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The Pixel 3 has 2018’s best smartphone camera
Let's be honest. We're a generation obsessed with taking and sharing photos. In recent years, our phone cameras have become so capable they've essentially killed point-and-shoots. This year, Huawei released a phone with three cameras on its rear, forcing us to wonder if we have officially gone too far with our sensor obsession. But companies like Apple and Google continue to prove that good software is a key part of a solid camera while Samsung's flagships remind us that there is room for innovation in mechanisms like dual aperture and dual-pixel autofocus. Ultimately, though, the best camera would deliver a mix of clever software with high-quality glass, and 2018's flagships did not disappoint.
Samsung’s Galaxy A9 is the first quad camera phone
Google's Pixel 3 reveal came and went earlier this week, bringing us ever closer to the end of new flagship season. For Samsung, the past few months have revolved around the Galaxy Note 9, but the company saved a little something special for its next mid-range device. Samsung may have already announced a mid-tier handset with three rear cameras, the Galaxy A7, a couple of weeks ago. But today, it's going one better with the new Galaxy A9, the world's first quad camera smartphone.
Huawei's P20 Pro rivals the best smartphone cameras out there
We're a skeptical bunch at Engadget, and when Huawei briefed us on its P20 Pro smartphone, listing an endless torrent of specifications and dubbing its Leica Triple Camera system "the most advanced camera on a phone yet," we collectively rolled our eyes. Forty-megapixel camera sensor? I've heard that one before, Huawei. It was only once I was able to test the P20 Pro away from briefing rooms and technical demos (spending a day shooting around a rain-soaked Paris) that the phone started to win me over -- and others. If you like the idea of an accomplished 5x zoom function, and the potential for gorgeous nighttime photography, you have to consider Huawei's latest phones.
VSCO brings GIFs to its main iPhone app
In October, Giphy reported that it has over 100 million users every day. Yes, GIFs are huge, and camera app VSCO wants in. That's why, back in 2015, it introduced DSCO. The iOS-only spin-off app allows users to create looping images and share them on the company's own portal or their favorite social networks. Today, VSCO announced that it's reducing phone clutter by bringing DSCO's GIF-making capabilities to its main app.
Gadget Rewind 2005: BenQ Z2
BenQ may not be a familiar name to some -- at least not in the US -- but its roots in the electronics industry date back to the '80s. The company, formerly a division of Acer, was spun off in 2001 in an attempt to build a brand name for itself. With a background in manufacturing, BenQ began building devices for companies like Nokia and Motorola; devices that were mostly for sale in Asian markets. Soon, it started its own line of mobile handsets and in 2005, BenQ announced a cube-like multimedia device called the Z2. It was poised to compete with the other camera-toting and music-playing cellphones at the time, while also targeting the youth market with its unique form factor and colorful exteriors. Curious to know more? Check out our gallery below.
Galaxy K Zoom review: Samsung's best cameraphone yet
Samsung is on a mission to build the perfect cameraphone. Low-quality fixed lenses and tiny smartphone sensors are clearly insufficient for photography enthusiasts, but while you always bring your phone to parties, sporting events and trips to the zoo, it's often impractical to haul along a dedicated camera as well. The Galaxy K Zoom is Samsung's response to this dilemma, marrying a 10x optical zoom lens with an otherwise ordinary Android handset. It's hardly the best camera, or the best smartphone, but if you're willing to make some compromises, this may just be the most compelling option yet.
Samsung's latest smartphone-camera hybrid launches in the UK tomorrow
Samsung appears intent on single-handedly bringing back the word "cameraphone," if the Galaxy S4 Zoom and recently announced Galaxy K Zoom are anything to go by. The newer of the two does a much better job of hiding its hybrid bloodline, and tomorrow (May 31st) it arrives in the UK at various online and bricks-and-mortar outlets, including at Carphone Warehouse and Samsung's own Experience stores. If the official K Zoom product page is any indication, you'll be looking at around £400 all-in, and we doubt they'll be a wealth of carrier-subsidised deals on offer for the niche device. The K Zoom doesn't quite rival the Galaxy S5 in terms of raw power, but it's the 20.7-megapixel camera with 10x optical zoom you'll be buying it for; and, how can you resist something with a Selfie Alarm mode?
Samsung's 'Kapture The Moment' event hints at new camera-centric phone
Samsung just posted a mysterious invitation for an April 29th event, but it'd be more intriguing if we hadn't already seen alleged specs and a picture (after the break) of the soon-to-be-revealed device. That'd be the Galaxy K Zoom, reportedly an Android 4.4.2 KitKat camera phone with a 20-megapixel 10X optical zoom and Xenon flash. The invite seems to confirm a change from Samsung's usual naming scheme of matching its flagship-du-jour, like last year's Galaxy S4 Zoom. That may be because the new device bears little resemblance to the current Galaxy S5, with the leaked specs showing a much milder quad-core 1.6GHz CPU and 4.8-inch, 720p screen. In case you missed all the qualifiers, none of this has been verified by Samsung, so don't get too excited (or not) until the end of the month.
