Mobile

Smartphone cameras have become one of the main ways everyday people capture photos and document life, and even professional photographers may use phones to shoot paid work. PetaPixel covers the latest news and information on how smartphones are transforming the way photographs are made.
A smartphone screen displays the AntiZuck app interface with alerts and a radar graphic. Next to it is the app's green icon featuring an eye with circular waves and a red dot.

Viral iPhone App Warns Users When Smart Glasses Are Nearby

There is increasing backlash against smart glasses. Some owners even say they're scared to wear them now. As part of a growing anti-smart glasses sentiment, or at least concern about how people may use smart glasses, there's a new iPhone app designed to alert users when smart glasses may be nearby.

A hand holds a smartphone, capturing a photo of emergency vehicles with flashing lights at night, possibly at an accident scene. The phone screen shows a clearer image than the blurred background.

New Platform Lets Companies Bid on Eyewitness Videos of Breaking News

Sell-It.Media has officially launched its eyewitness video marketplace in North America, giving US and Canadian news organizations a new way to purchase exclusive footage directly from people who happen to witness breaking news events. The platform uses a live auction system that allows registered newsrooms to bid on verified videos before they appear publicly on social media.

A smartphone displays a photo app with an image of a person on a rooftop, surrounded by green and blue swirling clouds in the background.

iPhone Camera App Pearla Gets New Name and First-of-its-Kind 14-bit RAW Photo and Video Capture

Professional iPhone camera app, Pearla, has a new, huge update. Pearla Verana IV, as it's officially known, adds a wide array of new features, including PearlaRAW, the "first and only" way to internally capture 14-bit RAW stills and video on iPhone without any external storage. Plus there's a new professional editing app, Revela, and a simple camera app, Joya.

Three-panel image: left shows a photo editing app with a stone lantern photo; center shows the original lantern photo in a garden; right shows a watercolor-style illustration of the same stone lantern in the garden.

Adobe’s Project Indigo iPhone Camera App Now Offers Photography Advice

Just over a year ago, Adobe released a new computational photography camera app on iPhone, Project Indigo. It arrived boasting impressive features, including desktop-quality noise reduction and upscaling technology, plus robust camera controls and an emphasis on natural, realistic-looking photos. Today, Adobe launched what it calls "AI Playground" inside Project Indigo, ushering in new ways for photographers to use generative AI.

Huawei smartphone with a gradient red-to-blue back and triple camera setup leans against a window; "PetaPixel Hands-On" text overlay appears in the bottom right.

Huawei Pura 90s Pro Max Hands-On: A Promising Phone for Photographers

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.

A three-part image: a black cat sits against a black and white background, a volcano erupts at night with glowing lava, and a young girl runs barefoot on a beach carrying a bucket with waves crashing nearby.

16 Award-Winning Photographers Showcase the Power of iPhone

The 2026 iPhone Photography Awards (IPPAWARDS) has announced the winners of its 20th annual competition. This year, thousands of photographers from more than 140 countries showed just how powerful an iPhone can be in the right hands and how great photos don't always require high-end, dedicated camera equipment.

A star-filled night sky with the Milky Way galaxy glowing above rugged, rocky cliffs in the foreground. The scene highlights bright stars, cosmic dust, and soft, colorful nebulae stretching across the horizon.

Photographer’s New App Takes the Guesswork Out of Milky Way Photography

Many photographers love photographing the Milky Way, but few enjoy all the hassle that comes with it. Unpredictable seeing conditions, bad timing, and a pesky Moon are common friction points that prevent astrophotographers, especially novices, from succeeding. A new app, Milky Way Tonight for iOS and Android, is designed to streamline the entire process and take the guesswork out of Milky Way photography.

A gold-colored smartphone with a large circular camera module is propped up on a wooden surface. The “PetaPixel Reviews” logo appears in the bottom left corner of the image.

Honor Magic V6 Review: A Foldable Phone That Takes Photos Like a Slab

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.

A blue Xiaomi smartphone with triple camera lenses lies among green leaves and small blue flowers. The image has a "PetaPixel Reviews" label in the top left corner.

Xiaomi 17T Pro Review: High-End Photography Without the Flagship Price

The new Xiaomi 17T and 17T Pro feature impressive cameras, due in large part to Leica's engineering expertise and Xiaomi's commitment to mobile photography. During extensive hands-on experiences in beautiful Vienna, Austria, I tested Leica's imaging influence, low-light performance, telephoto capabilities, battery life, and all the other features that help set the Xiaomi 17T Pro and its more affordable sibling apart from the competition.

Four smartphone screens display an astronomy app showing forecasts for the Milky Way, aurora, golden hour, and moonrise, each with vivid background images and forecast ratings at the bottom.

Atmos Is a Weather App By Photographers, for Photographers

As photographers know, light is extremely important. And for outdoor photographers, nothing affects the quality of light quite like the weather. Photographer Matthew Raifman wanted to build a weather app for people like him, photographers who want to know not just what the weather forecast is, but whether or not the conditions will be any good for photography. Enter Atmos for Weather & Photo, also known as Atmos.

A close-up of a camera screen showing a soccer match near the goal, with players in action. Next to it, a reflection of the match can be seen through the lens of binoculars.

How Apple Shot an Entire MLS Game Using Only iPhone

Apple made sports broadcasting history on Saturday night by shooting an entire Major League Soccer (MLS) game using iPhone 17 Pro Max smartphones. Now that the historic broadcast happened, it is worth taking another look to see not only how it went, but how Apple pulled off the impressive feat.

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Sony Xperia AI Camera Assistant Ads Are Getting Ripped Apart

Sony unveiled the Xperia VIII smartphone this week, boasting photographer-focused upgrades and improvements. American buyers, who are yet again missing out on the latest Xperia, may have felt a little left out. Looking at the phone's new AI Camera Assistant with Xperia Intelligence and its terrible results, perhaps U.S. buyers aren't missing out on much at all.

Three smartphone screens show the Instants app: a login page, an introduction screen about sharing photos that disappear, and a photo reply screen with creative flower stickers and emoji reactions.

Instagram’s Instants Lets You Share Photos That Disappear After They’re Seen

Instagram has launched a new feature called Instants, a disappearing photo-sharing system designed around fast, unedited sharing with close friends. Available both inside Instagram and through a new standalone Instants app, the feature pushes even further into real-time photography and casual social sharing, with a strong emphasis on authenticity and privacy.

A green leaf icon, representing the Snapseed app, is centered over a blurred background showing photo editing interfaces and tools on a smartphone screen.

After Years of Waiting, a New Snapseed Finally Arrived on Android

Mobile photographers could have been forgiven for thinking that the beloved Google-owned photo editor Snapseed was dead before it received its first major update in years last June, bringing the app to version 3.0. Good news for Snapseed fans, the wait for the next major update was much shorter, and Snapseed 4.0 has arrived on iOS and Android.

Close-up of a green smartphone with a large circular Leica camera module. Text on the right reads, "THEY'RE GREAT BUT..." against a black grid background.

Even Tech Reviewers Don’t Think Smartphones Can Replace Cameras

In his review of the new Oppo Find X9 Ultra, famous tech YouTuber and enthusiastic photographer Marques Brownlee (MKBHD) not only evaluates Oppo's latest slab phone, but he also waxes poetic about mobile photography and smartphone cameras in general, arguing that no matter how good phones get, they won't replace dedicated cameras for hardcore photographers. He's right, and it's refreshing to hear someone in the broader tech space say so.