Technologies

I Want Apple to Steal These Android Camera Features for the iPhone 17

Commentary: From Samsung’s filters to Xiaomi’s phone tech, here’s what I want Apple to put into the iPhone 17’s cameras this September.

The iPhone 16 Pro already has a great camera system capable of taking photos so good you’d think they were taken on pro-level mirrorless cameras. I love the quality of all three rear lenses, and while I like recent features, such as the Photographic Styles and Apple’s ProRaw image format, I think there’s more the company can do to help photographers take their best ever photos.

I’ve spent 14 years reviewing iPhones and Android phones from all brands for CNET, and as a professional photographer I’ve always had an eye toward testing the cameras of top models like the Galaxy S25 Ultra and Pixel 9 Pro. In that time, I’ve found a variety of features that I’d love to see Apple incorporate into its upcoming iPhone 17.

So let’s get started.

Samsung’s My Filters color filter clone

My Filters, as Samsung sometimes calls it, is a tool hidden inside recent Galaxy camera phones. It essentially lets you steal the color tones from one image and apply them to another. Say you found a lovely photo online with dreamy pastel tones and warm highlights. You can save that image to your phone (even a screenshot of it will do), load it into the filter creation tool within the camera app and it will then create a new filter that aims to replicate the tones of that image. That filter will then be saved to your phone for you to apply to all your images later on.

While the filters it creates are not always especially accurate to the source image (sometimes the effects can be quite subtle), I do like the results you can get from it. I’ve been able to create some lovely filmic looks that I’ve customized to try and give the impression of old Kodak film stocks.

Apple’s Photographic Styles is the nearest thing the iPhone has, and while some of the looks are nice enough, there’s not a lot of scope for getting truly creative with colors, film grain and other effects. I’d love to see Apple expand on its Photographic Styles tool to give the sort of filmic looks Fujifilm has achieved so well with its customizable «recipes» on its ever-popular cameras like the X100VI.

Nothing Phone 3’s Macro Mode

I wasn’t all that impressed with the Nothing Phone 3 in my recent review and a large part of that was down to the overall disappointing camera performance. But it does have one saving grace in its macro mode. As someone who runs a photography YouTube channel specializing in macro photography, I feel I have a high bar for what looks good when it comes to close-up photos of tiny things like insects or flowers. But even I have to admit that this phone takes superb close-up photos.

The iPhone 16 Pro also has a macro function which uses the ultrawide lens to achieve close-up focusing. And while it certainly succeeds in getting up close and personal with whatever insect you happen to find, images don’t always look great from it. I’ve found colors to look a little drab, though. And while it can focus close to the lens, it results in a wide-angle view. This means you’ll need to get your phone right up close to an insect, likely scaring it off.

I found Nothing’s macro mode to look much more natural in its image processing, with vibrant colors. As it doesn’t appear to rely on the ultrawide lens, it gives a closer view on your subject without the wide angle distortion. Fine, macro photography might be a niche use, but it’s also something that anyone with a phone can do (versus having dedicated macro equipment). I’d still love to see Apple work on its close-up skills.

Xiaomi’s 15 Ultra camera grip

I loved Xiaomi’s 14 Ultra and 15 Ultra phones, finding them capable of taking some of the best photos I’ve ever seen from phone cameras. There’s a lot of reasons why these phones are great for photographers, but one of my favorite things about shooting with them are the Xiaomi-made accessories, including the camera grip and filter mount.

The grip in particular is super helpful as it allows you to hold the phone just like a regular compact camera, while the built-in shutter button makes it easier to snap away without having to tap the screen. The filter mount meanwhile allows me to use the same professional screw-in filters (like pro-mist, circular polarizers or neutral density filters) that I use with my professional camera kit.

Apple doesn’t make a camera grip for the iPhone and while there are various third party ones, I haven’t found many I really love to use. The Leica Lux grip is as well-built as you’d expect from the iconic photography brand, but it relies on MagSafe which feels risky trusting your phone to hold in place only with magnets and it will only work with the Leica app, not with the default iPhone camera app. (Oh, and it’s a nearly $400 accessory.)

