iPhone 18 Pro vs iPhone 17e camera: 6 real photos side by side
Real photos, side by side, so you can see the difference.
iPhone 18 Pro
iPhone 17e
Quick take
Both iPhones ran iOS 27.0.1, both saved 24 MP files at 1x and 12 MP at 2x, and their colours are very close in daylight. The clearest difference in our set is the 2x roses crop, where the 18 Pro looks crisper.
What the photo files show
| iPhone 18 Pro | iPhone 17e | |
|---|---|---|
| Saved file at 1x | 5712 × 4284 (24.5 MP) | 5712 × 4284 (24.5 MP) |
| Main lens (35 mm equivalent) | 24 mm | 26 mm |
| 2x photo | 48 mm equivalent, 4032 × 3024 (12.2 MP) | 52 mm equivalent, 4032 × 3024 (12.2 MP) |
| Software in the files | 27.0.1 | 27.0.1 |
How these were taken
24 October 2026, Palmengarten, Frankfurt am Main, sunny with clouds, between 14:28 and 15:27. Each scene was shot with all 11 of our test phones within a few minutes, each on the same tripod, each on its default auto camera settings. The main camera at 1x, the roses at 2x. Location data removed, people blurred, no other edits. How we test · Compare these two in the Camera Lab
What this comparison does not show
- Night, indoor and portrait photos: not shot yet.
- Ultra-wide and telephoto lenses beyond 2x, and video.
- Other light: this is one sunny afternoon. Colours can change in cloud or at dusk.
- Other copies of the same phone: we have one of each.
Illustration