Photography is subjective. At least, that is what we tell ourselves when nobody likes a picture we were particularly proud of. But if you have ever wondered what an entirely impartial, unfeeling robot thinks of your pictures, Adobe’s Project Indigo camera app is ready to offer an opinion.

Adobe has added an experimental AI Playground to Project Indigo, its iPhone camera app designed around manual controls, computational photography, and a more natural, SLR-style image. One of its headline features is Photo Guidance, which analyzes a photo and explains what worked, what did not, and how the image could be improved.

It also features a Pixel-esque mode that can suggest how to reshoot the scene while you are still standing in front of it, potentially recommending a different position, framing, lens, or approach to the light. Adobe says it is refining the system so that it understands the limitations of individual phones and does not suggest impossible changes, such as adjusting the aperture on a fixed-aperture smartphone lens.

In theory, this sounds genuinely useful. Photography books, courses, and camera clubs have been offering constructive criticism for decades, so putting a virtual tutor inside a camera app makes a certain amount of sense. Feedback while you are still at the location could be far more helpful and genuine than an AI editor “fixing” everything later.

However, yes, there is something slightly bleak about taking a photograph and immediately asking an algorithm whether it approves. Photography is not a science, and some of the most memorable images succeed because they ignore conventional rules. An AI trained to spot familiar ideas about composition, lighting, and subject separation could easily reward technically tidy photographs while discouraging anything genuinely original.

More Gen AI

Adobe is also adding other AI Playground features to the app, including object removal, simulated shallow depth of field, lighting adjustments, artistic styles, and a Custom Edit box for text prompts. Adobe is initially using Google’s cloud-based Nano Banana model, with generated results limited to roughly 2K pixels per side and an internet connection required.

For now, access is free, requires no Adobe sign-in, and is being offered to only a small percentage of Project Indigo users for a few weeks. The feature appears after updating to version 1.1, but only works with photographs captured inside Indigo.

Adobe says the experiment could be expanded, extended, or eventually turned into a paid feature. Until then, a lucky group of iPhone photographers can discover whether AI thinks their masterpiece is genuinely inspired, or whether they should take two steps left and try again.

With a $10 spend on an off-brand accessory, and judicious use of a compressed air cleaning can, I've solved the problems that were starting to put me off Apple's AirPods forever.

I'm on my second set of AirPod Pros, and my third set of AirPods overall, because when they're working they sound great and are so handy that it's difficult to imagine anything else. But, until I discovered this little accessory, I was reaching my limits.

When I spend that much on a product, I expect it to be perfect. Part of that, of course, is having a very long (if intermittent) memory.

I don't think the legendary MDR-W10 headphones for the 'Sport Light' Sony Walkman cost as much as Apple's – though they're pushing $100 on eBay for retro collectors these days.

The AirPods, though, aren't just for listening to music – or even just content on your phone. The AirPods Pro include a microphone that can be used to record audio, which is useful when combined with some of the best action cameras.

(A word of caution here – the latest DJI Osmo Action and Insta360 Ace Pros are in this list, but not all action cams are – so check first).

There are problems with the AirPods – especially the AirPods Pro – though.

Not in the first moment. Opening the box and putting them on has all the lustrous joy of any new Apple product. This is a company that understands how to make its customers feel as premium as the pricing and the product line.

Over time, though, the ear tips – the piece of the AirPods Pro that fits into the ear (there are several sizes in the box, so you get the right fit) inevitably picks up natural dirt. This seems to seep into the rubber, too, so that the grip on your ear lessens and the pod itself seems a little looser.

That just means you need to push it back in a little more often as you're on the move. A minor irritation.

Much more serious is the fact that, eventually, I found both of my AirPods Pros started whistling and squealing at me. The left one at first, though after a while both were guilty.

Not because of temporarily confused Active Noise Cancellation or Bluetooth interference – issues that can be fixed with a quick reset – but presumably because dust or debris was making its way inside the pod itself.

This does not seem an easy fix for a device that has already left me feeling guilty simply because I, like virtually all humans, produce cerumen (ear wax). I find myself starting to understand why some, like my wife – a recording artist – opt for big headphones (these still include a microphone).

She has to be able to listen back to her work (Apple Music, Spotifty) reliably at quality and probably doesn't need the headphones screaming and whistling to her just for being human. Not, of course, that she has any earwax!

Nonetheless, I didn't want to buy new headphones and I prefer the compact AirPods anyway – easier to use while filming. So…

The $8 solution

I decided to replace the ear tip, to remove any stray dried wax that might be vibrating inside the headphones and confusing them.

I found the "Inesore 5 Pairs Replacement Ear Tips for AirPods Pro 3 with Hole for Noise Reduction" (admittedly, I don't think that's a great bit of product naming), which included a "cleaning pen."

• 🇺🇸 Inesore 5 Pairs Replacement Ear Tips for AirPods Pro 3 (Amazon USA Link)
• 🇬🇧 5 Pairs Replacement Ear Tips for AirPods Pro 3 with Hole for Noise Reduction (Amazon UK Link)

In a matter of moments I popped off the old earbuds. I've done this in the past but, crucually, this time I used the "pen" – actually a tool with fold-out brushes and a silicone point.

This enabled me to clean the inner meshes where there was visible wax buildup. I also gave them a bit of a blow with a can of compressed air (in the past this has, on its own, bought me a few days without the annoying whistling).

After a few moments of loving attention, I popped the AirPods back into my ears… and they sounded entirely new again.

This brush tool that I hadn't even been looking for (it was the new ear tips I had been searching for) feels like it has restored my faith in these products just as I was on the verge of giving up.

And it was a lot cheaper (proportionally) than maintaining my camera when the viewfinder was cracked!

There's a particular kind of photograph that only a curious animal and a very wide-angle lens can produce together.

German photographer Marcel Ohneberger's giraffe portrait is exactly that: an enormous, looming head fills most of the frame, its neck curving away into a distant landscape of grassland and hills, while a single dark eye stares down the lens.

The image has earned Ohneberger an Honorable Mention in the 2026 iPhone Photography Awards, now in its 19th year and one of the longest-running smartphone photography competitions in the world.

Technical approach

Ohneberger shot the image on an iPhone 13, using the device's back dual wide camera at its 1.54mm focal length (roughly 13mm equivalent in full-frame terms). That ultra-wide angle of view is the key to the entire photograph.

At such a short focal length, getting close to a subject produces dramatic perspective distortion, exaggerating whatever is nearest the lens while pushing everything else into the distance.

Here, the giraffe's nose and eye balloon toward the viewer, while its body and legs shrink dramatically at the far end of the frame.

The rest of the settings are unremarkable by design: 1/720 sec, f/2.4 and ISO32.

That fast shutter speed suggests bright daylight conditions, freezing any movement from the giraffe as it leaned in toward the camera, while the low ISO indicates plenty of available light, keeping the image clean and detailed.

There's no artificial manipulation required here; just the iPhone's fixed wide-angle lens doing what it does best at close range.

Why it works

The real skill in this image lies not in the settings but in the moment itself. Giraffes are naturally curious animals, and getting one to approach a handheld phone closely enough to fill the frame like this takes patience, calm behaviour, and a bit of luck.

Ohneberger's positioning – low and close, angled up slightly into the giraffe's face – turns an everyday wildlife encounter into something closer to a caricature, emphasizing the animal's improbable proportions and giving the photograph a sense of humour that straight telephoto shots rarely achieve.

The exaggerated curve of the neck, stretching back toward a grazing landscape dotted with acacia-style trees and distant hills, adds a sense of scale and place even as the foreground dominates the composition.

It's a reminder that ultra-wide lenses, often associated with landscapes and architecture, can be just as effective for animal portraiture when you get close enough.

The big picture

This year's IPPAwards drew thousands of entries from more than 140 countries, with winners selected across 12 categories including Animals, Nature, Portrait, and Landscape.

The overall Grand Prix, Photographer of the Year, went to Robyn Jensen of the Cayman Islands for a nature image shot on iPhone 15 Pro, while Gellert Gombai of Hungary took the Gold Award for an intimate candid portrait.

Ohneberger's giraffe portrait is a fitting entry in a competition built around the idea that strong photography depends less on kit and more on the eye behind it.

Shot on a phone that's now several generations old, it proves that a close encounter, good timing, and an understanding of wide lenses can produce something far more memorable than tech specs alone would suggest.

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At first glance, this could almost be two lions rearing against the night sky, their manes rendered in molten gold. Look closer, though, and what Chinese photographer Ziqiang Luo has actually captured is something rooted deep in folk tradition: a fire-based performance art still performed at festivals and celebrations across the country, in which sparks, flame, and molten metal are transformed into fleeting, sculptural forms.

Luo's photograph captures the essence of what makes these performances so photogenic: the sparks and flame briefly hold a shape, almost animal-like in this instance, before dissolving into the dark.

The image earned him an Honorable Mention in the Life Style category of the 2026 iPhone Photography Awards, now in its 19th year as one of the longest-running smartphone photography competitions in the world.

Technical approach

Luo shot the image at 15.66mm physical focal length, equivalent to roughly 223mm in full-frame terms, using the iPhone 16 Pro's telephoto system. That last figure tells you a lot.

After all, the phone's native optical telephoto tops out at 120mm equivalent (5x zoom). So reaching 223mm equivalent means Luo was almost certainly using its digital zoom to extend beyond the optical range, cropping into the telephoto lens's output.

For a fire performance, keeping a safe distance from the sparks and flame while still framing tightly makes that extended reach essential rather than optional.

The rest of the settings – 1/200sec at f/2.8, and ISO 50 – are well suited to a bright, high-contrast night scene.

The moderately fast shutter speed was enough to freeze individual sparks in motion, giving the fine, granular texture visible throughout the image, while the very low ISO of 50 kept the image clean and avoided noise that would have been magnified by the extended digital zoom.

Against a totally black background, the camera's exposure could concentrate entirely on the fire itself, letting the sparks blow out into pure, saturated orange without needing to compromise for any darker areas of the frame.

Why it works

Ultimately, the image's power comes from the ambiguity between form and material. Rendered almost entirely in black and burning orange, the flying sparks coalesce into two distinct, animal-like silhouettes that face one another symmetrically, a shape the eye wants to read as living creatures, even while the texture of every surface confirms they're made of fire and ash.

That tension between recognisable form and pure combustion is what elevates this from a documentary shot of a folk performance into something closer to abstract art.

The symmetry does real compositional work here too. By capturing two roughly mirrored plumes of sparks facing each other, Luo transforms a fleeting, chaotic burst of fire into something that reads as deliberate and almost ceremonial, fitting for an art form so closely tied to celebration and ritual.

The big picture

This year's IPPAWARDS drew thousands of entries from more than 140 countries, with winners selected across 12 categories including Abstract, Animals, City Life, and the Life Style category in which Luo's image was recognised.

The overall Grand Prix, Photographer of the Year, went to Robyn Jensen of the Cayman Islands for a nature image shot on iPhone 15 Pro, while Gellert Gombai of Hungary took the Gold Award for an intimate candid portrait.

Overall, Luo's photograph is a striking example of documentary and abstract photography meeting in one frame. A smartphone pushed to the limits of its digital zoom, capturing a centuries-old fire tradition at the precise instant sparks form a shape that feels wonderfully alive.

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At first glance, many would assume that this dramatic image of an erupting volcano was captured using a professional DSLR or mirrorless camera.

The photograph, showing glowing lava pouring down the slopes of a volcano beneath a star-filled sky in Yepocapa, Chimaltenango, Guatemala, has just been awarded the Grand Prix at the 2026 iPhone Photography Awards (IPPAWARDS) – the world's longest-running competition dedicated exclusively to iPhone photography.

Photographer Robyn Jensen created the winning image using an iPhone 15 Pro, proving that one of the most demanding scenes in photography can be captured on a phone camera that's already three years old.

Why this image is so impressive

Night-time volcanic eruptions are among the most challenging subjects that any camera can capture. The scene combines blazing-hot lava, deep shadows, drifting ash, smoke, and a star-filled sky – all within a single frame.

Even high-end cameras can struggle with such an enormous range between the brightest and darkest parts of the image.

Shot at 1 sec, f/1.8 and ISO12500, the photographer prioritized exposing for the brilliant lava erupting from the crater.

The surrounding mountains intentionally fall into darkness, simplifying the composition and naturally drawing the eye towards the explosion of light, while still preserving the stars overhead.

The iPhone behind the winning image

The iPhone 15 Pro, introduced in 2023, remains one of the best iPhones for photography thanks to its stabilized 48MP main camera, advanced computational photography and excellent low-light performance.

Although most camera phones still can't match the sensor size or dynamic range of today's best mirrorless cameras, Apple's computational wizardry has narrowed the gap in recent years.

The iPhone 15 Pro's main camera, combined with Night mode and advanced image processing, gives photographers more flexibility.

However, capturing a fleeting volcanic eruption against a star-filled sky requires careful timing, exposure and composition – something no amount of AI can replace.

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Apple has increased orders for its new foldable phone to 10 million, up from previous targets of 7 or 8 million. This news comes at the same time that other major phone brands are slashing their production plans.

According to Nikkei Asia, Apple has booked parts and components for 80 million phones – across its whole late 2026 range, which is expected to include an iPhone Pro and Pro Max, and Apple's first-ever foldable.

How can Apple be putting its orders up while other big names like Xiaomi and Oppo are reducing orders? These are big firms producing a lot of phones on the global market, but Apple is the biggest name with the strongest bargaining power.

It doesn't mean Apple customers won't face higher prices, as we've seen. Tim Cook has already increased Apple prices, but this might not affect the company's bid to remain "cool" – key to the new CEO John Ternus's mission.

Apple traditionally launches a new generation of phones in September, regardless of demand for the existing models.

An executive of an Apple supplier is quoted as saying: "The demand for the iPhone 17 series in the markets is still quite good, but we are told to purposely reserve common chips and components for the iPhone 18 series,"

There is another way to read this, however.

Apple's bargaining power is the strongest in the business, so the company might choose to spread its launches out, taking advantage of the fact it can order more chips and save its launches (or some of them) for Spring 2027.

The delay would mean Apple gets to enjoy the success of its existing models even longer – backed by the advantage it has in getting memory. It could then throw all the fanfare of a big launch against any potential competition from the large Chinese and other companies in Spring, and stay ahead.

It might also be the only solution to the engineering issues that have, according to some rumors, plagued the folding phone, and might be especially problematic when large volume production is required.

Nevertheless, according to sources, the more likely releases for the early 2027 window at the moment are the standard (non-Pro) iPhone 18 and a new iPhone Air.

That's interesting for several reasons – not least because some of us thought that the iPhone Air might just be a way of testing half a folding phone on customers, but if there is a new model this soon, perhaps Apple is in it for the long haul.

If you're into the Apple ecosystem, you'll likely need to decide what kind of phone you want – and be prepared to wait if a think light 'Air' or the cheaper iPhone 18 doesn't arrive in the September wave.

Apple sold more smartphones than Samsung, the next largest company, in 2025 and in order to maintain that lead it is devoting a lot of energy to the supply chain.

It is known to have made connections beyond China, too, with companies including Japanese glass fibre company Nittobo, seeming looking to get the lead on components needed by chip manufacturers.

That is a reminder that Apple – a company which produces its own chip designs, after all – is also in a complicated game against the likes of Nvidia.

Will it be worth waiting for the folding iPhone? And just how long a wait? Check our guide to the best iPhone for photography now – and the best folding phone.