Lightstrap: an iPhone case that's all flash (hands-on)
Trying to take a good picture in a dimly lit nightclub is hard enough, but doing so on a camera phone? Nearly impossible. Engadget Live San Francisco was hosted in such a dark establishment, which made it the perfect venue for the folks at Brick & Pixel to seek us out. The company's first product, Lightstrap, just happens to be an iPhone 5s case designed specifically for shooting in dark places. Company founder Cassidy Clawson brought prototype to Engadget's table, pointing out a flash ring running around its outer-edge. Powered by the case's own 1000MAh battery, this LED array promises to light over 500 photos with a flash ten times brighter than the iPhone's native camera. We gave the rig a shot: the above image of Lightstrap was shot with a Lightstrap in a dark corner behind Temple Nightclub's first floor bar. We have to admit, it seemed to work -- images shot with the lighted case were brighter and significantly less grainy for the sake of the larger flash. Sure, a few of our test subjects squinted in the face of the souped-up kit, but it did deliver on its promise: brighter shots in dimmer places. Undocking the phone reveals a light sensor covering the iPhone's embedded flash -- a trick that grants it universal compatibility with any flash-enabled camera app. Clawson says this allows the case to shine on while shooting video too, though we didn't get a chance to try this out in our brief time with the product. Care to see how that looks? Check out the team's Kickstarter page: their pitch video was shot and lit by -- you guessed it -- a Lightstrap equipped iPhone.
Photographer Dean Holland of Take Better Photos reviews the iPhone 5s camera
Over the past few years, Apple has devoted a lot of time and attention toward improving the camera on the iPhone. Indeed, one only needs to take a look at this great commercial to see the immense pride Apple takes in churning out iPhone cameras that consumers absolutely love to use. With the iPhone 5s, Apple has really upped the ante, introducing a number of new software enhancements and hardware improvements that, together, make the 5s a compelling device for mobile photography enthusiasts. As is often the case when any new camera-based phone hits the market, an frequently asked question is: How does the device perform from the vantage point of a photography professional? To help answer that question, Dean Holland of TakeBetterPhotos.com recently penned a detailed review of the iPhone 5s camera. Holland acknowledges that he began his review with a skeptical eye, but was soon won over by the iPhone 5s' snappy performance. Compared to the iPhone 5, the camera on the 5s flies. The new burst mode discreetly shoots 10 full-quality pictures per second for 100 seconds, and it works very well. Too well. If you pick up the phone the wrong way, you can take 999 photos before you know what's happened. I did. That's not to say the iPhone 5s is an adequate replacement for a standalone point-and-shoot. As part of his review, Holland compared iPhone 5s shots against photos taken with the iPhone 5, the Samsung Galaxy S 4 and a Panasonic LX5 point-and-shoot released in 2010. Holland found that the Panasonic still reigned supreme, if only by an arguably small margin. If you're a serious photography-head, the entire review is worth a read. While Holland, overall, likes many of the improvements on the iPhone 5s, he still believes there's room for improvement (i.e., focusing issues, no zoom, battery life). Holland adds: If getting the best technical quality and detail is important to you, none of the improvements in the iPhone 5s is likely to appeal. Picture quality in good light hasn't improved compared to the iPhone 5 -- arguably it's deteriorated a little. Picture quality in poor light has improved considerably, but is still far short of both the quality and usability of a dedicated camera for night photography. Holland's concluding remarks, however, help to illustrate why the iPhone camera is the most popular one around. It's just so darn fun and easy to use. Looked at from a technical perspective, the iPhone 5s camera is another casual step forward for iPhones. And with the exception of the clever flash system, most of the photographic improvements seem to come from its processor, rather than from revolutionary hardware. The biggest change lies in the extra speed and flexibility. But I'd argue that technical innovation is not what this phone is about. I've found the iPhone 5s to be the most fun iPhone camera to date. Instead of extra pixels, I'm enjoying the speed, performance and the new party tricks of burst shooting, slow-motion video and easier, better low-light shooting. It's the most 'invisible' of the phones, as it just gets out of your way, so you can enjoy what you're doing. If you like shooting on smartphones, I'd recommend that you give it a try. And speaking of slow-motion video, yesterday we highlighted how creative and funky slow-motion videos shot with an iPhone 5s are beginning to flood YouTube. I can only imagine that this trend will increase tremendously in the weeks and months to come. And while some videophiles might rightfully gripe that slo-mo on the iPhone 5s isn't slow enough to be to their liking, the easy-to-use software lets folks who would never otherwise even touch a video-editing program shoot slow-mo video with ease.
