I began using Huion tablets many years ago, and have reviewed quite a few of the Chinese company’s small, medium and large pen displays. For those unfamiliar, a pen display is basically a graphics tablet with a built-in screen that lets you draw and work directly on images. The Huion Kamvas Pad 12 is their first standalone drawing device, usable anywhere without a computer.

The Huion Kamvas Pad 12 takes the pen display concept further: instead of needing a computer running drawing or photo-editing software, the Pad 12 is an all-in-one Android 16 tablet and pen display. This makes the device twice as useful; you can use it as a tablet or a pen display, drawing or photo editing one minute and watching your favourite streaming service the next.

The Pad 12 looks and feels like a regular tablet, with a generous 12.2-inch screen and a 3:2 aspect ratio that makes the drawing surface larger. This in turn gives you a larger screen for enjoying your favourite apps from the Google Play Store.

The Canvas Glass 3.0 screen has a soft matt finish with a paper-like feel, which is designed for drawing with the battery-free pen, but the screen is vibrant enough for standard tablet use. The screen displays 99% of sRGB, so while it’s not one of Huion’s top performers in terms of color gamut, it is factory calibrated so color is as reliable as it could be.

Huion Kamvas Pad 12: Specifications

Huion Kamvas Pad 12: Price

The Kamvas Pad 12 costs $499 / £449, which at first glance seems expensive, and this was my initial thought. Then I thought: sure, it is a standard tablet and a fully functioning pen display, but it also has the Huion Note app for making notes, so it’s essentially a digital notebook, too. These devices can cost as much as or more than the Huion Pad 12.

Huion Kamvas Pad 12: Design & Handling

The Huion Pad 12 is marketed to mobile artists and creatives, creative beginners, students, and tablet users. So, as you might expect with such a broad target market, the Pad 12 is a sleek device that’s well built and looks and feels like a quality device.

The Pad 12 is 11.08 x 7.70 x 0.31in / 281.5 x 195.5 x 7.8mm, with a weight of 23.46oz / 665g. So, although it’s a sleek tablet with a thickness of 0.31 in / 7.8mm, the large 12.2-inch screen makes other dimensions larger than the average tablet and also heavier.

That said, the Pad 12 is comfortable to hold, and it also comes with a portable case that can act as a stand. If you’d prefer a more robust stand for drawing, you can purchase the metal Foldable Stand ST300 separately. The included case will be sufficient for many people and is a useful addition to the kit alongside the PW600C battery-free pen.

The PW600C battery-free pen is lightweight and comfortable to hold, and neatly attaches magnetically to the top of the Pad 12 when not in use. The pen offers ±60° tilt support and 16,384 levels of pressure sensitivity with 2g of activation force, so you can even make extremely light pen strokes.

Being an Android tablet, albeit one with a twist, there are no physical customizable buttons or dials like those you find on traditional pen displays. Any kind of pen and brush controls are accessed within the user interface; plus, you can customize settings such as cursor calibration, cursor style and pressure settings, among others.

The screen, as is often the case with tablets and pen displays, is the highlight of the show here. This is also what differentiates the Pad 12 from standard tablets because of its matte rather than gloss finish. The screen uses Canvas Glass 3.0, which is softly textured with a paper-like feel. It does feel a bit like paper, but it’s undoubtedly smoother and offers less resistance than a pen or pencil on paper.

Huion, unsurprisingly, advises against using a screen protector because it would undermine the anti-glare etching. There is some flex in the screen that you don’t typically experience with standard tablets, but this is minimal and presumably because of the pressure sensitivity of the screen when the pen is used for drawing.

Huion Kamvas Pad 12: Performance

To get started, let’s cover the drawing experience since this is one of the most important aspects of a pen display alongside the quality of the screen itself. The Kamvas Pad 12 battery-free pen is a less bulky design compared to the pen that comes with some traditional pen Displays, but it’s comfortable to hold and fits the design of the tablet.

The tablet features Huion's self-developed flagship MCU HV2000 chip, while the pen also uses an HV200 chip. The aim here is to increase precision and to enhance pen pressure. The tablet uses a MediaTek Genio 720 octa-core mobile platform; this is made up of two Cortex-A78 cores providing up to 2.6 GHz, and six Cortex-A55 efficiency cores.

The drawing experience, whether painting or using photo apps, is precise with no jitter, lag or parallax between the pen and screen. What can be annoying is that sometimes, when the pen is hovered just above the screen, it can register on the Pad 12 and leave marks in drawing apps or move sliders in photo editing software such as Lightroom Mobile.

The Kamvas Pad 12 comes with HiPaint, Clip Studio Paint, ibisPaint X, MediBang Paint, and Huion Note pre-installed, allowing you to draw or take notes straightaway. HiPaint comes with a lifetime license, while MediBang Paint and ibis Paint X have a 3-month free trial membership that must be activated. You can, of course, use any other Android drawing apps you prefer.

For photographers, Lightroom Mobile and Photoshop Mobile will be your go-to options in many cases, although you can also use Snapseed, which remains a great mobile photo editing app. The Kamvas Pad 12 does work well for photo editing, and even with just 8GB of RAM, I was able to smoothly process 24MP Raw files. For me, the whole premise of the Pad 12, being an Android tablet with pen display functionality, makes it best for drawing on the move and taking notes, although it is just fine for photo editing.

Being an Android 16 tablet alongside being a pen display really opens up the use cases for the Kamvas Pad 12. While most pen displays need to be attached to a computer and powered from the mains, the Pad 12 is fully portable and can be used for creativity as well as for consuming entertainment. The 12.2-inch screen is a fantastic size for watching on-demand content, etc.

Moving on to the screen, the 12.2-inch IPS panel offers a resolution of 2400x1600px with a pixel density of 236ppi, while the aspect ratio is 3:2. The screen is reasonably bright at 350 nits, but at this level it’s much more suited to use indoors or in the shade rather than in direct sunlight.

The screen also also offers a 1000:1 contrast ratio, produces 8-bit color (16.7 million colors) and covers 99% of sRGB and is factory calibrated. Huion claims the screen is designed so it doesn’t pick up finger marks, but it does, although these can only be seen on black and other darker tones. For input accuracy, it offers a 90Hz refresh rate, which is intended to reduce latency when writing and drawing, as well as 10-point capacitive touch so you can draw with your fingers, too.

Tablet operation was smooth during testing, but this was with few extra apps installed and for a few weeks. The Pad 12 also has 8GB of RAM, as previously mentioned, alongside 256GB of on-board storage with the ability to install up to 1TB microSD cards to expand storage.

Huion Kamvas Pad 12: Verdict

The Huion Pad 12 is an innovative portable pen display that opens up the usability of a pen display hugely. Not least because of the fact that you can use it anywhere without the need for a computer. The 12.2-inch 2K+ screen provides both a great working area for drawing, etc., and a screen for viewing content.

Unlike most pen displays that can be used equally well for digital drawing and photo editing, the fact that the Pad 12 runs on Android means that the apps available for photo editing are less fully featured than the full versions of Photoshop and Lightroom. To be fair though, you can get Photoshop and Lightroom Mobile, as well as the popular Snapseed editing app.

At $499 / £449, it’s undoubtedly still an investment, but since the Pad 12 is a pen display, 12.2-inch tablet and a digital notepad all rolled into one, it’s actually pretty good value when you think about it. Plus, it performs all of these tasks well.

Alternatives

If you're in the market for a 27-inch monitor, there's no shortage of options. So in such a crowded market, how does a brand stand out from the crowd? The answer comes in four letters: OLED. This screen tech has been popular in the television sector for many years, and laptop manufacturers have also been using OLED displays for some time. But their entry into the desktop monitor sector has been much slower, as the vast majority of standalone monitors still use conventional LCD panels. This hesitancy by monitor manufacturers seems odd, as the advantages of OLED are clear: hugely improved contrast, far deeper blacks, improved brightness uniformity, and the potential for excellent color space coverage. Thankfully ASUS now embraces OLED tech in many of its desktop monitors, and the ProArt Display OLED PA279CDV Professional Monitor looks like a fine example. Let's see if it can live up to expectations...

Features

The PA279CDV uses a 26.5-inch, 4K OLED panel that boasts an excellent 99% DCI-P3 color gamut coverage, color accuracy to a deviance of just Delta-E <1.5, and 1000 nits of peak brightness. You also get handy extras like USB-C connectivity with 96W power delivery to a linked laptop, and a scratch-resistant coating on the screen surface claimed to be 2.5x more resilient than that on previous-gen QD-OLED panels. Being part of ASUS' ProArt Display range, the monitor is targeted squarely at creatives and imaging professionals demanding top class color accuracy and consistency, but the panel also runs at a higher than average 120Hz refresh rate, so it shouldn't shame itself during gaming sessions.

OLED displays offer a lot of image quality upsides, but they do introduce one potentially serious downside that isn't a concern for LCD monitors: screen burn-in. If an OLED monitor displays a static on-screen element for prolonged periods - something like the Windows task bar, for instance - a faint ghost of it could get stuck, or 'burned in', to the screen, staying visible even after the monitor displays a completely different image. To guard against this, the PA279CDV has ASUS OLED Care, which includes several screen-saving measures like Image Protection, which dynamically detects and identifies the task bar, logos, and video edges, reducing the brightness around them to minimise the risk of burn-in. The screen is also able to automatically reduce screen brightness if it detects you're not in front of it, further limiting the potential for burn-in.

Value

The PA279CDV currently sells for $699/£649. On the one hand that's quite a lot, when you consider that ASUS' own ProArt PA279CRV - an IPS LCD monitor, but also 27", 4K, with 99% DCI-P3 coverage and factory calibrated to an accuracy Delta E <2 - costs just $399. However, OLED screen tech is still relatively rare in this sector, and naturally commands a premium. You'll struggle to find a comparably-specced 27" OLED monitor for less than $550, while models with higher refresh rates can go north of $900, making the ProArt PA279CRV fairly priced.

Build & handling

ASUS' ProArt monitors are designed for professional creatives, not gamers, so they feature a clean, simple design. The PA279CDV's panel has very slim top and side bezels, being less than 2mm thick. This is a little deceptive though, as the edges of viewable display area are set in a further 5-6mm from the bezels themselves. Even so, this is far from a deal-breaker. The panel itself is very thin, thanks to being OLED. OLED tech does away with the need for separate backlighting, so the panel itself can therefore be slimmer.

ASUS’ on screen display menus are clear and easy to navigate. A tiny joystick is positioned on the bottom bezel, with six direct-access buttons alongside. The joystick isn't the most responsive I've used (BenQ's monitor joysticks are better, despite usually being placed on the back of its displays) but it gets the job done.

The stand included with the PA279CDV is typical in this sector - a fairly large, thick metal base plate with a matte finish, and a simple upright with a slot in the middle for cable management. Build quality is good, and the stand gives a reassuringly solid support for the display panel. The stand can swivel 90 degrees to enable portrait orientation, and unusually it can swivel both clockwise and anticlockwise. There's also a generous 13cm of height adjustment, although I found the maximum height about 3cm too low for my preferred viewing position.

Physical connectivity is good, with three USB-C ports (one being the main port for laptop connectivity with Power Delivery, one a standard USB 3.2 Gen 1 port, and the third enables the built-in auto KVM that allows you to control two connected laptops or PCs with a single keyboard and mouse). There are also 3x USB-A ports, a pair of DisplayPort 1.4 sockets, an HDMI 2.1 port, and a 3.5mm audio pass-through socket.

You even get built-in stereo speakers, but don't get too excited, as their audio quality is thin and they don't go very loud. I've yet to test a monitor with built-in speakers that sound halfway decent, and sadly the PA279CDV is no exception.

Performance

Most high-end LCD monitors I test usually appear very similar to the naked eye, but the OLED PA279CDV is in a completely different league. As soon as the Windows desktop loads, the extra contrast and color vibrancy is far beyond anything I've seen from even the very best consumer LCD monitors. At first it almost hurts your eyes, the intensity is that strong. However, once you get used to it (and lower the brightness!), the image quality from a conventional LCD monitor looks muted and lacklustre by comparison. And thanks to the lack of separate backlight (OLED pixels emit their own light, individually), you don't have to worry about uneven contrast consistency or backlight bleed - the entire display area has a feel of purity about it that you don't get from an LCD panel. 'Stunning' is an over-used word, however in the case of PA279CDV, its image quality truly deserves that description.

But while the PA279CDV passes a subjective viewing test with flying (and very vibrant) colors, you simply cannot rely on the human eye to test outright color accuracy, or other display attributes like color gamut coverage and brightness uniformity. To do this you need a device called a colorimeter, and it's here I turn to the Datacolor Spyder Pro, which is capable of analysing OLED displays, not just LCD.

Lab results

Color gamut:

ASUS quotes 100% sRGB and 99% DCI-P3 coverage, and I was able to more-or-less equal these claims. ASUS doesn't advertise AdobeRGB coverage, but I measured it at 92% - not the best I've seen, but still respectable.

Color accuracy (before calibration):

Color accuracy (after calibration):

The PA279CDV comes factory calibrated to an accuracy of Delta-E <1.5 from ideal color. For perspective, most factory calibrated monitors are set up to be within a less stringent Delta-E <2 tolerance. Our particular review sample tested at Delta-E 1.31, which is within ASUS’ claim. However, I was expecting slightly better accuracy after testing some laptop OLED screens that managed to score less than Delta-E 1. But once I took the time to manually calibrate the PA279CDV, it returned a stellar accuracy of 0.69.

Brightness and contrast:

ASUS quotes a peak screen brightness of 1000 nits, though it's worth remembering that this figure only applies when displaying HDR content, and even then only to a maximum of 3% of the total screen area. The highest brightness that the entire panel can emit is advertised at 250 nits, though I recorded 292. That may sound a little disappointing when plenty of LCD monitors are capable of 350+ nits, but the numbers don't tell the full story. As the black depth is so low, contrast is therefore sky high, making the screen appear much brighter to the eye. During my time with the PA279CDV, I found a comfortable brightness setting to be around 33% - anything over 50% felt uncomfortably bright to look at for long periods in an indoor environment with modest ambient lighting.

Brightness uniformity:

Color uniformity:

Thanks to doing away with a separate backlight, OLED display panels have the potential to excel when it comes to color and brightness consistency across the entire screen area. Thankfully the PA279CDV lives up to expectation here, as it produced one of the best color consistency results I've ever recorded. As for brightness consistency, well that was better still, with only a 2% deviation between the brightest and dimmest screen regions.

Verdict

I'm fortunate enough to review a lot of high-end IPS LCD monitors, and to be honest I've got used to a certain image quality standard from them. A colorimeter is usually required to separate the best from the rest, as you'd be hard-pressed to see much of a difference with the naked eye. However, the same definitely cannot be said about the ProArt Display OLED PA279CDV. Thanks to its OLED screen tech, this is a display that will blow you away from the moment it powers on: its contrast, vibrancy, and overall image clarity are so obviously superior to any IPS LCD monitor I've previously tested.

But this is a monitor designed for color-critical image and video editing, so its image quality can’t just be eye-catching; it also needs to be accurate and reliable. Fortunately the PA279CDV doesn't fall short when it comes to color accuracy, or indeed any other image quality metric I measured. Laptop users will also appreciate the USB-C connectivity with Power Delivery for one-cable laptop connection.

Bad points? Adobe RGB color space coverage could be better, and there's no hardware calibration or built-in colorimeter, so to keep the screen calibrated you'll need do this manually with a separate monitor calibrator (the obvious choice would be ASUS’ own ProArt CaliContrO MCA02 three-in-one colorimeter). However, these are minor gripes that are far outweighed by the jaw-dropping OLED image clarity.

Ultimately, is the ProArt Display OLED PA279CDV worth around twice the price of a comparable IPS LCD monitor? My answer is an emphatic yes.

Check out our full guide to the best monitors for photo editing

Chargers are not typically the most exciting accessories I get to review, but Anker is doing its best to change that. In recent generations it has increasingly experimented with displays on its larger power banks and desktop chargers.

The Anker Nano Charger brings that idea down to one of the smallest products Anker makes. It is essentially a compact 45W USB-C wall charger with a tiny color screen on the front, which can show information including live charging power, charging mode, temperature status, and, with supported devices, the device model and battery level.

The question is whether any of that information is actually useful, or if this is just putting a screen on something that was perfectly fine without one?

Specifications

Price

The Anker Nano Charger costs $39.99 / £34.99 / €42.99, though Anker is also offering a temporary discount on its store for early adopters (at the time of writing).

That puts it at a slight premium over Anker’s standard Nano 45W charger, which is not surprising considering the screen and additional charging modes. Anker's cheaper charger is also frequently available bundled with a USB-C cable.

I don’t think the premium for the Smart Display version is unreasonable, but if all you want is to get power into your phone as quickly as possible, you can save some money by skipping the display entirely.

Design & Handling

I really like the overall design of the Nano. It is very small, feels well-made, and actually looks quite cute for a wall charger. The little screen dominates the front, and the interface also includes a few playful animations alongside the useful charging information.

Although I didn't get off to a winning start with the display. When I first plugged the charger in, I immediately thought my unit was broken because everything on the screen was upside down. Obviously, I had not read the instructions.

It turns out holding the small touch-sensitive control for two seconds rotates the screen by 180 degrees. Problem solved, and an important reminder that occasionally reading instructions can be beneficial. A single tap cycles through the various information screens, while a double tap on the mode page switches between Auto and Care charging.

All my complaints are about the UK version of the charger, so US readers can skip the rest of this section and be smug with your simpler (if less safe) plugs.

The US version has clever folding pins that also rotate, making the charger much easier to pack and to plug in. The UK/EU version has the usual chunky plug permanently sticking out of the back. I appreciate that fitting rotating UK pins is impossible, but I have used enough chargers (including from Anker) with folding UK/EU pins. For a small "Nano" device, this feels like a miss.

This also means that the USB-C port is always positioned on the bottom of the UK charger. This can be awkward when using wall sockets close to a desk, counter, or floor.

I also dislike how much regulatory information is printed across the top of my UK sample. I know this is the law, and the information has to go somewhere, but it is usually hidden a little more elegantly. Here it is quite prominent on top of what is otherwise a very clean product.

Performance

The screen is obviously the headline feature here, and I found it useful, although I am not sure it is really a necessity for everyone – it really depends on how much you obsess over your charging speeds.

Beyond just displaying the output, there are two main charging settings: Auto and Care. Auto lets the charger adjust power based on what your device requires, while Care deliberately takes a gentler approach designed to reduce charging temperatures and battery stress. Anker says Care Mode can keep the phone battery up to 5°C cooler.

I mostly charge my phone overnight, so Care Mode suits me perfectly. I don’t need my phone charging at maximum speed while I am asleep. But if I suddenly realize I am about to leave home with 10% battery remaining, it takes only a couple of taps to put the charger back into its faster Auto mode.

It is additionally useful if you live in the Apple ecosystem. When I connected my iPhone 17 Pro Max, the charger recognized what I had plugged in and could adapt the charging speeds for the device. This is not universal, though. My Pixel phone charged perfectly well, but the charger did not recognize it by model.

But I genuinely like being able to glance at the charger and see what is happening. I could watch my devices charge at close to their maximum speeds when the batteries were low, before the power gradually reduced as the charge level increased. Is that needed though? Probably not.

The maximum 45W output is a useful sweet spot. It is enough to cover the maximum charging speeds of most mainstream phones, tablets, cameras, and accessories.

It can even charge something like a MacBook Air without much trouble. A MacBook Pro will also take power from it, although 45W isn’t enough to keep up with the more powerful model doing sustained heavy work. For browsing, writing, or light editing, however, it can still be a useful emergency laptop charger.

Verdict

I have used chargers with displays before, I like knowing exactly what my devices are drawing, and it is particularly useful when testing different cables or devices and wondering whether they are actually charging as quickly as they should. Auto and Care modes also make good use of the additional intelligence.

There are still a few things I would change. Device recognition should work with more hardware, and the UK design loses all of the cleverness of the US design and feels like an afterthought.

But underneath all the smart features is simply a very capable little 45W charger, and the premium over a conventional charger is small enough that I think the added information and control are worth paying for.

Alternatives

Power banks have become surprisingly complicated. Not all that long ago, the most exciting feature I could reasonably expect was a second USB port. Now Anker is putting color displays, intelligent charging, and even active cooling systems into batteries small enough to carry around in my bag.

The Anker MagGo Power Bank 2 Pro sits right at the top end of Anker's newest generation. It packs a 10,000mAh battery, 25W Qi2.2 magnetic wireless charging, 45W USB-C input and output, a smart display, an adjustable kickstand, and Anker’s SnapCool active cooling system.

