That seems wrong... Your x100F has an APS-C sensor and is going to benefit from better dynamic range and low light performance for it. The iPhone can use its auto HDR magic to recover dynamic range but that's gotta have an impact with moving subjects. The noise is accounted for by noise reduction and that will cause mushiness and loss of detail. I haven't seen an analysis, but I'd also imagine that the x100F is going to have a vastly more performant lens in terms of things like overall sharpness, microcontrast, and focal plane performance.
The iPhone 8 is doing some post processor magic to do lighting and bokeh in a way that is difficult to replicate either physically or in post. This is really nice! That said, real bokeh will be hard to beat even with AI as it depends a lot on the three-dimensional information available at the time of capture. AI will have to re-create that stuff and will always be an approximation. Of course, your x100F isn't going to be a bokeh monster, but other cameras at that level compare here.
You're right in that for IG food shots it's never going to matter and that's great because the iPhone created a golden age of photography, tbh. But it's silly to say that this hardware can compare to pro hardware. If you're shooting with pro hardware it's because you're going to push performance in some way or another and those are the times that an iPhone can't keep up.
That said, these AI improvements can help push performance as they improve and I'd love to see Apple work with a camera company to incorporate them.
>> But it's silly to say that this hardware can compare to pro hardware.
Yes, that is true for people who have some knowledge. For most non-photography-buffs, the comparison goes as far as "hey, that looks as good as the photo Uncle Joe shot on his DSLR". It's a very superficial comparison, but for a layperson, perception is reality.
I would liken it to the concept of "virtual surround sound". Of course, it's not really surround sound, but if the listener's ears and brain are tricked enough to think it's surround sound, it's surround sound to them.
The iPhone 8 is doing some post processor magic to do lighting and bokeh in a way that is difficult to replicate either physically or in post. This is really nice! That said, real bokeh will be hard to beat even with AI as it depends a lot on the three-dimensional information available at the time of capture. AI will have to re-create that stuff and will always be an approximation. Of course, your x100F isn't going to be a bokeh monster, but other cameras at that level compare here.
You're right in that for IG food shots it's never going to matter and that's great because the iPhone created a golden age of photography, tbh. But it's silly to say that this hardware can compare to pro hardware. If you're shooting with pro hardware it's because you're going to push performance in some way or another and those are the times that an iPhone can't keep up.
That said, these AI improvements can help push performance as they improve and I'd love to see Apple work with a camera company to incorporate them.