Samsung's Galaxy S4 Zoom with LTE launches in Europe
We can't say that we were bowled over by the Galaxy S4 Zoom when we gave it the review treatment last month. That being said, if you've decided that the 16-megapixel Frankamphone fits your needs, you live in Europe and have been waiting for the LTE version to arrive, then today's the day. Samsung's just announced the Zoom avec LTE is now available across Europe, and has named Deutsche Telekom, Tele2, Telia Sonera and Orange as some of the networks that'll carry it. The launch is particularly timely for the UK, which just yesterday saw two carriers flip the 4G switch and another announce when its speedy network will go live. Hit up your local LTE merchant for the finer details, like when you'll actually be able to buy the Android-powered cameraphone and how much your wallet is going to hate you for doing so.
Oppo N-Lens render leaks out, looks more smartphone than camera
There's no evidence yet that the budding camera / smartphone hybrid category's going to blossom into a winner, but that's not stopping new entrants from hopping on the bandwagon. We've heard that Oppo is about to jump into the fray with the N-Lens series, and a leaked render shows what it may look like. If real, it packs a slightly protruding zoom lens with a flash positioned to the side and a 12-megapixel sensor, according to the close-up image (after the break). Though supposedly inspired by the Galaxy Camera, it also reveals a decidedly more smartphone-esque form factor than Samsung's model. Until more specs and info arrive through official channels, though, you'd best assume the render is a figment of someone's imagination.
Switched On: The camera phone
Each week Ross Rubin contributes Switched On, a column about consumer technology. In that human-behavior lab known as the New York City subway, a vacationing family recently sought to get in a group self-portrait on their last day in the Big Apple. But the rocking train kept thwarting the capture of their jostled bodies. To frame the picture, they tried trading the quality of their smartphone's rear camera for the one above the phone's display so they could better preview the picture, but still had trouble composing the shot. Finally, a local passenger riding with them stepped in and offered to take their photo, which he did to their expressions of gratitude. The incident served as an illustration of the often precarious situations in which we use our smartphone cameras. Had their phone been Nokia's Lumia 1020 and the stranger not intervened, the 41 megapixels of light-capturing prowess might have gone for naught as the family would've had to rely on the phone's middling front-facing camera.
Samsung Galaxy S4 Zoom gets reviewed before it's even official (updated)
If previous leaks had us fairly convinced Samsung's Galaxy S4 Zoom cameraphone was a real device, this latest one has us certain. A Russian website has published what can only be described as a full review of the Zoom, before it's even been made official. The main camera hosts a 16-megapixel sensor and is capable of 10x optical zoom, performed by rotating a ring that runs around the lens; this ring is also used to launch the camera mode. A piece of glass sits flush with the end of the lens for dust protection, and a xenon flash will give you extra light when you need it. Inside, the Zoom is similar to the S4 Mini, running a dual-core 1.5GHz Exynos processor, 1.5GB of RAM and eight gigs of internal storage (naturally, there's a microSD slot for boosting that). Facing you is a 4.3-inch qHD (960 x 540) display showing Android 4.2.2 (with a TouchWiz coating, of course), a 1.9-megapixel front-facing camera, and powering the whole thing is a huge 2,330mAh removable battery. For connection and communication, you've got WiFi, Bluetooth 4.0, NFC and the increasingly popular IR blaster, but it appears the Russian model doesn't have an LTE radio. From the raft of sample pictures available, image quality looks pretty good on the whole. hi-tech.mail.ru reports that the Zoom is scheduled to launch in Russia in July at a cost of 19,990 rubles, or around $618 by conversion. Update: Samsung's gone and announced the thing, but it's still worth heading to the source for all the hardware shots, sample pictures and first impressions. If you're in a rush, we've put a profile shot of the cameraphone and our favorite sample image from the review after the break. [Thanks, Max]
Mobile Miscellany: week of June 3rd, 2013
If you didn't get enough mobile news during the week, not to worry, because we've opened the firehose for the truly hardcore. This week brought additional peeks at the purported Nokia EOS cameraphone, leaked screenshots of the BlackBerry OS 10.2 update and the arrival of a new budget smartphone from Huawei in the UK. These stories and more await after the break. So buy the ticket and take the ride as we explore all that's happening in the mobile world for this week of June 3rd, 2013.