The popular video editor Final Cut Pro has just gotten a refresh containing what Apple calls “one of the most requested” tools: The ability to generate captions automatically.

The AI-powered caption tool comes along with a long list of AI tools added to Apple’s Creator Studio on June 30. Apple Creator Studio launched earlier this year, putting Final Cut Pro, along with Pixelmator Pro, into a multi-app subscription.

Apple says that the new Generate Captions tool uses on-device AI to automatically transcribe the video’s audio and place the subtitles into the timeline. The tool gives users options to customize the style, font, color, and position of those captions.

Automatically generating captions isn’t the only on-device AI coming to Final Cut Pro. On Macs, video editors also gain a new Auto Mask tool, which automatically selects objects and subjects. Apple says the tool can even mask out trickier areas like hair, sky, and foliage.

The new Auto Mask tool also works alongside the existing Magnetic Mask, a tool for identifying and tracking masks.

Apple says the video editor’s Match Color tool has been “reimagined,” allowing creators to choose a reference frame and match another video to the colors.

Final Cut Camera, Apple’s free iPhone and iPad capture app, also now supports Clean HDMI Out for external recorders and monitors, along with expanded ProRes options.

The Apple Creator Studio updates give the photo editor Pixelmator Pro the ability to interact directly with other apps in the software suite, including sending photos to Final Cut Pro to use as thumbnails.

Apple’s launch of the Creator Studio subscription was met with worry that the popular video editor could move away from the one-time purchase. With the June 30 update, Apple notes that one-time purchases are still available for Final Cut Pro as well as Pixelmator Pro, along with the multi-app subscription option.

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According to the most well-known Apple-gossip source, Mark Gurman, the company's incoming CEO, John Ternus, will be trying to bring back the company's sense of cool by focusing on the look and feel of products.

Cameras are set to be a huge part of that new wave of cool, too, apparently. One of the drivers of that cool will be AirPods with cameras in them (see Gurman's pay-walled story for Bloomberg).

Other leakers have nicknamed called these 'AirPods Ultra', including YouTuber Matt Talks Tech, as you can see below:

They're in development now, although they are not expected to arrive until 2027. They are one of three significant new product categories we’re expecting, which are all perceived as relatively new and exciting – and that Apple has, until now, kept out of.

The others are folding phones and smart camera glasses (as opposed to the sophisticated Vision Pro) – both of which are, of course, camera-equipped.

Personally, I do tend to buy Apple products – I'm well into the ecosystem – and I enjoyed trying the Vision Pro, but I didn't find myself reaching into my pocket for the large sum of cash to buy something I wouldn't actually use.

Sure, the equivalently-priced MacBook Pro wasn't revolutionary – but it does a lot more of what I actually need to do, day to day, and I don't see that changing for a while.

But smart glasses like those from Meta are a price that people can comfortably reach and – thanks to piggy-backing on the Ray-Ban brand – are definitely cool. So it's easy to see why Apple would see the need to compete there.

As for the last one of the three, there are already a good number of folding phones on the market – and have been for quite some time.

We were expecting Apple to launch one this September, also rumored to be called the iPhone Ultra, as software developers have found evidence in the next version of iOS.

The Independent has reported, however, that the production line now suggests the phone is more likely to arrive in early 2027 – and cost over $2,000.

That follows news from Apple – discreetly left in the hands of the outgoing CEO – that all iPhone prices will be on the rise, too.

Tim Cook told the Wall Street Journal that prices would “inevitably” rise with the arrival of the iPhone 18. The company traditionally launches a new phone every September, but what is being called an ‘AI boom’ is pushing up the prices of computer chips.

Now, personally, I wasn't that sure about a folding phone anyway. I really want to be convinced that the screen isn't going to be damaged or full of dust. But now I'm starting to worry about my wallet, too!

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It's been rumored that Apple could be planning to reduce the size of the iPhone’s dynamic island by around 50% for the iPhone 18 Pro, shrinking its width from 20.76mm down to 13.49mm. This would help enlarge the overall screen area of the iPhone's display, although even at this shrunken size, the island would still considerably wider than the tiny selfie camera punch holes now sported by the vast majority of Android phones. As for the iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max's other island - the camera island - that's expected to remain the same as on the iPhone 17 Pro, stretching the full width of the rear panel.

We’ve not yet had any compelling tips that suggest changes to the image sensors in the iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max. Instead, there have been persistent rumors that Apple could be planning to fit a variable aperture lens to the iPhone 18 Pro's primary camera. Sounds intriguing, but I remain sceptical that this will have a significant impact on image quality. Several Android phones have previously used variable aperture lenses, but they've yet to really make an impact. With a camera phone, you almost always want as much light as possible to reach the sensor, meaning the aperture will always be set at its widest. Narrowing the aperture does theoretically give you more depth of field, but the small 1/1.28" image sensor in the iPhone 17 Pro's primary camera already produces a large depth of field by virtue of being relatively small. There will be very few scenarios where you'd need to stop down the lens to increase depth of field still further, especially as this would also require longer shutter speeds and/or increased ISO sensitivity, and therefore more image noise.

Another report claims the next iPhone Pro and Pro Max could receive LPTO+ displays. These OLED panels utilize IGZO (Indium Gallium Zinc Oxide) transistors to help lower display power consumption, while also increasing refresh rates. The tech enables granular control over the current sent to each OLED pixel, so the display can better adapt its power consumption to on-screen content. It's also claimed that the iPhone 18 might be one of the first phones to feature Samsung's latest M16 OLED screen technology, which promise better brightness, power efficiency, and more accurate colors.

iOS 27 is expected to bring numerous improvements to Siri, including a new Siri AI mode for the Camera app, while Image Playground may be able to create wallpaper backgrounds based on your prompts.

The iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max are due to launch in September, assuming Apple follows its usual release schedule. Pricing is rumored to rise due to increasing costs in the component supply chain, most notably that of NAND flash memory, but it's also claimed that the cost of a variable aperture camera lens could be much as 50% higher than the fixed aperture glass used in current iPhones.

Story credit: Phone Arena

You may not have heard of Core Image RAW – but if you've shot or opened a RAW photo on an iPhone, you've already used it. Now, the software that Apple uses to process RAW photos is getting a key upgrade to reduce noise.

Apple has announced the latest updates to Core Image RAW, the software that processes RAW images taken on iPhones and handles RAW processing in Apple image editing tools. This software is used everywhere from the native Photos app to some third-party apps like Pixelmator Pro.

Core Image RAW 9 was announced in a YouTube video released earlier this week, and is slated for rollout as part of macOS 27 and iOS 27 across Apple devices and image editing apps in September of this year.

The major upgrade is the software’s ability to de-noise RAW images, now heavily driven by machine learning (ML).

By infusing ML, an artificial intelligence (AI) model, into demosaicing – the process of ensuring all image pixels contain the colors red, green, and blue – RAW files appear drastically less grainy, and unwanted color artifacts are reduced.

Above: Apple imaging engineer explains the updates coming with Core Image RAW 9

In the video, Apple imaging engineer David Hayward presents several examples demonstrating the denoising power of Core Image RAW 9, but it’s the close-up image of crayons that most impresses me.

First we see the image rendered with the previous Core Image RAW 8 model, which relies on traditional, hand-tuned algorithms for demosaicing. Then we see the same image processed by the latest software version.

To my eye, the results are significantly better, with fine details becoming much clearer and grain drastically reduced, albeit with some slight softening.

Above: swipe to see Apple Core Image RAW Version 8 vs Version 9

Core Image RAW 9 is the eighth upgrade Apple has made to its RAW processing engine, with the stack of programs currently able to process RAW files captured on 846 cameras across all the major brands.

While version 9 of the processing engine is more resource-intensive for devices, iPhone photographers and people who edit RAW files in Apple applications can expect much crisper images.

In the video, which came out as Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) 2026 kicked off, Hayward also mentions that activating Core Image RAW 9 requires making some slight adjustments to the underlying code of some image editing apps.

However, he doesn’t state whether this will be the case once the latest iOS and macOS versions are released later this year.

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At WWDC Apple announced Spatial Refeaming, one of two new imaging tools for its iOS 27 operating system used on iPhones and iPads.

The other significant AI update was AI generative improvements to the photo editing, but the idea of being able to move the camera after taking the picture.

Rather than just AI reframing that extends the image – such as many of us have become used to in Photoshop – what Apple showed was a feature that allowed the camera to be re-positioned around the subject, with the AI re-shaping the subject using AI, and generating a suitable background generated using AI.

You can see the effect working in this example from Apple. For an example of the extend that AI is involved, look closely at the boy’s legs, and you’ll see that it has clearly created a 3D model and adjusted the image according to the spatial position that the camera would be in.

However, current iPhone users will have experienced a feature a little like this before – I know I have. Above, my wife is holding her phone with one of our wedding pictures as the background. When she chose it iOS 26 automatically added layers of depth unprompted.

The effect is more subtle, but it's effective; the AI correctly picked her and I out from the elements of the background that are further behind (the door) and kept us more or less at the same apparent distance as the flower arch, and the effect is shown whenever you tilt the phone.

So everyone is getting rightly excited about the progression – but I woudlnt' call it 'new'.

Apple also mentioned in passing that AI generation will be used to turn panoramas into Spatial Scenes for the Vision Pro, but presumably, given the product’s relatively low sales this clever bit of AI didn’t warrant a lot of discussion at the WWDC announcement!

iPhone users will likely be a lot more excited by the news that photos will load “up to” 70% faster and AirDrop will be 80% faster, with work on the CPU scheduler that should make even older phones (as far back as the iPhone 11) faster.

Check our guide to the best iPhone for photography and the best camera phones.

A striking black-and-white photograph of a shepherd guiding hundreds of sheep through swirling dust has been honored at the 2026 World Food Photography Awards, sponsored by Tenderstem Bimi Broccolini.

Captured by photographer Serkan Dogus, en route back toward the pastures of Mount Nemrut in southeastern Turkey, the image transforms an everyday farming ritual into a scene that feels almost cinematic.

The 2,150m mountain is famous for its colossal stone heads and ancient Greco-Persian statues, which have earned the site UNESCO World Heritage status.

Framed through clouds and dust, illuminated by dramatic natural light, the viewer feels alongside the shepherd. The monochrome treatment strips away distractions, drawing attention to the movement, atmosphere and scale of a journey that is repeated every day by local shepherds and their flocks.

Food in the Field Category Winner

Dusty Journey by Serkan Dogus
Gear: Sony A7R III + FE 70-200mm f/2.8 GM OSS lens
Exposure: 1/400sec, f/8, ISO 100

"Every morning, hundreds of sheep arrive in the village from the high pastures of Mount Nemrut for milking," Dogus explains.

"After the milking is completed, at sunset, the sheep set out once again toward Mount Nemrut, and their dusty journey begins."

The image demonstrates exceptional compositional control in a scene that is constantly moving and impossible to direct. However, Dogus managed to position the shepherd at the center of the frame as the flock spreads outward through the dust.

Natural light plays an equally important role. The low sun cuts through the airborne dust, creating layers of contrast that separate the subjects from the background and gives the scene remarkable depth and dimension.

Converting the image to black-and-white further strengthens its impact. Without color competing for attention, the viewer is drawn to the textures, silhouettes and patterns created by the animals, dust, and landscape.

Dogus created an image that feels timeless, cinematic and immersive while documenting an everyday moment of rural life.

See the World Food Photography Award winners

Dogus' award-winning image and all over 200 winners of this year's competition are on display from June 03-07 at the Mall Galleries in London, England. A selection of the images hand-picked by Fortnum & Mason will be displayed at its iconic store in London Piccadilly from June 09.

For more information and to see all winning images, visit the World's Food Photography Awards website.

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"The shape is something from another world," says eight-year-old photography talent Ariel Owliaei, describing the Romanesco cauliflower that caught his eye during a visit to Panzer's deli in London's St John's Wood after school.

The striking image, titled Romanesco at Panzer's, has now earned Ariel the Jamie Oliver Youth Prize (12 and Under) at the World Food Photography Awards, sponsored by Tenderstem® Bimi® Broccolini. Captured on a smartphone camera, the photograph impressed the judges.

This accolade is not Ariel's first success in the creative arts. The young photographer living in London, England, previously reached the grand final of the BBC 500 Words competition. At the photo award ceremony in London, Ariel was all smiles as he collected his trophy for the winning image.

Jamie Oliver Youth Prize 12 and under – Winner

Romanesco at Panzer's by Ariel Owliaei
Shot with the Apple iPhone 14 Pro via the back dual wide camera 9.86mm f/1.78

The phrase "the best camera is the one you have with you" couldn't be more fitting. When a Romanesco cauliflower caught Ariel's eye during a visit to a local deli, he had a smartphone at hand – and used it to create an award-winning image.

Ariel's image was judged by celebrity chef Jamie Oliver, creative director of the Jamie Oliver Group, James Verity, and World Food Photography Awards' chair of judges, David Loftus.

He received a trophy and will be invited to attend the Jamie Oliver Headquarters in London.

See the World Food Photography Award winners

Ariel's award-winning image and all over 200 winners of this year's competition are on display from June 03-07 at the Mall Galleries in London. A selection of the images hand-picked by Fortnum & Mason will be displayed at its iconic store in London Piccadilly from June 09.

For more information and to see all winning images, visit the World's Food Photography Awards website.

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A few months ago, photographers and filmmakers were mourning the closure of a little-known color-grading program called Color.io. And now, its development company Patchflyer GmbH has been bought by Apple. News of the acquisition, which took place with little to no fanfare, was broken by MacRumors and follows the company’s Founder and CEO, Jonathan Ochmann, announcing that he was moving to an undisclosed company, as reported on at the time by CineD. Well, now we know that undisclosed company was Cupertino’s most famous resident.

What was Color.io?

While Patchflyer GmbH is over a decade old, Color.io was only released in 2023. It was billed as a browser-based all-in-one RAW-image processor, 3D LUT creator and film emulator, with the latter proving a particularly big hit with its user base. The software was coveted for its realistic-looking film presets and halation effects, allowing filmmakers to turn out cinematic colors and photographers to give their digital imagery an authentic analog-era look.

What is Apple planning?

It’s not hard to ponder why Apple moved to acquire Color.io. And indeed, MacRumors has already theorized that the software could be integrated into existing Apple software such as Final Cut Pro or Pixelmator Pro. The move comes at a time when Apple seems to be shoring up its creative software offering. At the beginning of the year, Cupertino announced a subscription bundle, Creator Studio, which includes Final Cut Pro, Pixelmator Pro, and various other apps. And back in March, MacRumors also reported on the company's acquisition of video-editing plugin company, MotionVFX.

Despite Apple’s status as an absolute titan of consumer tech, its creative software offerings face fierce competition in what has become a crowded and highly competitive sphere. Not only do you have established big hitters like Adobe’s Creative Cloud and Blackmagic’s DaVinci Resolve, but Canva’s decision to make Affinity free has certainly made waves within the industry, and that’s before you consider the raft of AI-editing programs that are popping up. Anything that could potentially make Apple’s established creative software suite stand out seems like a good idea to me.

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Apple announced that John Ternus, Apple's existing senior vice president of Hardware Engineering, will be taking over from Tim Cook as CEO on September 1, putting an end to months of rumor and discussion.