It is effectively the successor to the Anker MagGo Power Bank (10K), which I reviewed back in 2024 and which remains one of my favorite magnetic power banks. That model already offered a useful display and kickstand, but was limited to 15W wireless and 27W wired charging. The new model boosts those figures to 25W and 45W respectively while actually coming in slightly smaller and lighter.

It also adds that headline fan. Faster wireless charging generates additional heat; excess heat can cause phones to throttle their charging speed and can decrease battery longevity over time. Anker has therefore built a miniature active cooling system into the power bank to try to keep temperatures under control and sustain faster charging for longer.

But does all this extra engineering make any meaningful difference? I have been using the MagGo 2 Pro with both the iPhone 17 Pro Max and Google Pixel 11 Pro XL to find out.

Specifications

Price

The Anker MagGo Power Bank 2 Pro costs $109.99 in the US and £99.99 in the UK at the time of writing, and is available in four colors.

This is an expensive power bank. There are countless 10,000mAh batteries available for considerably less if you just want a simple no-frills charging brick. However, looking purely at capacity does the MagGo 2 Pro a slight disservice, as there are not many rival power banks currently combining 25W Qi2.2 wireless charging, 45W wired charging, active cooling, a display, and an adjustable stand in one device.

Whether those features are worth around $100 is going to depend heavily on how often you actually use them and how fast you really need to charge your phone. If you're happy to just plug your phone in via a cable, there are significantly cheaper and more powerful alternatives.

Design & Handling

Anker has been doing this a long time now, and the design feels very polished. At 220g, it isn’t exactly featherweight, but 10,000mAh magnetic power banks never are. Interestingly, despite adding the cooling system, Anker has managed to make this generation smaller and lighter than its previous MagGo 10K, which weighed 250g.

With the battery stuck to the back of a phone, it becomes quite chunky, but it's still relatively easy to get my hand around the whole phone and battery and still reach the entire screen, although this will vary depending on your hand size. I also only have the larger iPhone Max and Pixel XL sizes to test, which the MagGo fits nicely onto, but smaller phones will feel more dominated by the power bank.

I genuinely think every magnetic power bank should have a kickstand. The MagGo 2 Pro’s stand is particularly good. It folds neatly into the back of the power bank when not being used and can be adjusted between 0 and 80 degrees. I find myself using the stand even when I'm particularly concerned about charging, which is probably the best endorsement I can give it.

Like the previous generation, there is a smart display on the edge that cycles through information including charging status, remaining battery, battery health, and temperature. A small button alongside the display lets you switch screens and change charging modes.

The cooling fans are behind a fine-mesh grille protecting the fans and air intake, which should stop stray objects in my bag from physically getting into it. But I do wonder how it will fare after months of being exposed to all the collected debris that accumulates at the bottom of my bag, but a week of testing isn’t enough to answer that.

Anker does at least include a rather nice leatherette-style carry pouch, which might prove more useful than it initially appears if it keeps some of that dust away from the vents.

There is also a braided USB-C cable in the box. It feels good quality, although it is very short, which limits its usefulness unless your charger is sitting immediately beside the power bank.

Performance

In my testing, the 25W Qi2.2 wireless charging from the MagGo 2 Pro proved impressively quick. I tested it with both an iPhone and a Pixel 11 Pro XL, and I could charge each once, with around a quarter of the tank remaining.

Interestingly, the display actually reported charging at up to 29W at one point on the Pixel in extreme charging mode. That is slightly curious, given the power bank itself is officially rated for a maximum 25W wireless output. I am not sure if you can push the charging slightly higher, or if this was just the screen being a little overenthusiastic.

Anker heavily positions the MagGo 2 Pro around recent iPhones, with its compatibility information specifically highlighting the iPhone 13 through iPhone 18 families. It managed to successfully detect both my iPhone and my Pixel, but the screen didn't display the exact model (though I am not 100% sure if it is meant to).

The smart recognition features were less impressive with the Pixel; the display simply identified it as a generic “Google Device.” It doesn’t affect charging whatsoever, but Pixel support feels comparatively basic despite it supporting the Qi2 standard.

The fan is pretty audible. I wouldn’t call it loud, but it is definitely noticeable. I work from home, and with the power bank charging on my desk beside me, I found the constant fan noise surprisingly distracting. However, in a café, train, or pretty much anywhere with ambient noise, it wouldn't be such an issue.

There is a Silent mode in the settings, accessed using the small side button. This does exactly what it says and stops the fan, which solves the noise problem. Of course, it also turns off the active cooling, which rather undermines the reason for spending more money on this model instead of buying one of Anker’s cheaper magnetic power banks.

I am also not completely convinced the cooling has the dramatic effect I expected. Even with the fan running at full strength, my phone still became noticeably warm. That doesn’t mean the fan isn't doing anything; managing temperatures is about preventing excessive heat, and I certainly wouldn't say the heat was ever excessive, but I had perhaps expected a more obvious difference over my non-fan-equipped power banks.

Recharging the power bank is quick. Using a 45W charger, it took me roughly an hour and fifteen minutes to bring the power bank back from empty to full. The display mostly hovered around 42W and 45W during the fastest part of the recharge, which broadly tallies with Anker’s claim of reaching 80% in 52 minutes, with charging naturally slowing toward the top of the battery.

The 45W USB-C connection is also a significant upgrade over the previous model’s 27W output and makes it powerful enough for tablets and plenty of smaller laptops – although 10,000mAh might not get you very far.

Verdict

I really like the Anker MagGo Power Bank 2 Pro for a lot of reasons. It looks great, the kickstand is really useful, the 25W Qi2.2 charging is quick, 45W USB-C gives me a fast and more efficient wired alternative, the display is useful, and the 10,000mAh capacity provides enough power to comfortably get a phone through another day.

However, while the cooling fan does keep the temperature down, it's not by enough to really persuade me that I need this more than another non-fan Qi2 power bank. The fan noise is also a bit of an irritant, although it can be disabled.

The MagGo Power Bank 2 Pro is pretty expensive, but if you want one of the most complete and sophisticated magnetic power banks on the market, then look no further.

Alternatives

The iPhone 18 Pro Max arrives as Apple's yearly update to its best camera phone formula, sitting alongside the smaller but identically equipped iPhone 18 Pro, and arriving just before the company takes a swing at the folding form factor with the forthcoming iPhone Duo.

The headline upgrades are centered around its new A20 Pro processor, improved battery life, a smaller Dynamic Island, and, most importantly for Digital Camera World readers, new Photographic Styles alongside a variable-aperture 48MP main camera.

The iPhone 17 Pro Max was already one of the best camera phones available, and some of the best video capabilities of any smartphone – in fact, it has been our benchmark in guides such as the best phone for video recording. But with both significant software and hardware changes this year, can Apple's latest still retain its crown?

Specifications

Price & Availability

The iPhone 18 Pro Max starts at $1,299 / £1,299 / €1,599 / AU$2,299 for 256GB, with 512GB, 1TB and 2TB versions also available, although, as ever, Apple's storage upgrades come at a significant premium.

iPhones were already expensive phones, and Apple has added $100 to the launch price compared with the equivalent iPhone 17 Pro Max. But this isn't entirely down to Apple; thanks to the ongoing memory shortage, there have been price rises across top devices this year.

Google's Pixel 11 Pro XL and Samsung's Galaxy S26 Ultra also launched this year at $1,299 for 256GB (although the latter contains more camera hardware for that price), but Apple is firmly amongst mainstream flagship pricing rather than being an outlier on its own.

But do I think anyone with an iPhone 17 Pro Max should upgrade? The biggest photographic change is the variable-aperture main camera, and as I'll get into below, I don't find that nearly useful or exciting enough to justify spending another $1,299. But if you are coming from older iPhone models, then there is a lot more value to be found.

Design

If you put the silver iPhone 18 Pro Max next to last year's model, you might struggle to tell which is which. Apple has kept almost exactly the same design, right down to the dimensions – so much so that iPhone 17 Pro Max cases even fit the new phone. Not that I am disappointed; I liked the iPhone 17 Pro Max design, and I still like it here.

The colors have changed, with Burgundy replacing Cosmic Orange as the headline option, alongside Glacier (a light metallic blue), Silver and Black. I like the burgundy, but I don't love it. It isn't remotely as in-your-face as last year's Cosmic Orange, which some people will no doubt appreciate, but as the signature color for this generation, it feels a little underwhelming. I actually prefer Glacier and Silver, although in some lighting they are perhaps a little too close together in tone, while black is there for anyone who wants to play it safe.

Apple has also stuck with an aluminum unibody rather than returning to titanium, accompanied by Ceramic Shield 2 and an IP68 water- and dust-resistance rating. I have some reservations about that decision after living with my iPhone 17 Pro for the last year, which has picked up a fairly impressive collection of scratches and nicks across its frame and rear panel.

The body measures 163.4 x 78 x 8.75mm and weighs 249g, which is up from 233g for the previous Pro Max.

The physical controls haven't changed either, including the Camera Control button, which I continue to dislike, not just on the iPhone but also on its many Chinese copycats. I find the combination of presses and swipes fiddly enough that it is almost always easier for me to simply use the controls on screen. I also press it accidentally all the time. I am waiting for Apple to find the "courage" to take this one away.

However, I do really like the Action button, and I find it is considerably more useful for quick functions that actually suit how you use your phone.

The screen is fundamentally very similar to last year's. It is a 6.9-inch 2868 x 1320 Super Retina XDR OLED with ProMotion up to 120Hz, a 3,000-nit rated outdoor peak brightness and Apple's new anti-reflective coating. There have been changes behind the scenes to improve battery efficiency with new LTPO+ tech, while the most visible difference is the Dynamic Island, which is around 35% narrower after Apple moved part of the Face ID hardware beneath the display.

I have also seen discussions online around the screen looking worse than the one on the 17 Pro Max, but having compared the two side by side, I can't really spot any meaningful difference in quality.

Camera Performance

Apple's rear camera system remains built around three 48MP cameras covering 13mm, 24mm, and 100mm equivalent focal lengths, with 2x and 8x options generated from sensor crops.

The big change is that the main camera adds a physical six-blade variable aperture with f/1.48, f/1.8, f/2.8, and f/4 settings.

Variable aperture is intriguing, as the concept of buying a mirrorless camera without a physical aperture is laughable. However, on a phone, I just remain unconvinced by it.

I have used similar systems on phones from Xiaomi and Huawei with even larger sensors and didn't think they lived up to the hype there either. On a sensor this small, the majority of everyday photographs simply don't show enough difference in depth of field between aperture settings for me to care.

You really only start to see it when focusing close to a subject. That makes it potentially useful for close portraits with the main camera, although I don't personally think 24mm is an ideal focal length for close-up portraits in the first place. I just really struggled to find any practical uses for the variable aperture when I was out shooting. If I wasn't testing the phone for review, I don't think I would ever use it.

Computational photography has also removed some of the reasons I might otherwise want a physical aperture on a phone. Portrait modes are now incredibly good at faking shallow depth of field, while computational long-exposure and light-trail modes mean I don't need to stop a lens down to force a longer shutter speed.

I also don't love how Apple handles the manual aperture selection. Apple has finally added proper Pro Controls for aperture, shutter speed, white balance, and a histogram to its Camera app, which is a welcome move, but getting to the aperture controls still feels more buried in menus and more complicated than it needs to be.

The more useful part of the new aperture is actually the fact that the main camera can now open to f/1.48, compared with f/1.78 on the previous generation, allowing more light to reach the sensor. That is a tangible benefit for low-light shooting, even if it isn't as exciting as watching physical aperture blades move.

For outright image quality, while I don't think the iPhone 18 Pro Max takes the best photographs you can get from a phone, where Apple continues to excel is reliability. Some rival phones can look absolutely spectacular when everything falls into place, but I have more confidence in the iPhone that whatever I point it at will come back as a usable photograph. Colors are generally accurate and true to life, exposure is extremely dependable even in awkward or harshly lit scenes, and there is excellent consistency when moving between cameras.

Chinese manufacturers have pushed much harder on camera hardware, with larger sensors, higher-resolution telephoto cameras, and collaborations with established imaging brands for camera processing. The Xiaomi 17 Ultra, for example, combines a 1-inch-type main sensor with Leica tuning and a 200MP telephoto camera, and it can simply extract more quality than the iPhone, but I don't love Xiaomi's processing every single time. There is a lot to be said for the "iPhone look".

The 4x telephoto is particularly good, and the 8x crop still holds up remarkably well without an immediately obvious collapse in quality.

But beyond that, Apple starts to fall behind. Digital zoom tops out at 40x, and Apple's processing at extreme zoom levels isn't in the same league as the AI-assisted systems offered by Google, Samsung, and the Chinese manufacturers.

The ultrawide is also very good overall, although I have noticed more muddiness in harsh lighting than I get from the main or telephoto cameras, with dynamic range seeming a little less convincing. If I start pixel peeping, it isn't as crisp as the other lenses either, although at normal viewing sizes it looks perfectly good.

Macro remains one of my biggest frustrations because the iPhone still switches to the ultrawide camera for close focusing rather than embracing tele-macro. I really do not like the perspective that ultrawide gives close-up subjects, and if macro is something you take seriously on an iPhone, I would invest in an accessory such as Moment's 75mm Macro lens for a more natural working distance and perspective.

The big software feature for Apple's camera this year is Photographic Styles, its answer to the growing demand for more stylized images straight out of camera – think Fujifilm film simulations. Most of Apple's presets are very good; a few wander a little too much into obvious "filter" territory, but if you are bored of the standard iPhone look, there is a lot to experiment with here.

Apple has expanded the system with additional tone, saturation, texture, and grain controls, and you can create some very cool results. This isn't quite as in-depth as LUTs or even Fujifilm's system, but there is a lot of promise if you're willing to play around enough with the settings.

However, if you are after the most "film-inspired' looks, then there are still plenty of third-party apps I prefer.

Video has always been one of Apple's strongest suits, and I think the iPhone 18 Pro Max is still top of the pile.

Standard iPhone video is beautifully balanced, with accurate colors, very dependable exposure, and excellent matching when switching between lenses, something a surprising number of otherwise brilliant camera phones still struggle with. Apple's HDR processing can be heavy, but I rarely find it aggressive enough to ruin the image.

Stabilization is also the best I have used on a phone. And more serious filmmakers get a frankly ridiculous range of options, including 4K 120fps Dolby Vision, ProRes, ProRes RAW, Apple Log 2, genlock, and 4K 120fps ProRes recording directly to external storage.

My only real complaint is that the standard Camera app still doesn't give creators enough control over settings. If you want to get properly involved, you can switch to Final Cut Camera or Blackmagic Camera, both of which reveal just how powerful the iPhone can be as a filmmaking tool, but they introduce a fairly steep learning curve (and an additional app). I would love it if Apple had a revamped Pro mode where controls were just more in reach.

Apple has also fitted four studio-quality microphones this year. I am not sure how many serious creators are relying on their phone's internal microphones when wireless systems are so easy to carry, but if you leave your mic kit at home, it is certainly useful to know the built-in option is more capable.

Phone Performance

Apple has been difficult to beat for outright smartphone performance since it began designing its own processors, and the A20 Pro keeps that advantage intact. Built on a 2nm process, it combines a six-core CPU, seven-core GPU, and dual 16-core Neural Engine, while Apple claims up to 40% more GPU performance than the A19 Pro.

My Geekbench 6 results put the iPhone 18 Pro Max at 4,653 for single-core and 12,511 for multi-core performance. For comparison, the Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra scored 3,659 and 11,305, respectively, so Apple still holds a small advantage, although Qualcomm does have a new chip since the last Galaxy.

Numbers aside, the phone feels incredibly quick. Everything from day-to-day navigation to editing and exporting video happens almost instantly, and I can scrub through huge video files without stuttering. There is already far more processing power here than the majority of owners are likely to need, but photographers and filmmakers working with large RAW files, 4K video, and increasingly demanding AI tools can actually make some use of the headroom.

Battery life has improved too. In my normal mix of web browsing, streaming, messaging, and photography, I get around a day and a half before needing to charge. Particularly impressive is Apple's much smaller cell is competing remarkably well with Chinese manufacturers that are putting enormous silicon-carbon batteries into their flagship phones.

There hasn't been much change to Apple OS. iOS 27 continues to refine Apple's Liquid Glass interface, which is probably sensible as it's been a pretty divisive visual change. Apple doesn't publish an exact number of guaranteed OS updates for the iPhone, but its historic support is among the longest in the industry, so I have very few concerns about the 18 Pro Max remaining useful for years.

The biggest new software push is, inevitably, AI. Siri's AI (or Apple Intelligence) is more capable and uses more on-device processing alongside Apple's Private Cloud Compute, while Photos gets tools including Spatial Reframing, Extend, and a more powerful Clean Up function.

There are also some interesting developments around image authenticity. Apple's new Reference Image feature can record data alongside a photograph, allowing an original reference to be compared with edited versions. Apple is also adding support for Google's SynthID later this year so AI-generated or AI-edited images can carry an invisible watermark. All of which should help in the fightback against AI-slop.

Final Verdict

The iPhone 18 Pro Max is a fine update; it's Apple refining an already very good phone. Not all the additions, I think, are worthwhile, but none of them detract from an incredible device.

For photography, there are phones I would choose ahead of it if image quality were my greatest concern, and Apple's headline variable aperture hasn't changed photography nearly as much as the marketing would suggest. Yet there is a lot to be said for how dependable the iPhone is. I can pull it from my pocket, snap away, and the photos will just look good. It remains a very capable everyday camera even if it isn't the outright stills champion.

But for video, I think it is still the phone to beat. The consistency between lenses, excellent stabilization, accurate color, and huge choice of professional codecs and formats make it my first choice for recording on a phone.

However, I just wouldn't upgrade from an iPhone 17 Pro Max for it, as the 17 is already just such a good phone, and I don't feel the 18 Pro Max adds quite enough. But for anyone coming from an older model, the iPhone 18 Pro Max remains one of the best camera phones you can buy right now.

Alternatives

The first iPhone launched in 2007, $499 – far less than the recently announced iPhone 18 Pro's entry price of $1,199. By contrast, the price of a quality camera has hardly changed – a Digital Rebel XTi was $899 ($1,445 adjusted for inflation) in 2007 while a broadly equivalent modern camera – the Sony ZV-E10 II – comes in for less, allowing for inflation, at $1,099.

In both cases, the cameras produce better results than the iPhone then and the iPhone 18 Pro now.

And there has been a marked – and you'd think off-putting rise – in the price of the iPhone. Despite that, I think photographers should be a lot more worried about the future of the cameras in this class than the phones – I know I am.

Why?

Because the iPhone started from close to zero when it came to its camera. That first iPhone had a 2-megapixel camera – that's 1600 x 1200 pixels. The low-light capabilities, as I recall, were little more than the ability to produce noise.

It was fixed focus and didn't even have digital zoom in the standard Camera app (not that it'd be much use at that resolution).

The camera was kept flush against the back of the relatively small phone, in a design which felt very much like Apple prioritised the form and style over the camera's functionality, but in fairness no one was sure what a camera in a phone was for.

In fact, no one really knew what a camera in a phone was going to be capable of.

There was also not even an App store at the time, let alone tons of social media apps to create pristine content for. There was no Instagram until 2010. No SnapChat until 2011. Let alone TikTok (2016).

Now the iPhone 18 Pro has an entry price of $1,199. There are much cheaper ways to get hold of a phone, and a camera.

But the new iPhones (and they're certainly not the highest megapixel counts), sports a 48-megapixel main camera with a variable aperture, and (as is common now) not just a digital zoom but a 48-megpixel camera with 4x native telephoto lens.

Combined with a 'Center Stage' front camera and ProRes RAW, Log 2 video recording and – simply but usefully – a Night Mode there are far fewer cases for reaching for the still technically better 'real camera'.

Real camera v iPhone: the value difference

I think that consumers understand the difference isn't what it used to be, and that there is one more enormous factor: speed.

A huge number of creators want their images to be immediately available on their phone to post, or to edit in a user friendly app and then post.

Plenty of cameras can transfer them via Wi-Fi and the like, but nothing is as convenient or quick as coming from the phone's own camera.

So, for most creators, most of the time, it's a battle of "good enough" versus "good".

I speak to YouTubers and other content creators all the time, and premium phones are winning that battle for them more often than not.

Not long ago I criticized the likes of Apple, Google and Samsung for being lazy; for producing flagship phones with minimal improvements to camera hardware, year after year. By contrast, Chinese brands like Oppo, Vivo and Xiaomi are continually upping the ante in this area, the most obvious example being bespoke teleconverter lenses, such as the Oppo Hasselblad 300mm Explorer Teleconverter.

