iPhone 15 vs Vivo X300 Ultra

iPhone 15

Apple

8.1

Best non-Pro iPhone yet — USB-C and Dynamic Island finally arrive

Vivo X300 Ultra

Vivo

8.7

The video and zoom monster

iPhone 15

What Reviewers Agree On

USB-C finally arrives on a standard iPhone — universal charging with iPad/Mac/AirPods Pro (USB-C versions)
Dynamic Island trickles down from the 14 Pro — same software experience as the Pro models
48MP main camera from the 14 Pro brings 2x lossless zoom (sensor crop) and meaningful detail upgrade
Contoured aluminum frame with rounded edges — comfortable in-hand vs the boxier iPhone 12-14 design
$799 starting price unchanged from the iPhone 14 — Apple held the line on entry pricing

Deal Breakers

Pros & Cons

iPhone 15

Pros

USB-C finally arrives on a standard iPhone — universal charging with iPad/Mac/AirPods Pro (USB-C versions)
Dynamic Island trickles down from the 14 Pro — same software experience as the Pro models
48MP main camera from the 14 Pro brings 2x lossless zoom (sensor crop) and meaningful detail upgrade
Contoured aluminum frame with rounded edges — comfortable in-hand vs the boxier iPhone 12-14 design
$799 starting price unchanged from the iPhone 14 — Apple held the line on entry pricing

Cons

Detailed Comparison

Cameras

iPhone 15

48MP main camera trickles down from the 14 Pro, enabling 2x lossless zoom via sensor crop. 12MP ultrawide + 12MP TrueDepth selfie complete the kit. No telephoto and no periscope — the camera that pleases casual shooters not creators.

48MP main camera (f/1.6) with sensor-shift OIS — same sensor as last year's 14 Pro, a real upgrade from the 14's 12MP.
2x lossless zoom via 12MP crop of the 48MP sensor — best telephoto-substitute on a non-Pro iPhone yet, but no real optical telephoto.
12MP ultrawide (f/2.4) + 12MP TrueDepth selfie carry over from the 14 — same hardware, same daylight output.
Excellent daylight photos and video with consistent natural color processing — Apple's signature look on the cheaper hardware.

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Vivo X300 Ultra

What Reviewers Agree On

The camera system — twin ~1-inch 200MP main and 200MP 85mm periscope plus a large ultrawide — is the best-equipped on any 2026 phone and the entire reason the device exists.
Video is class-leading: 4K 120fps 10-bit Log with Dolby Vision recorded on-device (no SSD), 8K30 across the rear cameras, and 4K 60fps on every lens including the selfie.
Battery life is genuinely strong — roughly 16 hours active-use score, ~7h heavy screen-on time, and 13–14 hour days with charge to spare, on the 6,600mAh cell.
The Zeiss 200mm/400mm telephoto extenders deliver real, usable optical reach (8.7x and 17.4x) with surprisingly good handheld stabilisation.
100W wired charging refills the big battery in roughly 46–50 minutes, with 40W wireless on top.
The 6.82-inch 144Hz LTPO AMOLED is among the best displays available, hitting ~1,900 nits in auto and ~3,300 nits peak.

Deal Breakers

The 35mm (~1.5x) default main focal length is polarising — many reviewers find it too tight/zoomed versus the usual 24mm.
It heats up quickly under sustained camera or gaming load and throttles to roughly 60–65% stability in prolonged stress tests.
The full experience needs the expensive Photography Kit — the global bundle approaches €2,600 and the 200mm lens isn't in every box.
Notebookcheck found it 'hardly better than the X300 Pro in camera performance despite top-notch hardware', and Linus preferred Oppo's less over-sharpened processing.
It launched in China first with a rocky early software state (fixed via updates), and global availability/pricing is limited and steep.

Vivo X300 Ultra

Pros

The camera system — twin ~1-inch 200MP main and 200MP 85mm periscope plus a large ultrawide — is the best-equipped on any 2026 phone and the entire reason the device exists.
Video is class-leading: 4K 120fps 10-bit Log with Dolby Vision recorded on-device (no SSD), 8K30 across the rear cameras, and 4K 60fps on every lens including the selfie.
Battery life is genuinely strong — roughly 16 hours active-use score, ~7h heavy screen-on time, and 13–14 hour days with charge to spare, on the 6,600mAh cell.
The Zeiss 200mm/400mm telephoto extenders deliver real, usable optical reach (8.7x and 17.4x) with surprisingly good handheld stabilisation.
100W wired charging refills the big battery in roughly 46–50 minutes, with 40W wireless on top.
The 6.82-inch 144Hz LTPO AMOLED is among the best displays available, hitting ~1,900 nits in auto and ~3,300 nits peak.