Xiaomi’s kit, being made by the company itself and for the specific phone, works seamlessly, connecting securely to the phone and working as expected with the default camera app. The iPhone is amazing as an everyday carry camera, but it could be elevated dramatically if Apple created hardware accessories specifically for photographers.

Xiaomi 14 Ultra’s variable aperture

While I’m on the topic of Xiaomi, the company’s 14 Ultra is definitely worth stealing from. In particular, the variable aperture in its main camera can go from wide open at f/1.7 and close down to f/4. Most phones have a fixed aperture and while you’d rarely notice the difference, when it comes to night-time photography, the Xiaomi 14 Ultra was amazing.

By closing down the aperture, I was able to create authentic starburst effects around points of light like streetlights in exactly the same way that you would by using a narrow aperture with a mirrorless camera and lens on a tripod. I loved the images I captured with the phone as they looked so much more professional than the weird amorphous blobs seen around light sources in night photos from other phones.

I won’t hold my breath on this one as even Xiaomi didn’t stick with the technology for long. While the company made a big deal about it on the 14 Ultra, when it launched the 15 Ultra a year later, the variable aperture was nowhere to be seen. Perhaps the mechanics make the phone too expensive to produce or maybe there just wasn’t enough benefit — or demand — for starbursts in night photos.

Either way, it was a real highlight for me and it’s something I’d love to see Apple implement in the iPhone 17’s camera.

Xiaomi and Sony’s external lens cameras

Yes, I’m talking about Xiaomi again. But also Sony, so simmer down. At MWC earlier this year Xiaomi showed off a concept for a camera and lens unit that attaches to your phone but contains its own large image sensor and larger, higher-quality optics. It harnesses the computing power, image processing and larger display of your phone, but offers much better overall image quality than the tiny cameras in your phone are able to achieve.

Sony actually had a similar idea itself all the way back in 2013, packing its QX100 and QX10 cameras with a large image sensor and full zoom lens, but no screen. Like the Xiaomi concept, it connected to a phone to act as the display. While Sony’s product did go on sale, it never really took off and the company didn’t return to the format, while Xiaomi’s is firmly still in «concept» territory.

I certainly won’t be alone in having daydreamed about what an Apple camera would be like. Pairing the top-end image processing Apple is able to achieve with its iPhones with a significantly larger image sensor and pro-standard lens optics could result in an absolute photography powerhouse for both casual snappers and pros alike.

And while I don’t ever foresee the company launching an actual stand-alone camera, I’d love to see it create a camera unit like Sony’s and Xiaomi’s that’s designed to work in tandem with an iPhone. Do I expect to see this at the iPhone 17 launch? Absolutely not. Will I dream about it anyway? Damn right.

Technologies

Every iPhone 17E Rumor and Leak That I Found: Dynamic Island, MagSafe and More

Apple’s reportedly releasing a lower-priced iPhone 17, and it might offer notable improvements over last year’s iPhone 16E.

Key Takeaways:

Features: Apple might include MagSafe on the iPhone 17E.
Release date: Possibly as soon as February.
Price: There have been no leaks about price increases, which is good news at this point.
Design: Could get the Dynamic Island and look more like an iPhone 15.

Apple might be continuing its lower-cost iPhone line, with an iPhone 17E reportedly releasing early this year. If that’s true, the sequel to last year’s iPhone 16E has a lot of room to step up.

Some rumors point to improvements borrowed from Apple’s iPhone 15, such as Dynamic Island and MagSafe. If these are true, it could make the lower-cost iPhone 17E a compelling value option with fewer trade-offs needed to hit a lower price.

Apple’s $599 iPhone 16E was a bit of an oddity when it was released last year. It replaced Apple’s $429 iPhone SE, effectively retiring the older iPhone SE design that included a home button with Touch ID. Apple’s new «budget» device was a pricier amalgamation, featuring the body of an iPhone 14 with a display notch. It also had the USB-C port from the iPhone 15 and the A18 processor from the iPhone 16 to support Apple Intelligence features.

