GoKawiil
Tech News
Reviewers testing Apple's new iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max are highlighting notably longer battery life and a more flexible camera system as the standout upgrades this generation. Specific technical details beyond these highlights were not disclosed in the available source material.
Apple is reportedly shifting its iPhone camera strategy toward giving users more manual control over how photos are processed, rather than relying solely on automatic computational adjustments. The change is expected to arrive with the iPhone 18 Pro, allowing photographers greater flexibility in shaping the final look of their images.
After hands-on testing of the iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max, a ZDNET reviewer found the two models are nearly feature-identical this generation, aside from screen and battery size differences. Both share the same triple-camera system with variable aperture technology and matching durability, prompting a shift in buying advice toward the smaller Pro model.
Apple's iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max bring a redesigned back where the glass camera cutout now matches the aluminum color, addressing criticism of last year's contrasting two-tone look. The phones also gain a variable aperture camera, faster performance, longer battery life, and added weight, and come in burgundy, glacier, silver, and black.
Apple's iPhone 18 Pro introduces a variable aperture camera with six blades controlled by a rotor, letting users choose between four settings from f/1.48 to f/4.0 directly in the Camera app. The update is paired with other imaging features including cinematic effects for standard video, Apple Reference Image, Photographic Styles 3, and an Audio Mix tool for music. According to early hands-on testing, the new aperture control produces more natural soft-focus effects than the phone's existing Portrait mode.
Apple has explained the technical workings of Reference Image mode, a new opt-in feature on the iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max that cryptographically signs photos at the moment of capture. The camera sensor uses a unique private key generated during manufacturing to sign image data, which Apple's cloud service later verifies against a certified public key, while the phone's security processor also signs and cross-checks the sensor's identity.
Evan Meyer, 24, initially faced three felony charges after destroying what he believed was a real Flock surveillance camera in Oviedo, Florida, but which turned out to be a 3D-printed decoy set up by police in a sting operation. An assistant state attorney's filing this week reduced the charges to two second-degree misdemeanors plus a petty theft count, after determining the actual damage totaled $200 or less.
Canon has launched the 24-megapixel EOS R8 II, an entry-level full-frame camera with a squared-off body inspired by its old EOS 650 film SLR, replacing the rounded look of the original R8. The update adds a joystick for autofocus point control, 40fps electronic shutter burst shooting, and Canon's first in-body 5-axis stabilization on this line, cutting shake by up to 7.5 stops while remaining the lightest full-frame stabilized camera at 546 grams.
Canon has unveiled the EOS R8 Mark II, a successor that finally adds in-body image stabilization, one of the biggest gaps in the 2023 original. The camera will launch in late October at $1,899 for the body alone, or $2,099 with a 24-50mm stabilized lens, positioning it between the original R8 and the pricier EOS R6 Mark III.
Apple's iOS 27 update introduces a new 'Siri' mode in the Camera app that uses AI to identify and act on what the camera sees, such as translating text or adding event details to a calendar. The update also lets users customize which controls appear in each camera mode, while iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max owners get exclusive tools including manual aperture, shutter speed, white balance, a histogram viewer, and upgraded Photographic Styles with texture and grain adjustments.
Former TikTok employees Melody Chu and Jing Liu have launched Superpose, an iOS camera app that uses AI to generate four suggested poses for a selfie or photo of a friend. Users can save these AI-generated poses or use a match feature to align themselves within the frame, and the app has been downloaded over 22,000 times with more than 190,000 poses generated since its July launch.
The Public Domain Review has republished a piece on Dr. Julius Neubronner, a German apothecary who patented a miniature camera harness for carrier pigeons in the early 20th century. The device automatically snapped aerial photographs as the birds flew, producing some of the earliest examples of aerial photography.