But there’s another Chinese phone manufacturer we in the West tend to overlook now: Huawei. Ever since Google banned Huawei from accessing Google Mobile Services in 2019, the brand all but died in the US and Europe, but it continues to thrive in its Chinese homeland. So much so that it's just launched what is quite possibly the most audacious piece of camera hardware for a phone I've ever seen.

Not content with simply copying Oppo or Vivo by offering another fixed focal length telephoto lens, Huawei has produced a lens for a camera phone that boasts 10x continuous optical zoom, equating to a 24-240mm focal range (in full-frame terms), plus you get a respectable f/2-4.5 max aperture.

And if that wasn't impressive enough, Huawei has teamed the lens with its own, dedicated 1-inch-type, 50-megapixel RYYB image sensor. This is capable of ISO6400 maximum sensitivity, 4K/60p video recording, and up 960fps slow motion video capture.

The result is the Ruiying Z10: an entire camera attachment that can be mounted directly to the camera island of a Huawei Mate 90 Pro Max, or Mate 90 RS phone - no intermediary case or separate mounting system required. The Z10 takes over all camera hardware duties from the phone, leaving the phone to handle image processing, the control interface, and image preview.

Sure, at approximately 80mm x 70mm in size and weighing 346g, the Z10 is a chunky piece of kit. But it's not unreasonably bulky: the Oppo Hasselblad 300mm Explorer Teleconverter is even heavier at 400g, and let's face it, none of these big lens attachments are going to fit in a jeans' pocket anyway. You really need to think of the Z10 not as an add-on lens you take out with you on a daily basis, but as a camera converter. It gives you the option to turn your phone into a full-on camera with genuine, continuous 10x optical zoom. No switching between your phone’s own individual camera modules and getting varied image quality as a result. No relying on AI zoom, with its sometimes sketchy interpretation of reality.

For everyday use you'd shoot with the cameras in the Mate 90 Pro Max or Mate 90 RS, and that'd be no hardship, as these phones are imaging powerhouses in their own right. We're talking a main camera with a 1/1.28-inch, 50MP sensor and an f/1.4-f/4.0 variable aperture lens, a 200-megapixel 4x periscope telephoto module, also using a 1/1.28-inch sensor, and a 40-megapixel ultrawide camera. But for holidays, events, or other special occasions when you might otherwise want a 'proper' camera, you'd simply attach the Z10 and away you go.

And the price for all this versatility? RMB 5,999, or around $895 US. Sure, that's far from cheap - the same money would buy you a 256GB Pixel 11 phone. But let's consider the alternative: you already have a high-end phone, but also want a dedicated compact camera with a 1-inch sensor and at least 10x optical zoom. An obvious choice would be the Panasonic ZS300/TZ300, which costs $897, and while this does have 15x zoom reach, I'd bet my left arm its image quality won't be as impressive as that from the Mate 90/Ruiying Z10 combo.

But sadly I'm ignoring the elephant in the room here: the Ruiying Z10 looks incredible, it'll probably perform very well, but unless you live in China, you'll never actually get the chance to find out. Who could have predicted in 2019, when the US was doing its best to kill off Huawei's consumer phone division, that in 2026 the brand wouldn't just be prospering in this sector, it'd be at the cutting edge of camera phone innovation.

Like many fans of cutting-edge tech, smart glasses with a camera and AI assistance have held appeal for me for some time.

If you can forgive a little tech nostalgia, I still remember using my Google Glass in the early 2010s. Everyone I knew was fascinated by them. Soon, though, I realized for myself that they weren't actually very useful and, worse still, the wider world was a lot more hostile than the optimistic nerds at Google might have expected.

Now things are very different. Cameras in glasses frames are still the subject of debate, but – thanks to Meta's non-display variants – have to some extent been normalized.

The problem is more that, especially for someone interested in the content they're creating, the process – heavily dependent on checking your phone display – all seems very disjointed. It's not as "smart" as the name implies.

Step forward the Meta Ray-Ban Display – like the Google Glass there is visual feedback, but this time it's in color. Plus there are a lot more means to interact. Is this the solution?

When Meta / Ray-Ban finally offered me the opportunity to try out the glasses, I jumped at it so I could find out.

Even though I've tested a lot of eye-worn displays – from RayNeo's head-worn monitors, through drone FPV goggles with menus, to Apple Vision Pro – the Meta offering still surprised me in a number of ways.

First things first, I'm pretty confident that it is something I'd be fairly happy wearing in public. They are light, and the frames look okay given the tech inside.

My wife was actually pretty complimentary about how they looked (before I showed her the price tag). Sure, it's a bit Buddy Holly – and I'd have felt comfortable on the cover of a Weezer album – but it's not all about the glasses.

The downside is the wrist band – or "neural band" – which is worn on the wrist of your dominant hand and communicates with the glasses.

It detects the movements that form your interactions with the user interface. These are rotating the hand left and right (for example, to handle volume), and gestures of tapping your thumb against different fingers.

It took me no more than a minute to grasp this – but a few more to start to remember which of my first three fingers I should be tapping with my thumb in some situations.

Really it's no more complicated than a computer mouse with a few buttons – but even once you're used to the interface, the band itself is one more thing to keep track of… and take on and off and charge.

What that buys you, though, is not having to look at your phone all the time, which surely is the whole promise of smart glasses.

It also means the glasses are capable of a lot more genuinely cool tricks, like putting subtitles in your view – using AI translation – when someone is speaking in a foreign language, or displaying translations of things you can see.

From the perspective of a photographer, too, it enables you to see your images or video. There is a 12MP camera, set for vertical images – only the new Ray-Ban Meta (Gen 3) have the option of landscape shooting, but they don't have a display.

I don't know about you, but I find a visual interface easier to follow than asking an AI and wondering if it correctly understood me, so a display is incredibly reassuring compared to similar tech.

It is 600 x 600 pixels, which makes it capable of displaying a phone-like interface three icons wide.

That is where things get a little weird, though. The interface isn't exactly the one you're used to from your phone – Android or iOS – but Meta's own.

Interactions with the device are through Meta's AI. Meta is a big player, and it wants to be part of – or dominate – the new face of computing, and that is interaction through AI.

In fact, I strongly suspect this is why the company has invested so much in releasing this range of products and kept them at relatively accessible prices.

Meta's modus operandi is to use the information (not the photos and videos) from user interactions to develop its AI system.

That can include pictures, if you ask the glasses "Meta, what am I looking at?" – but not your personal gallery. It's a significant distinction, but it does technically mean that someone working at Meta HQ may end up seeing more or less what you saw, which might feel a bit strange for some folk.

The cameras on smart glasses have always created privacy concerns, but leaving that aside it is impressively useful.

What I did find myself asking, from a demo that included the camera and some Meta smart functions (including translations of what I could see), was whether these are significantly more useful than either the glasses without the display or the Google Glass of over ten years ago?

To fully answer that, I'd need to spend longer with them. But one of the key demonstrations projected directions onto the display to help me find a nearby subway station.

The thing is, I generally don't need a map – but I know others do, so I can see the use in this. But I suspect I'd feel more comfortable with Google or even Apple Maps.

The camera gets a zoom function, powered by twisting your hand, which I'm sure is great for socials but must involve some compromise in quality. The live preview in the display means you are at least recording what you want, though.

My test was a controlled demo, so I wasn't able to link the device to my own phone and get the full experience, which means I stuck mostly to the photo and translation tools.

Translation seemed futuristic to me. I could see the ability to look at menus and have them converted into an image in my language as much more discreet than having it read out to me, but live subtitles was amazing.

Just quickly reviewing my images without reaching for the phone was a massive step up, too.

Then again, there were limits to this unconnected demo. I tried to play the music of Ariane X (easily found by Siri) by voice, but Meta couldn't – and there was no prospect of linking to my own accounts unless I bought the glasses. I could, of course, use them as headphones, but that doesn't feel as "smart".

So, are they all that they promised from my hands-on?

Well, they're cheaper than Google Glass. In fact, if you're interested in cool tech, they're also cheaper even if you buy a premium phone like an iPhone 18 Pro Max than the iPhone Duo. So while the $799 / £749 might seem a high starting point, there are other ways to look at it.

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Take a look at the best camera glasses from other manufacturers.

The Fujifilm X-Half brings the brand’s popular film simulations into a digital compact camera built with the intentional limitations of film – but the compact camera just got a new film-like option, thanks to a firmware update.

Part of the X-Half’s more film-like charm – beyond the screen-free film mode and advance lever – comes from the camera’s built-in filters. Firmware 2.0 brings one more option to those retro looks: Soft Glow.

The soft glow option is built to imitate the look of a diffusion filter – or the softer highlights of old film lenses. Fujifilm says this mode softens highlights to enhance the glow.

The Fujifilm X-Half already had a similar mode called halation, but halation and glow are two similar yet distinct image qualities. Halation is a subtle glow that adds a bit of warm tones. On film, this effect was simply a result of the light hitting the film and scattering.

A soft glow traditionally differs from halation because it doesn’t add warm tones and is the result of using softer lenses. A glow effect typically spreads out light sources.

I’m a big fan of using diffusion filters to get a glow, so I love that the X Half now has an option like this built in, without adding filters. The Soft Glow is part of the X Half’s filter effects, which are a separate mode and not used at the same time as the camera’s film simulations.

Along with the addition of Soft Glow, the firmware adds 12 and 24-frame options to the camera’s film mode. The X Half’s film mode locks several settings and disables previews, essentially locking the screen and creating a “screen-free” compact camera. Now photographers can choose to shoot as little as 12 images per roll, allowing for swapping settings between rolls earlier than with a roll of 36.

The firmware update also includes a handful of performance enhancements, including improving the start-up time, enhancing autofocus timing, and reducing the delay between shots.

It’s great to see Fujifilm continue to expand on the X Half’s different built-in filters – and the soft glow looks like a welcome addition. But, as with most firmware, it’s often best to wait a few days (or even weeks) to avoid any potential early bugs.

The new firmware 2.0 for the X Half is available to download directly from Fujifilm.

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Take a look at the best retro cameras, or the top screen-free cameras.

I've tried three different pairs of smart glasses in the same day and one was noteable simply because it didn't say "Ray-Ban" or "Meta" on it. That was the new Vive Eagle, with built-in camera and ring-fenced access to multiple AI chatbots.

The concept of the Vive Eagle glasses isn't a million miles from the established Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses with camera – the third generation of which was launched just days ago – but there are some key differences as well as similarities.

Like the Ray-Ban Meta, the 'smart glasses' are designed to pair with your phone and offer AI assistance via a chat bot you talk to (there is no 'screen' or display), and they have a built-in camera which lets you take 3MP video or capture photos – and lets the AI "see" its environment.

The 12MP camera can power AI features like visual translation, too (live translation is an option, but you'll need your phone out to share the conversation).

There are speakers above each ear in the arms of the glasses; these have 'virtual bass' to reduce noise leakage.

Where things differ significantly from Meta's product is that the AI does not belong to HTC/Vive, and so – I was told – the company has been keen put privacy first. Meta, on the other hand, uses its own AI, and interactions with it are used by Meta as part of the development of its LLM.

To be clear, this isn't the same as Meta keeping your photos and videos, which are protected by the company's policy.

Because Vive isn't working on a LLM, there is what can be seen as a significant advantage – it can use both Gemini and ChatGPT for its functionality. That offers choice.

"Wait! What about the fact that those services use personal data as part of their development?" you might ask. Well, for now at least, the Vive Eagle doesn't allow you to connect to your personal chatbot account – so it can only get the plain answer. Fine for queries like "What is the weather going to be like?" or "Read this to me in English" but there will be some who may actually prefer

This is a feature that'll be looked at, I was told. In the meantime, you have your phone's assistant accessed effectively as if through headphones – be that Google Assistant or Siri.

The Vive glasses boast a button on either side. There is a status LED that faces the user (just in the bottom right of your field of view) and another facing out (with tamper sensors).

In terms of style, they might not be called 'Ray-Ban' but there are a number of colorways, including the black pair with sunglass-style lenses I am testing, as well as red and brown alternatives and clear glass. There are more rounded frames, called Pantos, and more square ones (as pictured). Lenses are Zeiss, a name that'll please readers here!

The lightest pair is 48.5g and they do feel light to wear, but a nice touch is that a small additional battery can be magnetically attached without adding a lot of weight if you need a boost. This may detract from the style, of course, depending on your hair!

Check our guide to the best camera glasses.

OnePlus has taken to Weibo to announce the launch of its latest flagship smartphone, the OnePlus 16. As impressive as the specs are, and we'll get to those in a minute, the most notable part of the announcement is that it will not be released in US or European markets.

At the back end of 2025, we praised the "blistering speed, battery stamina, and solid camera system" of the OnePlus 15. At the time, we were already looking forward to the release of the 16, expecting significant improvements and for the brand to expand its market share.

It was, therefore, with disappointment that in July, OnePlus announced that they would no longer be selling their products in North America and Europe. That put an abrupt end to a decade of building market share and influence in these fiercely competitive regions.

A new 200MP main camera

Diving into what most of us will now miss out on, beginning with the camera system. The OnePlus 16 will feature a huge 200MP main camera with a 1/1.4-inch sensor. It will also support a special mode called Expert, which includes film-like colors and a Hasselblad-inspired aspect ratio.

The three remaining cameras boast 50MP sensors. This covers the ultrawide, telephoto, and even the selfie camera. The most notable improvement here is that the telephoto camera has been upgraded to a Sony IMX882 1/1.95-inch sensor with larger 0.8µm pixels. This will capture more light and deliver better results in low-light locations.

The OnePlus 16 promises to be fast

According to the Weibo announcement, the OnePlus 16 will be "among the first to feature the 6th generation Snapdragon 8 Super Edition, paired with a new generation of gaming kernel, pre-programmed into the chip for maximum performance!"

The result will be flagship performance that will be noticed by all types of power users, including photographers, creative professionals, and gamers. In fact, the last of these will enjoy the fastest FPS gaming experience with a 185Hz refresh rate.

The OnePlus 16 will be available in three unique colors: Tomorrow’s Starlight, The Dark Forest, and A Martian Masterpiece.

We still hope to test and review the flagship device, but if you'd like to get your hands on one for yourself, then you'll have to be satisfied with an import. The phone will be released in China on October 12th and is already available on display at OPPO stores.

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Find more of the best Android phones for photography or the best camera phones in our guides.

Honor has officially launched its Magic 9 series in China, and while there are a couple of new models, it is the Honor Magic 9 Pro Max that is the most exciting for photographers and filmmakers.

The headline feature is an ambitious triple-camera system developed around Honor’s new partnership with cinema camera specialist ARRI. This is the second Honor-ARRI collaboration after the niche Honor Robot phone – which put a pop-up gimbal camera on the back of a smartphone – and the first taste of ARRI’s contributions in a mainstream device.

ARRI’s involvement goes beyond simply lending its name to the cameras. The Magic 9 Pro Max can record up to 4K 60p using an ARRI Cinema Mode, with ARRI LogC3, 10-bit color and ARRI Wide Gamut 3. For more tuned footage straight out of the camera, there are 14 ARRI Looks built in, with access to a wider library of 87 Looks that can be imported and applied to footage.

The Magic 9 Pro Max camera system consists of a 200MP main camera with a large 1/1.28-inch sensor, f/1.57 aperture and OIS, alongside a second 200MP telephoto camera using a 1/1.4-inch sensor and f/2.6 aperture, while a 50MP f/2 ultrawide completes the trio.

Up front is a 55MP camera paired with a 3D depth sensor, with an Apple-style square-format sensor allowing landscape or portrait compositions without physically rotating the phone. It’s unclear at this stage if either the front or rear cameras support open gate recording.

Honor is making particularly bold claims about stabilization. Both the 200MP main and telephoto cameras carry a CIPA 8.0 stabilization rating, while the main camera offers what Honor calls 3-degree “gimbal-level” stabilization, designed to compensate for considerably more movement than conventional smartphone OIS, and without having to rely on electronic image stabilization (EIS) cropping into an image.

While internal audio often gets overlooked on phones, with wireless mics so cheap and prevalent, the Magic 9 has ambitions to make internal audio recording more feasible without needing additional accessories with a four-microphone Cinematic Directional Microphone system. Honor is promising targeted directional pickup, isolating background noise around your subject, even from a distance. The demos so far look very cool, but I’m eager to see how this compares to external mics in less controlled situations.

Finally, in the camera department, it seems no modern Chinese flagship phone is complete without an optional photography kit, so Honor is treating us to a new Photography Master Kit that includes 200mm and 500mm teleconverter lenses. The Magic9 Pro Max also supports a dedicated SmallRig mobile video kit with handles and connection points for accessories, including a cooling fan for long recording sessions.

Powering all of this is Qualcomm’s newly announced Snapdragon 8 Elite Extreme Gen 6, paired with Honor’s own H1 imaging processor. Interestingly, despite Qualcomm advertising support for 8K/60p and 4K/240p capture from the Extreme chip, the Magic9 Pro Max itself tops out at 4K/60p.

The other number of note is the enormous 8,800mAh battery (although that number is likely to be lower when the phone reaches the EU due to battery regulations) with 100W wired and 80W wireless charging. There is also a 6.8-inch 1-120Hz LTPO OLED display, and up to 16GB of RAM and 1TB of storage.

The Honor Magic 9 series has just gone on sale in China, and Honor has confirmed that an international launch is planned, although it has yet to say when the Magic 9 Pro Max will arrive in markets including the UK and Europe (the US, as usual, won’t get an official launch).

When it does make the journey overseas, the Magic 9 Pro Max looks set to be one of Honor’s most serious attempts yet to challenge the best camera phones and best phones for video.

Meta VR smart glasses could be the biggest announcement in the world of smart glasses for some time. Not because they're the best, the most powerful, or the most innovative, but because they're pushing for a balance that others haven't yet seemed to manage – a balance including the price.

Meta has already grown a popular – if controversial – market, dominating the best smart camera glasses thanks to variants of its Ray-Ban Meta Gen 3, the latest version of which was also just announced. These are essentially sunglasses with a camera and a voice-based A.I. assistant built in, and sold in good numbers at around the $300 price.

Apple, of course, went for a carefully tested, refined, technically incomparable device (not wholly without flaws, but it did impress me when I tried the Vision Pro). There were two key downsides: it cost the wrong side of $3000 and it looked like really nice ski goggles, so it was never going to be something that consumers bought and wore every day.

So, what if you want more than the camera glasses but less than the Apple's Vision Pro? What if you actually liked the idea of the Vision Pro but feel that it has 'failed'. Sure, Apple is still updating the OS and adding productivity features, but there is a lack of momentum and, as we have covered here, the company has also reduced manufacturing orders for the Vision Pro.

Well, the Meta VR seems to be pitching itself as the solution.

The company already had the Meta Ray-Ban Display, which is a variant of these glasses that features an internal display that appears 'projected' over the wearer's view. The view can be interacted with using a wristband. This extends the capabilities, not in a way that would trouble Vision Pro users but definitely in a way that'd impress owners of the first Google Glass (remember them?)

The fact Meta had a means of interaction – the wristband – the beginnings of an on-screen operating system, and a market for glasses (as well, sorry Apple, but a cooler brand tie-in) put it in a good place to deliver the Meta VR glasses.

These ARE a lot closer to being a Vision Pro-like concept, obscuring the eyes with a big opaque black goggle-like cover. There are cameras on the outside and a virtual world is projected onto what you see, so, like Vision Pro, everything you see when wearing them is the result of computation (even if it is just a camera image passing through).

Pass-through, by the way, introduces all the 'qualities' you'd expect of a small digital camera, and the slight delay of computation.

The upshot is that several images can be displayed in your field of view – a giant cinema, or multiple 'windows'.

Like Apple's device, or the FPV goggles I've been using for years as a drone fan, there is a cable and 'puck' where the 'power' is stored. Power is a key word here; the glasses are only 100g, so power as Meta uses it refers to compute power as well as the battery. (It remains to be seen if this is problematic when topping power up.)

In fact, these look a lot more like glasses when you consider they're actually VR devices – which usually come with a headstrap because of the weight. That's pretty exciting.

This seems a little odd from a company that only a few months ago scaled back its Meta Quest gaming glasses, but, presumably that is because it knew it was attempting to expand further with more capable hardware.

On which subject, the Meta VR also doesn't come with the wristband that the earlier glasses relied on, instead having mastered the ability to detect pinch controls in the way others (Apple, Samsung, Snap SPECS) seem to have.

If you need some productivity on the go, Meta's system will detect a flat surface – perhaps a table in Starbucks – and put a "keyboard" there for you.

