Back in 2019, aside from the US and Huawei tensions, we’ve made a head-to-head flagship duel between the iPhone 11 Pro Max and Huawei Mate 30 Pro. Fast forward three years after, the two companies met again in a very feature-focused camera showdown.

The iPhone 14 Pro Max (together with its smaller Pro sibling) are just two of the best smartphone cameras in the market right now.

Meanwhile, after two years, Huawei has decide to bring back something that was already considered “dead” — their Mate line. And just like past Mate smartphones, the Mate 50 Pro is also a big contender in today’s flagship smartphone category.

Camera specs

While there are many differences between the imaging system of these two smartphones, they are close enough to be considered direct rivals of one another. Ultra-wide cameras that seem too similar, main sensors and selfie cameras that are close enough in megapixel count.

But what makes the Mate 50 Pro stand out at least on paper? If you’re still not aware, the new Mate features an “Ultra-Aperture Camera” with a dual variable aperture system that switches between f/1.4 to f/4.0. Other than that, it offers a revolutionary periscope telephoto lens with a zoom range between 3.5x up to 100x.

For the iPhone, it’s got a nifty LiDAR scanner with a dual-LED dual-tone flash, as well as its ever-stable Sensor-Shift OIS and 4K Cinematic Mode. And oh, did I mention that Apple added a 2x crop zoom based on the large 48MP sensor?

But just like what we always say in this website, numbers and tech specs aren’t everything. We’re here to show you how the cameras of these phones perform IRL by comparing photo samples side-by-side through this camera shootout test.

Wide

The megapixel count between these two phones is a close call: 48MP vs 50MP. But what really sets one apart from the other?

As previously emphasized, the Mate 50 Pro highlights a dual-variable aperture system between f/1.4 to f/4.0 (versus iPhone 14 Pro Max’s f/1.78). But does it really offer anything significant in terms of photo quality?

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#13A (Portrait OFF)

#13B (Portrait ON)

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Ultra-wide

Offering the same 120-degree FoV (Field of View) and f/2.2 aperture, do we really expect anything grand between these two?

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Telephoto

The major difference has got to be the telephoto lenses of these two smartphones.

The iPhone 14 Pro Max offers a measly 12MP f/2.8 that can zoom between 3x to 15x. However, the Mate 50 Pro is just miles ahead with its 64MP f/3.5 periscope telephoto lens can zoom between 3.5x to 100x. But what does it really tell in photo quality?

#18B (3.5x zoom)

#19A (3.5x zoom)

#19B (10x zoom)

#19C (10x zoom)

#20 (3.5x zoom)

#21 (3.5x zoom)

Night Mode

While iPhones aren’t the best when it comes to night time smartphone photography, it can still shoot Night Mode photos ever since the iPhone 11 release.

Concurrently, Huawei highlights its “Super Night Mode” capabilities thanks to its new Ultra Aperture Camera, RYYB Sensor, and XD Fusion Pro image engine.

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#23 (Wide)

#24 (Ultra-wide)

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#26 (Ultra-wide)

#27A (Wide)

#27B (Ultra-wide)

#28 (3.5x zoom)

#29A (Wide)

#29B (3.5x zoom)

#30 (10x zoom)

BONUS: Selfie

The iPhone 14 Pro Max features an all-new 12MP f/1.9 selfie camera with autofocus capabilities. Meanwhile. the Huawei Mate 50 Pro offers a 13MP f/2.4 with an additional ToF 3D depth sensor.

Results

A lot of you might have been confused or tricked but here are the corresponding photos for each phone:

Photo A – Huawei Mate 50 Pro

Photo B – iPhone 14 Pro Max

Conclusion

Both phones showed decent amounts of highlights, shadows, contrast, sharpness, and an overall desirable High Dynamic Range. What sets these two phones apart from each other though is how each phone identifies AWB (Auto White Balance).

Having to use the Huawei P50 Pro during the early months of 2022 (and even compared it against the iPhone 13 Pro Max), I was expecting that the Mate 50 Pro would perform the same way as P50 Pro: having warm photos all throughout the board.

The (literally) cooler photos tell otherwise. In some instances, the Mate 50 Pro took “warmer shots” based on how its AI mode processed photos such as in indoor wide shots #4 / #8 / #9 / #12 and outdoor UWA photos #16 and #17. However, the same thing cannot be said in night mode. They all resulted to warmer shots versus the iPhone.

