Digital Camera World has updated its running guide to the best camera phones, and the two names at the top are not new: the iPhone 18 Pro Max and the Google Pixel 10 Pro, each praised for a different job.
According to Reviews Editor Gareth, who writes the guide, the iPhone 18 Pro Max is his pick for video, calling Apple "the standard I judge everything else against" for moving footage, thanks to consistent color across lenses, strong stabilization and what he describes as an increasingly serious set of professional recording formats.
The camera hardware itself hasn't changed radically. The iPhone 18 Pro Max keeps three 48-megapixel rear cameras covering 13mm, 24mm and 100mm equivalent focal lengths, with 2x and 8x options pulled from sensor crops rather than dedicated lenses. The headline addition is a physical variable aperture on the main camera that can shift between f/1.48, f/1.8, f/2.8 and f/4.
Gareth isn't convinced that feature does much. He writes that the sensor is simply too small for the aperture changes to meaningfully affect depth of field in most shooting situations, calling it "far less transformative than Apple's marketing suggests." He singles out a wider f/1 aperture elsewhere in the system as the more useful upgrade, though the source material cuts off before detailing exactly where that sits.
For stills, the guide hands the win to the Pixel 10 Pro and its larger sibling, the Pixel 10 Pro XL. Google ships both screen sizes, 6.3 inches and 6.8 inches, with identical camera setups, so the choice comes down to hand size rather than image quality. The rear triple-camera system is largely carried over from the Pixel 9 Pro, but Digital Camera World says that doesn't hurt it, calling the quality and consistency "sublime," particularly at night.
What's grown is the software layer. Blur reduction uses machine learning to sharpen shaky shots, Best Take swaps in better expressions across a burst of photos, and a new AI-assisted Pro Res Zoom pushes past the phone's optical limits with what the review calls brilliantly sharp results, alongside a sharper 100x super-res zoom. There's also RAW capture and a new pro controls mode for manual exposure and color, aimed at anyone who wants mirrorless-style control. A cloud-based Video Boost cleans up dark footage, though it doesn't work on the ultra-wide camera and isn't described as a dramatic leap.
Google has also committed to seven years of software updates for the Pixel 10 Pro line, and the review notes the phone has gone up in price again, without naming a figure. Digital Camera World doesn't say the iPhone 18 Pro Max is cheaper or more expensive either, so anyone comparing the two on cost will need to check current listings directly.
The practical takeaway from the guide is less about a single best phone and more about matching a camera to what you shoot. Video-first buyers get pointed toward Apple, still photographers and anyone leaning on AI editing get pointed toward Google, and Digital Camera World says it will keep the rankings updated as more flagships launch this cycle.
RRFiled by The Reviews Roundup Desk
What the reviews are saying: verdicts on new devices from the outlets that tested them, summarised and credited to each. This desk does not test products itself.
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