Smartphones

Another year, another batch of iPhones – but how much has actually changed, and is it worth the upgrade? New Atlas compares the specs and features of the new iPhone 13, 13 mini, Pro and Pro Max models with last year’s iPhone 12 range.

A new smartphone app is using augmented reality to help reduce a person’s fear of spiders. In a study published in the Journal of Anxiety Disorders the app was found to significantly reduce feelings of fear and disgust after a two-week program.

Google has quietly unveiled its new midrange phone for 2021, the Pixel 5a with 5G. As usual for this A series, it takes some of the best stuff from last year’s flagship, like the meaty cameras and battery, and trims the price down.

After the affordable and unambitious Pixel 5, some people questioned Google's commitment to making its own hardware – but today it teased a new Pixel 6 and 6 Pro, built around a brand new Google Tensor processor focused on AI and machine learning.

A shot of two world-weary shepherds has won this year’s iPhone Photography Awards, the world’s longest running iPhone photography competition. In its 14th year, the contest well and truly showcases impressive modern smartphone camera technology.

Chinese smartphone manufacturer Xiaomi has demonstrated a new Hypercharge system that can charge phones at a monstrous 200 W through a wire, and 120 W wirelessly. Just three minutes on the charge cable is enough to get a large phone battery to 50 percent.

A new study testing smartphone night modes that eliminate blue light wavelengths is suggesting they make no difference to overall sleep outcomes and the only way to improve sleep at all is to completely abstain from screen use before going to bed.

Established in 2011, the Mobile Photography Awards is a unique contest; as much as chronicle of smartphone camera evolution as a celebration of the art of mobile photography. In its 10th year it presents an indisputable case for the power of modern mobile photography.

All of the major smartphones of 2020 are out – but which is best for you? New Atlas compares the specs and features of the iPhone 12 mini, 12, 12 Pro and 12 Pro Max, the Google Pixel 4a, 4a 5G and 5, and the Samsung Galaxy S20, S20+ and S20 Ultra.

A new study, published in the journal Chaos, is suggesting tracking changes over time in the way multiple sclerosis (MS) patients type on their smartphone touchscreens could be a useful method to monitor neurological degeneration.

At its annual developer conference last week, Xiaomi announced an upcoming wide-aperture lens that retracts into the body of a smartphone when not in use, promising long optical zoom without increasing the girth of our ubiquitous mobile companions.

A pair of studies are showing how passive smartphone data can be used to predict relapse episodes in schizophrenia patients. The research used machine learning to analyze behavioral data and predict schizophrenic relapses up to one month before they occurred.