When I first did my hands-on with the Huawei Pura 90s Pro Max, I figured there was still room to push things further, and I was right to think so. But the interesting part is that it sometimes feels like the phone’s camera system has tricks up its sleeve that aren’t always apparent from the outset.
OnePlus has left the party. For a brand with a perpetual upstart status in a North American smartphone market that’s only getting worse by the year, OnePlus’ exit from North America and Europe is a loss by any measure, even if you find yourself wondering what I’m even talking about.
Huawei is back -- sort of. The brand that once looked like a serious disrupter in multiple markets only seven years ago is launching its photography-focused flagship phone for global users. The Huawei Pura 90s Pro Max nomenclature is an obvious reference (at least to me) to competitors but the imaging focus is what the Pura models are about.
The World Cup, probably the biggest and most captivating sporting event on Earth, is laden with photographers on the pitch but what about getting closer to the action as a fan? A smartphone with a teleconverter lens attached lands as a worthwhile alternative -- provided you have the right combination.
Not everyone needs or wants a foldable phone but if it’s thin and light enough to feel more like a standard smartphone, then is it worth taking the plunge? In many ways, this forms the basis of Honor’s pitch for its foldable lineup, the latest being the Magic V6. Rather than reinvent the category, it simply aims to build off the solid foundation it comes from.
When Honor launches a foldable phone, you can bet some firsts in the segment will come with the announcement. The Magic V6 is its latest flagship foldable smartphone, sporting the largest battery ever equipped in a foldable to date. The hinge is also rated at 2,800 MPa tensile strength.
When it comes to Android phones, Samsung is among the first to come up in conversation. The company built part of that cachet on the camera performance of its flagship Galaxy S series, but has long since abdicated the role of setting the pace for mobile camera hardware.
Vivo’s “Ultra” phones have always been the company’s best but this one is the first to venture outside the Chinese market. More like a phone in a camera than the other way around, it feels like a camera system built from the sum of its many parts.
The best camera features generally go to top flagships for good reason, but mid-range brands like Tecno always try to punch above their weight. The Tecno Camon 50 Ultra may be a phone you’ve never heard of, yet its camera system is varied enough to stand out.
The Oppo Find X9 Ultra will be the company’s first “Ultra” flagship to go beyond China’s borders, making it something of a global debut. Those in the know recognize the symbolism, but the backbone of this introduction begins and ends with the quadruple rear camera array.
Like its flagships, Vivo focuses on mobile photography with its mid-range V Series, and the V70 aims to carry that torch. While not a dramatic shift, key moves with the user experience make this a likeable device for several reasons.
If you ask me, some of the worst smartphone photos are those people take with front-facing cameras. Smaller sensors, smaller lenses, and fewer resources are big reasons why, and as rear cameras continue to evolve (some more than others, anyway), products are released to encourage users to turn their phones around and use the rear lenses instead.
DxO has released PhotoLab 9.6 to bring its more advanced noise reduction algorithms, only recently introduced when the company launched PureRAW 6. While this was an anticipated move, it makes official the expanded coverage for a wider range of cameras. This includes new edge-softening controls for its AI-based masking tools, along with a compressed DNG export option to reduce storage overhead.
I had no idea what to expect with the Oppo Reno 15 Pro once I unboxed it and started setting it up. Billed as an “all-in-one creative partner,” the general premise is to impress with the images it captures, and using it as much as I have, I’m surprised at what it delivers considering the specs.
Should Google have even bothered to make the Pixel 10a? I asked myself this question multiple times while using it because I couldn’t always tell where the distinctions lay with its predecessor.
vivo is taking mobile videography to new lengths in a very literal sense with the X300 Ultra, putting a professional cinema camera into your pocket. This means filmmakers and content creators can now capture professional-grade footage anytime, anywhere, without compromising on quality or creative control.
