On Camera Flash

With the Nexus 6, you get a very clean software experience with minimal bloat. While this is generally the main selling point for most Nexus fans, it can be a bit of a detraction for some. Default software and system apps can seem a bit bare-bones at times, and this is most n ...more

The camera in CyanogenMod, CameraNext, takes some pretty impressive shots when compared to those offered by HTC Sense and Sony Xperia, but it doesn't have many of the features that make it a real competitor. Even the Color OS version of the OnePlus One has received better revi ...more

Among the additions that Apple's included in iOS 8 for iPhones are a couple of new features to the Camera app, including a timer and manual control of the exposure setting. Hit up the video to see how these new features work, of scroll down for the written walkthrough. Video: ...more

With a 13 megapixel camera that can record in full 4K, there's a lot to love about the Samsung Galaxy Note 3 from a photographer's perspective. The image quality in my photos and videos are top-notch and nothing to complain about, but as with all things tech, things could alwa ...more

According to a study done by Kaspersky, 7.6% of Android users root their phones. That may not sound like a lot, but with over 2 billion Android devices out there, the math works out to over 150 million rooted phones — more than the total population of Russia, Mexico, or Japan ...more

It's always a big deal when the company that makes Android releases a new phone. Google's Pixel series has made a name for itself in three short years behind its camera prowess, but now it's time to start competing with the major players. That said, Google should like how thei ...more

The OnePlus 7 Pro is definitely a beast on paper. With a specs page that ticks virtually every box and a price point that undercuts the competition by hundreds of dollars, it's hard to overlook this phone. But before you get too excited, know that OnePlus has repeatedly shown ...more

UPDATE April 4, 2019: We had high hopes for the ZTE Axon 9, but it won't be releasing in the United States. If you're in another area of the world, you can look into the ZTE Axon 9 Pro, but we cannot recommend this device to American readers due to carrier incompatibility. Bel ...more

Sorry, Galaxys S11–19, Samsung's jumping straight to Galaxy S20 this year. They're also going with essentially three base models before accounting for niche variants. Of these three models, it's clear which one's the best: the Galaxy S20 Ultra. We've rounded up all the specs ...more

After months of back and forth, ZTE is finally making their return to the United States. The last phone the Chinese company released here was the Axon 7 Pro, a low priced flagship phone that competed well against the OnePlus 3 and 3T at the time. Its successor is the Axon 10 P ...more

For 2019, Sony is trying to shake its failures of the past and start fresh. Following the unsuccessful Xperia XZ series, Sony is changing the name of their flagship to a single number: Xperia 1. With the name change comes a few upgrades, one of which is its new look. Secondly, ...more

The Galaxy S10 has finally been revealed to the masses, and it certainly doesn't disappoint. As the flagship to herald the tenth anniversary of the venerable Galaxy S line, the S10 has kept popular and familiar design elements like the immersive Infinity Display while employin ...more

When it comes to the sub-$250 price range, the new Nokia 5.1 might be the perfect phone. Of all the new models announced at Nokia's event in Moscow, the Nokia 5.1 offers the most with the least compromises. For a third of the cost of a flagship, you get a phone with a premium ...more

You've probably already figured out that your Nexus 7 doesn't have a rear camera, but that doesn't mean you can't do some awesome things with your tablet's front camera! Sure, the front-facing camera is only 1.2MP, but that doesn't mean it sucks. In fact, there's a cool mod f ...more

You can take some really awesome photos of water droplets if you've got a fast enough camera (and flash), but water drops aren't just spectacular as photographic subjects—you can also make them a part of the photographic process by using a water drop as a DIY projection micros ...more

Apple has implemented a new sensor on the rear camera of its fourth-generation iPad Pro, and it's pretty exciting. It's called the LiDAR Scanner, a scanning "light-detection and ranging" sensor, and you may very well be acquainted with it if you follow any driverless car news. ...more

Cases and stickers are always great, but they aren't the only way to customize an iPhone. The software on your device is full of customization options, from a better-looking home screen and cooler lock screen wallpapers to app icon changes and a system-wide dark mode. There's ...more

Safari has a convenient "Find" feature to search for specific words and phrases in a webpage, and Apple Books has a similar feature for e-books and PDFs. But those do nothing for you when searching text in the real world. Hardcover and paperback books are still very much a thi ...more

Amongst the many rumors emerging about the upcoming Samsung Galaxy S4, one that seems like a fairly sure bet is the inclusion of Google's Photo Sphere feature. Renamed to Samsung Orb, this amazing camera tool that first surfaced at the release of Android 4.2 will be integrate ...more

The iPhone doesn't stop at last year's excellent iPhone 12 lineup. Apple's been developing its iPhone 13 models for a while now, and there are a lot of rumors already with eight or nine months still to go until a release. This year, we're expecting four new models with similar ...more

With platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and Snapchat available for anyone to take advantage of, I'm all about differentiating from the mundane and repetitive images we see on social media everyday. Admittedly, even I can fall victim to the occasional selfie or food porn, but ...more

The ESP32-CAM is a convenient little camera module with a lot of built-in power, and you can turn one into an inconspicuous spy camera to hide in any room. There's only one issue: it does omit a USB port. That makes it a little harder to program, but with an ESP32-based board, ...more

UPDATE: The OnePlus 8 Pro has been released! Check it out on the official OnePlus website or read through the rumored specs we've left below for posterity. Even though OnePlus no longer uses the motto, they still embody the spirit of "Flagship Killer." OnePlus is known for of ...more

OnePlus, whose phones always challenge for the title of best spec-to-price ratio, releases two main devices every year. There's the primary flagship in late spring, then an iterative update with the "T" suffix in fall. Typically, there's not much difference between the two, bu ...more

Since the Razer Phone's announcement in 2017, we've seen a new subgroup of phones emerge. Gaming phones are now a thing, leading to companies like ASUS creating phones that are thoroughly optimized for the mobile gaming experience. And with their second iteration, they perfect ...more

The hugely successful S10 series of flagships may be a tough act to follow, but Samsung has proven that it's up to the task with the Galaxy Note 10. The latest phablet bearing the Note name is the first of its line to come with an even larger variant, and boasts an eye-pleasin ...more

After poor sales of the Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL, Google needs to reinvigorate its Pixel lineup, devices it's been pushing heavily over the last couple years. On May 7, Google had the eyes and ears of the technology industry at its Google I/O keynote, making it the perfect time ...more

In the battle for best stock Android flagships, there are really only two choices: Google Pixel phones and OnePlus phones. Although the latter isn't true stock Android, it is impressively close and usually paired with more impressive hardware than the Pixel lineup. The latest ...more

With all the controversy around the Pixel 3 XL, the regular-sized Pixel 3 might be the phone of choice for most users. Thanks to the huge boost in screen size, the little brother is now an easier pickup for those who like a bigger screen. And once more, the internals are the s ...more

The "controversial" Pixel. No phone in the history of Google's Pixel lineup deserves this title more than the Pixel 3 XL. For some (including myself), the design is a welcome change that embodies the modern design of 2018 flagship phones. For others, it has an ugly huge displa ...more

The software released in the 2015 iterations of the Samsung Galaxy line of devices—the S6, S6 Active, S6 Edge, S6 Edge+, and Note 5—have some pretty neat camera features that give these devices arguably the best smartphone camera on the market today. Out of the box, Samsung's ...more

In a bold move, Samsung has decided to forgo the Galaxy S11 moniker and jump straight to the S20. Perhaps it's marketing for the new 20:9 aspect ratio and 120 Hz display, or maybe it's just the fact that it's releasing in 2020. Besides the number, Samsung is borrowing from Ap ...more

As part of the iOS 11 update, Apple added a document scanner function that creates high-quality digital copies of physical documents, but it was only available inside the Notes app. With iOS 13, Apple has built its scanner right into the Files app, enabling you to quickly crea ...more

The default Camera app on your iPhone can take some pretty incredible photos during the day. Newer iPhone models can even make nighttime shots look good. But you can't just point and shoot if you want to capture some pretty spectacular fireworks photos on July 4th, New Year's ...more

Update 6/16: This number is now way higher. In just the first two days of this sale, over 350,000 people have pre-registered for the phone. The OnePlus 5 is being majorly hyped, and people — including myself — are itching to get their hands on it. Although it's official June ...more

There are a ton of new features in iOS 11, but some of the best ones, in my opinion, are in the Camera app. They're not huge features, but they're much appreciated to anyone who's ever taken a Live Photo or portrait, or even to those who've needed to scan a QR code quickly. W ...more

Smartphones tend to struggle when it comes to recording video in low light situations. Danish phone manufacturer Lumigon included a good camera capable of shooting 4K video on its latest phone, The T3, but the real interest lies in the second camera, which is a dedicated night ...more

Android comprises an entire ecosystem of apps, games, functions, and features, so it would only make sense that it has its own lexicon. Words, phrases, and acronyms that didn't exist ten years ago are now used in an off-the-cuff style by developers and support technicians acro ...more

OnePlus changed the way we think about high-end phones. Their "Never Settle" motto led me to ditch my high-cost smartphone for their flagship One, which not only packs some pretty impressive hardware, but won't break the bank. Now that OnePlus has made a name for themselves wi ...more

While I do enjoy the vanilla Android Lollipop experience that comes with the Google Play Edition HTC One, I do miss the sweet camera that ships with Sense. Luckily, the people behind Liberty ROMs found a way to port that camera over and now we can enjoy the best of both worlds ...more