The system has no confirmed specs and won't be available until "Spring 2027" – but the other detail Meta has shared is perhaps the most crucial: a price of $1,299 (just under £1,000 were it translated directly).

Given the price of the Apple Vision Pro and the SPECS announced a few days before, not to mention the cost of chips, this is a surprising commitment, but one that might well buy the market.

Leica is making an even bigger play for iPhone photographers with the launch of Leica LUX 2.0, the biggest update yet to its mobile camera app, alongside a new silver LUX grip and matching leather cases for Apple’s latest iPhone 18 Pro series.

The updated Leica LUX app brings the mobile experience closer to Leica’s wider camera ecosystem, with a new gallery interface based on the Leica FOTOS app, a redesigned user interface and a selection of alternative app icons inspired by some of Leica’s most recognizable cameras. Leica has also introduced elements of Apple’s Liquid Glass design language while keeping the main photographic controls in familiar positions, so existing LUX users shouldn’t have to relearn how to use the app completely.

One of the headline additions is a new Artist Look created in collaboration with legendary photographer Steve McCurry. Rather than attempting to automatically turn every photograph into something resembling one of McCurry’s images, Leica says the look has been designed around his distinctive approach to color, light, and atmosphere, giving photographers a starting point from which to develop their own images. It follows the earlier Greg Williams Artist Look and will be included with Leica LUX PRO, while also being made available for the Leica Q3 and Leica SL3 through the Leica FOTOS app.

“With Leica LUX 2.0, mobile photography is becoming more closely integrated with the Leica system. The shared gallery, the new user interface and Steve McCurry’s Artist Look offer photographers new ways to develop their own visual language using an iPhone. Together with the silver Leica LUX grip and matching cases, the result is a coordinated range for mobile photography,” says Marius Eschweiler, Leica Camera AG’s Vice President of Mobile.

Leica LUX 2.0 also introduces a number of useful workflow improvements. A new filmstrip makes it possible to select individual photographs directly from the detail view, while multiselect functionality has been added to the grid for photographers working through larger groups of images.

Adobe Lightroom and Capture One can also now be opened directly from the app alongside Darkroom, making it easier to move images into a more advanced editing workflow. The app will support the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max from launch, with additional optimizations designed around the photographic capabilities of Apple’s newest Pro models.

The app itself is only one part of Leica’s increasingly ambitious mobile photography system. The Leica LUX grip is now available in silver for the first time, joining the existing black version while retaining the same physical controls. That includes a two-stage shutter release, a control wheel, and two customizable function buttons, with the grip attaching to an iPhone via MagSafe and communicating with the phone over Bluetooth. Leica says its battery will last for up to 1,000 shots before needing to be recharged through USB-C, while compatibility stretches back to the iPhone 12.

Leica is also introducing new black leather LUX cases designed specifically for the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max. The cases feature a red microfiber interior and are designed to work directly with the LUX grip and other MagSafe accessories. Leica has also replaced the previous open cutout around the iPhone’s camera button with an integrated button, creating what it describes as a more robust and completely enclosed design.

The new accessories are certainly positioned at the premium end of the iPhone photography market. The silver Leica LUX grip costs $395.00 / £260 and includes one year of Leica LUX PRO, while the leather Leica LUX cases are priced at $95 / £85 each. Both the grip and cases are available from today through Leica Stores, Leica’s online store, and authorized retailers.

The Steve McCurry Artist Look and support for the iPhone 18 Pro series are also available now, while the full Leica LUX 2.0 update, including its new gallery, redesigned interface and alternative app icons, will arrive on the Apple App Store in early October.

Leica says LUX has already been downloaded millions of times since its introduction in 2024, and with the company now bringing its app, physical controls and accessories closer together, it is becoming increasingly clear that Leica sees the iPhone as much more than simply another smartphone camera.

Meta has announced a new generation of Ray-Ban Meta glasses – Gen 3 – bringing a raft of new features to the controversial camera glasses, as well as new style alternatives that will remove the connection with the classic dark 'Wayfarer' style and cameras.

The biggest change is the arrival of two new stlyes – Aviator and a more angular design dubbed Zena. Fans of the classic, worry not: Wayfarer is still an option.

This wider choice could mean that the glasses are even harder to identify for those who have begun to associate it with classic Ray-Bans, but of course it also opens up the tech to people who wouldn't consider that look for themselves.

My wife would point out to me that the choice of styles is important because glasses might go with one outfit and not another – pricing might keep us away from that point yet.

In fact, this generation does come at the cost of, literally, more cost. The latest models start at $449 / £409 which is a notable jump from the earlier Ray-Ban Meta Gen 2, which launched at $379 / £379.

The increased cost also buys improvements, though.

Those improvements don't seem to include a change to the 12MP camera, but the audio quality has seen a bump. There is a new six-microphone array (up from 5) which can improve the quality of noise cancellation, and recorded audio conforms to Dolby Atmos standard – a new feature for Gen 3 video.

Personally, I don't see this being the platform for spatial sound systems, but more likely to be a hit is that landscape video is finally supported – yes, not everyone in the world lives on Instagram or TikTok!

Since the audio system is also key to interacting hands-free with the glasses, any improvement in its ability to listen is welcome.

There is also a programmable action button, as seen on the Meta glasses in the past. It can be set to trigger just about any action you choose – including capture.

The battery life has been increased from eight to nine hours, which (taken from the 5 hours or so on the originals) is good progress. Times, though, are not tested yet, and are generally based on audio playback.

Finally, there are adjustable temple tips on these glasses, so fitting them should be a little easier, making them a good candidate for the best camera glasses once they're available.

Oh, and probably not really one for us, but as predicted, the company also launched some Meta smart glasses without a camera.

Qualcomm has unveiled its latest chipset, which will power some of the best Android phones for photography for the next year. The flagship chip comes in two variants, the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6 and Snapdragon 8 Elite Extreme Gen 6, both built on the latest 2nm processes and with performance improvements across the board – but it’s perhaps photographers and video creators who get some of the most substantial upgrades.

The headline features sit with the Extreme chip. Qualcomm says it can capture 8K video at 60fps and 4K at 240fps, while supporting the Advanced Professional Video (APV) codec and 10-bit Log workflows.

A new Elite Color Engine is designed to improve color, gradients, and noise, while Intelligent Pixel Control can analyze scenes at the pixel level to reduce artifacts such as halos and flare. This extra power and control could come in handy as phones increasingly become more end-to-end production devices, capable of capture, editing, grading, and posting without leaving the handset.

The standard Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6 keeps the new Elite Color Engine and adds Motion Intelligence for stabilization, but Qualcomm reserves the Extreme model's 8K60, 4K240, and APV headline features for its top tier.

The Extreme Gen 6 adds these considerably higher video frame rates alongside a 44% faster GPU and 35% faster NPU compared to last year's top Gen 5 chip, according to Qualcomm.

Competition is also fierce. MediaTek's new Dimensity 9600 Pro supports native 4K240, 4K120 cinematic Log video and up to a claimed 17-stop dynamic range. Meanwhile, Apple's A20 Pro does not chase 8K, but the iPhone 18 Pro supports 4K120 ProRes, ProRes RAW, Apple Log 2, and ACES support. Its new chip also doubles AI processing capability over the A19 Pro and increases memory bandwidth by 50%, potentially benefiting computational imaging and demanding editing tasks.

As always, silicon specifications are only part of the story. Sensor choice, lenses, thermal design, and each manufacturer's image processing will ultimately decide whether these gains translate into visibly better photographs and video. But we won’t have to wait long; the first phones to feature the new chips will be the Xiaomi 18 Pro & Pro Max (the Pro Max getting the Extreme version) and Motorola Signature 27 both due to land outside of China sometime soon.

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Software giant Adobe now owns Topaz Labs, the AI platform known for its upscaling and denoise tools.

After announcing an acquisition agreement back in June, Adobe has now completed the acquisition of Topaz Labs, the company shared on September 23. Topaz Labs will remain available as standalone apps, while the company’s CEO has joined Adobe’s Digital Video and Audio team.

But Adobe Photoshop already incorporated several Topaz Labs tools before the acquisition, including AI Sharpen, AI Denoise, and Generative Upscale. Meanwhile, Adobe Firefly Boards already has a video upscaler from Topaz.

That raises a key question: What’s going to change with Adobe now owning Topaz Labs?

Adobe’s Vice President of Product Marketing for Creative Professionals, Deepa Subramaniam, has dropped a major hint: “Restoring archival footage, refining low-light shots, enhancing mobile clips, preparing content for the big screen, and bringing AI-generated videos to professional quality through creative upscaling will soon be possible within even more existing workflows, helping creatives accomplish more of the work they love.”

There’s a lot to unpack in that sentence, but it hints at where Adobe users will see new Topaz-based tools in the future. Video upscaling seems to be a key focus, as such a tool would cover reviving older clips, enhancing smartphone shots, and enhancing the typical lower resolution of AI-generated videos. The mention of “existing workflows” hints that video upscaling could be coming to Adobe’s existing video editing tools.

Adobe also says that the acquisition will help creators to spend less time switching between different tools. Subramaniam also says that Adobe technology will also improve Topaz Labs models.

“The future of creativity will continue to be defined by creative storytelling and human craft regardless of whether content was captured on a professional camera, mobile phone, or generated with AI,” Subramaniam wrote.

While Adobe says that Topaz Labs tools will be integrated into more existing workflows in the future, the company also says that Topaz Labs’ existing apps will remain available as standalone products.

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Evoto has launched the next generation of its AI-powered retouching suite. Evoto Version 8.0 is being rolled out across the photo-editing software company’s entire ecosystem and comes at a time when over 1.2-billion images have been processed via the company’s software by 1.2 million pro photographers across more than 200 countries.

But what surprised me is the implementation of a creator marketplace called Asset Hub, complete with a $500,000 rewards pool to kickstart the community. And I'm pleased to report that everything on display during the event was squarely focused on working photographers, videographers, and creatives. No AI Headshot Generator in sight. Here's what Evoto 8.0 brings to the table...

Evoto 8.0: Retouching stills

The meat of the update for photographers, of course, surrounds Evoto’s AI-powered retouching capabilities. On the subject of Evoto’s flagship desktop application, US Revenue and Marketing Director, Jay Peterson, distilled the software into four core pillars: “More precise retouching, more flexible framing, smarter culling, repeatable workflows.”

This means updates to a range of stills-based AI-powered features and not just retouching. Evoto’s Story-Based Culling puts a new spin on traditional culling workflows for events and wedding photographers. In Storyline Mode, the user chooses chapters in which the software groups photos to build a storyline of the big day. Rather than discard potentially useful outliers, they’re left unassigned for manual rejection or integration. There’s also a more traditional General Mode, which groups images visually, independently of when they were taken.

The new Workflow feature enables users to save an entire workflow to reduce repetition. From import, culling, applying effects, to export and delivery. Jay was keen to point out that this relates to the workflow process, leaving the creative decision-making to the photographer in question. There’s also SDK integration, which is designed for larger production teams trying to script workflows at scale.

And of course, the next generation of Evoto comes with enhanced AI-powered retouching, with Precision Freckles & Acne Retouching, Face Shadow Removal, Clothing Moiré Removal, Liquify Background Repair, Sweat Stain Removal, and Generative Expand. Background Extraction has been improved and now comes with an orientation-aware AI Crop.

Finally, the Home interface has been redesigned. Create Project, Tethered Shooting, Workflow, and Asset Hub are all accessible from the Home screen, along with the software’s AI assistant, Evobot.

Tether to a smart device

A boon for photographers on the move is the ability to tether to the Evoto App. So, you can capture images directly to an iOS or Android device on location. The Evoto App is also getting enhancements in the form of Hot Presets, Color Match, Motion Blur, and Relight.

Evoto 8.0: Retouching video

The headline update is the ability to perform portrait retouching on video footage. Evoto Video enables users to retouch footage while avoiding the laborious process of manual edits such as keyframing. Evoto is also bringing this technology to DaVinci Resolve and Adobe Premiere Pro via the In-Workflow Retouching Plugin, allowing editors to access Evoto’s video retouching from the timeline.

Hair Shine, Teeth Whitening, Facial Fullness, and Color Match are other 8.0 appointments. Hair Shine tracks strands of hair so that the shine remains consistent as the head moves. Teeth Whitening is designed to mask the teeth and apply whitening by reducing yellow hues, without washing out the teeth. Facial Fullness adds “subtle volume where it’s needed” to faces that appear slightly flat due to lighting. Color Match is an exciting prospect. You match the colors of a single reference image to a clip and then apply that look across the rest of the video.

Evoto Asset Hub

Perhaps the most surprising announcement was the creator marketplace Asset Hub. This allows photographers to purchase assets such as AI looks, backdrops, skies, and more. There are also Masters’ Signature Presets from working photographers. And users can publish and sell their own assets, too.

According to Jay: “A photographer’s style might be the reason clients book them; this gives that same style a second way to generate income.” There are no listing fees; creators keep 60% of net sales and set their own prices within set bands. The $500,000 incentive rewards those who join between now and December 31, 2026, with $50 “once their first asset gets approved and goes live”. An additional $100 will be awarded to the top 20 creators by total sales during the campaign.

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Want more editing news? Affinity’s “biggest photography update yet” – but don’t panic, the image editor is still free! Photoshop’s AI Assistant feels made for beginners – so now the tool is coming to the newbie-friendly Photoshop Elements image editor too. Plus, I think the US$100,000-winning Grok Imagine Odyssey footage is proof that Hollywood shouldn’t feel threatened by genAI just yet.

Canva has brought its creative portfolio closer together via the launch of Canva ProSuite. This is said to connect Affinity, Cavalry, Flourish, and Leonardo, along with over 100 new features. The good news for photographers is that Affinity has received its “biggest photography update yet,” and don’t worry, the photo-editing software's free model hasn’t changed.

The Sydney-based software company is touting an improved RAW development engine and batch imports, in a bid to speed up the photo-editing software’s traditional layer-based workflow. Looks can now be applied to groups of images to an entire shoot, while users can take advantage of tools designed to streamline laborious tasks, such as mixed lighting and camera shake.

An “AI-assisted” Scene Decomposition tool can take a flattened image and split it into layers. There’s now a dedicated workspace called Astrophotography Studio, which helps users perform a variety of enhancements, including stacking improvements, star and background separation, color calibration, and more.

Affinity’s file compatibility has been enhanced, too, with the ability to work directly with InDesign files, as well as import .af Affinity files into Cavalry. The update also includes a raft of tool enhancements, such as Noise Reduction Tool, Generative Upscale, Wavelet Denoise, HDR and merge improvements, and more.

A confusing model

One problem I have with Canva’s ecosystem is its pricing structure. It’s not overly clear what’s free and what isn’t. Thankfully, both Affinity and Cavalry are still free to use, as was promised when the Canva rebrand launched back in October 2025, but you’ll need to invest in a paid Canva plan to access Canva AI Studio and Canva Teams.

ProSuite confuses things further because it’s essentially a marketing term and not a tangible product. It’s a little bit like Adobe’s Creative Cloud. There is no Creative Cloud software, but all of Adobe’s programs and plans are part of the Creative Cloud umbrella.

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Snap co-founder and CEO Evan Spiegel has publicly launched 'Specs', his company's latest foray into the camera glasses market. They come nearly ten years after the company's original camera glasses, but this time things are different. It isn't a device to record content for your Snap Chat. This is a new operating system without keyboard or mouse, aiming to show both Meta and Apple what they did wrong.

The launch began with perhaps the most surreal 170 seconds ever, before we get onto the practical details – including a heavy note that the glasses – which very definitey do feature a camera – "can understand the world without recording it." So what is happening here?

So, as we've discussed already at DCW, the idea of a camera worn as sunglasses has been very popular and, more recently, has come under so much criticism that there is now a prospect of Meta glasses without a camera.

Specs will still have a camera, which they can even use to percieve the world in 3D and create 3D shopping experiences, as well as take images for SnapChat, so will they be in for just as much criticism?

Not according to Spiegel, who points out that the significantly more expensive and capable devices are so big "You can see them from a mile away," so they wouldn't be a choice for creeps. There is also a flashing LED, as per Meta's glasses.

The photo-taking process in the demo was also not as discreet – with a finger-clicking gesture that also left an arm and hand very much in the frame. Image capture is able to take advantage of a four-camera system (dual optical, dual IR).

Other sources say that the system can record video as well as photos for limited periods – in 'capture mode'. That, however, is broadly true of Meta's system, and has not silenced worries.

We were told, in the launch presentation, that the glasses have an alien as a mascot because (and you have to bear with this) the company had meetings. In them, they imagined aliens looking down at humanity, wondering why we walk around with our heads in little glowing rectangles all day, plugging them in to feed them electricity, and buying the rectangles outfits (like the best iPhone 18 Pro cases), and doing whatever the rectangles wished.

Ultimately, the aliens – in Spiegel's story – the aliens sent Specs as gift to humanity to help us all.

Nothing arrogant about that sentiment in a product launch! And some will also wonder whether a 'gift' can cost $2,195 / £1,999 a throw (and a little more for the cellular-capable version).

If that sounds a bit of a stretch to experience the tech, you can try the device's A.I. helper, Specs Intelligence, for free. You need an iPhone or a Mac to download the app from the App Store.

There are limitations. Specs are only capable of about 4 hours use – even when some of that is audio. The solution is a charging case to carry on the move.

We also don't know what the dual Snapdragon processors can deliver in a device that weighs 136g; interestingly, there was no specific mention of image stabilization though presumably something is needed to align the overlaid 3D graphics.

The glasses are nonetheless very impressive, with the option of dimming the 'glass' to act more like a private world, or operating as a head-up display like traditionally see-through glasses. That display has a 51-degree field of view (equivalent to standing ten feet from a 115-inch TV).

The glasses will ship this fall, and demos will begin in public in the coming months, first at Los Angeles Westfield, then at some Verizon stores in the USA and EE stores in the UK.

In the meantime check our guides to the best camera glasses for more traditional wearable tech, while Apple Vision Pro cuts back on parts orders.

Ever pushed the saturation slider in your photo editing software and wondered why it's not revealing the details you need? Well, there's a reason for that.

Most color tools only stretch the contrast that you can already see. But NASA needed more detail, so it developed software that works out which colors in a photo are statistically tangled together – then untangles them. The result often looks like an entirely different image.

The two images at the top of this article, captured on the Martian surface, shows what this looks like in practice. The picture on the left depicts exactly the rust-colored Martian that you see with the naked eye, while the one on the right reveals mineral variation in electric pinks and greens.

Remapping the colors

The technique is called decorrelation stretch, and it was originally invented at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory as a way to map lava flows in Hawaii and prepare for a satellite instrument called ASTER (Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer).

JPL scientist Ronald Alley wrote the definitive paper on it in 1996, refining an idea first proposed by his colleague Jim Soha two decades earlier.

Rather than simply boosting contrast, it remaps an image's colors across a wider, decorrelated range, using statistical maths borrowed from a theorem called the Karhunen-Loève Transform.

The person who spotted its wider potential was Jon Harman. He wasn't a photographer or an archaeologist by trade, but a mathematician with a background in medical imaging.

He saw the above before-and-after Mars images at a rock art conference around 2005, and realized the same approach could rescue rock paintings that had faded almost to nothing.

Harman went away and built a plugin called Dstretch for ImageJ, an open-source image processing and analysis program originally developed by the National Institutes of Health.

He then followed it with a smartphone app that mimics the effect. The plugin costs $50 (around £44 / AU$70) and the smartphone app costs $20 (£15 / AU$28).

It's astonishing when you think about it: a serious piece of NASA color science that you might have expected would only ever exist in scientific papers has ended up as an affordable app that anyone can point at pretty much anything and get interesting results.

Dstretch has since uncovered around 200 faded paintings at Angkor Wat, previously unknown figures at a Norwegian rock art site, and pictures of bats and pigs in ancient Egyptian tombs.

And the important thing is, none of that required any new photos to be taken – just smarter processing of images that already existed.

Panasonic just dropped important firmware updates for four Lumix cameras – but the thing I actually want is still missing on my camera, 16 months after it debuted.

I feel bad being ungrateful, because Panasonic is brilliant – the best of all the camera brands, in fact – at listening to the community and delivering updates that meaningfully improve the cameras and the way you can use them.

To that end, some short but sweet fixes and features have been released for the Panasonic Lumix S1II, S1RII, S1IIE and S9 – all of which are incredibly welcome.

However, I've been waiting ever since the Urban Sports AF algorithm was released back in May 2025 for it to make its way to the S9 – but despite my fingers being crossed for this week's firmware drop, it's still missing in action.