What happens when you put a small robot into a smartphone and let it control the camera? Honor’s Robot Phone is essentially built on that premise as an Android phone with a built-in gimbal. And the company says it will become a finished product coming to market at some point in 2026, starting in China first.
When it comes to Tecno’s Modular Magnetic Interconnection Technology, the company describes it as a “phone that grows on demand”. A magnetic-based system that allows users to stack components -- including various cameras -- onto the back of the phone makes it highly adaptable. At least in theory.
DxO has released PureRAW, characterizing the software as a foundational step in a photography workflow rather than just another editing tool. PureRAW’s primary focus doesn’t change with this launch, which is to work with RAW files before handing them off to other apps for more elaborate touches, be it in DxO PhotoLab, Lightroom, or Photoshop.
It seems fitting that on the centenary of the Leica I Model A, the German brand takes its iconic legacy and applies it to the Leica Leitzphone powered by Xiaomi. One hundred years after the first 35mm camera came to market, this device tries to mix modern and retro in ways other handsets don’t.
Samsung’s annual winter Unpacked event revealed the latest trio of flagship Galaxy S26 smartphones. The new devices largely preserve the familiar design language of recent years, continuing the company’s emphasis on software-driven upgrades rather than any dramatic makeover.
One look at the Asus Vivobook Pro 15 (2025) might be enough to dismiss its plastic-heavy build as little more than another PC lost in the shuffle. Asus figures you won’t feel that way once you open it up and take it for a creative-laden spin thanks to its attractive OLED screen and dependable performance.
Vaonis' new $99,000 Hyperia smart telescope with Canon optics is high-end astronomy gear with an astronomical price to match. Although designed primarily for educational institutions and museums, wealthy stargazers in the U.S. and the Middle East have already placed orders to get Hyperia's first deliveries in 2027.
Two companies are collaborating to create the “world’s first full AI-based image signal processor” to replace the hardware-based ISPs that have been core to digital imaging for decades. Chips&Media, a Korean IP provider for image processing, is working with Visionary.ai, an Israeli startup focused on low-light image processing, to develop this new ISP.
The Honor Magic 8 Pro is part photography upstart and part AI canvas in how it approaches still photos, relying more and more on what machine learning can do along the way.
For a company that’s made its name in high-end cables, chargers, and Bluetooth trackers, Rolling Square isn’t known for making cameras. First teased at IFA 2025 in Berlin, the Swiss brand unveiled its Await Camera at CES 2026 in Las Vegas and is set to bring it to market within the next few months. It is a throwback to disposable film cameras and relies heavily on prints.
As PetaPixel reported this week, Asus and GoPro have come together and birthed a co-branded special edition Asus ProArt GoPro Edition laptop that looks to cater to content creators, but is that who is it really for?
What would a parent do with the power to record a full game their son or daughter played in without touching the camera? The XbotGo Falcon just launched for pre-order at CES 2026 in Las Vegas as a $599 bet on capturing sporting events with the parallels of broadcast television.
Come in for the camera but stick around for the battery life. That’s one way to sum up the Oppo Find X9 Pro, a flagship smartphone that makes a strong case for being one of the top three in the world. And with a global version available, this is the kind of device that makes you think about how much you’ve been missing from the average flagship in North America.
This is DJI’s second gimbal within 12 months, following the Osmo Mobile 7P, and it can be viewed as something of a correction. That’s not to denigrate the OM7P, which remains a very capable gimbal unto itself, but the $159 Osmo Mobile 8 addresses numerous shortcomings of its predecessor.
As a Chinese brand, OnePlus skips the number 14 for cultural reasons, though after using the OnePlus 15 and its camera, I’m more likely to suggest the previous model was the lucky one. As a phone, the device is very impressive thanks to its outstanding battery life, gaming features, and superb software experience. Yet, as a camera system, it presents results that don’t feel like a worthy successor.
Nazi concentration camps have long been documented in all forms of media, but stepping through the gates of one on foot makes for a very different experience. Dachau was where it all began, setting off an industrialized machine of death and depravity that would later consume all of Europe during World War II.
