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Topic

Smartphone Cameras

The lens, sensor and image-processing stacks phone makers compete on, including selfie and under-display cameras.

Current stories

productOne report1 publisher

The iPhone Duo's hinge props the camera so the photographer can join the shot

Apple's $1,999 iPhone Duo opens for preorder today with camera features meant to get the photographer into the group shot. The camera drops the telephoto lens and the Pro video formats, so the fit depends on what the buyer shoots.

Publishers:techrepublic.com

Reality

Evidence50
Adoption
Not scored
Hype gap+10
Incentives
Not scored
Confidence55
productOne report1 publisher

iPhone Duo swaps the 18 Pro's telephoto lens and variable aperture for outer-screen camera modes

Apple's iPhone Duo costs $1,999 and has no telephoto lens or variable aperture, Engadget reports. Whether its outer-screen camera modes make up for that depends on what the buyer actually shoots.

Publishers:engadget.com

Reality

Evidence50
Adoption
Not scored
Hype gap
Not scored
Incentives
Not scored
Confidence45
productConfirmed4 publishers

iPhone Duo matches inner and outer display ratios, swaps Face ID for Touch ID

Apple says the Duo's outer and inner displays share one aspect ratio, which spares app teams the reflow pass other foldables demand. The same phone has no Face ID, so the unlock prompt is where users meet the change.

Perspective Coverage

4 publishers
Builder
Builder 21%
Operator
Operator 48%
Investor
Investor 31%

Reality

Evidence55
Adoption
Not scored
Hype gap+25
Incentives
Not scored
Confidence60
productOne report1 publisher

Honor's $150 X5d s turns its rear touchscreen into a selfie viewfinder

Honor will sell the X5d s, a 2,499-rand (about $150) phone with a 2.01-inch rear touchscreen, in South Africa from Oct. 7. The second screen is mostly useful as a viewfinder for rear-camera selfies, on a phone that is entry-level everywhere else.

Publishers:techrepublic.com

Reality

Evidence40
Adoption
Not scored
Hype gap+10
Incentives
Not scored
Confidence45
productConfirmed3 publishers

Vivo takes its 200MP-camera X Fold 6 global in the tall shape Samsung and Apple moved away from

Vivo is taking its X Fold 6, a foldable with a 200MP main camera and a 6,900mAh battery, to buyers outside China. No US release is expected, so everyone who gets to test Vivo's case for a camera-first foldable will be in other markets.

Publishers:91mobiles.com 9to5google.com theverge.com

Perspective Coverage

3 publishers
Builder
Builder 22%
Operator
Operator 56%
Investor
Investor 22%

Reality

Evidence62
Adoption
Not scored
Hype gap+15
Incentives35
Confidence70
productConfirmed3 publishers

Camera Looks is Google conceding its Pixel HDR overcorrected, and shipping a styling layer

The Pixel 11 exclusive alters processing rather than stamping on a filter, per 9to5Google. Ten looks, eight sliders, and three older Pixel generations left outside.

Perspective Coverage

3 publishers
Builder
Builder 32%
Operator
Operator 53%
Investor
Investor 15%

Reality

Evidence55
Adoption
Not scored
Hype gap+25
Incentives
Not scored
Confidence55
productConfirmed3 publishers

Apple's foldable gets praised for its hinge, and nobody is quoted on the pictures

People inside Apple who have used the rumored iPhone Ultra reportedly liked the pocket fit, the hinge and the layouts. The reported spec list explains what is missing from that praise.

Perspective Coverage

3 publishers
Builder
Builder 17%
Operator
Operator 58%
Investor
Investor 25%

Reality

Evidence35
Adoption
Not scored
Hype gap+25
Incentives40
Confidence55
productConfirmed7 publishers

Motorola builds its Snapdragon Extreme flagship around a 200MP periscope camera

The Signature 27 gets Qualcomm's Snapdragon 8 Elite Extreme Gen 6, but the specifications Motorola chose to publish are a 200MP periscope telephoto, a bigger vapor chamber and seven years of updates.

Perspective Coverage

7 publishers
Builder
Builder 21%
Operator
Operator 56%
Investor
Investor 23%

Reality

Evidence60
Adoption
Not scored
Hype gap+35
Incentives
Not scored
Confidence58
productConfirmed3 publishers

Apple swaps the iPhone 18 Pro's fixed aperture for four settings behind a six-dot button

MacRumors puts the iPhone 18 Pro main camera's range at f/1.48 to f/4.0 in four steps, with manual selection three taps deep and only the widest of those steps gathering more light than last year's fixed f/1.78.

Perspective Coverage

3 publishers
Builder
Builder 58%
Operator
Operator 28%
Investor
Investor 14%

Reality

Evidence55
Adoption45
Hype gap+35
Incentives55
Confidence60
productOne report1 publisher

The iPhone 18 Pro's manual controls are worth $270 only to people who will shoot manually

Apple put real aperture blades in the Pro and Pro Max and priced them at $1,199 and $1,299. CNET's reviewer loves the camera and still sends most buyers to last year's iPhone 17 at $929.

Publishers:cnet.com

Reality

Evidence58
Adoption
Not scored
Hype gap−10
Incentives50
Confidence62
productOne report1 publisher

Apple prices the folding iPhone $700 above the Pro Max for screen size alone

The iPhone Duo starts at $1,999 with the same A20 Pro chip as the iPhone 18 Pro, a rear camera Apple branded Dual Fusion instead of Pro Fusion, Touch ID in place of Face ID, and a 7.6-inch inner display no other iPhone has.

Publishers:macrumors.com

Reality

Evidence55
Adoption5
Hype gap+12
Incentives50
Confidence52
productOne report1 publisher

iPhone 18 Pro review: $100 pricier, with a variable-aperture camera that rewards manual shooters

TechRadar puts the generation's biggest gain in the camera, where four selectable apertures and Pro controls pay off for anyone who takes charge of a shot, while the new chip felt level with last year's.

Publishers:techradar.com

Reality

Evidence46
Adoption18
Hype gap+12
Incentives60
Confidence50
investOne report1 publisher

Apple makes itself the notary for every authenticated iPhone 18 Pro photo

Reference Image has the iPhone 18 Pro sensor sign raw pixels inside the Secure Enclave, and Apple keeps verification on its own servers while Google, Leica, Sony and Canon sign with the open C2PA standard.

Publishers:pivotnews.ai

Reality

Evidence34
Adoption34
Hype gap+26
Incentives66
Confidence41
productOne report1 publisher

Apple hands both iPhone 18 Pro models a variable aperture with manual control

Apple's stock camera app picks up controls that used to mean buying a third-party app. On the f-numbers 9to5Mac prints, the wider aperture buys about half a stop of light, and the sensor behind it is unchanged.

Publishers:9to5mac.com

Reality

Evidence52
Adoption14
Hype gap+24
Incentives55
Confidence61
productOne report1 publisher

Apple builds its first foldable to feel like a regular iPhone in the hand

MobileSyrup's hands-on with the iPhone Duo describes a phone thicker folded than its rivals and still familiar to hold, with the interesting decisions sitting in iOS layout rules rather than in the hinge. Review units are not out.

Publishers:mobilesyrup.com

Reality

Evidence34
Adoption
Not scored
Hype gap+15
Incentives58
Confidence45