Which is doubly gutting, because I was shooting skateboarding a couple of nights ago and that autofocus mode would really have helped the poor little S9 keep a pretty AF box around a skater. (Call me crazy but, if I were Panasonic and I had a killer AF mode that nobody else had, I'd be putting it in every camera I made.)

Anyway, entitled whinging aside, here's what you can expect from the new updates:

Lumix S9 version 2.1

In fairness, the updates are pretty sweet – but mainly for videographers, thanks to the addition of much-needed new modes for the MP4 (Lite) codec that is absolutely adored by content creators (I'm looking at you, Emily at Micro Four Nerds).

The camera also gets support for the brilliant Lumix Flow app (or rather, the Lumix Flow app has been updated to support the S9), along with more assignable functions for the customizable buttons on lenses.

Per the official notes:

• Support for Lumix Flow ver.1.7.0 or above
• Addition of 4K 60p/50p and FHD 120p/100p/60p/50p recording options for MP4 (Lite)
• Expanded assignable functions for Lens Fn Button settings, including:
  • Aspect Ratio
  • E-Stabilization (Video)
  • Boost I.S. (Video)
  • Image Area of Video
  • Focus Ring Control
  • Focus Limiter
  • Hybrid Zoom
  • Crop Zoom (Including related zoom operation functions
  • Focus Peaking
  • Video Record

Lumix S1II / S1RII / S1IIE

If you've ever used the S1II series for flash photography, you may have experienced latency issues when using TTL. Panasonic certainly heard from some working pros who struggled with the issue, which is pretty critical if you're using your equipment for client work like weddings.

Thankfully, the latest firmware will "improve shutter release responsiveness and burst shooting performance when using external flash units" according to the manufacturer.

On top of that, there's also the nebulous old chestnut of "enhancing overall operational stability".

Lumix Lab Version 3.1.1

In addition to gaining support for the S9's new MP4 (Lite) formats, the big Lumix Lab improvement is the ability to find LUTs more easily – and download them in collections.

All of which is incredibly welcome if you've ever tried navigating the user-created LUT libraries, which was often a painful experience. Being able to filter them and download batches is much appreciated!

• Support for newly added MP4 (Lite) recording formats on the Lumix S9
• New LUT category filtering functionality
• Introduction of downloadable LUT Packs, which group curated LUTs by creative theme
• Enhanced user interface and overall usability improvements

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OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT, might have picked up most attention this week with a former employee's vague warnings about the chances of AI wiping out humanity.

However, despite the calls to slow down development, it hasn't halted work on its camera tools, acquiring a photo-processing company that might even go toward the company's long-anticipated AI gadget.

Glass Imaging is an AI tool that helps improve the quality of images taken with the small image sensors and lenses on camera phones, and create results more like those on devices with full-frame sensors, like DSLRs or mirrorless cameras.

There is an extensive gallery of examples on the company site, largely shot on the iPhone 15 and iPhone 16 cameras in imperfect light. I was especially interested to see that the AI wasn't above altering the pose of the subject; look at the boy in the example, whose head has turned to face the camera.

Glass A.I. processing sample

An original image shot on an iPhone and the result of Glass A.I. processing

iPhone 16 Pro Max

Glass A.I. Processed

Glass Imaging was a venture-backed company that claimed it could "Unlock the full potential of imaging systems," and the technology used is called 'Glass AI'. It claims to be a "neural ISP" – which presumably means image signal processing.

Image signal processing is the next step on a digital camera's circuits after capturing the light with the sensor. The signal, perhaps from a CMOS sensor, passes via analog-to-digital conversion to an a ISP chip (or a combined system-on-a-chip).

This is where the color science and processing takes place that results in an image file that can be handed off to the storage (such as a memory card).

I understand that adding better technology (under the umbrella of AI) to the ISP can result in theoretically better images than otherwise expected from the same chip.

Essentially, this is what Apple calls "computational photography" – and all camera companies, to a greater or lesser extent, attempt already. Indeed the Honor 600 phone has already incorporated this very tech. Glass Imaging is just openly promising to use the latest thing in tech – AI – and suggesting it'll do it better.

Where that looks a bit strange is in the examples that change the pose rather than just the texture and quality of the image. Now that is the kind of thing that might result from generative AI, but (at least to my way of thinking) isn't really just improving the lens and sensor to their theoretical maximum!

Eliminating grain and making it look like you used 'better glass'? That's great. But changing the pose? That is a different matter.

Not that OpenAI has specified its plans for the software, but the company has been investing a great deal in bringing its own AI-driven device to market – and many are suggesting there is a connection.

This spend is pocket change compared to the $6.5 billion (around £4.9 billion / AU$9.1 billion) OpenAI spent on Io Products, the company Jony Ive founded. Ive is formerly Apple's chief designer, with the iPhone in his list of credits, and has already been connected to smart devices with cameras.

OpenAI is also still thought to be preparing a stock offering, though that is likely to wait until 2027 because of the AI safety fears (or, more precisely, the fear that the IPO won't work as well as hoped in the present climate).

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If you can't wait, why not just check out the best iPhone for photography?

Friday September 18 is the days the stores open around the world for the iPhone 18 Pro, Pro Max, Apple Watch Series 12, Ultra 4, and AirPods 5. In the USA 14 of the brand new iPhones will also be used to capture the Giants take on the Dodgers and broadcast live on Apple TV to subscribers in 60 countries.

Originally announced last month, Apple phones are being hidden in parts of the Major League Baseball (MLB) stadia that are just impossible to tuck traditional broadcast gear, including the pitch clock, behind the backstop, on a foul pole, and in both bullpens.

Since the game starts at 7:15pm on the West Coast today (3.15am tomorrow for British fans), it comes sometime after the first iPhones went on sale around the world.

Interestingly in the first market to open, Australia's Sydney, there was some sweary debate and general childishness over who was first, much to the entertainment of US tabloids like the New York Post.

The point is that it's a busy day for the iPhone – but it isn't stopping MLB getting them out on the field.

The iPhone 18 Pros will be used to shoot part of the Friday's Giants at Dodgers game. Eight of the 14 iPhones will be sending a live feed using a private T-Mobile 5G network.

This private network is at a different frequency to the 50,000 or so fans in the stadium, and makes the difference between reliable broadcast video and a connection at the mercy of thousands of other phone users nearby.

The upshot is that the iPhone's footage will be involved in the live coverage, not just a highlights package.

iPhones will get more involved too – essentially anything which was previously shot with a camera on a shoulder rig then transmitted via a broadcast truck can be shot using an iPhone. That means batting practice or the players receiving their instructions, even events in the dugouts.

An iPhone can fit in new places – like hanging on a foul pole for nine whole innings. The new 48-megapixel fusion camera boasts a variable aperture, as well as easier to access pro controls like white balance, which should make the process a little easier to cope with for longstanding broadcast engineers. That said, iPhones have been used before for live sports – the iPhone 17 (four of them, in fact) made an appearance at Fenway Park in September 2005 and that is described as the first by Apple.

Check out our guides to the best cases for the iPhone 18 Pro Max and the best cases for the iPhone 18 Pro

Back in July, I reported on Elon Musk’s post on X (formerly Twitter) claiming that Grok AI would make a “historically accurate” Odyssey film before the end of 2026. This was accompanied by an AI-generated trailer with a few visible anomalies, to say the least, the most egregious being what appeared to be Odysseus wearing a pair of foam earplugs.

But, credit where credit is due, this was never intended to be the finished film. Cue an article by Futurism, titled “The Winner of Elon Musk’s AI Odyssey Contest Will Make You Laugh Out Loud”.

It turns out that Grok Imagine put together a contest with a $100,000 (approximately £75,000 / AU$140,000) prize for the best depiction of The Odyssey created using the AI platform, stating: “The contest showcased the power of Grok Imagine for creating realistic, captivating scenes that belong on the big screen.”

You can see the winning entry by Nem Perez (above). Perez explained on X how the Phaeacians and Princess Nausicaa were absent from Nolan’s epic, calling the five minutes of Grok Imagine AI footage “My longest, most intricate work to date,” and that the AI platform was pushed “to its absolute limits”.

I'm not a fan of AI-generated content and instead much prefer traditional filmmaking. Heck, last night I saw Raiders of the Lost Ark in the theater. But from the establishing shot of a stormy sea and a title sequence where Odysseus is washed up on the shore (see main image), I don't doubt that Perez's video conveys the power of genAI platforms like Grok Imagine.

But the footage also highlights the hypocrisy of the level of criticism that some have directed at Nolan’s Odyssey.

The Futurism article has already pointed out the many inconsistencies, including that the cyclops clearly has three eyes. I’m not here to do a frame-by-frame analysis of the winning entry, but I didn't agree with Perez's comment: “This is The Odyssey as Homer intended”. Surely the Odyssey that Homer intended is what the Greek poet immortalized in writing.

I think we have to take care that we’re not overly critical of film adaptations. After all, literature and film are two very different forms of media. Blade Runner is a fine example of a film that took huge liberties in the adaptation of its source material, Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?, and I personally think it was all the better for it.

And yet, this competition never intended to turn out a full-length movie – and the year still isn’t out, so there’s still time for Grok AI to produce something special.

That said, I can’t say I’m waiting for a feature-length AI Odyssey with bated breath. If it’s a faithful adaptation that you’re looking for, surely nothing can be better than picking up a respected adaptation of the text. And if you’re looking for a solid movie adaptation with beautiful cinematography and great performances, I highly recommend Nolan’s Odyssey.

We live in a world where Nolan’s brand of filmmaking is getting fewer and farther between. As a self-confessed film buff and supporter of physical moviemaking, I would implore anyone who loves cinema to support and savor these experiences.

In my mind, AI-generated content will never compete with traditional filmmaking, just like AI-generated content will never compete with traditional photography. I will always support retaining the human element.

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When I tried Adobe Photoshop's AI Assistant earlier this year, I couldn’t help but think about how helpful the tool could be for someone learning to edit photos for the first time. Now, Adobe's photo editor built for beginners is gaining that built-in AI assistant.

Announced this week, the new Adobe Photoshop Elements 2027 and Premiere Elements 2027 launch with a list of new AI-powered photo editing tools. The updates bring a handful of key upgrades made to Adobe’s pro photo and video editors down to the software’s little siblings.

Adobe Photoshop Elements 2027

Photoshop Elements now has a built-in AI chatbot that Adobe says is designed to help users learn how to make adjustments to photos. While built-in help has long been a part of the Elements family, the chatbot allows users to ask something in plain text and get recommendations on adjustments from the AI as well as step-by-step instructions.

The AI Assistant echoes a similar feature brought to Photoshop earlier this year and, like that original launch, is arriving first in a public beta.

Outside of the AI assistant, Photoshop Elements is also borrowing two key AI-based tools from its big sibling Photoshop: Generative Expand and Generative Upscale.

Generative Expand is a tool for “un-cropping” a photo and adding in more to the edges using generative AI. The tool is particularly useful when trying to crop to a different aspect ratio for prints

Generative Upscale, like the tool by the same name inside Photoshop, uses AI in order to increase the resolution of a photo, helpful for low-quality files and older photos.

Those AI tools will also be located in a new AI tool hub built to make those tools easier to find.

Along with the AI tools, Adobe also added new creative filters to Photoshop Elements, including oil painting and duotone, with sliders to control the intensity of the look.

Adobe Premiere Elements 2027

Like the photo editor, Adobe’s beginner video editor updates are heavy on AI. A new generate image feature allows users to put an AI-created photo into the video using a text description.

Using AI, users can also now create titles and text that are integrated into their surroundings.

Premiere Elements isn’t getting the same AI assistant as the photo editor, but a new Contextual Toolbar allows users to locate the right tool by typing in what they want to do.

Elements Organizer

One of my favorite AI-powered photo tools is the ability to search for a specific photo. That capability is coming to the Elements Organizer. It’s only in English and only in beta, but it's built to help users find a specific photo or video even when that media doesn’t have the right tags attached.

The organizer also has improvements to the ability to find and delete duplicates to free up hard drive space, while a new Share to Phone can transfer photos using a scannable QR code.

Bringing the AI tools designed to make edits easier, like image search and an AI assistant, makes sense for the Elements family, as it's Adobe’s tools that are built for beginners and non-pros.

Adobe offers Elements with a three-year license at $149.99 / £130.49 / AU$241.99 / CA$196.99 for both programs or $99.99 / £86.99 / AU$160 / CA$130.99 for an individual program. Adobe offers a 7-day free trial for new users.

It's worth noting that Adobe's smartphone Photoshop app is also more tailored towards beginners – and is free to use, with more advanced tools requiring a purchase.

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Apple has finally brought variable aperture to its iPhone cameras – and that alongside its first folding device. But as a photographer, the reason I want an iPhone 18 Pro is actually much simpler: an anti-AI tool called reference image.

The rise of AI has introduced tools to drastically alter images without any complex technical know-how. But the iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max’s have a hardware-level ability to save an untouched, unprocessed image as a reference image.

On a device running iOS 27, that reference image can be accessed in the Photos app with a tap. This not only allows viewers to see whether or not the photograph was altered in any way, but also displays an image without the camera’s usual processing algorithms that tweak things like colors and contrast.

That means that a reference image may not have the pretty colors of the final image, but it serves as a record of what the scene looked like and whether or not any tools were used to alter the image.

Reference image works in two phases. First, the sensor captures what Apple calls a “secure digital negative.” That image needs the barest amount of processing in order to become a viewable image, so in the second part of the process, Apple uses Private Cloud Compute and demosaics, tone maps, and compresses the image.

A reference image works on a hardware level – the iPhone camera sensor captures the reference image and saves it with the standard photo type. During manufacturing, both the camera sensor and processor are given a unique identifier. This allows reference images to be validated by confirming that the photo was taken with a sensor and matching processor.

That does, unfortunately, mean that a reference image needs an internet connection to verify that those keys match with Private Cloud Compute. Apple says that it doesn’t have access to those reference images and doesn’t use those images for AI training, but if you are in a spot without internet, the reference image won’t be available until you’ve restored the connection.

Apple says that hardware solutions are less susceptible to compromise. But that also means it requires the new iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max camera’s sensor to work, so this isn’t a feature that Apple is going to bring to older devices through an iOS update.

Reference image is an opt-in feature – users have to go into the Settings app, navigate to the Camera section, select Reference Image, and then follow Apple’s instructions for setup.

Once that setup is complete, iPhone users can turn reference mode on and off directly inside the Camera app. This is important, as the added data means photos taken in this mode will take up more space on the device.

In the Photos app, the photograph can then be compared to the original reference image by tapping “reference” at the top of the photo to develop the reference image – which requires an internet connection. Once developed, tapping the reference icon will allow you to compare the image with the original reference data.

While building authenticity directly into the hardware at the time the photo is captured can be more secure, there’s still one significant downside to the new reference image – a device running iOS27 or later is needed to view those images, meaning an Android user can’t check the authenticity unless a supported app comes out in the future.

Users can also choose whether or not to share the reference image data inside the camera settings.

While cross-platform compatibility is going to be a must for a truly verifiable image, I’m glad to see Apple taking steps towards transparency about how much a photograph has been altered. I love that the approach is not only hardware-based, but that you can see the actual reference image – because edits like applying a filter shouldn’t have the same warning flags as using AI to add a generated object or remove something from the image.

Am I going to buy a new iPhone just because there’s an anti-AI photo tool built in? Well, no, but I’m glad to see Apple putting resources into the growing issue of AI slop.

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As early as next week Meta might reveal new RayBan smart glasses which don't feature a built-in camera – not because it isn't a popular feature with users, but because the world is starting to perceive the glasses as the tools of creeps, with a growing reaction against them.

We, and many others, have reviewed the Meta RayBan Gen 2 glasses positively as a user-friendly means of capturing images on the go, and an interesting alternative to the best action cameras.

The wider public – especially those who haven't actually seen the images you get from camera glasses – seems to be increasingly taking a different view. Initially that backlash was somewhat contained when Meta added hardware to the newer version which disabled the camera when the record indicator light was covered.

However, an app called ZuckOff (named as a pun on Meta's CEO), has also arrived for iOS and Android. It is free, but with a premium version for the more worried or more data-conscious. If you want the paid features, continuous scanning and logging, it'll cost $9.99 / £9.99 / AU$14.99 a year).

It's not the only variant of this kind of app, we should add. Just the one with the funniest name. NearbyGlasses (Android only) is another, with 100,000 downloads.

I asked my wife, often the subject of unsubtle online comments about her appearance, what she thought about the glasses, and she said: "I'd be more worried about people recording private conversations; it's not like I'll be undressing in public and the camera is pretty wide-angle anyway, but yes, I think I'd use an app like that."

So, take away the camera that some people really don't like and the prospect of being recorded for whatever reason. Indeed, the glasses have been specifically banned in courtrooms in the UK, New York, as well as in schools in Norway.

Meta, though, doesn't want people to miss out on the opportunity to explore the world with the help of their AI chatbot. Or, more accurately, want people to be using their chatbot and not a competing one as they wander around collecting data. So it is now expected that – at some point during Meta Connect, the company's event on September 23-24, new camera-free glasses with the facility to talk to the chatbot will be unveiled.

Whether these will be enough to combat the wide sense of unease that the product has established is another matter. That is a whole other story, but it's now being studied by academics.

There has been a lot of discussion, arguably led by Dr Joanne Gray and Dr Milica Stilinovic, under the subject of consent. It'll be interesting to know if this is seen as an adequate resolution, or the issue is already snowballing beyond control.

At the same time there are know legitimate uses for devices like this – as someone who often struggles to remember people's names and faces (a side effect of medication, not just rudeness), there were times I hoped products like this, with the right controls, would succeed.

Now I'm not sure.

We’ve been mightily impressed with Canon’s large-format printers in the past. The Canon imagePROGRAF PRO-2600 and Canon imagePROGRAF PRO-4600 are the gods of pro-grade, roll-fed photo printing, and now they’re to be joined by 12 new disciples, to spread the word to other types of printing.

Before we get too carried away, it should be noted that the new imagePROGRAF printers run on five inks rather than the 12 inks of the ‘PRO’ series, so they’re not aiming for the ultimate in photographic fidelity. Instead, they’re geared to large-format graphics and design applications in the fields of architecture, engineering, construction, retail, education, and any other applications that need big, detailed prints and eye-catching posters.

Additions to the imagePROGRAF TM lineup comprise the TM-615, TM-610M, TM-610, TM-600, TM-510M, TM-510 and TM-500 models. All of them feature a newly developed matte black ink, formulated to enhance black density and enable rich fine lines and crisp detail, even in the fine print. Technical drawings will see the benefit, while vivid color reproduction is on hand for poster printing. Based on previous Canon 5-ink printers that we’ve reviewed, we can’t help but think that these new printers will make an excellent stab at photo printing as well.

In the TM range, the new TM-610M (36-inch roll printer) and TM-510M (24-inch roll printer) are the most versatile, as they’re the only two models that feature a built-in, large-format scanner. They have a flat-top design to ensure easy loading of large documents and artwork, and feature light sources on both sides of the image sensor, to reduce the appearance of wrinkles and creases. To ensure intuitive ease of use, there’s a 5-inch color touchscreen, common to many Canon multifunction copiers.

Moving on to the TX series lineup, the new models are the TX-4310 MFP Z36, TX-4300, TX-3310 MFP Z36, TX-3300 and TX-1300 MFP Z36. The ‘MFP’ products feature an integral large-format scanner, making them ‘multi-function printers’. The others in the range that lack this suffix are printer-only models, without scanners. Again, there are two sizes to choose from, for example the TX-4300 being a 44-inch roll printer and the TX-3300 accepting paper roll widths of up to 36 inches.

Designed as high-volume printers, all but the smaller TX-1300 MFP Z36 feature a newly developed basket, stacking outputted pages face down and aligning them. This makes it easy to lift your finished pile of large-format paperwork with the minimum of effort. And with no need to arrange, stack or align the sheets afterwards, you’re good to go. Other useful features include a Smart Roll Paper Set function. This automatically detects the paper type, estimates the amount of paper remaining on the roll, and begins feeding automatically. A secondary roll feeder is available as an optional extra, with automatic switching between different widths or types of paper.

The multi-function TX printers are all fitted with an oversized 15.6-inch monitor screen. The aim here to make scanning and copying as intuitive as possible, including the ability to make real-time edits for parameters like brightness, color rendition, skew correction and various others, without the need to rescan pages afterwards. Another neat trick is that the scanner and printer can work independently so, for example, you can scan paperwork while someone else is creating prints from their computer.

Price and availability of all 12 new imagePROGRAF models is available on Canon’s regional websites - but as an example, the TM-500 will cost £1,068 when it goes on sale in November.

The first iPhone became a near-overnight success – but new research suggests that the iPhone 17 could be the most popular generation in the entire series.

