Despite some early reservations, I was left with an overall positive impression following my time with the Galaxy S24 Ultra.
Despite some early reservations, I was left with an overall positive impression following my time with the Galaxy S24 Ultra.
One that has superb battery life, is a pleasure to use and produces very pleasing photographs and videos.
The Pixel 7 Pro is yet another flagship stunner from Google. Its photographic talents alone are a good reason to upgrade, but when you factor in the improved performance, refined design and frankly exceptional display, the Pixel 7 Pro is practically faultless.
In many ways, this makes it the very epitome of an iterative Apple iPhone release. It’s boring, yes, and expensive of course but the iPhone 14 Pro is, inevitably, the best iPhone Apple has released so far.
In practice, however, the Hero 12 Black feels like a much refined action camera. GoPro’s image quality and stabilisation efficacy continue to be market-leading.
The Oppo Find X3 Pro is yet another high-priced tour-de-force and a further example that there’s absolutely no need to stick with the mainstream to get your flagship fix.
The Pixel 6 Pro is quite an upgrade.
Make no mistake about it, this is an outstandingly good smartphone at a very tempting price.
So there’s plenty to like about the Pixel 6a, then. Not that you should be surprised – after all, Google’s pedigree is well-documented at this point – but the Pixel 6a should still be applauded for squeezing this much stuff into a handset this affordable.
If DJI had released this camera a year ago at the lower price of £309 I’d have had no hesitation in recommending it as a cheaper alternative to the GoPro Hero11 Black for most people.
The Insta360 Go 3 is ultimately a bit of a difficult product to recommend. It’s novel, well engineered and extremely clever – but it’s a tad too expensive and limited to recommend wholeheartedly.
The Xiaomi 13 Ultra is arguably unnecessary given how strong this year’s Xiaomi 13 Pro is, but it does make a couple of meaningful improvements if photography is your priority.
While GoPro’s overall image quality remains solid as ever, the Hero 11’s new sensor presents video makers with even greater creative freedom both through cropping flexibility and the new super-wide HyperView mode.
It’s a nicely designed phone, it takes excellent pictures, it has great battery life and performance is superb.
The Xiaomi 13 Pro is another excellent flagship phone from the brand. With a more focused design and a proper software overhaul, it would be in contention for the big awards come the end of 2023.
The Poco X5 Pro 5G is another well-balanced mid-range effort from the Xiaomi sub-brand, with an excellent AMOLED display, a tidy design, and reassuringly steady performance. It doesn’t provide quite the same sense of outstanding value as last year’s Poco X4 Pro, however.
If you’ve still got last year’s S21 Ultra in your hands, you might want to hold on to it for at least a little while longer. However, if you’re looking for the very best that Android can muster and are blessed with deep pockets, you can’t do any better than the S22 Ultra.
If you like to zoom in on the action, then the Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra wins hands down, while pretty much any flagship rival will give you superior ultrawide results.
The DJI Action 2 is an innovative, versatile and fun little action camera. It’s easy to use, the stabilisation is fantastic and, whether used on its own, or paired with DJI’s Mimo app, it’s capable of producing excellent results.
Ultimately, even taking into account such weaknesses, the OnePlus 10T is still a mighty fine mid-range smartphone.
The decision to remove the microSD slot and bundled charger are the only blots on the landscape; otherwise, the Galaxy S21 represents another sublime flagship offering from Samsung.
Despite the niggles, the Insta360 One RS is a significant upgrade on its predecessor, combining plenty of new features and improved image quality with a redesign that genuinely improves usability.
The Xiaomi 12 Pro is a fine flagship phone, then, with a few flaws that are cast in a rather unforgiving light by some newly premium pricing.
The ZV-1 is a strong all-rounder that punches well outside its size class. With solid stills and excellent video features, it should be on the radar of every social content creator.