Cons

The 35mm (~1.5x) default main focal length is polarising — many reviewers find it too tight/zoomed versus the usual 24mm.
It heats up quickly under sustained camera or gaming load and throttles to roughly 60–65% stability in prolonged stress tests.
The full experience needs the expensive Photography Kit — the global bundle approaches €2,600 and the 200mm lens isn't in every box.
Notebookcheck found it 'hardly better than the X300 Pro in camera performance despite top-notch hardware', and Linus preferred Oppo's less over-sharpened processing.
It launched in China first with a rocky early software state (fixed via updates), and global availability/pricing is limited and steep.

Vivo X300 Ultra

The reason the X300 Ultra exists: a near-1-inch 200MP 35mm main (Sony Lytia 901), a 200MP 85mm periscope, and the best ultrawide sensor on the market, tuned with Zeiss. Reviewers near-universally rate it the best-equipped camera phone of 2026 — with two important caveats: the 35mm default is divisive, and on raw image quality it's only marginally ahead of the cheaper X300 Pro.

At the center is a 200MP main that's nearly a 1-inch sensor (Sony Lytia 901), backed by a 200MP 85mm-equivalent periscope telephoto — the phone is focused on camera quality and, even more so, video.
Featuring three extra-large image sensors, the X300 Ultra's uncompromising camera hardware earned a solid rating — but it's hardly better than the cheaper X300 Pro in actual camera performance despite the top-notch hardware.
I'm not sure I've seen better results from even 1-inch sensors — it's so close to 1-inch and the 35mm focal length makes for more cinematic-looking shots; the 85mm periscope is the sweet spot for portraits.
It still holds the record for the best portrait-mode photos on a smartphone, especially at 85mm and 135mm; the 14mm ultrawide is sharp edge to edge.
Comparing it directly with the Oppo Find X9 Ultra, even though the Vivo looks great at a glance you could edit the Oppo image and get better detail because the Vivo isn't all over-sharpened and crusty.
Schools the Galaxy S26 Ultra in zoom quality without an excessive camera count — shaping up to be one of the best camera phones not just for 2026 but 2027 and 2028.
The 35mm main is divisive — many feel 24mm is better for phone photography and that 35mm is too tight; cropping to 23–28mm shows a noticeable detail drop.

Value & Verdict

iPhone 15

$799 starting (128GB base) — unchanged from the iPhone 14. The best non-Pro iPhone yet but the lack of Apple Intelligence is increasingly the dealbreaker. Buy used $500-650 in 2026 for value, or spend $200 more on the 15 Pro for AI + ProMotion + telephoto.

Launched at $799 / 128GB — same starting price as the iPhone 14, no premium for the USB-C + Dynamic Island upgrades.
At $500-650 used in 2026 the iPhone 15 is the value pick of the non-Pro lineup — comparable to a Pixel 8 with Apple ecosystem.
vs iPhone 15 Pro ($999): the $200 step-up gets ProMotion 120Hz, telephoto, USB-C 3.0, Apple Intelligence and titanium — meaningful for most.
vs Pixel 8 at $699: Apple wins on chip and longevity (6+ year iOS updates); Pixel wins on camera AI features and a real telephoto.
Apple Intelligence exclusion has hurt the iPhone 15's long-term value perception — many buyers in 2026 prefer the 15 Pro or wait for the 16.

Vivo X300 Ultra

This is a deliberately niche, camera-first flagship: roughly €1,175 in China for 512GB, around £1,399 globally for the phone, and close to €2,600 for the full kit. For the people it's aimed at it draws some of the strongest praise of any 2026 phone; for everyone else, a cheaper X300 Pro or the Oppo Find X9 Ultra may make more sense.

Last year's X200 Ultra was, in my opinion, one of the best smartphones of 2025 — and this is the best smartphone I've ever used, with the best camera application I've ever used, provided with zero script from Vivo.
The cameras are nothing short of amazing — this is the best Android camera phone, with image quality better than anything from Samsung.
The versatility here is just ridiculous — more like a phone in a camera than the other way around, a camera system built from the sum of its many parts.
If you accept the 35mm main, are willing to tolerate AI processing in some scenes, and don't mind the front-camera stabilisation limits, this Vivo is an excellent choice.