According to market research firm Counterpoint, more than $170 billion of iPhone 17s sold were in its first year, which is the highest first-year revenue in the iPhone’s entire history. (That's about £125.8 billion / AU$238.4 billion / CA$236.9 billion.)

Looking at the iPhone 17 in terms of revenue may not quite indicate which generation of iPhone is the most popular as well as the number of smartphones sold – after all, the base model iPhone 17 costs nearly twice what the 4GB iPhone cost in 2007.

The base model iPhone has launched at a similar list price for the last five years – though the Pro and Pro Max models in the 17 came with a price jump. Counterpoint’s data suggests that the iPhone 17 series generated 11 percent more revenue than the iPhone 16.

The data echoes what Apple said earlier this year, calling the iPhone 17 the “most popular” model in its entire history, as Apple posted double-digit sales growth back in April.

The details on the iPhone 17’s first year of sales couldn’t have come at a more interesting time. Apple has now announced the iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max, and the first folding version, the iPhone Duo.

Ahead of Apple’s fall events, analysts predicted the rising cost of memory would impact costs – but that prediction came true for both the fresh models and the older iPhone 17. Both the iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max sit at a higher price point than their predecessors, but the price on the base model iPhone 17, as well as the 17e and iPhone Air, also increased this month.

In the US, the base model iPhone 17 now costs about $100 more than it did at launch, with a similar £100 increase in the UK. That’s the first time in five years that the base model iPhone has increased in price.

While Apple launched the iPhone 17 Pro and Pro Max, Apple’s fall launch event did not come with a new base model iPhone 18, which leaves the earlier iPhone 17 still a current option.

This comes after John Ternus takes over the role of Apple CEO, following Tim Cook’s 15 years in the role.

The iPhone will turn 20 years old in the fall of 2027. The success of the iPhone 17, along with the newly launched features like a variable-aperture camera and the company’s first folding device, will make that particular milestone even more interesting to watch.

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The Nikon Z8 has just received a new firmware update. Something I really appreciate about Nikon is its dedication to supporting cameras long after their release, and over the years the ‘Big N’ has rolled out big updates, including mammoth upgrades for the Z8 itself. But not every firmware update can be ground-shaking. Firmware Version 3.11, as reported on by Nikon Rumors, is a quality-of-life upgrade; it fixes a few problems, but doesn’t introduce anything new.

As always, unless any of the fixes are vital to your workflow, I recommend letting new firmware updates sit for a week or two before installing them yourself, just to ensure no teething problems are reported. If it’s been a while since you last updated your Nikon Z8’s firmware, installing this latest update will automatically install all prior updates, such as the big Firmware Version 3.00.

Nikon Z8 Firmware Version 3.11 fixes:

• Unsupported features would sometimes become selectable when wirelessly connected to NX Tether.
• The [High-frequency flicker reduction] setting would sometimes change when [High-frequency flicker reduction] and another role, such as [Protect], were assigned to the same custom control.
• The camera would sometimes stop responding during shooting if certain operations were performed after settings were made in [Manage Picture Control].

You must also ensure that you know how to update your Nikon camera’s firmware and that you maintain good practice. Nikon makes it clear that you should only update the firmware of your Z Series camera with a Z-mount Nikkor lens or Nikon FTZ adapter attached. Updating firmware with a third-party lens attached has been known to cause a camera malfunction.

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Digital photo frames have evolved greatly over the years. On early devices, you had to transfer a bunch of images onto a memory card to plug into the back. Later models enabled you to do everything over Wi-Fi, uploading images remotely from a companion smartphone app. Displays have improved over time too, with small desk-based models giving way to bigger displays taking pride of place on the mantelpiece.

But even now, the majority of current digital photo frames suffer from two main drawbacks. Firstly, there's no disguising the fact that you're looking at a glowing, electric screen. Secondly, being electronic devices, they need to be plugged into a power outlet. So while many frames can be wall-mounted, there will be an unsightly cable trailing from the frame to the nearest mains socket.

Swiss company InkPoster aims to change all that with its range of 'ePaper' frames that use an E Ink display that emits no light of its own, but semi-permanently 'charges' embedded electronic pigments to reflect light instead, resulting in a much more natural-looking display that is hard to distinguish from a professionally printed artwork.

In addition to this reflective display, the other chief advantage of E Ink is that electricity is only used when the display changes; once set, it will continue to show the same image without drawing any electrical charge, so an artwork can be displayed indefinitely. It's a bit like the displays used in e-readers such as the Amazon Kindle, only much, much larger and in vibrant color.

But as with any new technology, these large E Ink displays are currently very expensive, and this is reflected in the prices of InkPoster's art frames (more than simple digital photo frames; they come with access to a large library of paintings, posters, and photographs). The question is: are they worth it, and do they deserve a place among the best digital photo frames that money can buy?

InkPoster Tela 28.5": Specifications

InkPoster Tela 28.5": Price

I hope you're sitting down. The InkPoster Tela 28.5" is a high-end frame with a high-end price, retailing for US$2,399 / £2,399 / AU$5,150. There is also a larger Tela 40.5" that goes for $3,900 / £3,900.

Other InkPoster models are the lower-resolution Affresco, which comes in 13.3" (£$650 / £650 / AU$1,099) and 31.5" ($1,750 / £1,750 / AU$3,750) sizes. Or if you're feeling really flush, there's the Duna 40.5" at $6,000 / £6,000, which basically has the same size and specs as the 40.5" Tela, encased in a plush all-metal frame.

The Tela's price puts even the MorningBlues T2 30" art frame in the shade, which has a list price of $1,499 / £1,499 (but is often discounted), though that's a far more commonplace LED-based screen rather than the E Ink display here. I've also tested the $500 Aura Ink, another e-ink display, though this one is a much more compact 13.3" and is more comparable to the smaller InkPoster Affresco model.

Whichever way you look at it, the entire InkPoster range is made up of expensive high-end products, largely because the underlying E Ink tech is in its infancy. While it's the Tela 28.5" I'm looking at here, you may find the Affresco models a little more affordable, so you'll find the pricing across the range below.

InkPoster Tela 28.5": Design & Handling

Many of the digital photo frames I've reviewed can be described as minimalist, typically encasing the display within a deep art-paper-like mount finished off with a contrasting black frame, and InkPoster follows this design ethos, but takes things to a whole new level. That black frame is really slim, that white mount is really deep, but most telling of all, there are no buttons, touch bars, or any other controls on the device whatsoever. It and it really does look and feel like a genuine artwork.

I'll admit that when I first removed it from its from its box to power it up for the first time, it took a while to figure out where to plug in its USB-C charging cable. I eventually discovered it hidden under a subtle panel on the underside of the frame that pops open with a push to reveal the socket, charging light, and on/off switch.

The InkPoster Tela is designed to be wall-mounted, but weighing in at 16.5lb [7.5kg], a regular picture hook won't do it, and the frame comes supplied with a sturdy mounting kit to secure the artwork to all manner of surfaces.

With no controls on the frame itself, everything is controlled through the companion InkPoster app, which has a huge selection of built-in artworks, ranging from classic poster art, renowned masterpieces, and beautifully shot photographs, all optimized to make the most of the e-ink display. It also enables you to upload your own photographs and set up slideshows to automatically cycle through your chosen images.

InkPoster Tela 28.5": Performance

Once charged up, you can put the supplied USB-C charger away for a year or so, as the built-in battery should keep it going for up to 12 months with normal usage. The frame only draws any real power from the built-in 25,000 mAh battery when changing the displayed image. It also links to Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, which use negligible power.

The ePaper display is built around a Sharp IGZO panel. Unlike regular LED or LCD panels, this doesn't emit light, but is a purely reflective technology. There is no backlight, and the display is entirely lit by ambient lighting. Turn the lights off, and you won't see anything at all. This gives a far more natural viewing experience than we're used to with the vast majority of digital frames, where you're essentially looking at a computer monitor display. Even auto-dimming frames often struggle to successfully match a room's ambient lighting, looking too bright at night or not bright enough during the day.

Changing the image takes several seconds, with the screen flickering and flashing as it builds up the image with layers of color, a bit like a printing process. Bold, bright images work best, and there is a huge library of all sorts of genres to download to the frame that have been optimized for the display. The frame can display images in portrait or landscape format, though it doesn't 'know' which orientation it's in, so it's up to you to upload suitable images.

Obviously, with several seconds and a lot of flashing and flickering between image changes, this frame does not support video. It takes a good 30 seconds for the new image to settle, as you can see in the video clip below.

Everything is controlled via the InkPoster app, which is pretty straightforward to use. Once you've linked to your frame via Bluetooth and connected it to your WiFi network, you're presented with thousands of artworks. You can choose from a number of collated 'Collections', including classic Swiss advertising posters from yesteryear (fittingly, as InkPoster is based in Switzerland), vintage European railway posters, Japanese woodblock art, Impressionists, pre-Raphaelite art, among others.

You can also search the vast number of downloadable artworks by artist, genre, subject, or whatever else takes your fancy. If you're a cat lover, you'll find dozens of photographs, paintings, and posters of your feline friends, for example. Tapping a heart icon adds a picture to your favorites to make finding it again easier, and once you've decided on your chosen artwork, a button uploads it to the frame.

You can also select your own photographs from your phone's library. The frame has a 3:4 (or 4:3 in landscape orientation) aspect ratio, which is the same as most smartphones, but you can crop images to best fill the frame in whichever orientation you're going to mount it, and make basic edits to brightness, contrast, and saturation. Images are then stored in your 'private' library in the app, which you can upload to the frame as you would any of the other supplied artwork. It's not as sophisticated as some other digital photo frame apps when it comes to managing photographs, but it does integrate well into the way other art is handled.

As well as uploading artworks individually as and when the mood takes you, you can also set up slideshows to automatically cycle through selected art at a duration of your choosing, from anything from a minute apart to a whole month before displaying the next image. You do only get 15 images per slideshow, and there's only one for portrait and one for landscape orientation.

The more frequently you change the artwork, the more frequently you'll have to recharge. After my initial experimentation, I settled on changing it daily, with the changeover happening overnight.

InkPoster Tela 28.5": Verdict

This is an exceptional digital frame that displays natural-looking images that really do look as if they have been professionally printed and mounted into a stylish art frame, which can be hung wherever you like, without the need to be in close proximity to a mains outlet (or having an ugly cable trailing to one).

The oversized display wouldn't look out of place in a gallery, and in addition to the ability to upload your own images, you get access to a vast library of thousands of pieces of artwork optimized for E Ink tech. It's probably not the best option if all you want to do is display casual snaps of the kids, but it's very well suited to professionally taken images, so I can see this in photographers' studios, as well as well-to-do residences and upmarket establishments.

But there are no two ways about it: it is an extremely expensive device, costing several times as much as most digital photo frames on the market. I'm sure the technology will become more affordable over time, but in the meantime, you'll need very deep pockets.

Alternatives

Fujifilm’s Instax portable photo printer series is the photography equivalent of having your cake and eating it too, converting digital photos into real instant film prints. But the latest in the series goes oversized – and finally gets USB-C charging.

The Fujifilm Instax Link Wide 2, announced late on September 14, brings the same oversized Instax Wide format of the original printer launched in 2021. But the second generation moves from the old micro-USB to USB-C charging. That’s a welcome change as USB-C becomes the standard – and mico-USB cords more annoying to dig out.

Besides the change to the charger port, the printer has a refreshed design that doesn’t need a stand to sit upright. The Instax logo on the front doubles as a light that signals battery life and connection status. Loading the film remains simple – pop open the back and match the yellow on the printer to the yellow mark on the film cartridge.

Much of the printer’s updates come in the form of the Instax Wide Link app, rather than the printer itself. A new Photo Mixer feature automatically creates a collage from selected photos. The feature generates a collage that will even cut out some of the photos for you and add themed text and backgrounds based on what’s in the photographs. The app will generate up to five remixes and those collages are also possible to edit.

The app also retains the ability to build your own collages, including using different templates. QR codes allow creators to put links, audio, and hidden messages inside their prints, while the app remains packed with editing tools and stickers.

While the iOS and Android app can print from nearly any camera, two cameras can connect to the printer without needing a smartphone at all. The Instax Pal 2, which was announced alongside the new printer, and the Fujifilm X-T30 III can print directly from the camera menu.

Surprisingly, in the US at least, the Link Wide 2 comes in at a slightly lower list price than what the $235 first generation was selling at prior to the launch. The printer is set to begin shipping in late September for $179.99 / CA$239.99.

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Read the full Instax Link Wide 2 review, or browse the best portable photo printers.

Instant film portable photo printers allow photographers to have their digital files and get real instant film too. The Fujifilm Instax Link Wide 2 brings oversized instant film into the mix – all with seamless connectivity and simple USB-C charging.

I tried the Instax Link Wide 2 with photos of every sort from smartphone snapshots to pro mirrorless photos – and found the portable printer has a near-perfect blend between charm and quality.

Specs

Price

The Instax Link Wide 2 retails for about $180 / CA$240 – that’s surprisingly less than the original was going for in the US just ahead of the update’s launch, as the original was selling for about $235. But, as a larger format printer, the Link Wide 2 is understandably a bit higher priced than the Link Mini+ and Link Mini 3.

Film is going to need to be factored into the cost as well. In the US, a pack sells for between $23 - $29, which is about $1.15 - $1.45 each image. In the UK, a 20-pack of Instax Wide sells for about £19, making each print about £0.95 each.

Design

The Link Wide 2 feels about the size of a desktop external hard drive, or for a more retro comparison, a bit larger than a portable CD player. While larger than the Mini series printer, the photo printer doesn’t feel too obtrusively sized, thanks in part to a very simple design.

The front has an eye-catching textured pattern and an Instax logo that lights up when powered on (or charging). One side has two buttons – a power-on and an Fn button for checking the battery level – the other has a simple USB-C port for recharging.

The back opens up to install the film cartridge. Installation is simple – just match the yellow on the printer to the yellow on the film pack.

Prints spit out of the top.

But, it’s been nearly five years since the original Wide Link came out, and there’s one key usability upgrade to the design – rather than the ols Mico-USB, the Link Wide 2 uses the wildly available USB-C cord for charging.

Performance

Devices that rely on a Bluetooth or Wi-Fi connection tend to be prone to connectivity issues – but I had no issues at all getting the Link Wide 2 connected to my phone. The printer connected to the app on the first try, and the app walked me through the simple connection steps without needing an instruction manual.

I’ve owned and loved a handful of Link Mini-sized printers, but after trying the Link Wide 2, I’m going to have a hard time going back to the smaller prints. The Link Wide 2 spits out images that are about twice as big as the Mini film type. Instax wide is about 62mm by 99mm – or 86mm by 108mm if you include that classic white border.

I used images from several different cameras to test out the Link Wide 2, including the new Instax Pal 2, iPhone shots, and images from mirrorless cameras.

Prints are sharper than I had expected. The prints are just the right size to get enough detail while still keeping the classic instant film format.

Colors hit an excellent balance between being true to the original image and having a bit of film-like color – after all, what’s the point of printing on instant film if you don’t want a bit of that retro charm? Part of that color prowess is the ability to swap between two quality modes. Instax Natural is going to have more of that imperfect instant film look, while Rich mode gets a bit closer to the colors and contrast of the digital version.

I did run across an occasional faint line on the bottom of the images. When working with instant film, this usually hints at an error in the rollers that break loose the chemical packets to develop the film. Positioning the printer upright rather than flat with the cartridge side down improved these lines a bit, but I did still get an occasional line on the bottom of the print. These lines didn’t appear in every image, but tended to be most noticeable in lighter colored images.

Many of the features that are new to the Instax Link Wide 2 are app-based updates. One such feature is the new Photo Mixer. This is a mode that automatically assembles a collage for you, including cutting out some images – which I suspect is AI-based. The collages can be remixed up to five times, and those edits can also be tweaked.

Like the earlier Link Wide, the app also allows for adding a QR code so prints can double as a photographer’s business card. Those QR codes can also save locations, messages, and sound clips.

The printer can also print without an app from two supported cameras – the newly announced Instax Pal 2, or the Fujifilm X-T30 III. Firmware took away the Instax direct printing option on a handful of cameras, which is disappointing, so other Fujifilm cameras will have to wirelessly send to a smartphone, then print from there.

Verdict

The Instax Link Wide 2 turns digital photos into real, oversized instant film. The print quality has the ideal balance between preserving the color and sharpness of the original while still having a bit of real film charm to it.

I love the oversized Wide format, which is about twice as wide as Instax Mini.

The app experience is seamless, with the printer connecting on the first try and automatically connecting on subsequent prints. I did miss the widespread camera-to-printer compatibility that Fujifilm previously had. The Wide, for now, only connects app-free with the X-T30 III and Pal 2. Other cameras need to send to a smartphone first for printing, which is a bit disappointing as someone shooting with a previous-generation Fujifilm mirrorless.

My biggest complaint is that the prints occasionally pick up a stray line or two on the bottom of the image – likely a roller issue.

The Link Wide 2, while convenient and charmingly retro, is also a pricier way to get prints than ordering 4x6s from a photo lab, as film packs cost about $29 / £19 for 20 prints.

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The foldable iPhone Duo may have stolen much of the limelight at the iPhone 18 launch event, but Apple was also keen to show off its new variable aperture lens that fronts the primary camera in the iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max. Along with a new 48MP sensor, it's made this "the most advanced camera Apple has ever made".

The camera can automatically select an aperture setting depending on whether a faster shutter speed or greater depth of field is to be prioritised, or users can manually chose between four aperture settings in the Camera app. The aperture diaphragm is comprised of six laser-cut blades controlled by a new rotor mechanism, which apple states will smoothly transition between f/4 and the maximum f/1.48 aperture.

It all sounds mightily impressive, but it raises a couple of questions: why don't all high-end camera phones have a variable aperture camera lens? And considering these lenses are nothing new, why has it taken so long for Apple to embrace this technology?

Firstly, though variable aperture lenses aren't common in camera phones, the iPhone 18 Pro is far from the first phone to use one. In 2022 Huawei gave us a variable f/1.4-f/4 aperture lens in its Mate 50 Pro, and Xiaomi used a similar variable aperture a year later in its flagship 14 Pro handset. Even back in 2018 you could have had a dual-aperture camera lens, courtesy of the Samsung Galaxy S9/S9+. And yet despite the technology clearly being viable for years, it's yet to become the norm in the camera phone sector.

There's actually good reasoning for this. A variable lens aperture is essential in a lens designed for a conventional, large-sensor camera like a full-frame DSLR or mirrorless body. This is because the larger the sensor, the shallower the depth of field at a given aperture. With a full-frame camera, if you want a subject close to the camera and a distant background to both be in focus, you'll need to significantly reduce the lens aperture. But shrink the sensor down to the size of a typical camera phone sensor - 1/1.28in, in the case of the iPhone 18 Pro - and, even at the lens' f/1.48 max aperture, there'll still be a huge depth of field.

So if a camera phone is inherently good at producing a deep depth of field, there's little reason for having a lens with a variable aperture. You may as well fix the aperture to be as large as possible to get the maximum amount of light through to the sensor, thereby keeping shutter speeds high and ISO sensitivity low - the ideal recipe for sharp, low-noise shots.

Apple is keen to show off the benefits of a variable aperture lens in its press material for the iPhone 18 Pro, with several sample images demonstrating how the new lens can give you the best of both worlds: a wide aperture for better low light image quality, and a narrower aperture for when you want a greater depth of field to keep subjects at different distances in focus. It sure looks impressive from the press material, but having reviewed camera phones for many years and seen just how much depth of field you can get from a large aperture, I’ve almost never wished I had the ability to stop down.

And this may answer the question of why Apple hasn't seen fit to use a variable aperture lens sooner. This isn't cutting-edge tech - it could have implemented it years ago - and yet it didn't. Could that be because Apple also knows that this really isn't a game-changer for camera phone image quality? I can only speculate as to why it's now chosen to incorporate this tech into the iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max, but my best guess is that at least it represents some form of hardware improvement, even if the real-world benefits may be marginal. In a world where most phone camera 'upgrades' now come in the form of AI, Apple likely needed to do something different to stand out, and a variable aperture lens, if nothing else, is indeed different.

The iPhone 18 Pro Max is Apple's top-of-the-line iPhone, at least until the folding iPhone Duo comes along in October. And when you've invested $1,299 / £1,299 / AU$2,299 the first thing you'll want to do after taking it out of its box is put it straight into a protective case.

Apple, of course, makes its own range of cases, but they are on the pricey side and – dare I say it – a little boring. But there are plenty of third-party options available, too, and these tend to be a little more adventurous in their design.

