Smartphones

Some have argued outsourcing our memory to smartphones is damaging our ability to remember anything properly, but a new study suggests that is not the case – digital devices may actually be freeing up our brains to remember more things overall.

Samsung has pulled back the curtain on a new rugged phone. The Galaxy XCover6 Pro is designed for reliability and flexibility in the field, coming with a user replaceable battery, the ability to act as a mini PC and 4K video recording capabilities.

A prototype smartphone app has been developed to screen for the very earliest stages of Alzheimer’s disease. The app tracks minute changes in a person’s pupil size, which previous research has shown can indicate pre-clinical neurological disease.

A new smartphone app called MyGeneRank has been developed by scientists at the Scripps Research Institute. The app calculates a person’s genetic risk for coronary artery disease and directs those found to be at high risk to appropriate medical advice.

Now in its 11th year, the Mobile Photography Awards is the world's longest running competition to focus exclusively on photos taken with smartphone cameras. The quality of entries this year is an affirmation of the power of modern smartphone cameras.

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.