Is it fair to pit hands down the most ambitious smartphone design from a company with over a decade of relevant experience against an iterative effort by a software-first outfit still trying to find its hardware groove? Well, if the comparison is as close as the one between Apple’s iPhone X and the Google Pixel 2 XL, why not?

If you choose to look beneath the surface, you may even find the Android-powered dark horse does a number of very important things objectively better than the odds-on iOS favorite. And no, this is not about those two love-or-hate software platforms. Not primarily, at least.

It’s not about raw system speed and UI fluidity either, as both the iPhone X and Pixel 2 XL do a splendid job navigating everyday tasks, content consumption, gaming and whatever else you may throw at them.

Where the underdog truly excels is in Google’s industry-leading software approach to photography, which completely obliterates Apple’s focus on super-advanced camera hardware.

Believe it or not, perfectly fine-tuned software can make a less appealing smartphone win a high-stakes comparison between two of 2017’s very best. Don’t get us wrong, the iPhone X has its strengths. Many of them, in fact. But at the end of the day, our in-depth side-by-side analysis of Google and Apple’s latest flagships will reveal a shocking winner. Be sure to check out the full 11-minute video above for a complete explanation.