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.
Telesin has introduced its Master Grip series, a new lineup of smartphone camera grips designed to transform modern flagship Apple and Samsung phones into more capable handheld photography and video tools.
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.
This week on The PetaPixel Podcast, the team is joined by mobile expert Ted Kritsonis who shares his opinion on why Samsung might be afraid to take risks with its smartphone hardware and, more importantly, why it doesn't seem to matter how far behind Chinese brands its devices are.
Kino, an iPhone video camera app created by Lux, the same people who make the iPhone photo camera app Halide, received a massive update today that adds Apple Log 2 support.
Nothing is known for its mostly transparent, ultra-stylish smartphones. However, the company's latest offering, the Nothing Phone 4a Pro, ditches the translucent case everywhere except the large, flashy camera module.
A wet and rainy San Francisco was the venue for this year’s Galaxy Unpacked launch event and the testing ground for shooting the new Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra. The Ultra model is priced at $1,299, which is the same as last year’s model. I’m going into this review with the usual intention of testing this phone more as a camera and seeing how it stacks up as a creative tool.
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.
Legendary cinema company Arri has teamed up with smartphone maker Honor to bring Arri's imaging science and video technology to Honor smartphones, including the upcoming Honor Robot Phone.
After the iPhone 17 and 17 Pro featured updated cameras, the iPhone 18 isn't expected to take a similar leap. But it will reportedly get one interesting new feature: variable aperture.
Vivo has offered a first look at its upcoming flagship X300 Ultra smartphone at MWC Barcelona 2026, and the phone will work with a professional camera rig and Zeiss telephoto zoom lens attachment, spotlighting the serious focus Vivo puts on mobile photography and video with its top-end handhelds.
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.
The Chinese tech industry is a colossus, but there is a distinct lack of access to many of the more interesting options in North America. While Chinese lens designs are fairly common in North America, we are largely ignorant of the mobile phone options, as they are so rarely available.
The Xiaomi 17 Ultra smartphone was announced in China late last year, boasting a camera system co-engineered with Leica, very impressive photo specs and features, and class-leading performance. This impressive new phone is now coming to global markets.
Leica has had smartphones before, like the Leitz Phone 1 and Leitz Phone 2, but they were both manufactured by Sharp and exclusive to Japan. Leica has switched things up for its newest Leitzphone, working closely with Chinese company Xiaomi and bringing the Leitzphone global. Well, mostly. Americans will be forced to import the device, as is par for the course with most Chinese phones.
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.
VSCO has announced a new professional photo delivery app, VSCO Galleries, which is launching next week during WPPI in Las Vegas. The new app has been built from the ground up for photographers who want to deliver photos to clients in a clean, straightforward, and professional way. VSCO Galleries aims to help photographers make a strong first impression when delivering photos to their clients.
Snapseed suddenly updated its app last year after years of silence, and it doesn't seem like the team is done. Today, it pushed an update to the iOS app that adds a camera to the interface; it's the first time Snapseed has ever had a camera. For reference, it launched in 2011 and was acquired by Google back in 2012.
Vivo has announced the global launch of its V70 smartphone, featuring a new, more powerful camera system co-engineered with Zeiss.
Google has announced its latest affordable Pixel smartphone, the $499 Pixel 10a. The new A-series handheld promises a best-in-class camera system and Google's latest advanced AI tools.
Samsung has teased a new Galaxy smartphone camera experience ahead of its next Galaxy Unpacked event next week. The new experiences look poised to heavily leverage the Galaxy AI technology, which has become an increasingly important part of the Samsung Galaxy series in recent years, including in last year's Samsung Galaxy S25 series.
NASA’s SpaceX Crew-12 safely docked with the International Space Station on Valentine's Day (Saturday) and the astronauts brought something unique with them: their smartphones.
Back in late 2022, PetaPixel wrote about photographer Tom Schucker's Pieca camera, a 3D-printed Raspberry Pi-powered camera with a Leica M-mount. Schucker is back with yet another awesome photography creation, but this time it's a photo editing app built around advanced film simulation effects.
Photographer Zachary Hou shoots film, so he decided to build an iPhone app to help him out. The new app, FilmMeter, combines multiple useful features into a single, entirely free application, and it looks as pretty as it is useful.
Hasselblad has released version 4.0.0 of its Phocus Mobile 2 app, introducing a new Mask feature that expands local editing capabilities on iPhone and iPad for Hasselblad users.
Leica's new Lux Case promises to bring the company's "vision of iconic design and photographic precision" to mobile photographers using Apple's iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max.