Not that it’s a bad thing as I actually prefer them over the iPhone. Having an eyesight that is clear enough than the rest of the population, I can tell that what the Mate 50 Pro is closer to reality than what the iPhone 14 Pro Max offered. Specifically in shots #23 / #28 / #30, it was able to preserve a decent amount of highlights instead of blowing them out. Most of all, the shots on the Mate 50 Pro are more lifelike / vivid.

Lastly, if you’ve read my iPhone 14 Pro Max versus the XS Max camera comparison, you’d know that the newest iPhone can’t shoot subjects closer. The same case can be seen on Shot #15. The only fix is to use the iPhone’s 2x zoom and shoot at a farther distance.

While both phones performed close to one another, the Huawei Mate 50 Pro still shines the most with its powerful periscope telephoto zoom and Super Night Mode prowess. It truly excelled in making zoomed and low-light shots into something that’s lively and closer to the naked eye.

SEE ALSO:

Huawei Mate 50 Pro vs HONOR Magic4 Pro: Camera Shootout

iPhone 14 Pro Max vs iPhone XS Max: Camera Shootout

In case you didn’t know, HONOR used to be Huawei’s sub-brand — until they decided to part ways. While still using Huawei’s EMUI software (but calling it Magic UI), HONOR is now operating as a separate entity.

But what actually makes the HONOR Magic4 Pro different from Huawei’s reborn flagship, the Mate 50 Pro?

Well, aside from the obvious Magic vs Mate branding, Huawei has its own “Ultra Aperture” camera. Coined from the term itself, it features a dual-variable aperture versus the Magic4 Pro’s fixed f/1.8 lens opening.

It also looks like the megapixel count is smaller on the ultra-wide unit of the Huawei Mate 50 Pro. Aside from that, the periscope telephoto lens and selfie cameras of the two phones are very much alike.

Now that you get a clear picture between the similarities and differences of each phone’s camera system, let’s get on to our camera shootout!

Wide

As previously mentioned, the Mate 50 Pro features a dual-variable aperture while the Magic4 Pro is consistent with its aperture offering. But can you really tell which is which considering they both feature a 50MP sensor?

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Ultra-Wide

For shots that require a wider Field of View (FoV), which do you think wins this round considering that the Magic4 Pro features a 50MP ultra-wide shooter while the Mate 50 Pro has a measly 12MP UWA shooter? (Despite the same f/2.2 aperture)

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Periscope Telephoto: Optical Zoom

Both the Mate and the Magic have a similar 64MP f/3.5 lens that has an optical zoom range of 3.5x. But of course, there would still be a difference in post-processing AI algorithm.

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#16

Periscope Telephoto: Lossless to Digital Zoom

With a similar periscope lens, both phones can both achieve a 10x lossless zoom and up to 100x digital zoom. But in this specific section, I chose to just zoom up digitally to just 60x.

#17 (10x)

#18 (10x)

#19 (30x)

#20 (60x)

Night Mode

This is what makes or breaks a smartphone camera. With the obvious differences in Night Mode processing magic, one phone definitely stands out. That’s either a matter of personal preference or just fans’ favorites.

#21 (Ultra-wide)

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#26 (3.5x zoom)

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BONUS: Super Macro

Just like other flagship smartphones nowadays, Super Macro is a feature that uses the ultra-wide lenses instead of the regular wide one in order to take close-up macro shots of objects. Doing so requires you to go closer to the subject you are shooting.

Results

You may already have a hint considering the results are consistent throughout the board:

Photo A — HONOR Magic4 Pro

Photo B — Huawei Mate 50 Pro

Conclusion

What should set both phones apart are the way they process each shot — but Huawei and HONOR’s similar AI camera processing techniques are what actually makes it hard to differentiate one phone from another.

For the most part, you can barely tell which is which. Shots taken during the broad daylight looked barely different regardless if its the regular wide, ultra-wide, or even the periscope telephoto lens.

But in some instances, the HONOR Magic4 Pro boosts saturation while the Huawei Mate 50 Pro samples focuses on brightening up the shots. However, its dual-variable aperture camera did not really make drastic differences in daylight shots for it to be considered a “groundbreaking” camera feature in today’s flagship smartphones.

Now when it comes to Night Mode “Magic”, the Huawei Mate 50 Pro is the clearer winner — especially with its very wide f/1.4 aperture. As I told in my past camera shootouts, the “better” Night Mode shot isn’t just about being the brightest nor the most vibrant of the bunch.