Here's my pick of cases that I've personally tried and tested. These are all for the iPhone 18 Pro Max, but most are also available in variants to fit the smaller iPhone 18 Pro. If you're sticking with the previous-generation iPhone 17 Pro / Pro Max, but fancy treating it to a new case, the good news is that there's precious little difference in the form factor between generations, so all the cases in this guide will also fit and protect the iPhone 17 Pro Max.

Indeed, you may see cases variously labeled as for 'iPhone 18 Pro Max' or 'iPhone 18 / 17 Pro Max', and both will fit either generation of phones nicely and snugly. But while a case designed for the 'iPhone 17 Pro Max' will phyically fit the newer phone, its camera bump is slightly deeper, so an older case might not quite offer the same level of protection.

Best Apple iPhone 18 Pro Max cases

Best iPhone 18 Pro Max case for photographers

Peak Design has earned an enviable reputation among photographers, with a range of reliable, well-designed, no-nonsense products including camera straps, bags, and tripods, and the company is also beginning to make a name for itself as a maker of quality phone cases, too.

The Everyday Case is, in fact, the name for a range of elegantly designed but protective cases made from various materials, including nylon canvas, full-grain leather, and a vegan leatherette for the ecologically minded. All cases in the range feature machined aluminum buttons that complement the main color, a responsive camera control passthrough, and MagSafe charging and connection.

You then have the choice of the rear of the case being plain, featuring a pull-out finger loop for more secure handholding, having a Slimlink recess that locks mechanically to car or bike mounts, or both the loop and Slimlink. All cases are Fair Trade Certified and are backed by Peak Design’s lifetime guarantee.

Prices vary quite considerably depending on the materials and features selected, but I think it's worth paying the extra for the all-bells-and-whistles variant with the Slimlink connector and finger loop – both hold your phone more securely on mounts and in the hand, while adding negligible depth to the size of the case.

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Best iPhone 18 Pro Max case for fashionistas

If you want an eye-catching case that's as individual as you are, then one of the Burga Tough iPhone 18 Pro Max cases will be right up your alley. With well over 500 designs on offer, from cute cats and animal prints to geometric patterns and mirror finishes, there's bound to be one that suits your sense of style. Anti-fade printing ensures the design holds its color.

All cases are MagSafe compatible, and the CloudGuard 2-in-1 Defense System features a dual-layer construction: a shock-absorbing silicone inner lining wrapped in a hard polycarbonate outer shell to protect against drops. Raised 2mm bezels around the display and camera lenses keep delicate glass surfaces elevated in the case of flat drops, while a microfibre lining prevents scratching from within.

You can buy each iPhone case design alongside matching AirPod case covers, power banks, and magnetic ring holders for an accessorized look. For those who like to change their style as their mood suits them, Burga has a 'buy 4, pay for 2' offer, so you can swap cases as the whim takes you. In addition to the Tough line, Burga also offers Elite cases, with a similar seemingly endless choice of designs along with tougher rubberized edges for even greater protection.

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Best clear iPhone 18 Pro Max case

You spend ages deliberating on which color of iPhone to buy, only to hide it away in a case. But it doesn't have to be this way. The Mous Clarity case is transparent to enable the full beauty of your shiny new iPhone 18 Pro Max to shine through. And, as it has been constructed from PCTG co-polyester with UV-resistant technology to resist yellowing, the case should look as good a few years down the line as the day you bought it.

There are a lot of cheap and nasty clear cases on the market that offer little in the way of grip or protection, but that's certainly not the case with this case. While the main body is clear, it is built around an aluminum frame and has an opaque textured surface for improved grip in stone or black colorways. This frame hides an AiroShock protection system built into the edges of the case, focused on the corners to protect against drop damage, and has a reinforced ring around the camera bump. Indeed, Mous is famed for videos of lobbing brand-new phones in its cases off tall buildings and living to tell the tale, without picking up as much as a scratch.

The case comes with black or stone-colored edges, and this color option is mirrored in the MagSafe ring (non-MagSafe versions are also available, but there's not much price difference). They really do offer the best of both worlds: a see-through case that is grippy and protective.

In addition to the clear case, Mous also has non-transparent Limitless cases in various patterns and materials, including leather and aramid fiber, and even an Intralock case for active types that clips into mounts for bike handlebars, all with the same AiroShock protection system. You can further modify the cases with a pop-in camera kickstand or lens guard; the basic lens bump pops out, and the replacement pops into its place.

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Best luxury iPhone 18 Pro Max case

Nothing screams luxury like leather, and the Troubadour Modular Leather Case is crafted from full-grain leather that promises to age beautifully. The 'modular' refers to a back panel that attaches to the phone via MagSafe and can be removed to show off the rear of the iPhone or replaced with a matching wallet that stashes three cards, yet has a slimmer profile than most because it, too, attaches directly to the rear of the phone.

The cases really are a delight to hold and behold. It has that wonderful leather smell, and the buttons are made from machined metal, rather than plastic, to add to the top-quality feel. On the inside, a microfiber lining keeps your phone protected.

The case is part of a wider Troubadour ecosystem, which includes the aforementioned leather wallet-cum-kickstand that snaps to the phone case via MagSafe and can support the phone for watching media; there's a matching AirPods case; and a keyfob with an Apple AirTag compartment to end the problem of mislaying your keys. While I think the case itself is an affordable luxury – it's typically around the same price as Apple's no-frills silicone case – adding all the accessories does add up.

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Best iPhone 18 Pro Max case for sports

The Quad Lock iPhone 18 Pro Max case has a nice rubberized feel with a chunky surround that should give you confidence should you accidentally drop the phone. Not that that's very likely, because around the back, in the middle of the MagSafe-compatible ring, is a recessed indent that forms the Quad Lock mechanism. This securely attaches the phone to all manner of mounts. There's a running armband, bike handlebar mounts, in-car kits, and a whole lot else. You simply slot the case onto the mount at a 45º angle and give it a twist, whereby it locks firmly in place until released by pressing a latch on the mount.

It's really rock solid and offers a much safer support than the strongest of magnets could ever muster; I trust it entirely when going out for a run, and it has the bonus that the front face of the phone is unobscured, so the touchscreen works, which I've found isn't the case with typical running straps.

Previous-generation Quad Lock cases only came in black, but for the latest iPhone 18 models, the company has introduced a range of colorways to match the phone. Quad Lock also makes matching AirPods cases with a similar rugged, super-protective build.

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Best slim iPhone 18 Pro Max case

While your shiny new iPhone 18 Pro Max demands protection from the rigors that daily life can throw at it, it can seem a shame to hide that sleek form factor with an overly bulky case. The Pitaka Edge case aims to remedy this with an incredibly thin and light construction: it's just 1.2mm thick and a featherweight 25 grams.

It's crafted from aerospace-grade aramid fiber, a high-tech woven material that Pitaka says is five times stronger than steel, while being much, much lighter. It really, truly adds no noticeable size to the phone, and has a lovely, elegant textured feel. There are lots of design options, with colors applied to the woven fibers for a cool and distinctive pixelated look, with names such as Milky Way Galaxy and Glints of Gold.

A raised camera bump protects the precious lens array, and it's MagSafe compatible too. A PitaTap Camera Control cover transfers full functionality to the Camera Control button it sits over, while preserving the sleek lines of the case; however, none of the physical buttons are protected, but have cutouts instead.

Pitaka also makes the Cairn, which is essentially the same case with added corner bumpers and button covers for even greater protection, at the expense of the ultra-slim form factor.

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Best budget iPhone 18 Pro Max case

The Gripmunk with MagSafe is Smartish's most basic iPhone 18 Pro Max case (aside from the GripMunk without MagSafe), but there's little price difference between them, and I'd pay the extra for the version that is compatible with magnetic chargers.

There may be cheaper cases than the Gripmunk, but probably not at this level of quality. It is available in a wide range of colors, both opaque and translucent, with bold and striking designs that not only look great, but also provide great value.

Despite the low asking price, the case edges are gently contoured with finger-shaped indents for grip, and the case offers plenty of protection; Smartish says that it has been 'drop-tested 50 times from a six-foot height'. I can't claim to have tried this myself with my own phone!

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Best iPhone 18 Pro Max case for video

The ESR Atelier case's party trick is that its protective camera lip is hinged to form a neat flip-out kickstand that props the phone up at a comfortable viewing angle for watching movies, YouTube, or hands-free FaceTime calls. The mechanism is strong enough to support the phone either hinge side up or down in horizontal orientations, and while it will also prop the phone vertically, the viewing angle is rather shallow in this orientation.

The main material is a "Vegan leather", which comes in burgundy, misty blue, light grey, and black, to complement the iPhone 18 Pro Max's colorways. It feels nice and grippy in the hand and has a claimed 3x military-grade drop protection from up to 11 feet. MagSafe compatibility is present and correct, for a secure and reliable hold on stands and chargers.

ESR also makes a Magnetic Hybrid Case, which has the same hinged stand mechanism as the Atelier, but is instead made from a translucent plastic "Clearguard" material. This one is a little cheaper and offers enhanced 4x military-grade protection, which is a good thing, as the smooth, plasticky finish doesn't feel as grippy (nor look nearly as nice) as the Atelier.

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Best iPhone 18 Pro Max case for carrying cards

Many of us use our iPhones to pay for everything these days, but it's wise to carry a traditional credit card for emergencies, not to mention other everyday fantastic plastic, such as a driver's license, key passes, and so on. The Wallet Slayer Vol. 1 can stash up to four cards in a slot at the rear, which are held firmly in place with a spring mechanism, but can be easily slid out via a thumb recess.

The front of the phone and rear camera are well-protected by raised bumpers, and air pockets provide additional protection against drops and impacts. The phone's Camera Control is exposed but deeply recessed to enable direct operation.

There are various colors and patterns available, as is par for the course with Smartish gear. It certainly adds less bulk than folding wallet-style cases, but the ability to stash cards in the slot around the back means this case forgoes MagSafe functionality.

If you want the best of both worlds, Smartish also makes a Side Hustle Vault that snaps onto other cases (or the bare phone itself) via MagSafe, though it's a little bulkier than the all-in-one case. It has the added benefit of RFID protection, so your card details can't be read by unscrupulous types in crowded places.

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Best leather iPhone 18 Pro Max case

For a touch of timeless elegance, nothing beats the look, feel, and smell of leather. Casebellé's cases are made from responsibly sourced materials from Leather Working Group Gold-rated tanneries. Color options include Burgundy, Racing Green, Umber, and Glacier Blue to match the latest colorways of the iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max series, and there are a couple of distinct leather finishes on offer, too.

The Timeless Luxe Collection is crafted from full-grain Italian nappa leather and maintains a smooth, pristine look that resists daily scuffs and water. But if you ask me, the best leather cases are those that age with time, and the Vintage Luxe Collection is made with Tuscan vegetable-tanned vachetta leather to develop a rich, personalized patina with everyday wear and tear. You can personalize the cases further by embossing them with up to four initials in gold, silver, or a 'blind' stamp.

But it's not all style over substance. Powerful N52SH magnets ensure reliable MagSafe compatibility, while a plush internal microfiber lining safeguards the phone's back glass from scratches. Drop protection is ensured by a raised screen lip, reinforced corners, and a 1.8 mm bumper to shield the camera lenses.

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Best iPhone 18 Pro Max case for grip

A step up from the Smartish Gripmunk case, the Gripzilla has more deeply contoured finger grooves and textured sides designed to help you grip the case firmly in hand. But should the worst happen, and you allow the phone to slip from your grip, this case offers an even greater level of protection, with raised corner bumpers and built-in air pockets to better absorb shocks from drops.

Unlike the Gripmunk, the Camera Control is covered with a conductive strip, rather than being open, which still enables you to use the camera functionality. It's fully MagSafe compatible and comes in a range of bold and beautiful designs.

The enhanced protection does add quite a bit of bulk to the size and shape of the case, but it feels very well guarded. If you're particularly accident-prone, this could well be the case for you!

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How to choose the best iPhone 18 Pro Max case

I've tested these cases on the iPhone 18 Pro Max, but there are variants for the Pro, Air, and standard iPhone too, so make sure you pick the correct one for your phone model. The dimensions of the iPhone 18 and 17 Pro Max are identical, so a case labelled for one will work just as well on the other. If you're upgrading to the iPhone 18 Pro Max from an iPhone 17 Pro Max, you could simply use your existing case, although with the 18's camera bump being a little deeper, an older 17 case may not offer optimum protection. However, if you're upgrading from an iPhone 16 Pro Max or earlier, then you will need a new case.

A good level of protection should be your top priority. All the cases in this guide are from reputable manufacturers that claim to have proven the integrity of their products with drop and impact tests. I advise steering clear of cheap unbranded cases.

For many, MagSafe compatibility is a must; so many cases have a built-in magnetic ring that enhances the attachment properties of the phone to chargers and stands, while ensuring inductive charging remains efficient. Ensure your chosen case supports this feature if you plan to use MagSafe chargers or accessories.

Last but certainly not least, there's the look of the thing. You may prefer a translucent design that lets the beauty of your phone show through, sleek lines that show off its form factor, or bold patterns that mirror your personality. Helping you pick the best for you is the purpose of this guide!

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How we test

I have personally tried and tested all the cases in this guide, checking for a snug fit, evaluating their grippiness and protective capabilities, ensuring that all the controls work correctly and MagSafe charging is not impeded, and reporting on their standout features and unique selling points.

But I also understand that a phone case is more than just a protective accessory; its look is important – after all, you don't want to encase your beautifully engineered smartphone in something boring to behold – so I tell you what I think of its design qualities too!

Other iPhone accessory guides
Best iPhone charger
Best iPhone gimbal
Best iPhone printer
Best iPhone microphone

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With the exception of Adobe Photoshop, Nik Collection is perhaps the oldest photo-editing tool on the market. And yet, thanks to DxO's constant development, it remains right at the forefront of creative photographic techniques, embracing analog effects, contemporary photographic styles and effects, and some of the best black and white editing tools you can get.

You can use the Nik Collection plug-ins from within Adobe Lightroom Classic, Photoshop, Photoshop Elements and Affinity. However, each plug-in will also work as a standalone application, so you can use them as external editors for programs like Capture One, which don't support Photoshop-style plug-ins.

So just how good is the Nik Collection, how do its plug-ins stack up today, and does it still deserve to be considered among the best photo editing software applications on the market?

DxO Nik Collection 9: System requirements

Compatible host applications for plug-in: DxO PhotoLab 8 and DxO PhotoLab 9, Adobe Photoshop 2025, 2026, Adobe Photoshop Elements 2025 and Adobe Photoshop Elements 2026, Adobe Lightroom Classic 2025, 2026, Serif Affinity Photo 1 and 2, and Affinity by Canva (NB: Nik HDR Efex merge feature and Nik Collection Switch to mode are not compatible with Affinity).

DxO Nik Collection 9: Price

Nik Collection 9 costs $179.99 / £149.99 (about AU$257) for a new licence, while existing Nik Collection 7/8 owners can upgrade for $99.99 / £79.99 (about AU$143). It’s not especially cheap, especially considering you might not get full use out of all the plug-ins, but the creative tools, controls and presets in Analog Efex, Color Efex and Silver Efex are so good that you could argue they carry the whole suite on their own.

The upgrade price for existing users is fair, too, given that this is a substantial upgrade, but given that the Nik Collection plug-ins are not dependent on updates for new cameras and lenses, say (that’s handled by your host software), even older versions may offer all the creative inspiration you need right now.

DxO Nik Collection 9: Interface and usability

What I would call the ‘core’ plug-ins – Analog Efex, Color Efex and Silver Efex – adopt the same interface setup, so it’s easy to swap between them. You have preset effects and individual filters in the left sidebar and a filter ‘stack’ in the right sidebar. This shows all the filters and settings applied by the current preset – and you can edit these at will – or the settings for any filters you select and apply manually. It’s a straightforward system used almost universally by effects software.

Each of the filters you apply can have its own masks, or local adjustments, and in Nik Collection 9 these include AI masks alongside DxO’s regular non-AI control point, control line and control polygon masks. Wisely, I think, DxO has kept the AI masking options simple, with basic object selection and area selection options, and no attempt at subject recognition. This makes the new AI masking both powerful enough and simple enough to be genuinely useful.

HDR Efex hasn’t seen any major changes for some time, and while the craze for HDR might have faded somewhat (thank goodness), it still does a good job. As usual for HDR applications, it invents some tools and adjustments you won’t see in regular photo editors, but it doesn’t take too long to work out what everything does.

Viveza is a bit of an oddity. It’s set up for detailed global and local color adjustments, but that’s pretty much all it does. It’s the kind of thing you might do in your host software instead, or Color Efex – indeed, three of Viveza’s core adjustments are now included in Color Efex’s list of filters. Viveza is easy enough to use but hardly seems to do enough to justify its inclusion as a separate plug-in.

Dfine is distinctly disappointing too. Superficially, it looks like a powerful little plug-in that can analyze the noise profile of the image you’re working on and apply a tailored noise reduction process both globally and locally. However, it only works on already-processed images, so it’s trying to fix a problem too late. It can’t reconstruct lost detail either, in the way that today’s AI raw denoising tools can, so it does feel like a relic of a different age.

Sharpener is interesting for its ability to tailor the sharpening level for different output devices. You can sharpen for screen output, though with today’s website content management systems and social channels, you don’t have a lot of control over the sizes images are displayed at. This could be useful for prints, though curiously it doesn’t display image size sliders by default.

DxO Nik Collection 9: Performance

There are two aspects to any software application’s performance – its speed and responsiveness and the quality of the results. Speedwise, I found it OK but not instantaneous. Analog Efex presets took a couple of seconds to apply, for example, and this was on a 32GB M2 Max Mac Studio. Some of these processes are complex, though, so you can’t expect too much.

The results, at least from Analog Efex, Color Efex and Silver Efex, are stellar. Analog Efex recreates the look and feel of old analog processes and cameras brilliantly – it’s way better, in my opinion, than DxO’s rather dour FilmPack application. It’s a shame the new Halation filter in Nik Collection 9 didn’t appear here rather than Color Efex, since halation is really an analog effect.

Color Efex offers a huge range of more contemporary photo effects, from film simulations (modern and vintage) through graduated filters, tonal contrast enhancement, and so much more. It’s a shame that the new Glass filter in Analog Efex wasn’t used here because it’s a graphic style that might suit Color Efex’s approach better. There’s also some crossover – Color Efex’s Old Photo filter is really good, and Analog Efex doesn’t have anything quite like it. There are some filters you might never use (Duplex? Color Styliser? Indian Summer?), but overall there’s so much in Color Efex that you might never exhaust its potential.

This has been magnified massively by another new feature in Nik Collection 9 – blend modes. Each filter can be assigned a blend mode (not just ‘Normal’ now), which completely changes the way it interacts with the image. For example, the paper textures in Analog Efex take on a whole new life with different blend modes.

Silver Efex, meanwhile, continues to shine as perhaps the best tool there is for black and white photography fans. It can reveal depth and tonality in black and white images that’s hard to replicate in other software. It also uses sliders and adjustments that seem to speak directly to darkroom photographers and how they think, with dedicated film types and grain patterns. It would be nice if there was some kind of blur/bokeh tool and a wider choice of border styles, though.

DxO Nik Collection 9: Verdict

The Nik Collection does feel like a plug-in suite of two halves. Analog Efex, Color Efex and Silver Efex are the creative center, and offer presets, filters and inspiration that’s hard to find anywhere else. HDR Efex is a good tool for an image style that’s perhaps gone out of fashion, and Viveza, Dfine and Sharpener definitely feel past their sell-by dates. Would I buy the Nik Collection for Analog Efex, Color Efex and Silver Efex alone? Yes, I probably would.

Alternatives

When the Canon EOS R5 Mark II and R1 launched in 2024, they joined the ranks of the manufacturer's most powerful full-frame mirrorless cameras. Now, both models have received a fresh firmware update, bringing a handful of enhancements, bug fixes and improvements to operational stability.

In our R1 review, we wrote, "The sports camera king is back to reclaim its throne," highlighting how its combination of AI features and AF (autofocus) performance makes it a formidable camera for sports photography. The R5 Mark II, on the other hand, was described as "the company's most important – and most powerful – camera."

Despite their different target audiences, the cameras share much of the same advanced technology. So it's perhaps no surprise that the latest firmware update includes several improvements shared by both mirrorless models, including live view, linked shooting fixes and improved stability, while the R5 Mark II also gets a fix for unwanted restarts when shooting with Dual Pixel RAW enabled.