The official Apple statement is out. Now we can look back at some of Tim Cook's successes and most notable missteps (cough Apple Vision Pro, anyone?). He has been at the helm of the company since the single-camera iPhone 4 was the company's leading product, but had only just started to have an impact on compact camera sales.

Tim Cook has overseen Apple's release of the iPhone 7 Plus in 2016 – the first with multiple rear cameras – and taken the stage to announce every subsequent iPhone, but during his tenure, John Ternus has been rising the ranks and overseeing the development of some of those devices.

Apple fans, and perhaps investors, will no doubt be reassured to know that Ternus is a longtimer at Apple – explaining why in his own statement, the quote: "Having spent almost my entire career at Apple, I have been lucky to have worked under Steve Jobs, and to have had Tim Cook as my mentor" appears.

The legacy of Steve Jobs is strong at Apple amongst fans, while Tim Cook's success in steering the company through a value of $1bn right up to $4bn has pleased investors. Jobs was something of a risk-taker, Cook the steady-as-she-goes.

Perhaps some might see them as the personalities of Kirk and Spock?

Things are different now, however, with Cook being seen by many as having failed to anticipate the significance of AI, there is pressure on the former 'hardware guy' to solve Apple's apparent delays there out of the gate.

What will his personality be? Scotty the engineer? That is the roots many used to feel Apple should listen to. Given Ternus' recent experience developing hardware, he might be well placed to pull the realities together. One such example is computational photography – the processing behind getting phones to emulate shallow depth of field, for example, or take maximum advantage of their multiple cameras.

In the space of cameras, it's worth remembering that Ternus is very familiar with the cameras, but members of his team have long been all about mixing hardware and software. "We apply deep learning models for demosaicing, which constructs the image from the raw output" said Patrick Carroll, manager of iPhone camera architecture, of the "Photonic Engine" – and this may be increasingly true with devices like the iPhone Air which has fewer physical cameras.

Apple's press release notes that before joining Apple in 2001 Ternus worked at Virtual Research Systems, though the phrasing of Apple's release is careful only to link the Vision Pro to Tim Cook, even though it was one of the things he oversaw at Apple. That's as close as it'll come to Apple admitting the Vision Pro was not a success.

It does connect Ternus to a lot of Apple hardware, including the Apple Watch and AirPods. The text also links him to the aforementioned iPhone Air – which might yet prove to be the underpinning of a rumored folding phone – and explicitly highlights Ternus's involvement in reliability and durability.

That, then, will be the basis of Apple's play for the future. The company seems keen to explain how it will continue to grow now Cook has helped it reach $416 billion yearly revenue, and a sensible play will be trust – Ternus, Mr reliability & durability, won't be the end of that.

Ternus is one of Apple's more publicly friendly figures. He is seen above presenting the new cheaper MacBook Neo, and was outside the London Regent Street Apple Store, greeting customers, at the launch of the iPhone 17.

That suggests, I suspect, a tenure more like Cook than Jobs is coming up, but we won't know until September.

After the massive success of Meta's Ray-Bans, Apple leaker Mark Gurman has reported that Apple is working on four frame designs for its own Smart Glasses and says that his sources expect Apple to offer more than Meta when it comes to the tech.

When Apple first started looking at body-worn tech, it hadn't considered the concept pioneered by Meta's Ray-Bans – that is camera-equipped sunglasses that do not have their own display. They have, nonetheless, made our best camera glasses list.

Instead, Apple, which already had the Watch division, began a 'Vision Products Group' (according to Gurman's source), and it was concentrating on what became the Vision Pro, a mixed-reality AR device with a wireless controller and iPhone connection, and standalone glasses.

Only relatively recently has the 'N50' concept, as glasses with a built-in voice-assistant (or at least access to a voice assistant) been added to that list, meanwhile the device tethered to the iPhone was scrapped (perhaps another way of looking at it is that it has simply been replaced?)

That's because this new product will be tightly integrated with the iPhone as a means of outdoing Meta. Apple generally likes to enter a market with a distinct advantage, and here Apple won't be buying a frame brand from EssilorLuxottica SA (who own Ray-Ban and Oakley) or Warby Parker.

Apple will, if experience is anything to go by, want its designs to be recognizable, just as the iPhone and the Apple Watch stand out against competitors, even across generations. The four styles Apple is currently working on are, reportedly:

• Large rectangular frames presumably not so very far away from the Ray-Ban Wayfarers concept
• Slimmer rectangles that Gruman suggests might be along the lines of the 'Tim Cook Look'
• Large circular or oval frames
• Smaller circular or oval frames

Other big subjects of discussion in Apple-land at the moment are the possibility of delays to the foldable iPhone – which took 5% of the company's share price when it was rumored in Asia, but turned out not to have much basis.

Those who have not enjoyed Apple's recent efforts at AI will likely be pleased to hear that John Giannandrea's time at the company overseeing AI should be ending this week, too. He was hired from the outside (by Tim Cook, from Google).

Check out the best camera glasses you can buy today, and the best iPhones

Once upon a time, the MacBook Air was the cheapest way to get yourself an Apple laptop. Then the MacBook Neo came along and changed all that. It’s much cheaper than even the entry-level 13-inch Air, while being about the same size and weight (though the Air is still thinner) and produces a level of performance from a CPU formerly seen in the iPhone 16 Pro that, while not comparable to anything running Apple’s latest M5 chip, is perfectly capable of carrying out many common photo-editing, and even video-editing, tasks. The MacBook Neo is very definitely the bottom rung on the MacBook ladder, and doesn’t get some of the advanced features you’ll see on those further up, but for its price it offers excellent build quality, the bulletproof macOS operating system, and just enough battery life to keep going all day. It’s never going to be on the list of the best laptops for video editing, but if you won’t use all that extra computing power, the Neo might be just the laptop you need.

Apple MacBook Neo: Specifications

Apple MacBook Neo: Price

Starting at just £699/$699, the MacBook Neo looks like a bargain. For that money, you get 8GB of RAM and a 256GB SSD. There's only one upgrade option through the Apple Store, which doubles the SSD storage to 512GB. Adding this to your laptop also changes the screen lock key at the top right of the keyboard into a fingerprint reader, but that’s it: there's no option to expand the laptop’s RAM or add extra GPU cores as there are on the MacBooks Air and Pro. Even the nano-texture display coating is absent. Still, this makes the Neo cost a lot less than the entry-level Air, and you could buy two of them for the price of a basic MacBook Pro and still have enough left over for some nice headphones. Windows laptops at this price point tend to be uninspiring too, which is not something you can say about the Neo.

Apple MacBook Neo: Design & Handling

Most Apple laptops look the same, with the MacBook Pro standing out slightly thanks to having its name etched in its base. The MacBook Neo doesn’t have this, so you’ll need to identify it by its colour: as well as silver, the Neo is available in a metallic green called ‘Citrus’ and a rather lovely Indigo alongside the pinkish Blush and standard silver - and in a nice touch, the OS will match its window edges and default wallpaper to the exterior colour. It’s noticeably thicker than a MacBook Air, but has the same aluminium casing as all MacBooks, with its USB-C ports tucked away at the back on the right up by the screen hinge. As a 13-inch laptop, it’s easily portable and could make the ideal companion on hikes if you’re accompanied by a drone or action camera.

This is a very basic laptop, and as such doesn’t come with any of the bells and whistles you may expect from a Mac. The version reviewed here is at the bottom of the range, so it doesn’t have the fingerprint reader. This means you’d better get used to typing your password every time you need to unlock it. The webcam is a 1080p FaceTime HD model rather than the clever Center Stage cam that’s on the Air and Pro, which can track you around and keep you in shot. As such, it’s fine, but you may feel you’re missing out. There are two speakers, hidden under slits in the sides of the casing rather than grilles at the edge of the keyboard, and they’re fine too. As is the dual-mic array, though you may find yourself making use of the 3.5mm audio jack for a headset if you’re making a lot of calls.

The screen is an LED-backlit IPS with fewer pixels in it than the equivalent 13-inch MacBook Air, and yet again, it’s absolutely fine but nothing special. That’s the story of this laptop. If you need more screen, one of the USB ports supports a single external monitor of up to 4K, though both that and the built-in screen are limited to 60Hz.

The ports are possibly the thing about the Neo that will annoy photographers and videographers the most. There are only two, and one is a 10Gbps USB 3.2 Type-C. It doubles as the video out, and there's no HDMI port or SD card reader, so some sort of dock may be a good purchase alongside the Neo if you don’t want to be constantly plugging and unplugging peripherals. That’s because the second USB port, despite being Type-C, is only USB 2.0. This is an artefact of the A18 Pro chipset inside the Neo, which comes from the iPhone 18 Pro, a phone with only one port. There's no way to tell the difference between the two USB ports (eventually you’ll get used to the fact that the slower one is closer to you), but the operating system will warn you if you plug a fast peripheral into the wrong one. You can charge through either port - there's no MagSafe - and this may well be enough connectivity for most users, as networking is handled by Wi-Fi 6E and there's Bluetooth 6 for your headphones, as well as connecting an external mouse and keyboard.

Apple MacBook Neo: Performance

The tiny A18 Pro has had the misfortune to make its laptop debut in a world that already includes the M5, as well as innumerable choices from Intel and AMD. It’s a really competent CPU, especially in terms of single-core performance, in which it produces strong benchmark scores.

It’s still a six-core chip though, and only two of those are the ‘performance’ type that do the heavy lifting. This is made worse by the 8GB RAM limit, another legacy of the iPhone. Apple has clever caching and memory management tech that allows it to make the best of its allocation of memory, but more is always better, and with PC manufacturers pushing out mobile workstations with as much as 128GB on board, 8GB looks puny.

This doesn’t stop the Neo, but it does slow it down. The SSD inside is running rather slowly by 2026 standards, around the speed of an older PCIe 2.0 drive, which naturally makes any paging from RAM to storage feel less responsive. The Neo isn’t a laptop that was designed for heavy video editing work, but it runs Premiere Pro reasonably well, churning through GPU effects (there are only five graphics cores inside, which is actually one less than the iPhone 16 Pro had) and raw video conversion at a slower speed than other laptops. Denoising 60MP raw image files in Lightroom likewise takes ages. However, it got there in the end rather than crashing and failing the task, which says something about the robustness of the platform Apple has assembled here.

The strong single-core performance from the A18 Pro (3,519 in Geekbench 6, which puts it ahead of the Apple M3 and just about every Intel or AMD chip I’ve ever tested) means it’s a responsive machine to use, and in Photoshop it’s perfectly happy cropping, resizing, cloning and carrying out all the basic tasks photographers demand. Its multi-core performance is in Intel Core i5 territory, and that’s an i5 from a couple of years ago too. Once again: it’s fine. We weren’t really expecting Core Ultra 9 levels of computing power from something that costs £599.

Apple MacBook Neo: Verdict

When the MacBook Neo was announced, the idea of a laptop that ran on the processor from an iPhone seemed almost ridiculous. However, time spent with the machine shows that it works, and it works well. There are things that could be better - that 8GB unified RAM pool is going to look tiny to many users, especially those who demand more than that just for their graphics cards, but the Neo isn’t a laptop made for gamers or 8K video editors. For browsing, office tasks and most image editing it does just fine, the lack of ports and internal storage a bigger issue. What you get is a nicely built Mac for a lot less than the next model up, and that means the Neo has real value.

Alternatives

French photographer Henri Cartier-Bresson once said, "Your first 10,000 photographs are your worst" – and he's right: practice makes perfect. And today, thanks to camera phones, every aspiring photographer can learn, experiment, and create, right from the device in their pocket.

The 15th Annual Mobile Photography Awards (MPA) celebrate exactly that – photographers pushing the limits of mobile cameras, from basic devices to high-end 50MP flagship smartphones.

Connecting to Cartier-Bresson's idea to modern technology, MPA says: "If your first 10,000 photos are your worst, mobile photography has given humanity a historic opportunity to quickly get past 10,001," awarding photographers who fully embraced this era of instant and accessible creativity.

15th Annual MPA – Category winners

1st Place Winner: People
How Long Can We Stay Down Here? by Louise Rayner
Phone: Apple iPhone 13 Pro Max
Exposure: 1/4000 sec, f/1.8, ISO 32

1st Place Winner: Macro & Details
The White Masked Sentinel by Steven Grogin
Phone: Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra
Exposure: 1/60 sec, f/1.7, ISO 20

1st Place Winner: Street Photography
A Gazing Cat by Yajun Hu
Phone: Xiaomi 14 Ultra
Exposure: 1/900 sec, f/4, ISO 50

1st Place Winner: Architecture / Design
Folded Passage by Ma Shuolong
Phone: Apple iPhone 13 Pro
Exposure: 1/440 sec, f/1.8, ISO 32

1st Place Winner: Portraits & Self Portraits
Flower Power by Beata Smutek
Phone: Samsung Galaxy S23
Exposure: 1 sec, f/1.7, ISO 12

To discover all category winners and the competition's overall winner, visit the Mobile Photo Awards website.

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"It's not the gear, it's the photographer," a phrase that's often debated, but in many genres, still rings true. Especially now that camera phones have come further than ever – packing 50MP sensors, computational photography, and even variable apertures – yet are still underestimated by many photographers.

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Kuanglong Zhang has been named the overall winner of the 15th Annual Mobile Photo Awards (MPA), impressing judges with a striking portfolio captured exclusively on smartphones – with models from 2016 to 2023.

15th Annual MPA winner

The jury praised his work for its "diverse palette and a deeply convincing, impressive range of subject matter", pointing out Zhang's eye for color, framing, and detail.

Zhang's work highlights just how much creativity and skill can be captured with older phones, smaller sensors, and the device we carry every day – even if it no longer should be a surprise that award-winning images can be created on smartphones...

Zhang was thrilled to hear the news of his international victory and stated, "...Winning this award truly means so much to me.

"I'm really looking forward to growing alongside the MPA, and to inspiring people around the world to discover mobile photography – and to see that phones are more than capable of creating images that are both warm and full of heart, with a beautifully crafted feel."

The camera phones

Zhang's winning images were captured using a mix of older and newer smartphone cameras – from early single-camera systems to modern multi-lens flagships.

1. Huawei Mate 60
Released primarily in China in 2023, it is the most advanced device in Zhang's lineup. The Huawei Mate 60 features a 50MP main camera and variable aperture (f/1.4-4), offering a level of manual control rarely seen in smartphones.

2. Oppo Find X6 Pro
Launched 2023, the Oppo Find X6 Pro is a China-exclusive flagship with a 50MP triple-camera system built for high-end imaging performance.

3. Vivo X60 Pro+
A top camera-focused phone, released in 2021. The Vivo X60 Pro + was co-engineered with Zeiss. It features a quad-camera setup. 48MP ultra-wide lens, and advanced gimbal stabilization.

4. OnePlus 9RT 5G
A China-first release in 2021, followed by a wider global rollout in 2022, the OnePlus 9RT 5G packs a 50MP Sony IMX766 main sensor and is known as a "flagship killer".

5. iPhone 11 Pro Max
The iPhone 11 Pro Max launched back in 2019, and its specs only tell half the story. As highlighted in our review, "it's the real-world results from this triple-camera phone that matter". It features a versatile triple-lens system with 12MP sensors.

6. iPhone 7
The iPhone 7 is the oldest smartphone on the list and was launched in 2016! Its highest camera features a 12MP sensor with a fast f/1.8 aperture – still capable of producing award-winning images in the right hands.

To discover all category winners and for more information, visit the Mobile Photo Awards website.