One year ago, Unpro Camera launched on iPhone, promising extremely natural, unprocessed-looking mobile photos. In the year since, the app has received numerous updates, including HDR support, Bayer RAW capture, improved performance, filters, an all-new UI, and, most recently, RAW + capture, a new mode that the developer believes is unique to Unpro Camera.
PGYTech is crowdfunding the RetroVa Vintage Imaging Kit, which makes the iPhone "feel like a real camera" and gives it a 235mm focal length.
Apple continues to show off the iPhone 17 Pro's impressive filmmaking capabilities with the release of 'Glad I Met You', a short that marks Chinese New Year.
First it came for photos on Instagram, then it came for videos on YouTube, now vertical videos are set to appear on Netflix, too.
Lux, the makers of popular iPhone camera app Halide, have launched a public preview of Halide Mark III. While Lux is offering just a first look at Halide Mark III right now, it has taken the wraps off a huge new feature: Looks.
Reports published yesterday suggest that smartphone maker OnePlus is shutting down. The company has responded to the rumors, though different markets have expressed varying degrees of denial about OnePlus' demise.
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.
Fujifilm North America Corporation has announced the instax mini Link+, a new smartphone printer that sports a sleeker, more buttoned-up design and works alongside an updated mobile app.
In celebration of Apple's 50th anniversary, Spigen announced a new special edition Classic LS phone case for the iPhone 17 Pro series. Inspired by the Macintosh 128K and Apple Lisa, the Classic LS is a blast from the past.
Hohem has announced its first SSD, a compact SSD with a flip-up USB-C plug that connects directly to an iPhone, enabling ProRes RAW video capture. The Hohem SSD-01 is much more than just a pocket-friendly SSD, though. It also has USB-C ports for power, attaching accessories, and recording audio.
Hohem has announced the iSteady MT3 series, bringing its latest artificial intelligence–driven tracking tools to a new generation of prosumer camera stabilizers. Designed to support mirrorless cameras, action cameras, and smartphones, the MT3 lineup focuses on intelligent subject tracking, flexible mounting, and long battery life in a compact, travel-ready design.
Audio company Shure unveiled the MV88 USB-C, a new USB-C stereo microphone, today at CES Unveiled 2026. The Shure MV88 combines a classic stereo condenser mic with a USB-C connector, promising accessible, high-quality audio on a smartphone or tablet.
VSCO has added an oft-requested feature to its VSCO Capture iPhone camera app launched in June: video recording. The new video recording capabilities work with the app's 50+ photo presets and arrive alongside a new film grain function.
Chinese smartphone makers are all-in on photography. Xiaomi's latest Leica-infused phone, the 17 Ultra by Leica, features incredible camera specs, the famous Leica Red Dot logo, and, most interestingly, a manual lens zoom ring.
In mid-December, as the winter sun drifts across Cairo’s skyline, a new kind of exhibition opens its doors, built not from the work of gallery veterans but from the pockets of everyday people. Each image is a reminder that the world is full of stories happening in the margins of daily life. And increasingly, these stories are being captured through a device nearly everyone carries.
Apple recently deployed more than 40 new iPhone 17 Pro Max devices to capture Red Bull motocross athlete Tyler Bereman hopping from island to island on his motorcycle.
Despite Apple's impressive and successful efforts to give the iPhone 17 series of smartphones a much better front-facing camera, some iPhone 17 Pro users would still prefer to use their device's rear cameras. However, this has the drawback of not allowing you to see how a photo looks. Selfix, "the ultimate selfie case for iPhone," aims to overcome this limitation.
K&F CONCEPT has expanded its lineup of photography accessories with the Popod 72" Phone Tripod, a 3-in-1 magnetic tripod and selfie stick designed for mobile creators. With a snap-open design, adjustable tripod head, Bluetooth remote, and support for 1/4" screw-mounted accessories, the Popod aims to simplify content creation for solo shooters and small-scale creators.
Artist and photographer Alexander Newman Hall went viral recently for a laser photo he created for a multimedia project. However, the internet success came at a great cost, as Hall broke his camera.
Editing app Darkroom has launched version 7, marking one of the most extensive technical overhauls in its 10-year history. At its core is a fully rebuilt rendering engine designed to deliver faster performance, smoother navigation, and a more reliable editing environment across photos and video for iOS and iPadOS.
Google Photos may have "photos" in its name, but recent and upcoming updates focus on powerful new video editing tools. Leading the charge is a new feature to let users create an automated highlight reel of their video clips and photos in just a few clicks.