In the case of the Mate, it displayed the right amount of shadows, highlights, contrast and even the dynamic range. Most of all, its saturation what you can actually see irl.

Honestly speaking, I thought the HONOR Magic4 Pro is one among the best flagship smartphones for night photography. But after seeing how there’s a clear distinction between it and the Huawei Mate 50 Pro, I have reconsidered my opinion.

The less-saturated look of the night shots taken with the HONOR Magic4 Pro is preferential though. Some may still like it because it gives you that flat, RAW-like image. Thus, giving you more creative freedom in post-processing the shot afterwards.

Honestly, you can never go wrong between choosing these smartphones. But the dealbreaker is: can you compromise 5G and proper GMS support over a set of cameras that perform better at night?

SEE ALSO:

iPhone 14 Pro Max vs Huawei Mate 50 Pro: Camera Shootout

Get Google Apps on your Huawei Mate 50 Pro

HONOR Magic4 Pro: My Best Concert Companion

The iPhone XS Max was announced way back in 2018. It was the first “Max” model introduced alongside its smaller sibling, the iPhone XS.

Four years later, we now have the iPhone 14 series. Aside from the two base models, there are also the “Pro” variants. Thus, making the iPhone 14 Pro Max as XS Max’s direct successor.

Obviously, the newer iPhone has better cameras across the board — especially with its evident trio set of eye-boggling cameras.

But is it really time for iPhone XS Max users to upgrade? Or should you wait a little longer for the next best camera(s) in an iPhone?

For fairness’ sake

I only compared the two iPhones using their respective wide (main) sensor — together with some 2x shots:

• The gigantic 48MP main sensor on the 14 Pro Max wasn’t maximized; shots were taken via Auto Mode instead of ProRAW
• 2x digital zoom was used on the 14 Pro Max instead of its dedicated telephoto zoom lens that optically zooms in to 3x
• Ultra-wide was not used because the XS Max doesn’t have one
• Night Mode was also turned off as the iPhone XS Max lacks Night Mode capabilities

And unlike our other camera shootouts, the order of these photos are not time-dependent.

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BONUS: Macro Control

Macro mode was introduced in last year’s iPhone 13 Pro series. Instead of using the regular wide lens for taking macro closeups, it utilizes the ultra-wide lens. While most may not notice the split-second camera behavior, your iPhone detects and automatically switches the camera to the ultra-wide lens.

The same case happens in the iPhone 14 Pro Max. If you don’t toggle the ‘Macro Control’ feature via Settings, you would barely notice that you’re already taking a photo using the ultra-wide lens instead of the regular wide (main) sensor.

It may not matter to most but the photo sample above just shows how there’s a major difference in focus and depth-of-field. Can you tell which is which?

Results

As obvious as the photos look, here are the results:

A – iPhone 14 Pro Max

B – iPhone XS Max

Conclusion

Even if you’re not leaning towards photography, the iPhone 14 Pro Max displayed better photos. And if I were to be specific, its post-processing techniques have improved over the last four years — be that its contrast, dynamic range, AWB (Auto White Balance), and most of all, sharpness.

But in some instances like in Photos #2 #4 #11 #16 #18 and #26, the iPhone XS Max doesn’t really lag too far behind. If it weren’t for the obvious (over)sharpening, you wouldn’t totally guess that the iPhone XS Max is the contender.

For the most part, the iPhone XS Max can still keep up — especially in daylight photos. The iPhone 14 Pro Max barely showed real improvements especially in the last three daylight photos in the set. And as I already mentioned the Macro Control feature earlier, it’s also worth pointing out that unlike past iPhones, the iPhone 14 Pro Max cannot go closer to a subject (for reference, see Photo #9) or else it will force you to switch to Macro Mode / ultra-wide lens usage.

But for all the obvious reasons, upgrading from the iPhone XS Max to the all-new iPhone 14 Pro Max won’t be a disappointment.

You’ll get an ultra-wide lens and on top of its 2x crop zoom, there’s an extra 3x optical zoom lens if you like taking zoomed shots more. Lastly, even if Night Mode was turned off (and both phones have an identical f/1.8 aperture), low-light samples on the iPhone 14 Pro Max are just ahead of the game compared to its predecessor. Its brighter, has shallower bokeh, and most of all, has plenty of detail thanks to the new chipset, larger image sensor, and better lens optics.

SEE ALSO: iPhone 14 Pro Max vs Huawei Mate 50 Pro: Camera Shootout