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Is it possible these days to buy a laptop that’s too powerful? Chances are that photographers will be rocking mid-level machines capable of running Photoshop while video types are lugging something more potent around with them, but this? This knocks just about every laptop ever tested into second place. The Vanilla M5 version of the MacBook Pro was already pretty good, supplying some of the fastest single-core performance the benchmarking apps had ever seen, but was left behind in multi-core and graphics performance by Windows PCs with more physical cores and discrete graphics chips.

In response, Apple has done what it’s done for every generation of M-series CPUs, and released a version with more of everything. That’s what we’ve got here, and it’s so good it’s almost scary. There are already two MacBook Pros in the big list of the best laptops for video editing, will this knock the M4 Pro off the top?

Specifications

Price & Availability

You’ll have to part with $5,699 (£5,699/A$8,949) to get the spec we’re reviewing here. That’s an awful lot of money, considering the MacBook Pro with the normal M5 chip starts at $1,599, and is certainly not an impulse purchase. If you’re willing to make the investment, you’ll get a laptop that can do anything, and do it quickly, but whether it’s a sound purchase depends very much on whether you think it will accelerate your professional workflows to a point that you can’t imagine life without it. Luckily, Apple’s build-to-order system means you don't have to max out every spec, so you can lower the price that way.

Design

The MacBook Pro hasn’t changed its design for a few generations now. You get a choice of two colours - black and silver - and two sizes, 14 and 16 inches. There's the option of a Nano Texture screen coating, to cut reflections when working around strong lighting, but the Liquid Retina display isn’t a particularly reflective panel even without it, and Apple’s apparent reluctance to embrace OLEDs, which have a reputation for being mirrors when looked at from the right angle or in the wrong lighting, may have something to do with this.

So you get a flat-sided laptop with softly rounded corners, the MacBook Pro name engraved into the base, and an Apple logo on the lid that doesn’t light up. It’s sleek and professional, as well as instantly recognisable. There are certainly thinner laptops out there - Apple makes one itself in the MacBook Air - but also many that are fatter, and it’s a remarkably compact package for the sheer amount of computing power the company has managed to pack inside. There are two fans for cooling, but they never get very loud, and any hot air is vented out of two small slits in the sides, as well as being absorbed into the aluminium frame. In testing it never got particularly hot, but it’s easy to imagine that a day spent churning through 8K video will cause it to warm up.

It’s worth noting that chargers are now optional extras when buying a new MacBook. The 96W USB-C power adapter is a £79 add-on, though there's a MagSafe adapter in the laptop’s box so you can use any USB-C brick you already have to juice it up, and you can also charge it through any of its Thunderbolt ports, which is handy if you’ve got it connected to a dock or a monitor with Power Delivery.

Performance

The M5 chip was already a strong performer when it came out in 2025. That model was a 10-core chip, with four of them Apple’s newly christened ‘Super’ cores and the other six ‘Efficiency’ cores for background tasks. The M5 Max introduces a new category, the ‘Performance’ core, which is a bit confusing, as Super cores used to be called Performance cores, but they now occupy a middle ground between Super and Efficiency. The M5 Max has six S and 12 P cores, with no E cores at all, and it all makes a difference to its benchmark scores.

Apple’s M5 chips are the only CPUs to score more than 4,000 points in Geekbench 6’s single-core test (as of early 2026, anyway), and the M5 Max continues the trend. What’s far more exciting is the multi-core test, in which the M5 Max pulls away, putting 6,000 points, or 23%, between it and the M4 Pro from the previous generation. Intel’s Core Ultra 9 275HX is around 30% slower than the M5 Max in this test.

Having 40 graphics cores against the vanilla M5’s 10 gives the Max a big advantage too, and it produces results that are approximately the same as a mid-range Nvidia card, though comparing different graphics architectures on computers running different operating systems is a difficult task. The MacBook Pro being reviewed also has an advantage from its 128GB of fast DDR5 RAM, something that accounts for a large chunk of its price.

What all this means in practice is that it absolutely flies along. It completed tasks in Photoshop and Premiere Pro extremely quickly, and while it’s not the absolute best out there at running AI tasks - that honour goes to machines with top-end GPUs - it’s no slouch either.

With all that processing power, you might expect the battery life to be measured in minutes rather than hours, but the efficiency of the ARM-based Apple Silicon means that, when asked to do light tasks, you can see as much as 17 hours of life out of a charge. While it’s probably true that a laptop like this is likely to spend a lot of its life plugged in and working hard, it’s good to see that taking it into the field is a possibility, even if the endurance will decrease when you make it work harder.

Final Verdict

This 14-inch MacBook Pro with the M5 Max processor is a remarkable machine, and it should be, considering the price Apple is asking for it. You’ll need to go through the online configuration process to get a laptop with this spec, and once you’re finished, it’s almost the most expensive Mac you can buy (that accolade goes to the Mac Studio with a 32-core M3 Ultra processor, into which you can put 256GB of RAM and 16TB of storage).

For most photo and video users, however, a laptop of this spec will be overkill, and while the excitement of simply owning one may be worth the price, something lower down the hierarchy will do just as well, especially when you consider that you’ll undoubtedly need extras like a Thunderbolt dock, Magic Mouse or Trackpad, and an external monitor such as the Apple Studio Display to go with it. Buy one, however, and you’ll have the kind of portable workstation that once we could only have dreamed of.

Alternatives

Apple has unveiled the MacBook Neo, a new entry-level laptop designed to bring the Mac experience to a broader audience with a significantly lower starting price. Starting at $599 / £599 / AU$899, the MacBook Neo is now the most affordable Mac laptop Apple has ever produced, positioning it directly against budget Windows laptops and even Chromebooks.

The MacBook Neo represents an interesting shift for Apple. Its MacBooks have always sat at the more premium end of the laptop market, starting with the MacBook Air, but with recent MacBook sales growth stagnating, Apple has clearly seen the entry-level market as the way forward. Introducing a new tier below the Air offers the familiar macOS experience in a cheaper, far more stripped-back package, but with so much work done now in the browser, this might be all many people need.

Apple's cost savings start with the processor. The MacBook Neo uses Apple’s A18 Pro chip, originally designed for phones; it's also not Apple's most recent processor, and was previously seen in last year's iPhone 16 Pro lineup (this year's iPhone 17 Pro uses a newer A19 Pro chipset).

However, Apple says the processor delivers more than enough performance for everyday tasks such as web browsing, video calls, photo editing, and even running AI-powered apps. Apple also rather boldly claims that the Neo can be up to 50% faster for common tasks than an (unspecified) best-selling PC with an Intel Core Ultra 5 processor, three times quicker for AI-related processing, and two times faster photo editing. The iPhone does have incredible performance, but it'll be interesting to see if this phone's processor can stretch to a bigger screen and heavier multitasking.

Despite its lower price, the MacBook Neo still carries much of the familiar MacBook DNA. The laptop uses a recycled aluminium enclosure, includes Apple’s excellent Magic Keyboard and large multi-touch trackpad, and offers connectivity via two USB-C ports and a 3.5mm headphone jack, alongside WiFi and Bluetooth.

The MacBook Neo is available in four colors – Silver, Blush, Indigo, and Citrus – each with colour-matched keyboards, giving the Neo a slightly more playful look than Apple’s traditional MacBook palette.

The Neo features a 13-inch Liquid Retina display with support for one billion colors and up to 500 nits of brightness, as well as a 1080p camera for FaceTime video calls. Audio comes from dual side-firing speakers with support for Dolby Atmos and spatial audio, and a dual-microphone array should isolate your voice during calls. And according to Apple, battery life is rated for up to 16 hours.

The base MacBook Neo features 256GB of storage, but does miss out on Apple's TouchID; however, jumping up to 512GB of storage restores TouchID to the power button (which, honestly, is a feature I would really struggle to live without).

Pre-orders are open now, and in-store availability starts from March 11. The Neo starts at $599 / £599 / AU$899 with 256GB of storage, or $699 / £699 / AU$1,099 with 512GB – and you can knock a further $100 off these prices with Apple's student discount.

Apple has launched new Studio Display and Studio Display XDR monitors, aimed at enthusiast creatives to demanding professional users.

Apple Studio Display

At the heart of the new Studio Display is a 5K, 5120 x 2880 Retina panel that supports DCI-P3 color and is rated for 600 nits of brightness. New features include a 12MP Center Stage camera, now with improved image quality and support for Desk View - a feature that can show your face and an overhead view of your desk at the same time. 

The new Studio Display also has a studio-quality three-microphone array, along with a six-speaker sound system that includes woofers that deliver 30 percent deeper bass than the previous generation, plus two high-performance tweeters for immersive audio.

At the rear you'll find two Thunderbolt 5 ports, enabling daisy-chaining of up to four Studio Displays, or connection of high-speed accessories, with up to 96W of charging power.

Apple Studio Display XDR

The all-new Studio Display XDR is a 27-inch 5K (5120 x 2880) display that utilizes an advanced mini-LED backlight with 2,304 local dimming zones to enable high contrast. It's also capable of up to 1000 nits of SDR brightness, and 2000 nits of peak HDR brightness. The result is said to be HDR that can make content "pop off the screen", without distracting halo or blooming effects.

A 120Hz refresh rate should deliver smooth motion, while Adaptive Sync dynamically adjusts frame rates for content like video playback or graphically intense games. Studio Display XDR includes the same camera and audio system as the Studio Display, as well as Thunderbolt 5 connectivity with up to 140W of charging power to simplify pro workflow setups.

The new Studio Display with a tilt-adjustable stand starts at $1,599, and Studio Display XDR with a tilt- and height-adjustable stand starts at $3,299. Both are available in standard or nano-texture glass options, and can be pre-ordered from March 4, with availability beginning Wednesday, March 11.

The Apple iPad Air is back with a powerful M4 silicon chip, more Unified Memory, a faster Neural Engine, and a boost in memory bandwidth, making it an extremely capable alternative to the iPad Pro M5 in terms of raw power, which will surely make it a more formidable machine for photo and video editing, especially for those more taxing tasks such as AI-powered tools, multi-layer composites, and high-resolution video. And indeed, Apple rates this latest iteration as 30-percent faster than the previous iPad Air M3 and an eye-watering 2.3x faster than the still capable iPad Air M1.

A huge draw for creatives is the iPad ecosystem’s exemplary image quality and color accuracy. As we’ve come to expect, the iPad Air M4 is available in 11- and 13-inch variants, both with an LED Liquid Retina display, complete with Apple’s True Tone, which adjusts the display according to ambient lighting. A P3 wide color gamut, for accurate color reproduction. And full lamination, which reduces glare, improves touch responsiveness, and increases image quality.

Both variants feature anti-reflective coatings and support for the Apple Pencil Pro and Apple Pencil (USB-C), however, the 11-inch iPad Air M4 emits 500 nits of brightness, while the 13-inch model emits 600 nits. Beneath that sleek aluminum exterior, you’ll find an 8-core CPU and 9-core GPU that supports Apple’s second-generation ray tracing mesh shading and ray tracing for a boost in graphical performance, with Apple citing 4x faster 3D pro rendering in comparison to the iPad Air M1.

The aforementioned boost in power also extends to AI performance. Unified memory has been boosted by 50 percent, equalling the 12GB present on standard iPad Pro M5 machines with 12GB of RAM. Memory bandwidth has been increased to 120GB/s. And a 16-core Neural Engine is said to provide 3x faster performance than the M1 chip – good news for photo and video editors who rely on AI tools.

The iPad Air M4 also features Apple’s N1 and C1X connectivity chips – a first for the iPad Air series – for fast wireless and cellular connections, as well as Wi-Fi 7 support. The N1 enhances Personal Hotspot and AirDrop, as well as 5GHz Wi-Fi network connections, while the C1X boasts 30-percent less modem energy consumption than the previous iPad Air iteration.

As you’d expect, the iPad Air M4 runs on iPadOS 26, and beyond the Liquid Glass redesign, it brings with it a new windowing system and menu bar in a bid to provide a more streamlined workflow for more professional uses, as well as tweaks to folder management.

Groundbreaking camera specs are a rarity on tablets, nowadays, given the inherently awkward form factor. The iPad Air M4 has a 12-MP f/1.8 Wide camera with a 5x digital zoom, which can capture up to 4K / 60p video. The Center Stage front camera is 12MP f/2, and can capture full HD / 60p.

The iPad Air M4 is available in four colorways: Blue, Purple, Starlight, and Space Grey. Both variants are available with 128GB, 256GB, 512GB, and 1TB of storage. The iPad Air M4 starts at $599 / £599 / AU$999 for the 11-inch model and $799 / £799 / AU$1,349 for the 13-inch model.

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Check out the iPad Pro M4 review to see how the latest iPad Air shapes up against this last-gen Pro model. Find out how I edit photos with an Apple Pencil and my iPad Pro. And if you're looking for a broad guide on Android, Windows, and Apple tablets, take a look at the best tablet for photo editing.

Buyers of Apple's entry MacBook Pro model have had access to the newer chips via the MacBook Pro M5 since October, but serious users have been directed to the M4 Pro and M4 Max devices. Until today, when new M5 versions of these machines were finally unveiled.

Why the delay? The Pro and Max versions of the chips have more CPU and GPU cores and more memory; so higher end computing needs – like a lot of 4K video work, or photography editing.

It's also noteworthy that Apple has raised the prices on all the MacBook Pros, including the existing M5 by $100 / AU$200, perhaps reflecting the increasing component costs known in the trade as 'RAMageddon', though the lowest storage option is now 1TB rather than 512GB, and twice as fast, so the jump isn't quite as bad.

The new MacBook Pro M5 Pro will start at $2,199 / AU$3,499 ($200 / AU$200 up on its predecessor) and boasts a 15 CPU cores and a 16 GPU cores, and that for the 14-inch model. Want the 16-inch version and you'll need $2,699, but the bigger frame also allows for 18 CPU cores and a 20 GPU cores. In both cases the lowest storage spec is 24GB of RAM and 1TB.

Spec up to the Max variant of the chips and $3,599 / AU$5,799 will be needed for 14-inches or $3,899 / AU$6,299 for 16-inch. Both fit in 18 CPU cores and 32 GPU cores.

According to Apple, customers will see up to a 4x jump in AI image generation performance compared to equivalent M4 chipsets, and 8x against the M1 equivalents.

The tiny world of Apple gamers were even mentioned by Apple, who noted that there will be 1.6x faster gaming performance in ray tracing versus the M4 in games like Cyberpunk 2077: Ultimate Edition. More usefully for professionals, that should be 1.4x faster 3D rendering in Maxon Redshift (5.2x faster v M1).

The Apple N1 wireless chip is included, and Bluetooth 6, while the webcam is 12MP Center Stage camera in a notch cut from the Liquid Retina XDR 1600 nits peak HDR display.

Apple say the new MacBook Pro gets up to 24 hours of battery life (noting that if you've not upgraded since Intel days, thats 13 additional hours, though I'd like to note that my last Intel Mac could rarely manage an hour with more than a couple of tabs open in Chrome).

Apple also surprised punters by announcing the MacBook Air will see the new M5 chip at the same event.

All new computers will be available for pre-order tomorrow, March 4, and in stores from next week.

There is also two new Apple Studio Displays, which we cover separately.

Apple offers significant improvements to its entry-level iPhone with the new iPhone 17e, just announced, doubling the storage to 256MB, bringing the A19 processor, and adding MagSafe support.

