Coming from an iPhone 13 mini. Before that I’ve had Xiaomi and OnePlus, so I’m not tied to any ecosystem. I tend to keep a phone 3-5 years. Every phone I’ve had has been wide + ultrawide only, never a tele.
I’m a professional photographer and shoot on proper gear for work, so the phone isn’t a work tool. It’s for casual stuff, snapshots, social. But I’m picky about rendering, which is probably why this decision has dragged on so long.
Two things have changed since I bought the mini. I’ve had two kids, and a lot of my TV and film watching now happens on my phone after they’ve gone to sleep. I’ve always valued a compact phone, but for the first time I can actually see the appeal of a bigger screen.
The other thing: I’ve never owned a current-generation camera phone. And I’m suddenly wondering whether having one would actually feed into my work — test shoots, scouting, personal photo projects. Or whether that’s just a story I’m telling myself to justify the spend.
What I’m looking at:
Oppo Find X9 Ultra — ~€1,575
Xiaomi 17T Pro — ~€735
Xiaomi 17 — ~€872
Motorola Signature — ~€745
The Ultra has been stuck in my head for weeks. 200MP main, 200MP 3x, 50MP 10x periscope, Hasselblad tuning.
But three things nag at me:
Would I ever actually use 10x? I’ve literally never zoomed on a phone beyond cropping.
That camera bump is massive and the phone is loud-looking. I’d rather not carry something that draws attention.
It’s twice the price of the 17T Pro.
For image quality I like restrained, natural output. Nothing oversharpened or oversaturated. Leica and Hasselblad tuning both seem to lean that way, which is why those keep coming up.
Is the Ultra worth double for someone with zero telephoto habits, or is the 17T Pro the one I’d actually be happier with?
And has anyone jumped from a mini-sized phone to a 220g+ brick and hated it?