Canon EOS R1

Version 1.3.2
UK download link: macOS + Windows
US download links: macOS, Windows

Enhancements and fixes
1. Improves a delay that may occur in the live view display when shooting with the EOS Multi Remote app
2. Fixes an issue that may cause the receiver camera to fail to capture images during linked shooting with EOS Multi Remote when the sender camera is connected to an FTP server
3. Improves operational stability

Canon EOS R5 Mark II

Version 1.3.2
UK download link: macOS, Windows
US download links macOS, Windows

Enhancements and fixes
1. Improves a delay that may occur in the live view display when shooting with the EOS Multi Remote app
2. Fixes an issue that may cause the receiver camera to fail to capture images during linked shooting with EOS Multi Remote when the sender camera is connected to an FTP server
3. Fixes an issue that may cause the camera to restart during shooting when Dual Pixel RAW is enabled
4. Improves operational stability

Pro Advice

If you caught Episode 4 of Bokeh Face: Digital Camera World podcast, above, we discussed the best time to install firmware updates, why they matter, and what issues they can cause. It's a helpful listen if you're unsure when – or whenever – you should update.

It's smart to wait a week or two after release to see if any users hit snags. In the past, brands have had a few hiccups with major updates – for instance, introducing memory-setting bugs or minor interface glitches before being reissued.

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The iPhone Duo (or iPhone Fold) brings inferior specs and a new premium price – the only thing it will do is separate real photographers from so-called "Pro" customers who just buy the top-of-the-line without thinking what that means.

Until now, the top of the line – measured in cost – was also the best iPhone for photography. It had Apple's best arrangement of cameras, a three camera array, and I had little trouble persuading myself to "invest" in one each year. OK, a depreciating asset isn't really an investment, but I could at least tell myself that I'd have the best cameras I could get without leaving iOS.

Now the advantages of a folding phone – principally a larger inside screen for enjoying content and for productivity – come at a compromise: fewer cameras in the array. Specifically, there is no telephoto camera, which is the one which boasted a similar EFL to a traditional portrait lens and (when cropped and digitally zoomed) also provided half-decent telephoto.

So if you use the device to create content, you're better off with one of the iPhone 18 Pros. If you use it to view it then the folding phone will afford you a bigger screen. So there is no one 'best' iPhone.

And that makes it very difficult for me, and, oddly, it brings another voice that usually loses out entirely in the excitement that comes when a new iPhone is announced. The voice that says; "If the choice isn't obvious, why buy a new iPhone at all?"

That isn't to say I'm going to switch platforms. I regularly test Android-based phones, and I have no problem with the system, but I'm also well into the Apple ecosystem and I find I get on better with it.

And that hints a little at the situation I suspect many will now find themselves in.

Apple has gone to great pains to cultivate an ecosystem – if you own an Apple phone you'll find life is a good deal easier if you also have an Apple Mac computer and (if you're so inclined) an Apple Watch, Apple's own headphones, and an iPad.

And, though it isn't always easy for people who grew up with computers at the top of the tech tree, the iPhone is the key to this empire. Despite a lot of diversification, 50% of Apple's $416 billion revenue last year came from the iPhone – and there are thought to be around 1.5 billion active iPhones out there.

For contrast, the iPad made $28 billion and the Mac $33 billion in the same period.

Even if you can't conceivably afford the best of every part of your Apple ecosystem (and who needs a fully specced out Mac Studio with a five-figure price tag?) it was easy to have the best iPhone, and so the best 'key'.

Having the best phone was something that was within reach for many, and a pretty simple choice, which is why around 40-50% of sales come from the Pro or Pro Max line, and the Pro Max is routinely the top-selling single flagship phone.

I strongly feel that by making the premium phone a compromise, Apple has shot itself in the foot.

If I buy the folding phone, I'll feel I've finally got a new and exciting form factor. But the first time I go to take a photo of something a little distant from me I'll be disappointed.

And for a device that carries the price premium, there shouldn't be a compromise. Certainly not one that doesn't seem beyond the bounds of possibility to fix.

After all, the cameras tend to be on a stick-out module anyway, so it can't be that difficult to add three rather than two.

So why would Apple do this? Sure it'll save a gram or two and perhaps even make the phone a little more compact, but forcing me and others to make a difficult choice – essentially to have no one 'best' phone – is going to be hard work.

It won't make life easy for Apple Store staff, for a start.

And it'll create disappointment among many buyers too. Especially photographers, who will have seen the iPhone 18 Pro opening Apple's event on September 9 – and heard from new CEO John Ternus about a true adjustable aperture in the camera.

The iPhone 18 Pro also gets a 6-Core A20 Pro CPU with 7-core GPU and accelerated "Neural Accelerators" and 32-core Neural Engine cores, like the Duo, but only on the Pro presentation did Apple discuss thermal management which (hopefully) will keep the SOC cool this time. (I experienced a lot of overheating with my iPhone 17 Pro Max on holiday in Spain last August.)

The iPhone Duo also has slightly inferior battery times and, despite fast charging, tops up only 5 rather than 6 hours playback from the same 5 minutes charging.

The "Biggest camera improvement in years" forced Apple to explain the Aperture to consumers, but the 100mm EFL lens is there.

The main camera on the 18 Pro Max is upgraded with a "48MP Fusion" main camera with 6-blade variable Aperture (f/1.48 - f/4). There is a new Pro interface to access this, and timelapse is upgraded to Dolby Vision HDR 4K.

The Duo's main camera, though, is a f/1.6 fixed aperture (though the phones share the same ultra-wide camera).

The camera also boasts subject tracking similar to that on action cameras that can handle subjects leaving and re-entering the frame.

Surveys (and sales in the Android world) have shown that not many customers are interested in folding phones. But perhaps the compromises are the reason.

Then again, the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7 managed three cameras last year.

Perhaps Apple will eventually address it with a Pro version with the same 'sacrifice' of a little more weight for more capable cameras?

So everyone who buys the first generation will be forced to upgrade in the end?

That's disappointingly plausible, isn't it?

Apple's launch also talked about "Rethinking design principles that have been set for years." How long will it take to recover from the inevitable dent to years of use experience?

In exchange, the main screen is only 50% bigger than the iPhone Pro Max, while you lose Face ID – it only has Touch ID.

Though there is another feature: Apple also announced "Handoff" which will let you attach a second phone to the same phone number.

So perhaps the solution Apple wants is for you carry two iPhones.

$1199 for iPhone Pro 256GB will be available for pre-order on Saturday, while the Duo will be $1999 and not available for pre-order until October. Will it be the best iPhone for photography? The Duo doesn't seem to want to be!

Adobe is continuing to invest heavily in AI, and the demo I attended to showcase the latest developments in its flagship video editing software, Adobe Premiere, as well as Adobe After Effects, appears admittedly impressive. But in spite of the vocal pushback against AI, Adobe’s 2026 Creators’ Toolkit Report, at least, suggests that the majority of creators aren’t averse to using AI tools, citing that “nearly nine in ten” use AI creative automation to grow their businesses or audiences.

The photo editing software giant’s goal is to streamline video production “pain points” and “automate tedious tasks” in a bid to give more time back to the creative. That’s where Premiere’s Generative Media Tool comes in. This headline new feature is a fast-track to genAI content by allowing the creator to generate clips and sounds without leaving Premiere – and very often the timeline itself.

Generative Media Tool

Obviously, I saw choice examples of this working in Adobe’s demo, but it’s not just the convincing generated content that’s impressive; it’s the fact that you can fill gaps in your timeline seamlessly, right up to the second.

In the demo by Adobe’s Anton Knoblach, a drone shot was generated to fill a gap. This is performed in a generative taskbar that appears at the top of the timeline so you no longer have to leave Premiere in order to implement genAI content. As you’d expect, you can select your preferred model, be it Firefly or one of Adobe’s partner models.

You can further refine your content by selecting options such as the resolution and aspect ratio. What’s most impressive about all of this is that existing clips within your timeline are used for context. You simply select which clips you want to sample and the AI model will do the rest.

In the demo, the filmed footage looked like it was shot in a desert in the American Southwest. By sampling a few clips to provide context, the AI was able to generate a drone shot that looked like it was captured in the same landscape. Not only that, but the footage matched the grade of the contextual footage.

And all of this extends beyond Generate Video, with Generate Sound Effects bringing similar functionality. The update also introduces Generate Soundscape and Generate Music, which are both currently in beta. During the demo, I was shown a video of a rally car thundering through the desert, and all of the audio was AI-generated.

The sounds didn’t always fit with the rally car; there were some odd gearbox changes, and the squealing tyres sound effect was far too overpowering for a sliding car on a dirt track, but this was very impressive nonetheless. And again, this was all done inside Premiere, without leaving the project. Obviously Adobe is going to refine all of this in the future, but I can see it being a very useful conceptual tool straight off the bat for illustrative rough edits or first drafts at the very least.

Another example of generative audio was the implementation of a jacket zipper sound. Again, using the Generate Sound Effects tool within the Premiere timeline, Anton was able to generate a selection of zipper sounds, while also using their own voice to precisely time the length of the sound. By recording a “zzzzzzzzzzzip” sound, the AI was able to replicate the cadence of the voice while replicating an authentic zipper sound.

Refine audio and colors

That’s not all, Adobe Premiere also boasts “smarter audio” by bringing new AI audio tools into public beta, including Enhance Audio, Separate Crosstalk, and Dynamic Auto Ducking. The former allows users to enhance a variety of sounds, including dialogue, music, sound effects, and ambience, by removing elements, adjusting layers and muting dialogue.

Separate Crosstalk is used to identify speakers that overlap, placing their audio onto separate tracks. And the latter is said to automatically balance sounds without the need for manual keyframes.

Adobe Premiere is also getting an updated Color Mode (currently in beta), which is said to deliver “a first-of-its-kind grading experience”. Like the Generative Media Tool, this lives directly within Adobe Premiere edits, enabling users to make use of the new Auto Color tool. In one click, this automatically sets the color temperature and exposure of a video clip, group, or whole sequence. New Style Modules are also present, such as Vignette and Midtones, allowing you to do more without leaving the edit.

After Effects updates

Adobe After Effects is also getting in on the action, with an AI Assistant now in public beta. This is designed to take some of the load, distilling more complex multi-step workflows into automated processes. However, Adobe is quick to point out that the user remains “in complete creative control,” telling the AI Assistant what and what not to handle, while also shaping “every editable outcome”.

The AI Assistant can be implemented into a whole project, enabling editors to create motion effects without having to code, fix technical issues in the background, and organize large multi-layer projects, for example. According to Adobe, it’s often able to turn hours of work into minutes.

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While most phones are just slabs with a side of glass, the Xsnap 7 Pro attempts to do merge something a little unusual – being rugged – with something wholly unique: a built-in detachable action camera. That earned it an Innovation Award at IFA 2026.

The concept seems to have a little in common with the best POV cameras – like the Insta360 Go Ultra or the DJI Osmo Nano – but the detachable camera pops out of a phone, not just a charging case, as we see in my colleague Gareth's reel:

The 'rugged' phone category is a major niche, popular amongst tradespeople and people who'd just rather the handset – rather than a case – could survive a few impacts. the best rugged phones have also been home to some of the most interesting experimental features, with thermal and night vision cameras, not to mention laser measures amongst some of the options out there.

Indeed, this device also features a 64MP night vision camera, but that's far from unique.

The Xsnap 7 Pro builds on this tradition, but targets creators with a detachable POV (Point Of View) camera. This is a tiny action camera, like a tiny GoPro.

The device isn't going to trouble the best action cameras in terms of resolution – it maxes out at 2.7K – but so too did the Insta360 Go 3, and that device, so light it could easily be worn on a helmet, or tied to a pet's collar.

The detachable camera is a 50MP unit and uses magnets to keep it in place (and charge itself via pogo pins on the device). It can, thus, be easily popped out and attached to any ferrous metal structure: the fridge door, a railing, a tent pole and so on.

Accessories available include a charging dock and a magnetic pendant, not unlike those seen with other POV action cameras.

Away from the phone, the 39g camera has up to 40 minutes of recording time.

It has a dedicated capture button on the camera, and a 133-degree field of view, as well as image stabilization software called 'SteadyX' which even features a horizon lock function, as well as slow-mo, distortion correction, and free-frame video, putting it up there with recent action cams.

The phone also boasts a 6.67-inch AMOLED display, 12GB RAM, MediaTek Dimensity 8400 chipset, and a 9300mAh battery (enough to recharge the detachable camera 20 times).

There are more details of the Xsnap 7 Pro on RugOne's own site, but until we test it here, we can't vouch for the quality. And, despite an award at IFA, the camera also has a "Launching Soon" page on Kickstarter, which suggests that the company might not be as confident as the award suggests.

IFA was the official debut, so perhaps that Kickstarter just needs tidying away?

The original Meeting Owl, and its successors, are iconic products for huddle meetings – able to be simply placed in the middle of a meeting room and provide a live AI video feed concentrating on the active speaker.

This can be connected to platforms like Google Meet and Zoom to deliver a more personal view from a room than having a ton of separate cameras all delivering postage-stamp sized images, mostly of people not talking.

The concept is based on a single lens at the top which is fish eye and sees 360-degrees around the room, while AI (and in this case an arrangement of 8 microphones) detects the active speaker and zooms in.

This new model brings more features, at a higher price. Is it worth the upgrade?

Meeting Owl 5 Pro: Price

Coming in at $2,599 / £2,399 this is significantly more expensive than the smaller, more portable Meeting Owl 3 ($999) – and quite a hike above the Meeting Owl 4+ ($1,999). That price premium buys features that will matter in some enterprise environments and large conference rooms, but perhaps not all.

Meeting Owl 5 Pro: Specs

Meeting Owl 5 Pro: Build and Handling

The Meeting Owl 5 Pro looks like what it is, a robust speaker with a fisheye camera at the top. The wide base is where much of its significant 2Kg heft sits, building confidence in the meeting room once you've plopped it in place.

The cute special feature, seen on other Owl conference cameras, is that – when it is in use – eyes "appear" from behind the all-round speaker grille which combine with the logo strip to give the stylistic impression of an owl. To reinforce this, the startup sound is a 'twit-twoo' owl noise.

The buttons at the base are mute, volume up and down, and a customisable button (it can be configured in the app), but by default cycles through different views.

The mute is made clear all the way around the device with a red light that sits between the speaker and base. The buttons (and owl face) are repeated opposite each other, so it ispossible for participants of a meeting either side to reach them easily and see the visual feedback.

It's not just a speaker, of course. It also conceals an array of eight microphones, which the system uses to detect the active participant, as well as to capture the sound and apply the on-board processing to deliver clear audio.

This all happens very simply, although I was a little surprised that the maximum volume of the speaker didn't impress as much as I'd hoped it would.

What the system did do very well, however, was detect when there was speech in the meeting room and turn down the speakers; it wasn't harsh or jarring but it was enough that the conversation in the room was always audible.

Meeting Owl 5 Pro: Performance

The video performance is notably better than the Meeting Owl 3, with the system clearly benefiting from a a more powerful image sensor.

The system also had no trouble detecting us in one of our meeting rooms which can comfortably accommodate 6 people, which was reassuring.

I used the settings menu to turn on and off the optional 'whole room panorama' effect at the bottom of the video, but regardless of the resolution we chose, the result still didn't seem to handle the admittedly mixed light in our meeting room. We have natural light from both sides and artificial light from above.

The quality beats everyone having to sit next to each other and face a laptop, but probably doesn't beat a dedicated PTZ camera, which would (I'd hope) be better able to handle the dynamic range and tone.

To my mind the resulting images were not sharp enough for 4K either, although it's fair to say that many conferencing platforms would reduce the video to 1080P anyway, and at least it has more detail to work with.

Meeting Owl 5 Pro: Overall verdict

The Meeting Owl does a fine job of identifying the participating speaker, and the video quality of the output stream, at a full 4K where available, is

On the downside, this is physically bigger and less portable than its brethren from the Meeting Owl range, as well as more expensive, so it's important to decide whether you actually want the boosted processing power and imaging. I'd absolutely make sure that your preferred conferencing platform is

If you're looking for a device you don't move too often, and has premium capabilities like daisy-chaining, then this seems a fine option. If you're more

Alternatives

This week, Camera Intelligence revealed the latest generative AI features in its Caira camera: adding Nano Banana video editing to its genAI photography. It was the latest reminder that the imaging industry, like the rest of the world, is doubling down on AI in its products – including the generative kind.

No hate, no shade. But it reminded me of a conversation I had with Canon earlier this year, when I asked the Japanese leadership about the subject of AI – and they were crystal clear about what is and what is not off limits when it comes to artificial intelligence.

"AI is going to keep on playing an important role for any shooting experiences for our products," said Tetsushi Hibi, advisory director of Canon's Img Optical Business Unit 1, behind closed doors at the CP+ 2026 show in Japan.

"So this is Canon’s stance: we are going to use AI not to generate imagery, but to capture scenes as close to the reality of shooting as possible – noise reduction, color correction, distortion correction, aberration – so those are the functions we are aiming to put it onto in our products."

We've already seen this in practice, particularly with the Canon EOS R1 and R5 Mark II – both of which use Canon's neural network image processing (NnIP) for features like 400% in-camera upscaling and 2-stop noise reduction. And of course, the many algorithmic subject detection and tracking options.

It is heartening to know, however, that generative AI imaging is not on the table for Canon – particularly with the company having rolled out its Authenticity Imaging System in May, offering content compliance to help verify the authenticity of images (and, by proxy, policing image manipulation and AI embelishment).

Where Canon definitely is implementing AI, however, is in the design phase.

"We have started our attempt to use AI for design," notes Hibi, which is born out by a recent company report that AI will be used in the early prototyping phase to simulate things like drop tests and assess thermal performance.

"We have no choice but to use AI in the design department," adds Go Tokura, executive vice president and head of Canon's Imaging Group. He's also sure to point out that the fruits of the technology will still be distinctly 'Canon', rather than resulting in homogenized products that are the same as other brands.

"When it comes to design, it is said that the AI can bring up the best possible solution. And you may think, if that’s the case, every single company will come up with the same new products.

"We have our own accumulated technology – not just designing capabilities, but also production technology as well, and materials. So even if we use AI for design, AI will consider all these unique capabilities to come up with the best solution for Canon.

"So even if the solution is generated by AI, that could be a good solution that will be able to differentiate our product from the others."

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Take a look at the best Canon cameras along with the best Canon lenses for DSLRs and the best Canon RF lenses for mirrorless. To see how Canon is employing AI in its top-tier cameras, check out my Canon EOS R1 review and my Canon EOS R5 Mark II review.

The weirdest camera in Nikon’s lineup has just received a small firmware update. If you’re a Nikon Coolpix P1100 owner you can benefit from firmware update version 1.1, which Nikon says fixes the following two issues:

• Camera stops responding when adjusting zoom during burst photography (rare).
• Some timestamps in metadata of video files differ from actual date and time of recording.

As always, it’s worth making sure you know how to update your Nikon camera’s firmware before performing the update. While issues are rare, you may also wish to wait a week or two to ensure that there are no problems with the update before updating your camera.

What is it? Nikon Coolpix P1100

The Nikon Coolpix P1100 is the only bridge camera in Nikon’s current lineup – and beyond its predecessor, the Nikon Coolpix P1000, there really isn’t anything else quite like it. The camera’s main selling point is its humongous 125x optical zoom, which equates to 24-3000mm in 35mm terms.

It’s built around a 1/2.3-in CMOS sensor and, while it doesn’t deliver the very best image quality in the world, nothing is going to get you closer to faraway subjects, so the trade-off is well worth it if you ask me.

This is the kind of camera that sports, wildlife and lunar hobbyists will have an absolute blast with. You’re unlikely to capture award-winning images with it but, if your goal is simply to record what you see in the distance, you’re unlikely to find a cheaper or more compact option.

Even if it is an absolute monster-sized bridge camera.

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Camera Intelligence is a startup which has decided to change cameras – it might not be for everybody, but the company thinks its Caira camera might sell to ten times as many to creatives than the entire mirrorless market. Until today, I wasn't sure why.

Last year we covered the Kickstarter for the Caira, in which Camera Intelligence CEO Vishal Kumar unveiled a Micro Four Thirds camera system which – he says – attaches to a phone and bridges the gap between the photographic aspirations of people who buy the 'iPhone Pro' series (of whom there are 100 million every year) and the desire for simplicity and easy of use which limits real camera purchase to 10 million a year.

The result is a piece of hardware with a SnapDragon processor and a touchscreen that has similar power to a smartphone, and a MFT 4:3 image sensor.

A subscription will be needed for the use of the Nano Banana feature, but I was able to test it out in person and I can see the appeal.

Some of the most impressive effects demonstrated were video – from a simple instruction and a short clip the camera could create a whole clip with consistent style – for example by telling it: "orbit this statue like a drone."