The new phone sports the same 6.1-inch OLED display as its predecessor, the iPhone 16e, is available in three different colors (Black, White, Soft Pink), and will go on sale at a starting price of $599 / £599 / AU$999.

This is the same price as the previous 16e – so buyers won't face the jump that customers had to swallow last time Apple upgraded this category (from the 2022 iPhone SE to the iPhone 16e).

The single rear camera is a 48MP wide-angle (Apple's 2-in-1 hybrid focus pixel system). This upgrade was introduced with the 16e, and is a 26mm ƒ1/6 aperture camera capable of delivering 24MP at 2x (52mm EFL) in the camera app. Apple calls the 48MP 1x images "Super-high-resolution photos".

Photographers also get the benefit of Apple's 'Action Button'. Video is recorded at 4K60fps with Dolby Vision, and there is a 240fps slow-mo.

The selfie camera is also unchanged at 12MP ƒ/1.9.

On the slightly disappointing side, it only has 60Hz screens, leaving 'ProMotion' to Apple's premium models. The 'Dynamic Island' has also been eschewed in favour of retaining the older 'notch'.

My bet is that these choices will not upset the upgrade market too much – those looking for a cheaper new iPhone will likey be happier about the improvements to the handset's processing power in the era of AI.

The other significant upgrade, MagSafe, brings the phone in line with a lot of Apple accessories that many Apple-reliant homes might already have around.

Pre-orders will begin on March 4, after Apple's big Wednesday event in New York, and the handset will be available from stores a week later, on Wednesday March 11.

Apple has also announced a new M4 iPad Air, today, but so far we've heard nothing about the (also rumored) base model iPad.

Apple has announced an event for March 4, which might be where metaphorical daylight reaches some of the many products that have been rumored over the last few months and even years.

Apple, as expected, has not shared any details in advance, simply issuing an invite with a stylized version of the Apple logo – the only suggestion that things are slightly out of the ordinary is that this "special Apple experience" is going to be in New York rather than the company's Cupertino home.

What are we expecting from Apple on March 4

• MacBook – but cheaper The talk of the town is a MacBook with a phone-like (A18) processor coming in at about $599.
• iPhone 17e Yes, that time in Apple's product cycle for a cheaper flagship-ish phone.
• M5 MacBook Air Update to the faster new CPU, but the same old outsides, for the popular Air.
• iPad Air 8 M4 processor marking a small internal update.
• MacBook Pro M5 Max & Ultra The premium chips are still awaited for the top of the line MacBooks too (only the bottom MacBook Pro has an M5 thus far).
• iPad 12 Internal update also expected for the cheapest iPad.

Apple has long had a cheaper iPhone, so it is easy enough to remember the iPhone 16e from last year, for example. We don't expect to see any changes in the price, which starts at $599. The insides might get the upgrade to the A19 chipset and Apple's C1X and N1 wireless chips – which both improve battery life and potentially save Apple from needing to buy chips externally.

Wireless charging is expected to be upgraded to MagSafe with speeds of up to 25W.

An Apple laptop at the same $599 is potentially achieved using a A18 Pro chipset, and a 12.9-inch display, though recent developments in Apple Intelligence suggests that a minimum of 16GB RAM might be a starting point. I have to say that seems a little higher than the memory point that Apple aficionados might be used to for entry-level machines, though, and rumours can drift into wish-listing, so we shall see!

Potentially, though, this level of power should be enough for basic photography tasks. Oh, and would you really want an iPad if you could have a MacBook for less?

In terms of devices that we know and recognize on the outside, the upper MacBook Pros (Max & Ultra chips) are still awaiting the M5 treatment, and the assorted iPads are also due a minor chip refresh. None of these are 'new products' though. The other items in the rumor mill – so the ones that attract the attention (especially as Apple has picked a different venue), must be either the 'pendant' – something like an AI Star Trek communicator – or Apple's other rumored and much expected release, some kind of affordable glasses.

Affordable, that is, in comparison to Apple's $3,499/£3,199 Vision Pro.

The Rayban Meta has been spectacularly successful, with actual sales clocking up over 7 million unit sales in 2025 (which will represent around half the $1.1 billion per quarter the entire division pulls in), and CNBC reporting production being pushed to 20 million.

Inevitably, there are plenty of rumors of greater or lesser credibility suggesting that Apple are working on its own competing product which, like the Meta RayBan, will have a camera in the frames to capture video.

The project is reportedly codenamed internally 'N50', but that doesn't mean they are close enough to completion that we'll see them this March. I've also heard 2027 and 2028 as public release timing, so it's fair to say it's not exactly nailed down (though it is likely that an updated version of Siri will need to at least be involved, which would be iOS 27, this year's edition, which also isn't out yet).

And on the subject of updating Siri, the other thing, perhaps a little more fanciful, is the idea of a device you speak to and make requests of Siri like any other AI chatbot. This would be worn around the neck like a pendant, or pinned to clothing like Captain Picard's badge.

It, too, might have a camera so it can perceive its environment, to help it answer questions.

Former Apple chief designer Jony Ive has also been rumored to be working on a device like this for an AI startup, IO, now acquired by OpenAI (of ChatGPT fame).

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Leaks have revealed that versions of the iPhone 18 Pro, currently undergoing testing and expected to be released in September, boast a variable aperture for the first time in the iPhone's nearly two-decade history.

A manually adjustable aperture is seen as a significant step toward making a camera more professional, allowing control of the amount of light that gets to the sensor and artistic changes through the manipulation of the depth of field (how much elements of the picture other than the main subject appear out of focus).

These are all things which photographers tend to consider the preserve of what they would describe as a 'real' camera, although in reality the tech has been shrunk to the size of phones and other compact devices – the DJI Osmo Action 6 and, further back, the Samsung Galaxy S9 and Galaxy S10 (from 2018 and 2019, since you ask).

Interestingly enough, MacRumors is now reporting that Samsung has seen the rumors about Apple and is intending to get back in on the variable aperture game for the first time in years, asking its manufacturers to deliver a camera unit that can compete.

The iPhone 14, 15, 16 and iPhone 17 Pro Max have all used a fixed aperture of ƒ/1.78, with the lens open wide while shooting. The relative manufacturing advantage of fixed aperture cameras is simplicity (less to go wrong) and size – more parts tends to mean thicker devices, which is anathema to phone design.

Apple, however, has shown some interest in changing perspectives about the phone range. The iPhone Air, for example, encourages consumers to buy a much thinner phone – and some seem to like the style (and be prepared to pay top dollar for it) even though in terms of specifications the device is actually a bit behind alternatives.

I have speculated – and I'm not alone – that the iPhone Air is just a way to claw back some R&D money on what might eventually come in terms of a folding iPhone, which would need to be very thin.

But if Apple are prepared to convert a "test" product at this point in the range, why not go for something that is a hybrid of a serious camera and phone?

The "Pro" already makes that pitch with its name – so adding premium features like an adjustable aperture shouldn't even be a concern.

Because a "Real camera" is just the term people use for a professional one, and if Apple can occupy that space, that'll be great news for them in terms of premium pricing as well as owning an ever-larger market share.

The iPad Mini sits in a slightly strange place in Apple’s lineup and has survived many a rumor about its cancellation. But Apple is still committed to the miniature iPad formula, with the latest model getting a boost up to the latest A17 Pro processor and Apple's latest AI-powered Apple Intelligence.

It’s still the smallest and most portable iPad, and while for years it has felt like the "cute" option for watching Netflix on a flight, rather than a serious creative alternative. But the A17 Pro, ripped from the iPhone 16 Pro, means the iPad Mini might have just become a much more practical field companion for creatives.

Compared with larger iPads and lightweight laptops, the mini brings a different kind of freedom. If you’re browsing the best tablets for photo editing for a travel-friendly device to sit alongside your camera gear, this is the iPad that makes the most sense.

Specifications

Price & Availability

Starting from $499, the iPad Mini costs a premium for a tablet this physically small. And that's before you add more storage, cellular connectivity, or an Apple Pencil. If you want a fully kitted-out Mini, you’re firmly into serious device money, which can feel jarring when you look at the screen size alone.

However, this isn’t competing with budget 8-inch Android tablets; it’s competing with larger iPads and even some entry-level laptops for creative tasks. The inclusion of the A17 Pro chip makes this closer in performance class to high-end mobile devices than to basic media tablets.

For photographers, that does mean smoother editing, faster exports, and fewer compromises than the previous generation of Mini. However, compared to the larger iPad Air and its more powerful M-series chip, you’re paying a slightly unfair portability premium here.

Design

This is one of the best-built small tablets I’ve ever used. The flat-edged aluminum body feels rigid and premium, with no flex or creaks – I've accidentally sat on it a few times, and it's been just fine. The size for me is perfect; the screen is bigger than my phone screen, but I can still hold it one-handed for long stretches while reviewing images, something I’d never say about a larger iPad.

The 8.3-inch Liquid Retina display is sharp and bright, with excellent color. For photo work, it’s more than good enough for culling, editing, and social-ready exports. While it’s not OLED, I’ve found contrast and color consistency strong enough that I trust it for editing on the fly, especially when paired with the wide color support in iPadOS.

Button placement is simple: volume controls and a top power button with integrated Touch ID. The fingerprint sensor is fast and reliable, and I don't really mind that it doesn't have Face ID, as it avoids the awkward notch, although Apple should really start integrating the software-based face recognition common on Android for convenience.

USB-C is a huge win here. I can plug in card readers, SSDs, and camera cables without hunting for adapters, which makes it genuinely practical on shoots.

Apple Pencil support not only makes this the perfect notebook, but for marking up images, sketching, or doing precise mask work in editing apps, the Pencil makes the Mini feel much more like a pro tool. But the downside? It’s yet another cost on top.

Performance

The A17 Pro chip is what makes this iPad mini feel much more pro. It is not nearly the performance gains of the M-Series chips in the iPad Pro range, but app performance all feels very fast, and I rarely hit friction in day-to-day use.

As an 8-inch tablet with a phone processor, expectations should be tempered; this isn't going to become your one-and-only device, but it’s been quick at everything I have thrown at it. In Photoshop and Lightroom, RAW previews pop in fast, and I have edited and exported photos quickly on the fly.

Video performance is similarly good. Quick social edits on CapCut or Final Cut Pro run smoothly. Again, with an 8-inch screen, I wouldn’t choose this as my primary video editing machine, but for social cuts on location and quick turnarounds, it’s excellent.

The interface, as expected from Apple, is slick. iPadOS is intuitive, responsive, and well optimized for touch. Multitasking is fine; you can pin two apps side by side, or the latest version of iPadOS brings windowing to apps – but on a screen this size, I found there is little point as apps become too squished up to be useful. File handling on iPadOS is decent; it's easy enough to find files, but organizing files and folders could be simpler, and is still best managed on a laptop.

Battery life holds up well. Browsing, streaming, and note-taking easily get me through a long day, though sustained heavy tasks do drain it faster than casual use.

The single 12MP rear camera is solid for scanning documents or quick reference shots, but it's not going to challenge the phone in your pocket. There is another 12MP camera on the front, which is good enough quality for video calls. My only complaint is that the camera is positioned on the short edge, which, in landscape orientation, does make you appear to be looking off to the side in calls and not focused on who you are talking to.

Verdict

The iPad mini (A17 Pro) fills a gap between phone and laptop that, for creatives, makes a lot of sense. I prefer it on location more often than larger tablets simply because it’s so easy to carry and slips into my small camera bag.

This is a great media tablet, but for creatives, the display is excellent for field work, the A17 Pro chip keeps everything feeling fluid, and USB-C plus Apple Pencil support turn it into a great option for image review, note-taking, and light editing.

Its main limitations come from perhaps expecting too much, its screen is too small, and its processor is too underpowered for "proper" editing. But its practicality wins out here. If portability matters more to you than being a true laptop replacement, this is an easy recommendation.

Alternatives

According to Counterpoint Research's Global Handset Model Sales Tracker, Apple's iPhone 16 was the world's best-selling smartphone of 2025 – not the Pro, Pro Max, or Ultra model you might expect.

Across the global Top 10, Apple captured seven of the ten spots, underlining just how dominant its ecosystem remains – even as Android brands push harder on mobile photography with ever-higher megapixels, extreme periscope zooms, and increasingly aggressive AI features.

So, let's dive in and take a look at the numbers, and explore why this smartphone might not be the smartest choice for mobile photographers...

Global Top 10 best-selling smartphones, 2025 (Counterpoint)

1. iPhone 16
2. iPhone 16 Pro Max
3. iPhone 16 Pro
4. iPhone 17 Pro Max
5. Galaxy A16 5G
6. Galaxy A06 4G
7. iPhone 17
8. iPhone 15
9. Galaxy S25 Ultra
10. iPhone 16e

The iPhone 16 doesn't win spec-sheet battles. It lacks ProRaw, skips long optical zoom, and relies on a simpler dual-camera setup.

It isn't Apple's cheapest phone – that role belongs to the iPhone 16e – nor is it the most powerful camera-rich model in the lineup.

What it is, however, is Apple's most balanced mainstream phone.

With a 6.1-inch display, manageable size, and familiar setup, the iPhone 16 hits the sweet spot for buyers upgrading from older models. For many users, it's a meaningful step forward without pushing into Pro-level pricing.

The mass appeal – rather than photographic ambition – is what puts it at number one.

The iPhone 16 cameras: good but not camera class-leading

From a photography standpoint, the iPhone 16 is very capable, but it's also clearly positioned below Apple's Pro models.

Photographers will quickly run into limitations like no ProRAW, no dedicated telephoto lens, and limited optical zoom compared to Pro and Ultra rivals.

As we noted in our iPhone 16 review, it's a fantastic camera for travel, social content, and everyday shooting, but it isn't designed for photographers who want control and flexibility.

That helps explain why it sells so well – and why it doesn't top DCW's list of the best camera phones for photography.

Samsung's split strategy: volume vs photography

Samsung placed three phones in the Top 10, but they tell two very different stories.

The Galaxy A16 5G and Galaxy A06 4G succeed on value and availability, not camera innovation.

The outlier is the Galaxy S25 Ultra.

With its 200MP main camera sensor, long periscope zoom, and growing suite of AI-powered tools, it's one of the most ambitious camera phones on the market.

Counterpoint notes strong regional growth, particularly in Japan and India.

What the Top 10 tells us

Phones like the iPhone 16 dominate, while more photography-focused devices remain niche.

The world's best-selling phone does not feature the best cameras.

But looking ahead to 2026, Counterpoint expects rising memory prices to put pressure on entry-level devices, potentially giving flagship camera phones more room to grow.

If that happens, we could see imaging-led models gain ground – but sales leadership will still be about balance, not brilliance.

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I've been using Final Cut Pro for around twenty years. If it wasn't for Final Cut Pro, I might not even have ever used a Mac computer, and now there is very little in my day-to-day life which Apple doesn't have a hand in. But on January 28, an ominous-sounding policy decision of Apples comes into play that might be the end of all those love affairs.

Apple, you see, has announced Apple Creator Studio, a subscription package which will grant access to Final Cut Pro, Logic Pro, Pixelmator Pro (on Mac and iPad), Motion, Compressor, and MainStage.

As a long-time owner of Final Cut Pro (and, to a lesser extent, the graphics tool Motion), I have loved the fact that the app just updates itself when Apple creates new features and improvements without any extra assault on my wallet. As an Apple customer, it is, admittedly, a long-suffering cash container, but, in this one area, the company has remained respectful.