Thanks to its dedicated ImageChip, the HTC One has one of the best cameras out of all the smartphones currently on the market. Their branded UltraPixel Camera can take full resolution photos while shooting video, has superior auto-focusing, and provides great overall quality f ...more

Taking screen captures is a standard feature on iPhones and newer Android smartphones, but for some reason it's not very intuitive. Screenshots allow you to share your phone's screen with your friends, document technical problems for customer support, and even make how-to guid ...more

Update: The LG G8 ThinQ has been announced. You can read all of the official specs at our full article on the new phone. 2018 was another rough year for LG. The mobile division lost over $700 million last year despite releasing four flagship-caliber phones. LG, however, remai ...more

The new HTC One and Nexus series devices have already replaced their physical navigation keys with soft keys, and it's inevitable that we'll see more and more of this on future mobiles. Samsung continues to buck the trend entirely, but no manufacturer as gone as far as to remo ...more

You probably know Lenovo from their low-cost Windows PCs here in the states, but something you may not be aware of is that they also make smartphones. Right now, their biggest market is in China, but a rumored merger with BlackBerry could make Lenovo a contender in North Ameri ...more

Jake von Slatt of The Steampunk Workshop kept breaking the rear glass panel on his iPhone. So, he ended up making his own gorgeous replacement out of brass to replace the standard Apple logo ones who kept getting. The only problem was that it made his signal strength super wea ...more

Apple has four iPhone models for the remaining months of 2020, but the most impressive ones are the iPhone 12 Pro and iPhone 12 Pro Max. While the iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 mini are great smartphones, the "Pro" models offer more advanced features, especially for photographers an ...more

Update February 25: The Nokia 9 PureView was announced at Mobile World Congress! Read all of the official specs and details at our full rundown of Nokia's latest flagship. It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say the Nokia 9 PureView is the flagship device most Nokia fans have b ...more

Technology can move really fast. Just consider the format for which we consume videos and movies, which has transformed from film reels to VHS to DVD to Blu-ray to steaming with nothing physical at all. But for some odd reason—maybe because it strikes a nostalgic chord or it's ...more

Many of you are ready to capture the litany of 4th of July fireworks that will litter the night sky, but if you're using a phone to capture the burst of fire in midair, it can get a little tricky. Don't worry, though — you'll be fine if you use these tips. While pro and semi- ...more

If you've got a Samsung Galaxy S3 or Galaxy Note 2, you probably either love or hate the Social Tag feature. Using facial recognition, much like Facebook does, it scans your photos and lets you tag a name to a face. If your device recognizes the face by itself, it will automat ...more

Rumors about the 2022 iPhone series stirred well before the iPhone 13 models were even released. While Apple remains quiet on the next big iPhone, as it always does, we're seeing more and more leaks and reveals for the iPhone 14 series as we lead up to a likely fall release. ...more

Similar to last year, LG is mixing up its releases. Instead of the G series in the first half of the year and the V series in the second half, LG is releasing both heavy hitters together. However, unlike last year, this is a true upgrade from its predecessor, the LG V50 ThinQ ...more

After months of waiting, it looks like HMD has finally answered the call. Nokia's parent company is finally releasing a true flagship phone — one that isn't just an enhanced version of a previous phone and actually brings something new to the table. That phone is the Nokia 9 P ...more

Once again, LG is mixing up its launch. Instead of the announcing the latest entry in G series later in the year, the LG G8 ThinQ was announced at Mobile World Congress 2019, shortly after Samsung's Galaxy S10 event. And instead of trying to match what other OEMs are doing, LG ...more

With Apple releasing the iPhone XR, it appears Samsung is looking to challenge this "budget flagship" option head-on. They brought their usual two phone releases this year, but also threw in another three for a total of five phones, including the Samsung Galaxy S10e. And for m ...more

The latest film addition in the American-produced Millennium series, The Girl in the Spider's Web, was just released on Blu-ray a few days ago. As you could expect, the movie has many hacking scenes throughout, just like the previous English and Swedish language movies centere ...more

There are so many tips and tricks on how to improve your Instagram photos, but one really easy way is to use the HDR camera setting. HDR is high dynamic range imaging and takes three exposures of a photo — overexposed, underexposed, and one in the middle at the normal exposure ...more

Despite packing some really nice camera specs, the OnePlus 3 and 3T don't take the best pictures. That's because, these days, great software is just as important as great hardware when it comes to image quality. Qualcomm, who made the processors for the OnePlus 3 and 3T, has ...more

In years past, Apple has always waited two years before redesigning the iPhone, but this year they broke the trend. Aside from a few minor changes, the overall design and style of the iPhone 7 models is the same as last year's iPhone 6s models, and the iPhone 6 ones before tha ...more