DxO is rolling out a trio of significant software updates simultaneously for its flagship products -- DxO PhotoLab, DxO PureRAW, and Nik Collection. Each update focuses on the core competency of its respective program, with the company calling them “major enhancements” aimed at improving workflow integration, creative control, and overall image quality.
It only takes a few shots to realize just how different the Vivo X300 Pro is as a mobile photography tool. It is laden with improved performance and output, plus a photography kit made up of a 2.35x telephoto lens extender and grip with built-in physical controls and a 2300mAh battery. It's stacked.
The Osmo 360 is something of a reverse situation for DJI. Rather than being a category leader in this respect, the device is more of a response to what competitors like Insta360 have been doing. That widens the scope and scrutiny for what a camera like this could and should be, given the versatility DJI claims it has.
The Xiaomi 15T Pro and 15T are driven by their cameras and Leica co-engineering, and continue to outperform established competitors in North America. As these are global launches, obtaining either of these still requires importing them from online vendors. Or, if you happen to be in Europe, Asia, or one of the other available markets, buy it and bring it back.
DxO PhotoLab 9, the latest version of its RAW photo editing software, is one of the more significant updates in recent memory, simply because it finally tackles masking in a meaningful way. But there’s also more to it than a single feature upgrade.
Vivo is launching another mid-range smartphone from its V series, the V60, which adds a telephoto lens to the rear camera system. Vivo’s product cycle is faster than perhaps any other brand with exposure to multiple markets, considering it just launched the previous V50 a mere six months ago.
The 10th version of any flagship smartphone line should probably mean something, yet Google is launching its Pixel 10 series with no more fanfare than before. However, that doesn't mean there aren't changes worth being excited about.
Being small is what makes the Vivo X200 FE stand out from a crowd of bigger phones, thanks to its impressive knack for capturing images that others can’t or won’t.
Foldable phones aren’t camera trend-setters because they get their camera components from other models. The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7 is no different in carrying on that pattern, only this time it’s actually rocking a flagship-level main wide-angle camera.
Nothing ventured, nothing gained. As a brand hailing from Britain, Nothing has been around since 2020, and the Phone 3 is its first true flagship aimed at taking on the best in the industry.
Forget reaching for the S Pen when using the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7 -- the two won’t be working together, ever.
For the first time in years, Samsung attempted to revamp the general look and feel of its foldable phones, although one model appears to undergo a more significant change than the other. Going thinner is in vogue for foldables these days, as is maximizing screen space. Now, it's Samsung’s turn to follow the trend with the Galaxy Z Fold 7 and Flip 7.
The Honor 400 is a mid-range phone that is as much a showcase of the company’s AI features as it is about mobile photography.
Vivo is bringing its new X200 FE smartphone to select global markets, putting flagship-level specs into a smaller form factor. While it is part of the X200 series, the FE borrows elements from different models rather than a slimmed-down version of the X200 Pro or Ultra.
Lighting brand Harlowe has developed a limited edition Signature Kit of its lighting products in partnership with portrait photographer Mark Mann. The Mark Mann Signature Kit will be limited to just 30 worldwide, each with its own number.
The most advanced mobile photography features are a trickle-down affair where some end up being part of mid-range and affordable phones. That’s been Google’s Pixel A series in a nutshell, only in the case of the Pixel 9a, it also applies to the AI-driven tools that play a key role in the broader imaging package.
Razer has announced a new Blade 14 laptop that is mostly an upgrade from the previous model the company launched in 2024. It’s the thinnest and lightest Razer laptop to date and brings the newer 14-inch laptop in line with the latest CPU and GPU hardware.
Samsung looks to trim some fat and return to an age when smartphones can be unapologetically thin again. That’s the Galaxy S25 Edge in a nutshell. Samsung’s latest premium device is the lightest it has made in years.