That said, I suspected the writing was on the wall when iPad features started requiring extra purchases, but nevertheless cool new tools arrived on my Mac – the only version of FCP I really cared about – so I was happy.

Unlike my experience with Photoshop and the other Adobe tools, which has never been great from a financial perspective. I remember the regular need to buy a new version of the software (with the big old box, disks, and manuals) – but that has long since been replaced with the dreadful pain of a large-scale bundle of apps and services, only some of which I want, for a massive fee.

With Adobe, that is the Creative Cloud Pro.

Now, though, I just know that the 'Creator Studio' is Apple pushing me in the same direction.

Apple's pricing is $129/£129 a year or $12.99/£12.99 a month, but I don't want Logic Pro and I'd prefer to stick to Photoshop. Ideally I'd like to keep Final Cut, of course, because I know it and because – I thought – I'd already paid for it.

(What you can see being edited on my screen)

Apple says, that, unlike Adobe, it won't force users to subscribe, but several AI-enhanced tools for Final Cut Pro were announced at the same time, and I can't help but feel they won't all be available to me if I don't cough up. Premium content for Keynote, Pages, and Numbers (yes, a spreadsheet) will already exist only for subscribers, so Apple is clearly happy to draw the distinction.

Once these lines are drawn, things don't generally get better for users in my experience. Adobe took four years, from 2013 to 2017, to fully transition away from selling non-subscription editions of Photoshop (excluding Photoshop Elements).

It's even easier for Apple, which already has all the hard work done as the App Store has the financial mechanics built and in place in the operating system.

The problem for Apple that I'm not sure whoever came up with this scheme has thought of is this: I hate subscriptions, and I'm not alone. And I'll do anything I can to avoid having two subscriptions to creative apps where I need one – even switching to a new video editor and learning from scratch.

I'm pretty sure that Premiere is one of Adobe's tools, and I'll definitely have no need for Pixelmator if I've got Photoshop, whereas what, Apple, have you got to offer me instead of InDesign?

I'll be sad, but this time Apple might have made me do some financial planning.

And that, Apple, might be a very bad idea in general...

And once I don't use a Mac-only piece of software to save money... well, suddenly a lot of money-saving things start looking possible. Why would I really need a Mac? Or an iPhone, come to that...

Check out our guide to the best video editing software

I like to tuck an AirTag in my camera bag when I travel, just in case – and the next generation of Apple’s popular item finder will be able to find missing items from farther away and from an Apple Watch. On Monday, January 26, Apple announced the first update to the AirTag with a second-generation model packing in the latest tech with the same price as the 2021-era tag.

The biggest change to Apple’s coin-sized locator is that it uses a second-generation Ultra Wideband chip, so it shares some of the same hardware inside the iPhone 17. That upgrade, Apple says, allows users to find items from as much as 50 percent farther away when using Precision Finding. The updated tracker is also twice as loud when using sound to pinpoint lost items.

I thankfully haven’t yet had to use my old AirTag to find a stolen camera bag, but I love using Apple’s Find My ecosystem to figure out where I’ve misplaced my phone or tablet. Precision Finding is like Apple’s digital version of calling out “warmer” or “colder” while playing hide-and-seek. Precision finding will tell you which direction and how far the tracker is.

While the update enables the Precision Finding sooner, like the original, when the tracker is out of range, it uses Apple’s Find My network to pinpoint the location of objects that are farther away. This capability relies on signals from other nearby devices, so the tracker works better in busy locations rather than remote wilderness.

But another key update that I’m looking forward to is that Precision Finding is now available on Apple Watch Series 9 or later and Apple Watch Ultra 2 or later. That brings Apple’s clues as to distance and direction to nearby items to the smaller watch screens.

While it’s been five years since the original AirTag, the biggest question is likely this: Is it worth an upgrade? The second-generation AirTag upgrades the Precision Finding and the sound finding feature, plus it’s also made with 85 percent recycled plastic. Still, the older model does what it’s meant to do, which is find misplaced or stolen items

Others may be a bit more disappointed by what’s not included on the update – like the original, you have to buy accessories if you want to hang the tracker on a key ring. That doesn’t bother me, though, as if I’m going to use a tracker in hopes of getting a stolen camera bag back, I’m not going to place the tracker somewhere obvious.

The updated tracker still works with previous AirTag accessories. It does need iOS 26, however, so it’s not for devices running older operating systems.

There’s one key thing, though, that I’m glad isn’t changing – and that’s the price. The 2026 AirTag has the same list price as the original at $29 / £29 / AU$49 / CA$39.

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The regular – and reasonably reliable – leaker Digital Chat Station – on Chinese social media platform Weibo has let slip that the Apple iPhone 18 generation has begun test production and that the iconic 'dynamic island' feature is going to be replaced by – something else – at least for the Pro series.

There are also a series of rumors about colors going around – red, purple, and brown, hence the mock-up above – but for now I'll concentrate on the camera news.

It's also more than a little interesting that many see the punch hole as a step on the way toward a more special twentieth anniversary phone with a fully invisible front camera.

Sample production matters because it is the point at which many of the features we expect in the final product do tend to stick. What is staying the same is the size and refresh rate of the screens, 6.27-inch for the Pro, and 6.86-inch for the Pro Max, both at 120Hz.

What is being discussed – and looks different in various YouTubes and reports – is the "new under-display area". Some think that we'll see a smaller pill shape, a little like the one that exists now, that contains Apple's FaceID system and camera.

Others think that a hole punch – similar to some other phones – is likely to appear. The Samsung Galaxy S25 has a hole near the centre of the screen, for example. Other mock-ups have shown Apple's in the corner, but that feels unlikely to me.

Sample production is the point at which most of these decisions get set in stone, and of course, a lot of aesthetic decisions will be required of the operating system if there is a hole punch in a different spot to the existing pill, so that will be a factor in Apple's next steps too.

There is also discussion as to whether the feature will immediately apply to the whole range, go to the Pro phones first, or the Pro and the 'Air 2' on the grounds that it is a premium model. Apple has managed to start a lot of debate among the community, but we're not expecting to know anything for sure until Apple's traditional September announcement window.

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Apple beat fierce rival Samsung to claim the largest share of the global smartphone market in 2025, while global smartphone shipments grew by two percent year-on-year (down on 2024’s four percent growth). That’s according to Counterpoint Research’s preliminary Market Monitor report, which had both Apple and Samsung neck-and-neck with 19 and 18 percent market share in 2023 and 2024, respectively.

The latest results put Apple’s share of the global market at a whopping 20 percent, with Samsung occupying an undisputed second place with 19 percent. Apple also enjoyed the top five brands' highest year-on-year shipment growth at +10% percent, with Samsung lagging behind at +5%.

Counterpoint has attributed Apple’s upward trajectory to a successful iPhone 17 launch, with the iPhone 16 bolstering its traction thanks to strong sales in Japan, India, and Southeast Asia. The outlet's findings also revealed that shipments were bolstered by millions of consumers who purchased devices during COVID, reaching an “inflection point” regarding the decision to upgrade.

Elsewhere, global market share hasn’t changed dramatically within the top five brands, with Xiaomi dipping from 14 to 13 percent in third place, yet still enjoying a commanding lead over Vivo and Oppo, retaining 2024’s joint eight percent. However, it’s worth noting that Oppo’s year-on-year shipments declined by four percent. And while both brands sit beyond the top five, Nothing and Google grew exponentially year-on-year with 31 and 25 percent, respectively.

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These are the best camera phones for photographers. If you're an Apple fan, check out the best MacBooks for photo editing and the best iPads for photo editing.

Final Cut Pro users will soon be able to choose between a one-time purchase or a subscription model – but tucked in with the news of Apple’s new Creator Studio subscription is a list of new tools coming to the popular video editor. That list includes new AI-powered search, beat detection and a Montage Maker.

The update, which will likely arrive on January 28 with Apple Creator Studio, adds two new forms of AI-powered search to the video editor.

First, Transcript Search will enable creators to quickly find the right soundbite – a tool likely built on the previous launch of AI-powered automatic captions. Apple says the tool can sort through hours of footage with a simple text search, and that it’s geared for interviews and video podcasts.

Second, users will also be able to search through the video footage itself with Visual Search.

The ability to search through my Camera Roll on my iPhone for a specific object, without manually tagging photos, is one of my favorite Apple Intelligence features – and I suspect the tool will be similarly handy for video editing.

Another new AI-based update, dubbed Beat Detection, finds the beats in a music track and visualizes them in the timeline. The feature is designed to aid editors in timing visuals with the beat of the music.

Finally, Final Cut Pro is gaining a tool to automatically create a quick montage from footage using AI. Montage Maker, Apple says, finds the “best visual moments within the footage” and creates a montage from that.

Creators are able to adjust the pacing, cut the visuals to music and use the intelligent Auto Crop to reframe for vertical and horizontal projects.

Apple Creator Studio is launching on January 28 though, unlike Adobe’s transition to a subscription, Apple says one-time purchases will remain available. The tech giant, however, notes that some “access to some of the premium content is available only to Apple Creator Studio subscribers.”

Apple has just bundled a load of its creative apps, including the coveted Final Cut Pro and Logic Pro, into the new Apple Creator Studio subscription service – and students can take advantage of a significant discount, at just $2.99 / £2.99 per month or $29.99 / £29.99 per year.

Don’t worry, though, you are not forced to subscribe – the individual apps can still be obtained via a one-time purchase.

Now, I know there’s a very vocal cohort who loathe subscriptions and extol the virtues of ownership – not that you ever truly own digital media in perpetuity.

Sure, subscription prices do have a habit of creeping up – and can offer less bang for your buck in the long term. But not everybody has the money or, indeed, wants to commit to a lump-sum purchase. And this is especially true for students or their respective guardians.

Education is a chance for people, young and old, to experiment. And as far as I’m concerned, Apple’s $2.99 student subscription is a fantastic deal.

The news, of course, comes just a couple of months after Canva announced that Affinity Photo would be rebranded as Affinity and available for everyone completely free.

And let’s not forget about the free version of DaVinci Resolve; industry-standard video editing and grading software that’s all over Hollywood.

I remember when I was studying photography at college. By day I’d spend as much time as possible playing around with Adobe Photoshop on a college computer as I could, before heading home and trying to relearn everything all over again on GIMP.

GIMP is an impressive free Photoshop alternative – although it now has big competition from Affinity – but my point is that I didn’t really have any other option.

Creative Cloud didn’t exist, and a one-time purchase of Photoshop was way more than I could ever hope to afford at the time. My parents certainly weren’t going to shell out what would have been a significant amount of money for a piece of software I might simply lose interest in.

Today, the landscape is very different. And while subscriptions might not always be ideal, they are much more accessible. I think this accessibility has made the market more competitive, too. And I personally think that camera phones have played their part.

You see, smart-device apps have always been free or extremely affordable. People simply aren’t used to shelling out large amounts of money for smart software. And yet, as the best tablets have become more powerful, applications are increasingly resembling their desktop counterparts.

What you’re left with are some incredibly impressive pieces of portable software, for very little outlay.

Sure, subscription prices get hiked up. Some force you into long-term contracts and the software isn’t yours to keep. But you no longer have to worry about a big outlay; upgrades are usually free, and you could argue that the market is more competitive and healthier than ever.

And that’s before you consider the range of excellent student discounts from Apple, Adobe, and more. I might have to enroll in some night classes…

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Looking to upgrade your software? Check out the best photo editing software and the best Lightroom alternatives. If you want a hardware upgrade, here are the best MacBooks for photo editing.

Photoshop alternative Pixelmator Pro will soon be more portable. Tucked in with the announcement of the new subscription-based Apple Creator Studio bundle, Apple revealed that Photomator Pro is coming to the iPad.

Formerly a Mac-only app, Pixelmator Pro has been re-imagined for iPad OS, including support for the touchscreen as well as Apple Pencil. Apple doesn’t offer any touch-enabled laptops, so bringing the Apple-exclusive software to iPad opens the photo editor up to touchscreen-based editing.

Apple says the iPad app was built from scratch with “all the powerful editing tools users have come to appreciate on Mac.” That includes layers, which are arranged in a sidebar, along with Smart Selection.

Tools like Super Resolution, which is Apple’s name for upscaling, are also included on the iPad OS version, along with Deband and Auto Crop.

Apple says the iPad app has full Apple Pencil support, which includes the ability to hover, squeeze, and double-tap with the touchscreen accessory. The Pencil also supports the app’s different pressure-sensitive brushes.

While Apple’s launch primarily focuses on the new iPad version, the desktop app wasn’t completely ignored in the announcement. A new Warp tool allows creators to twist and shape layers and will be available in both the desktop and tablet versions.

However, the Warp tool will be an Apple Creator Studio exclusive. While Apple says that Pixelmator Pro will remain available as a one-time purchase without a subscription, subscribers will have access to premium tools that one-time purchasers do not. So far, that list includes the new Warp tool.

The announcement also includes The Content Hub, a new space for downloading graphics, photos, and illustrations for creative projects, another feature available with the Creator Studio Subscription.

Apple’s Creator Studio subscription is expected to roll out on January 28 for $129 / £129 / AU$209 / CA$129 a year, or $12.99 / £12.99 / AU$20.99 / CA$12.99 a month. That includes Pixelmator Pro as well as Final Cut Pro, Logic Pro, Motion, Compressor, and MainStage.

Interestingly, Apple did not bundle the Lightroom alternative Photomator in the bundle. Apple acquired both Pixelmator Pro and Photomator in February 2025.

A one-time purchase of Pixelmator Pro remains available for $49.99 / £49.99 / AU$79.99 / CA$69.99.

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Browse the best Photoshop alternatives or the best photo editing apps.

Several favorite creative Apple apps are adding a subscription-based model. On Tuesday, January 13, Apple unveiled Creator Studio, a subscription that bundles Final Cut Pro, Pixelmator Pro, and several other apps into one subscription-based model.

Video editor Final Cut Pro and photo editor Pixelmator Pro are popular Premiere Pro and Photoshop alternatives for the subscription-averse, but both programs will be part of the new Apple Creative Studio, which launches on January 28 (January 29 if you're in Australia).

However, unlike Adobe’s move to a subscription model, Apple says that Final Cut Pro and Pixelmator Pro will remain available as a one-time purchase. Some “premium content” will be only for subscribers, however, which includes a new Warp tool inside Pixelmator.

In the US, the subscription will be available for $129 a year or $12.99 a month. The UK subscription will cost £12.99 a month or £129 a year. In Canada, the price is expected to be CA$12.99 a month or CA$129.99 a year. For Australia, the price is AU$19.99 per month or AU$199 a year.

The subscription includes Final Cut Pro, Logic Pro, and Pixelmator Pro on both Mac and iPad, along with Motion, Compressor, and MainStage on Mac. The subscription will also include premium content for Keynote, Pages, and Numbers, though free versions without the premium content will remain available for those apps.

In comparison, a one-time purchase of Final Cut Pro is $299 / £299 / AU$499 / CA$399 for Mac, with a separate subscription for the iPad version. A one-time purchase of Pixelmator Pro is $49.99 / £49.99 / AU$79.99 / CA$69.99.

The subscription announcement comes along with a slew of new tools for the creative apps, including the first iPad version for Pixelmator and several AI-enhanced tools for Final Cut Pro.

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Take a look at the best photo editing software, the best video editing software, or the best Photoshop alternatives.

