses or hair are handled in a balanced way. However, the skin color in the photo taken from the iPhone 17 Pro Max has a slight yellow tint, while the vivo X300 Pro handles skin color more naturally.

Performance and AI

vivo X300 Pro integrates MediaTek Dimensity 9500 processor, 16GB RAM and 512GB internal memory. iPhone 17 Pro Max is equipped with A19 Pro chip, 12GB RAM capacity and maximum memory option of 2TB. Currently, these are all the most powerful processors on smartphones.

Real-life experience shows that both devices can meet all user needs, including heavy graphics gaming, photo and video editing, and AI processing. Users will hardly notice the difference in performance experience between the two devices.

However, the iPhone 17 Pro Max is somewhat more prominent when it supports many AAA games such as Assassin's Creed Mirage or Resident Evil 7: Biohazard. Currently, these games are only released exclusively for some iPhone models.

The iPhone 17 Pro Max also shows Apple's clear efforts after years of complaints about heat dissipation. The return to aluminum material and the addition of a vapor chamber to dissipate heat helps the device operate more stably, cooler, and more durable in actual use.

Apple also improved the battery on the iPhone 17 Pro Max with a capacity of 4,823mAh, supporting 40W wired fast charging and 25W MagSafe wireless charging. However, these upgrades still cannot be compared to the vivo X300 Pro when the device integrates a 6,510mAh battery, supports 90W wired fast charging and 40W wireless charging.

The iPhone 17 Pro Max comes pre-installed with the iOS 26 operating system platform. To date, this is still a controversial update as the Liquid Glass interface makes users feel eye pain and the operating system is unstable.

In the latest iOS 26.1 update, the Apple Intelligence toolkit now supports Vietnamese language. However, Apple still has a lot of work to do to improve the AI ​​system on iPhone.

Meanwhile, the OriginOS 6 platform on vivo X300 Pro supports a series of AI features that support translation, summarization, text creation, etc. The device also deeply integrates the Google Gemini virtual assistant with many tools such as Live Translate or Circle to Search, etc.

With the advantage of being a device in the Apple ecosystem, the iPhone 17 Pro Max has the advantage of being supported with longer-term software updates. At the same time, the product also has the ability to connect seamlessly with other devices in the Apple ecosystem such as MacBook, iPad, Apple Watch or AirPods.

In terms of AI experience, vivo X300 Pro is somewhat superior with many useful features, supporting users in taking photos or processing work. At the same time, the OriginOS 6 platform also allows the device to expand connectivity to products in the Apple ecosystem.

Summary

vivo X300 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are both smartphones with high-end design and powerful performance, which can meet most of the user's needs. Each device is aimed at different user groups.

The iPhone 17 Pro Max features powerful performance, AAA gaming capabilities, and a suite of Apple Intelligence tools that are constantly updated with new features. At the same time, the iOS platform also supports longer update times.

Meanwhile, vivo X300 Pro has a powerful camera system that can meet a variety of mobile photography needs. In addition, the device also integrates a series of smart AI features and allows users to easily connect to multiple platforms.

Source: https://dantri.com.vn/cong-nghe/vivo-x300-pro-doi-dau-iphone-17-pro-max-dau-la-lua-chon-phu-hop-20251201002602647.htm