I promise digital zoom isn’t as icky as it used to be. | Photo by Allison Johnson / The Verge If you want to hear a love story, ask any photographer about their favorite lens. They’ll probably get a little glimmer in their eye as they tell you about the fast 35mm they carry everywhere or the long portrait lens with the bokeh that hits just right. Camera bodies come and go, but your favorite lens is a lifelong relationship.Phone camera lenses are a different story. They’re built like a regular camera lens — only, you know, tiny — and they’re with us literally everywhere we go. But I don’t know anyone who would wax poetic about the 24mm equivalent wide angle on their iPhone or the 5x telephoto lens on their Pixel. Our relationships with them are much more transactional, and the results have as much to do with the image processing... Continue reading…

While the Samsung Galaxy S21+ isn't as impressive as last year's Galaxy S22+ and the current-gen Galaxy S23+, it's still a great phone for most people. It offers flagship-level performance, thanks to Qualcomm's Snapdragon 888 SoC, a gorgeous high refresh rate display, an impressive triple camera setup, and great battery life. On top of that, Samsung has kept it up to date with the latest software updates, so there's little reason for those of you who already own one to upgrade to one of the newer models.

The new iPhone 15 Pro Max has arrived, and to nobody's surprise, Apple didn’t re-invent the wheel with its 2023 flagship phones. From the front, it looks nearly the same as the iPhone 14 Pro Max with an impressive 6.7-inch display, albeit with slightly trimmed-down bezels. That’s not a bad thing if you already like the overall design. If you’re looking for the best iPhone 15 Pro Max screen protectors, however, those made for the 14 Pro Max won't quite fit.

Now that Intel and AMD's latest CPUs both support DDR5, a new era in memory has begun. However, that doesn't mean DDR4 is all in the past. Intel's 12th- and 13th-generation CPUs support DDR4, as do AMD's more affordable Ryzen 5000 CPUs, which are a popular choice for anyone on a budget that's looking for good value.

You can already pre-order Apple's latest iPhone 15 Pro, which features a 6.1-inch OLED display. Although the display is very similar to last year's model, key upgrades like USB-C and the Action button have made the iPhone 15 Pro a hit so far. But besides these key changes, Apple also changed the dimensions of the iPhone 15 Pro and cut down the size of the bezels. That means if you want to get a screen protector for your new smartphone, you'll need to get one specifically designed for the iPhone 15 Pro.

Earlier this year, investment bank Piper Sandler published results from an annual survey showing that 87 percent of teens own an iPhone, leaving precious little market for Android device makers to carve up. But Samsung has a new plan to break the kids of their Apple addiction: Get YouTuber and restauranteur Jimmie Donaldson, aka MrBeast, to make content with its phones. Starting with a video where he drives expensive cars around.Samsung writes in its announcement that this will showcase “what’s possible with a Galaxy smartphone for aspiring and professional creators.” The company’s phones get some screen time in the video. There’s a quick mid-video ad read for the Galaxy Z Flip 5 with a nod to the S23 Ultra while MrBeast drives a... Continue reading…

The Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5 is one of the most stylish and innovative smartphones in today's market. It has a new hinge that allows the phone to close flat, a 120Hz foldable display, a bigger and more functional outer display, and the powerful Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chipset. The Flip 5 also features wireless charging, water resistance, and a flex mode that transforms your phone into a mini laptop. However, while the design and features are impressive, the Flip 5 remains a delicate and expensive device that requires the utmost protection against scratches, scuffs, and other daily mishaps.

Apple's iPhone 15 has finally been announced, and if you can tear yourself away from looking at the best iPhone 15 cases for a second, you'll want to ask yourself whether the iPhone 15 is really worth the upgrade over the iPhone 14. After all, the iPhone 14 was itself one of the best phones you could buy, even if it had some drawbacks. Not to worry, though, because we're here to tell you everything you need to know about the differences between the iPhone 14 and iPhone 15.

Whether you have one of the latest Macs, a new iPhone, or another Apple product, iCloud is the built-in cloud service that keeps your data in sync. When enabled, changes you make in a compatible app on macOS Sonoma will also reflect on iOS 17. But while iCloud is available for free to all users, Apple also offers an iCloud+ subscription service for those who want to make more out of it. But what do you get with a monthly payment and is it worth it?

Our computers contain some of our most sensitive information, whether we're talking about Apple's great laptops or excellent desktops. To make sure your data stays safe, you can lock up certain folders or storage devices using Disk Utility. It's a built-in tool that helps you manage internal and external drives, as well as folders. There are other ways you can encrypt information on your Mac, like with the FileVault encryption feature. But if you're comfortable with Disk Utility and want to secure specific folders or drives, you can do so following the steps below.

Windows 11 comes with many great new features, but one that's been a part of Windows for a while is support for high dynamic range (HDR) video. This kind of video quality is more immersive than standard-range videos. Your screen will get much brighter and the content you're watching will come alive when HDR video is playing. However, to enjoy HDR on Windows, you'll need a display that supports it first, and will have to tweak a few settings. Keep in mind, that you will also need a supported app that uses HDR and the video has to be full-screen.

Illustration by Cath Virginia / The Verge Before I received my first Alexa-enabled smart display as a Christmas gift in 2019, I was not a big fan. I just didn’t feel like I could trust an Amazon device with a camera inside of it. I’d heard about all the privacy concerns, and I was determined to avoid it like the plague.But then a plague really did happen — and right when my mom got sick. And then, suddenly, this device I was once suspicious of became a vital part of our support system. Those people Amazon always claim love Alexa? I somehow suddenly found myself becoming one of them.To be clear, Mom had been sick for years. Mom has Parkinson’s disease, an incurable neurological disorder that affects everything from mobility to memory. At first, she suffered from a few tremors... Continue reading…