Apple surprised almost nobody with the iPhone Air, a razor-thin, wallet-draining handset that features just one camera and battery life that – while okay by market standards – is pretty subpar for an iOS device.

Its only feature of note? It was slightly thinner than Samsung's previous very thin phone, the Galaxy S25 Edge.

Did anyone want or have use for a very thin phone? We honestly didn't think so at Digital Camera World. My theory on the iPhone Air is that it is just half of a folding phone.

Essentially, I hypothesized that Apple was tricking a small niche of people into covering some research and development costs for another product category in which it is now years behind the game (check out one of Samsung's latest tri-folding phones if you don't believe me).

Some thought it might disappear altogether, but phone rumor site GSM Arena has started circulating some very interesting suggestions about a possible sequel to the device that isn't the long-awaited iPhone Fold.

A second camera

Firstly, and this perhaps won't be much of a surprise, there is the idea that a second camera will be added. This makes a lot of sense because the iPhone Air was very expensive for a single-camera phone.

No firm details exist, but an ultrawide would be the expected 'second camera' based on Apple's previous two camera phones (and that the single camera on the first generation is a hybrid zoom already).

This price will seem even more unacceptable to most consumers when the novelty of being the 'first' Air has gone, and adding the camera to the lump means it won't affect the marketing team's assessment of the device's thickness!

New release window

Secondly, for those of us who have come to expect a new iPhone at a certain time of year, the launch window would be spring 2027. Perhaps Apple just needs longer to move units of the first-generation phones? I understand that. I wouldn't buy one! It's only got one camera, after all!

A shocking price – but not how you'd expect

Thirdly, though, and this is the most shocking one of all for many, it is thought that Apple will be reducing the price by $100. Partly that is because the company likes a round 100, so coming down by 'just 50' wouldn't be enough.

But reducing the price of phones is something that rarely happens – and never happens to Apple products. Even more so if features are actually increasing.

It certainly seems that Apple isn't anticipating a price premium being something it can charge for future generations of the Air, though, even if the idea of an ultra-thin phone continues to be worth selling.

What I'd say is that everything here is logical. If there is to be an iPhone Air 2 it should be cheaper, should have a better camera system and it probably isn't needed in a hurry. But it also sounds pretty implausible all put together, doesn't it?

In the meantime I can also tell you that I don't mind carrying the slightly heavier iPhone 17 Pro Max – and I get a really good and useful telephoto camera and decent battery life. I don't understand the appeal of the Air at all.

To each their own, eh?

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Check our guides to the best iPhone for photographers and the best camera phone. Also read my piece on having spent over $34,800 on iPhones!

As I’m attempting an aerial selfie, one question always seems to come up: What do I do with the controller so it’s not in the photo? DJI now has an answer, at least for three of its drones: An Apple Watch app.

The mid-December update to DJI Fly brings support for Apple Watch for the DJI Neo 2, DJI Flip, and the original DJI Neo. Why those drones and not more high-end options? Those three drones are capable of flying with only the DJI App and do not require a controller (although one can be purchased for them).

Now, those three drones can also fly with an Apple Watch. DJI Fly on Apple Watch supports video transmission and battery level. The small Apple Watch screen doesn’t leave room for controls, but the WatchOS app still supports voice control.

Importantly, that means a smartphone is still required to operate those drones. But, Apple Watch support makes it easy to do things like launch and start tracking on a smartphone, but then monitor the video feed while recording selfies without a phone in hand.

The Apple Watch screenshots also show ActiveTrack modes like Circle, so selfies seem to be a fairly clear use case for operating with a smartwatch rather than a smartphone.

The Apple Watch version of DJI Fly is available for free in the App Store for the Neo 2, Flip, and Neo drones.

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I've been an Android phone user for years. Not because I'm anti-Apple (I'm not tribal), but because the maths simply never added up. Why spend iPhone money when a Pixel or Galaxy gives you everything I needed for hundreds less?

But the latest leaks about the iPhone 17e have me reconsidering everything. And I suspect I'm not alone. Apple appears to be planning something unusual for March. It looks like the iPhone 17e won't just another iterative update.

If the leaks are true, this thing will pack the A19 chip from the flagship iPhone 17 series into a body that costs from around $599 / £599. That's the same processor powering phones costing twice as much. And that's significant. Apple typically saves its latest silicon for premium models, drip-feeding older chips into affordable devices. But here, reportedly, they're throwing their newest processor into their cheapest phone.

The front-facing camera is reportedly jumping to 18MP with that clever Centre Stage technology from the flagship models. For anyone doing video calls, social content, or even just better selfies, that's a meaningful upgrade. The rear camera situation seems a bit more complicated, though.

Leaks suggest a single 48MP sensor, which sounds limiting until you remember that computational photography has largely closed the multi-lens gap. Yes, you lose optical zoom and ultra-wide versatility, but for everyday shooting? A single excellent sensor with Apple's image processing might well outperform the mediocre triple-camera arrays scattered across mid-range Android devices.

Why this matters

It also sound pretty promising. Apple recently killed off their SE lineup, leaving a gaping hole in their range. But now the iPhone 17e appears designed to fill that gap whilst simultaneously raiding Android's mid-range territory. For someone like me, who appreciates iOS polish but balks at flagship pricing, this could be the entry point that finally makes sense.

The A19 chip matters beyond raw speed. It means years of iOS updates, smooth performance as apps grow heavier, and better computational photography processing. That's future-proofing at a price point where Android manufacturers usually offer compromises.

Before we get carried away, though, some scepticism is warranted too. That 60Hz display will feel sluggish compared to the 120Hz panels now standard on mid-range Androids. And the single rear camera, however capable, won't match flagship versatility. There's also the fact that switching to iPhone means embracing Apple's walled garden completely – iCloud, iMessage, the works. That's probably brilliant if you're in it already, constraining if (like me) you're not.

Of course, none of this is confirmed yet. Apple hasn't said a word officially, and they won't until they're good and ready. But if these leaks prove accurate, the iPhone 17e represents something rare: an affordable Apple device that doesn't feel like a compromised afterthought.

The main thing, though, is that I've started to make the mental leap. This could be the phone that finally breaks my Android habit. Not because it's revolutionary, but because it's sensible. And sometimes that's actually more disruptive than innovation.

So... will I switch? Ask me again in March. But most importantly, for the first time in years, I'm genuinely tempted.

Check out the best iPhones for photography available right now

Users of the new iPhone 17 Pro and Pro Max have taken to the internet to ask a curious question: Why does the newest Pro and Pro Max phones no longer have the Portrait Night Mode that’s been supported for five generations?

Users across Reddit and Apple Community have launched internet tirades pointing out the lack of a feature that their older devices had. The Pro and Pro Max models have supported using both Portrait mode and Night mode at the same time, but users are pointing out that the feature is missing on the iPhone 17 Pro and Max models.

The apparent lack of the longstanding feature isn’t a bug – Apple has a list of iPhones that support both Portrait mode and Night mode at the same time, and the iPhone 17 Pro and Pro Max aren’t on it. (The iPhone 17 series, including the Air, does pop up on the list of devices that support Night Mode with selfies and time-lapses.) Apple hasn’t yet shared a statement as to why the feature is no longer on the new models.

Portrait mode uses LiDAR to capture depth information, which can be used to blur the background. It can also be used to add or edit blur after the photo has already been taken. Night mode is designed to boost image quality in limited light. Both Portrait mode and Night mode exist independently on the iPhone 17 Pro and Max, but unlike earlier models, the models can’t be used simultaneously.

Night mode is one of my all-time favorite improvements to the iPhone camera. Just a few years ago, snapping a photo of the northern lights with my smartphone would have looked terrible. Now, my iPhone 15 Pro isn’t on the same level as my mirrorless, but the aurora shots are actually possible.

Without an official statement from Apple, it’s unclear as to why those two modes can no longer be used together, though that, naturally, hasn’t stopped the speculation as to why. Night mode improves low-light quality, but has its drawbacks, including motion blur that may not work well when photographing people. Night mode increases the ISO, which also increases noise.

What's clear, however, is that some users who used the feature are frustrated that there was no early indication of the missing feature.

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I just bought an iPad for 74 quid from Amazon Renewed – and it's honestly one of the best purchases I've made.

I had a quandry. I needed an iPad for a few photography-related things – firstly, I wanted something with a decent screen size to act as my digital portfolio rather than asking people to swipe a tiny phone screen. I also needed a tablet to work with my autocue software, for some content creation jobs I do.

However, these are pretty basic bitch requirements for an iPad – there's no way they justify spending 600 quid on a brand new model. (And yes, I needed an iPad rather than a cheap tablet because I'm trapped in Ye Olde Apple Ecosystem.)

So I took the plunge and bought a refurbished iPad from Amazon – because £74 was much more appropriate for my needs!

Yes, it's a basic bitch model – an iPad Air 2 with a mere 16GB of storage and it's WiFi only. But again, all I want it to do is display my photos and scroll some text; I've got my phone and my laptop for everything else.

I'm always a little apprehensive about buying refurbished products, especially electronics. But Amazon Refurbished gear has a generous returns period and, if worse came to worse, losing £74 wouldn't be the end of the world.

It turns out I worried for nothing. It came in the usual Amazon packaging, carefully wrapped, perfectly clean and in great condition. Being completely factory reset, I obviously had the "new car smell" experience of the Apple welcome and setting everything up from scratch.

The only downside is that, unlike when you're buying from companies like MPB.com, you don't see photos of the actual item you're buying. However, Amazon has a grading system to give you a decent idea of the condition of your product – and Amazon returns are easy, so you can always send it right back if you're not happy.

So, if you're in a similar boat and you want a cheap iPad for basic functions – or maybe you want a burner iPad for travelling or for the kids to use – I only have good things to say about getting one from Amazon Renewed.

Buy your own cheap iPad

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Want a modern, full-fat tablet? Take a look at the best iPads for photo editing, video editing and photography if you're an Apple user, along with the best tablets for photo editing from other brands.

Smartphone accessories specialist Sandmarc has unveiled what it says is the first add-on telephoto lens designed specifically to mount on iPhone's periscope-style tetraprism camera, rather than the main wide-angle lens.

Available from Sandmarc's website for $269.99, the Telephoto Tetraprism Lens for iPhone is a 48mm attachment that provides 2x magnification of the built-in telephoto lens. This allows the iPhone 17 Pro models to achieve 8x optical zoom at full 48MP resolution, or up to 16x magnification at 24MP (384mm equivalent). On iPhone 16 Pro models and the iPhone 15 Pro Max, meanwhile, it can reach 10x optical zoom (240mm equivalent).

While add-on lenses for phones aren't new, Sandmarc's strategy of targeting the dedicated telephoto camera rather than the main sensor is a big departure. Most third-party smartphone lenses mount over the primary wide-angle camera, which limits their effectiveness when trying to extend telephoto reach.

Unique design

This approach follows similar thinking from Chinese manufacturers Oppo and Vivo, which have recently showcased add-on telephoto attachments for their flagship phones. However, Sandmarc's lens seems to be the first commercially available product designed specifically for iPhone's tetraprism periscope system.

The tetraprism telephoto camera, introduced with the iPhone 15 Pro Max and now featured across the iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro lineup, uses a folded light path to achieve longer focal lengths within the constraints of a thin smartphone body. Apple's native 5x optical zoom (120mm equivalent on iPhone 17 Pro Max) provides the starting point for Sandmarc's magnification boost.

The Sandmarc lens features multi-element, multi-coated glass construction designed to minimize flare and maintain color accuracy across the extended zoom range. At 143g, it adds noticeable weight to the phone, although this is obviously typical for add-on lenses.

The mounting system uses a dedicated case that aligns the lens precisely with the iPhone's middle telephoto camera. Sandmarc has designed the attachment to work with its existing filter system, allowing photographers to add polarizers or neutral density filters when needed.

Importantly, you can only use it with recent Pro and Pro Max models (iPhone 17 Pro and Pro Max, iPhone 16 Pro and Pro Max, and iPhone 15 Pro Max), as these are the only iPhones equipped with the tetraprism telephoto system. Each iPhone model requires its own specific case for proper alignment.

Practical issues

It's an intriguing approach that holds a lot of promise. The 52-degree field of view and true optical magnification should theoretically deliver sharper results than digital zoom alone, particularly for subjects like distant architecture, wildlife or sporting events.

On the downside, adding an external lens will increase the phone's bulk, and the 57.3mm height means it will protrude significantly from the device. Stabilization becomes increasingly critical at longer focal lengths, and while recent iPhone models feature impressive sensor-shift stabilization, handheld shooting at 16x magnification will test both the technology and your own technique.

Could there also be a trade-off in image quality? Adding glass elements inevitably introduces potential for aberrations, vignetting or light loss, though Sandmarc's multi-coating should mitigate some concerns.

A review unit is currently with our testers, so watch this space and we'll soon let you know what it's actually like to use in practice.

Check out our guide to the best add-on lenses for iPhones and Android phones

To be honest, as a long time Apple customer, I've been starting to get a bit disappointed in Apple. I love tech, so much so I've got some Google Glass Explorer Edition rotting in a box in the loft, and it's disappointed me that – as Meta announce the Ray-Ban camera glasses with display, and Google is waiting in the wings – Apple has seemingly done nothing with all it has learned from the Vision Pro.

In fact, it has been reported by Bloomberg (paywall) and long-time Apple predictor Mark Gurman – a source who has got a fair few things right about Apple in the past – that the company is pushing harder into its iPhone line, at the expense (perhaps) of these new technologies. And perhaps – thinking from a photographic perspective – Apple has a point.

I have bought a new iPhone every year and lamented the lack of innovation of late – though I'll admit that iPhone 17 cheered me up more than the 16. The snazzy orange color was not what did it for me. To be honest the external re-design left me feeling a little hurt, like Tim Cook had lied to me about Titanium. He'd only just convinced me it was a brilliant idea and, all of a sudden, it's back to aluminum. (Leaving aside the seeming dishonesty, this is a metal which is all the more frustrating for someone writing for both the USA and the UK!)

No, my favorite generational improvement with the iPhone 17 was the arrival of a 48-megapixel sensor in the tele lens, meaning it produced good-looking photos across the creative range that I chose to use. I don't like the effect of 'digital zoom' and now it is less of a worry.

That's because my iPhone is my 'compact camera', and it has been for a long time. My other camera is a Sony A7 iii – and an assortment of Action cameras, 360 cameras and drones – flying cameras – which means most of my day-to-day life will get caught with my phone. And I think that the level of control involved is just right.

Sure, the upcoming generation of glasses with cameras will have ever more AI and, crucially, a display. The $800 Meta Ray-Ban Display's screen (visible only to the wearer of the slightly thick sunglasses) could, my colleague noted, serve as a possible viewfinder. But will this tech be ready to take most of the photos we want soon?

Honestly, I think not. I remember this from my Google Glass, so I'm aware that the quality will have moved on a little – I have not personally tried the Meta Ray-Ban Display Glasses – but, conceptually, you need to capture an image or video by pointing your head in that direction.

That's fine for a bit of clumsy sharing of circumstances and funny things, but I think the average person wants a little bit more control over the pictures they share. Framing the picture – composition – is a lot easier with something you can hold in your hand and see a screen.

Next many people don't like to share an image until they've tweaked it and that's definitely a lot easier on a 'real' screen – glasses displays are transparent, even if the tech was as quick and as powerful as your phone. Not to mention the fact that there just isn't the range of apps, and won't be for a long while. Living in the metaverse sounds very limiting to me.