Purported Galaxy S 4 Zoom flaunts its profile in multiple leaks
Samsung is no stranger to teasing its fans, and with expectations running high that it'll introduce a true cameraphone -- the Galaxy S 4 Zoom -- in London on June 20th, you'll have to forgive us for being more than curious for what's in store. We've already seen a hint of such a device at the FCC, but now it seems that we may be looking at the hybrid phone / camera in all its eyebrow-raising glory. Thanks to SamMobile and TechTastic, we're treated to purported renders and "in the wild" shots of the Galaxy S 4 Zoom, which line up with expectations that it'll be based on the Galaxy S 4 Mini. If this is the real deal, in addition to similar specs, it seems that we can expect a dedicated shutter button on the righthand side, which is situated below a volume rocker that's said to activate the camera's optical zoom lens. On the opposing side of the cameraphone, you'll find a dedicated tripod mount. Could this be an intentional leak in response to a similar outing from Nokia? Only time will tell, but we hope to know for sure in the coming days.
Flood of leaked images suggest Nokia EOS smartphone with huge PureView camera
Images of an alleged Nokia EOS chassis have leaked from what appears to be a factory, lending some credence to previous rumors of a camera-centric handset from the Finnish outfit. Shots from GSM Arena and others also show what looks like a Nokia Lumia 920, right down to the position of the ports and buttons -- but with an enormous camera bump that takes up almost half of the back cover. So far we've seen it leak out in yellow, red and black, and if it's real, looks to be the holy grail that many Nokia lovers have been seeking: a Lumia 920 and Pureview 808 mashup, resulting in a 41-megapixel WP8 handset. All that giddiness aside, such a device could merely be a prototype and will stay a rumor until confirmed by Nokia -- meanwhile, you can check the source and coverage links below for many, many more images, and decide for yourself.
i-mobile flaunts IQ X and IQ XA Android smartphones with 8MP front and 18MP rear cameras, laughs at megapixel myth
Once upon a time (2007) in a land far, far away (Thailand) lived the i-mobile 902, a pseudo Sony Ericsson W800 clone featuring a trick five-megapixel autofocus camera with a Sony-made CCD sensor and xenon flash. At the time, it produced shots with the most detail and best low-light performance we'd ever experienced on any cameraphone, ever -- make no mistake, it took several years before CMOS-based shooters caught up. It was a well made handset, but fell somewhat short in every other area besides imaging. Fast-forward to yesterday, when Thai phone manufacturer i-mobile published a series of pictures of the IQ X and IQ XA, a pair of thin, handsome-looking Android 4.2 devices with a 4.7-inch 720p display and MediaTek's quad-core 1.2GHz Cortex-A7 SoC (MT6589). Read on and we'll run through some of the more curious specs -- not least the resolution of the cameras.
RIM busts Mr. Blurrycam, patents tech to 'prevent inconspicuous use of cameras'
RIM's own smartphones have been the target of many a "Mr. Blurrycam" snap, but a new feature could put an end to "inconspicuous" shooting, according to a patent issued today. The tool would be in line with the company's mission to protect corporations from security vulnerabilities, which include not only unauthorized access to data, but also leaks from employees. According to the patent, "the camera restriction prevents a user from taking a picture of a subject if the device has not been steadily focused on the subject in question for a predetermined period of time." Just how long you need to keep your BlackBerry still could be dictated by individual IT departments, which would also have the power to flip the switch and push restrictions to an employee's device. While such a delay would certainly be an inconvenience for frequent shooters, it is a step forward from RIM's traditional strategy of shipping models without cameras altogether. We haven't seen any indication that such a technology will be implemented with future models, but thanks to the minds at RIM, patent junkies can get their fix now at the source link below.
Nokia to acquire Scalado, build a better Lumia (Updated)
Scalado has more than a few tricks squirreled away in its mobile imaging bag, tricks that have served the likes of HTC and RIM well. Now, Espoo want those tricks all to itself. After working with the Swedish firm for years, Nokia has decided to take its partnership with Scalado to the next level: acquisition. The imaging outfit will be turning over its developers, intellectual property, technology and moniker over to Nokia in the third quarter of 2012 -- although the terms of the deal are confidential. Finland's favorite smartphone manufacturer plans to use Scalado's technology to enhance "imaging experiences for Nokia Lumia devices." Sounds good to us. Check out the official (and brief) press release after the break. Update: Nokia has contacted us to amend its original statement somewhat. While it's acquiring the imaging company's developers, technologies and IP portfolio, it's not buying the company outright. We suspect that this is more a quirk of company law -- since Scalado still has obligations with HTC and RIM, it can't leave them in the lurch. We've included the follow-up statement after the jump.