That's not to say that I don't still want them. I mean it's high tech and futuristic and different.

There are definitely a lot of scenarios in which it seems an awesome tech that Apple just doesn't have an answer for. And I still think it should.

But if I were Apple, and I would definitely (especially to my friends at an investor-friendly publication like Bloomberg) be wanting to talk more about the iPhone because, if we're honest, the vast majority of people are still going to feel more comfortable with phones for most things.

And that is going to include photography and videography. Apple is absorbing the high end there even if some of the lower end is drifting off to smart glasses.

So the news – or at least strong rumors – says that Apple is putting even more into phones makes a lot of sense. And that we'll see the folding phone (the iPhone Air was really just a "technology exercise" to prepare the supply chain, suggests Gruman), and up to five or six new models a year – possibly spaced out so the company doesn't have to rely on one big event.

Check out our guide to the best camera glasses you can buy right now

When your granny proudly gives you the socks she has spent months knitting as a gift, you have to be nice even though ultimately it's a massively disappointing present compared to the tech you were hoping for. But what if the socks came from the biggest name in tech – Apple? I'm not sure it's any better!

Apple has launched what it says will be a limited edition range for this winter, a knitted iPhone Pocket, the product of a collaboration with the house of designer Issey Miyake.

Issey Miyake himself, a Hiroshima survivor, was known for the influence of tech in his designs, and for pleats, which are reflected in the fabric (or, as Apple put it, "singular 3D-knitted construction") of the 'socks' – they certainly seem more chic than the ones I'd get from the store for my dad on his birthday, I'll give them that!

Some of Apple's promotional materials show the shorter pocket tied around the handles of designer handbags and it's difficult to deny their cool, but (writing from outside the security cordon of a fashion show) the practicalities seem alarming. Why would you want your iPhone dangling around outside your bag, drawing the attention of just anyone?

For those with a long memory, Apple has actually sold socks before. In 2004 Steve Jobs himself introduced customers to packs of iPod Socks – note the plural. Just $29 would buy you a pack of six knitted socks which could protect your music player and change the color. Admittedly, this wasn't something I would be paying what still amounts to nearly $50 adjusted for inflation – but, well, it's a number for comparison!

This time you'll need a bit more money just for one. The socks will come in at $150/£139.95 for the short strap and a whopping $230/£219.95 for the long strap 'mini shoulder bag' variant, and they will be available from November 14.

Oh, and if you need reminding that fashion is an exclusive world, the pockets will only be available to see in real life in ten Apple Stores, including London (Regent Street), Paris (Marché Saint-Germain), New York (SoHo), and Milan (Piazza Liberty). Oh, and the whole internet Apple Store of course!

Remember when I wrote about foldables becoming the future of phones? Well, Apple's apparently been paying attention. According to leaks, the tech giant's first foldable iPhone, which is expected in 2027, will pack a 24MP under-display camera on its inner screen. That's six times the resolution of Samsung's latest attempt, so it's fair to see this as a big swing.

For photographers, this matters. It's about whether Apple can solve a problem that's plagued every manufacturer who's tried: making a camera work properly when it's literally hidden behind pixels.

Under-display cameras sound brilliant in theory. Hide the lens behind the screen, give users an uninterrupted display, and everyone's happy. Samsung tried this for years on its Galaxy Z Fold series, using a 4MP sensor. The result? Images that are soft, hazy and lacking detail. The kind of muddy quality that made you instantly reach for the cover screen's regular camera instead.

Apple's entering this space just as its biggest rival is rumored to be walking away from it. That's a sign of how confident it is.

And the leaked specs suggest Apple isn't just iterating; it's attempting something fundamentally different. That 24MP sensor represents a massive leap. More megapixels mean more light-gathering potential and greater detail, which could compensate for the inevitable light loss from being behind the display.

What this means in practice

According to reports, Apple's supplier LG Innotek has developed what it calls a "freeform optic" lens array; a multi-element system specifically engineered to counteract distortion and brightness loss caused by the display layers above. 

Apple's also said to be continuing its Center Stage technology from the iPhone 17, which uses wider fields of view and intelligent cropping for video calls. If that works through an under-display lens, the benefits for anyone using their foldable for client calls could be substantial.

For video calls with clients, a 24MP under-display camera with proper optics might finally deliver quality that doesn't look like 2010. And with that expansive inner screen, you're presenting photography and video work at a scale that does it justice.

The rumored spec sheet reveals other priorities, too. The foldable iPhone will reportedly have just two rear cameras – 48-megapixel main and ultrawide sensors –dropping the telephoto. No LiDAR either. Apple's clearly prioritizing thinness, addressing one of the biggest complaints about current foldables.

Meanwhile, authentication shifts to Touch ID on the side button rather than Face ID. This is probably inevitable given the engineering challenges of fitting Face ID's sensor array into a thin foldable design.

I should emphasize, of course, that we're purely talking about leaks, rumors and conjecture: Apple's not said anything official about any of this. And Apple's "iFold" phone is not even rumored to appear for almost another two years.

But here's what feels certain: foldables are no longer a curiosity. They're becoming mainstream, and Apple's about to make them impossible to ignore. So the question now is whether they can finally make under-display cameras so good, we forget they're there at all.

Check out our guide to the best fold phones you can get right now, and the best iPhones in 2025

We've covered the prospect of camera-like sensors built into Apple AirPods before, used to build up an image of the room around them for all kinds of AI goodness. This tech requires sight, and (artificial) sight requires cameras. So that's the pieces in place but, until this week, it all seemed like something in the dim, distant future.

Now, however, those in the know – including Mark Gurman – are starting to put dates on the possible devices that don't sound completely out of reach.

And in my area of expertise, of course – which is camera drones, for those not obsessively following my career – there are already plenty of options that use camera tech to 'see' the world, and this technology is used for collision avoidance systems more than anything else.

Interestingly, the tech is so 'old hat' in drones – at least three years old, now – that the latest thing is now the addition of additional cameras that can see beyond the usual optical range (tech like LiDAR), meaning collision avoidance can happen in lower light.

However it's done, lenses and optics on AirPods could enable headphones to build a picture of the space around them and feed that back to a computing device (for example, an iPhone sat in a pocket) – and this, now, might be how AI gets to grips with the world around you.

This comes at the same time Apple might be junking, or at least shelving, the idea of a Vision Air goggles system.

Looking closely at the successes of Meta, it is likely apparent to Apple that glasses and augmented reality is more likely to be a mainstream hit than ski goggles. And while the new M5 Vision Pro might keep the system in contention for a little longer for high-end users, it doesn't have the kind of breakthrough pricing that is going to see Apple's goggles in every home.

A system that involves glasses would also need to garner information about the world around it, like the Vision Pro, but ideally would have no more bulk than the kind of thing you might see adorning Buddy Holly.

Whether Apple has really got the right idea, expecting you to buy and carry AirPods, Buddy Holly-augmented reality glasses (iVision?) and perhaps a phone to get the full experience of the tech is another matter.

Instead, this might just be a pivot point like the original iPad – but one in which Apple cedes ground to another company. Meta, after all, has been working on the glasses idea for some time already.

Oh, and I've not even begun to cover the possible privacy and security implications of people having cameras hidden about their person that aren't really cameras but provide cover for people that have actual cameras discreetly tucked in their ears…

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Apple’s flagship tablets have been inching closer to laptop-level performance, and the tech giant’s latest update aims to designate the iPad Pro as a portable production studio. Announced on October 15, Apple says the iPad Pro M5 is for “creative projects of any size” with faster performance and more multitasking capabilities.

The headlining feature on the 2025 update to the iPad Pro series is the new M5 chip, which Apple also integrated into the new MacBook Pro M5. iPadOS 26 is also behind a number of updates, while specs for the tablet's cameras and screen remain similar to the predecessor.

The new M5 chip is made with a 10-core GPU that integrates a Neural Accelerator into each core, a change that Apple says creates a significant boost in AI performance. On AI tasks, the M5 iPad Pro offers up to 3.5 times the performance compared to the M4 model and up to 5.6x faster than the older M1.

But the M5’s benefits extend beyond AI. The faster processor translates to more speed in the most intense tasks, as well as improvements in multitasking. In video editing, for example, the new iPad Pro M5 has up to 6x faster video transcode performance in Final Cut Pro compared to the M1 version and up to 1.2 times faster than the earlier M4 version. AI video upscaling in DaVinci Resolve is up to 3.7x faster than the M1 and up to 2.3 times faster than the M4.

Upgraded memory and faster access to stored files also translate to read and write speeds up to two times faster, thanks to memory that starts at 12GB (compared to 8GB) and goes up to 16GB on models with 1TB or more storage.

Apple tosses out phrases like “creative projects of any size” on the iPad Pro webpage, continuing the M4 model’s success with video editing and Multicam capabilities. Apple says the iPad can become a “versatile production studio” with the ability to connect up to four iPhones or iPads with Live Multicam in Final Cut Pro, along with the ability to shoot, edit, and share all from one device.

The iPad Pro M5’s camera array, however, carries the same specs as the M4 version, including the 12MP wide camera and compatibility with 4K ProRes video and Smart HDR stills. The selfie camera continues the 12MP Center Stage, which helps keep users centered on video calls.

Like the previous M4 model, the iPad Pro supports ProRes video at up to 4K and 30 fps, excluding the base 256GB model, and can upgrade that ProRes to 60fps when using external recording.

Apple describes the four integrated mics as “studio quality,” continuing the audio hardware from the M4 model.

Like the camera and mics, the specs for the new iPad’s display retain the specs of the predecessor, with an Ultra-Retina XDR display. Support for external monitors, however, has expanded to 120Hz, which could be a key update for video editing.

While battery life remains at up to 10 hours on Wi-Fi, the new iPad is fast charge capable with the ability to get up to 50 percent in 35 minutes when using a 60W or higher USB-C charger.

The cellular version of the iPad Pro gains a new C1X cellular modem designed by Apple, which the company says offers up to 50 percent faster performance and up to 30 percent less power consumption when using cellular data compared to the M4 iPad Pro.

The new iPad Pro ships with iPadOS 26, Apple’s operating system update announced in September. That includes a new menu bar accessible in some apps with a swipe down from the top. Background Tasks will give creators more insight by displaying the progress of exports and other intensive tasks running in the background.

The iPad Pro M5’s similar specs for the camera and display likely won’t sway many who have already invested in the M4 version, but the M5 continues to create a significant performance gap in models that are a few years old with the M1 chip.

The iPad Pro M5 will come in both 11-inch and 13-inch variants and is expected to begin shipping on October 22. Pre-orders have already opened, with the base model starting at $999 / £999 / AU$1,699 / CA$1399.

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Apple has unveiled its latest silicon, the M5 chip – and with it a new flagship laptop that’s as much as 6x faster than devices with the older M1 chip. The Apple MacBook Pro M5 focuses on improved performance through Apple’s newest silicon, but the MacBook Pro M5 delivers more than just a new AI-focused chip, including faster SSD performance for a noticeable improvement in importing RAW files and the longest battery life yet in MacBook’s history.

The headlining feature is Apple’s new M5 chip, which uses a 10-core GPU design with a Neural Accelerator in each core. Apple says that translates to dramatically faster AI workloads with up to 3.5x faster AI tasks compared to the M4 chip and up to 6x compared to the older M1 chip.

But while the M5 and AI performance demands much of the attention surrounding the new launch, the October 15 announcement hides a few features that could be significant for photo and video editing, not text-to-image generation.

That same M5 chip behind the AI speed improvements also delivers up to 1.6x faster graphics compared to the M4. Multi-tasking in creative apps, Apple says, is also boosted with the new chip, along with performance boosts to the most demanding workflows, like working with 4K in Adobe Premiere Pro.

Apple says the new laptop’s SSD performance is up to twice as fast, which means a significant improvement in working with RAW photos and large video files.

The M5 MacBook Pro also brings the best battery life yet of any previous MacBook, with Apple giving the laptop up to 24 hours of juice. Photographers and videographers will also be eager to know that the M5 edition still has an SDXC memory card reader, along with multiple Thunderbolt ports and an HDMI port with support for up to two external displays. (Apple removed the SD card slot in the Pro in 2016, but brought it back in 2021).

The newest MacBook Pro M5 is only available in a 14-inch size, and continues the Liquid Retina XDR display found in the M4 models, which includes 1 billion colors, refresh rates up to 120Hz, and a one-million-to-one contrast ratio for a wide dynamic range.

While the M5 delivers some performance enhancements over the M4 models, the most noticeable difference will be coming from users upgrading from an M1 chip introduced in 2020 as well as older Intel-based models. Intel upgraders can expect as much as 30x faster GPU, 5.5x faster CPU, and up to 86x faster AI performance, along with as much as 14 more hours of battery life. M1 upgraders can expect up to 6.8x faster GPU performance, and up to 2x faster CPU, with an additional four hours of battery life.

The 14-inch MacBook Pro M5 comes in at the same starting price as the previous model – which is $1,599 / £1,599 / AU$2,499 / CA$2,099 for 16GB of memory and 512GB of storage. The laptop will also be available in configurations with 24GB or 32GB of memory and up to 4TB of internal SSD storage, as well as upgrades like a nano-texture display.

Pre-orders have already opened, with shipping expected to begin on October 22.

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I've had an iPhone since the 3GS back in 2009, and I've always made sure that, as soon as I received my shiny new phone, I bought a case for it. After all, these are expensive devices, so it's vital to protect them from the daily rigors that life can throw at them. But I've never bought an official Apple case. Why? Because they're so darned pricey and, to be honest, really don't seem to be anything particularly special to demand their top-dollar price tag.

The third-party alternatives, on the other hand, come in all manner of interesting designs. There are eye-catching patterns that exude personality, ultra-thin ones woven from the same hi-tech material as bullet-proof jackets, models with built-in kick-stands for watching video in comfort, and cases with a twist-lock for secure attachment to running armbands, bike handlebars, and a whole lot more besides. Heck, I have written a whole buying guide to the best iPhone 17 cases I've personally tried and tested for my latest baby.

But there was a problem with one of the cases I had on test: its pass-through camera control button behaved erratically, activating the camera without warning, not zooming properly, and taking a lot of unwanted photos of my feet.

The big advantage Apple has over its rivals is that it can properly test its cases with each new model phone. The third-party manufacturers (allegedly) rely on all manner of nefarious means to obtain the blueprints to ensure that they have the correct dimensions and precise button placements for the new phone models, but has no opportunity to actually properly test them. And as the greatest demand for cases is around the launch of each new iPhone model, it's essential that their cases are manufactured and ready for sale on day one

Quad Lock, the company behind the case in question, acted immediately and advised users to pop out the faulty camera control button as an interim measure, and has promised a replacement to be mailed to everyone who has purchased the iPhone 17 version of their case. Despite this teething issue, I still rate this as the best iPhone 17 case for sporty types, as this is the one with the twist-lock mechanism, which I've found to be completely reliable and absolutely brilliant, and I have no qualms whatsoever running with it strapped to my arm, or mountain biking down unforgiving trails to record my downhill adventures.

So when you buy an Apple own-brand case, you know it's going to work, and that's a very good reason to buy one. But there are still lots of reasons to get a third-party case instead, so don't miss my guide to the best alternative iPhone 17 cases.

But if only an Apple-branded case will do, here are the best iPhone 17 Silicone Case deals we could find!