To save money, Apple scaled back on features by including only a single 48-megapixel main camera and omitting Apple’s MagSafe clip-on capability (though it kept standard wireless charging). While the iPhone 16E is a solid starter iPhone, I found these omissions to be confusing, especially given that Apple increased the price of this entry-level iPhone from $429 to $599.

An iPhone 17E could follow a playbook closer to Samsung’s Galaxy S25 FE. It would have many of the same features as the iPhone 16 and iPhone 17, like the smaller screen notch and an A19 processor, along with smaller stepbacks to the hardware that might be less noticeable.

Apple hasn’t confirmed whether an iPhone 17E exists yet, but we’re keeping an eye out. Here are the rumors we’ve heard so far, with features that could help or hinder the more budget-friendly iPhone 17E.

iPhone 17E release date: February 2026

The iPhone 17E could be announced as early as February, according to a Mashable report citing the Digital Chat Station Weibo account. The phone is said to be launching in the first half of the year. This would align with the iPhone 16E’s February 2025 announcement, establishing winter as Apple’s preferred launch window for cheaper iPhone models.

There are even rumors suggesting the base iPhone 18 will launch in the first half of 2027, but let’s not get too ahead of ourselves.

iPhone 17E design: Gets a Dynamic Island

One aspect that made the iPhone 16E stand out was Apple’s new design, which featured the iPhone 14’s body, a USB-C port and a single camera.

The iPhone 17E, however, will allegedly look more like 2023’s iPhone 15, with a smaller Dynamic Island cutout, according to the same Digital Chat Station Weibo post. The iPhone 17E is rumored to have a 6.1-inch display with a cutout, including dynamically sized notifications for timers and app alerts, such as Uber pickups.

This design is corroborated by the Smart Pikachu Weibo account, which also notes that the iPhone 17E will have a 60Hz refresh rate screen rather than the 120Hz one seen across the iPhone 17 line and the iPhone Air. It’d be nice to see a 17E with a 120Hz display, dubbed ProMotion by Apple. But this is one area that could be less noticeable to people coming from a former iPhone SE or an older base model like the iPhone 14.

While Apple’s ProMotion displays have been available on Pro models for years — as well as on almost every Android phone that costs $300 and more — the smoother animations and always-on displays it provides won’t be as noticeable when switching from a phone that never had them.

iPhone 17E features: MagSafe wireless charging

It baffled me that Apple didn’t include MagSafe with last year’s iPhone 16E. The feature, which allows for sticking magnetic accessories like chargers and wallets without a case, has been on most iPhone models since 2020. It felt like a strange omission, since Apple contributed MagSafe’s charging and magnetic profiles to the Qi2 standard, both of which are on Google’s Pixel 10 phones, HMD’s Skyline, and the upcoming Clicks Communicator.

The iPhone 17E is rumored to have a glass back that supports magnetic wireless charging — likely meaning the phone would gain the ability to magnetically attach to MagSafe and Qi2 accessories, according to a report in The Information spotted by 9to5Mac. This would be a major improvement for someone coming to this phone from an iPhone SE or the iPhone 11, both of which do support Qi wireless charging but do not include magnets for attaching accessories and cases.

While we would need more details, hopefully the inclusion of MagSafe also means the iPhone 17E’s wireless charging speed would increase to at least 15 watts, matching the iPhone 15.

iPhone 17E pricing

We’ll keep updating this story as more iPhone 17E rumors arrive. While there isn’t much regarding the pricing of the rumored phone, last year’s iPhone 16E starts at $599 for a 128GB model. I’m hoping the iPhone 17E starts at 256GB of storage, like the base iPhone 17. Apple still sells both the 16E and the iPhone 16 at 128GB, with the latter starting at $699.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Strands Hints, Answers and Help for Jan. 24 #692

Here are hints and answers for the NYT Strands puzzle for Jan. 24, No. 692.

Looking for the most recent Strands answer? Click here for our daily Strands hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle, Connections and Connections: Sports Edition puzzles.

Today’s NYT Strands puzzle is one of those where the answers only make sense in pairs. There are six answers to find, and each of them matches up with one of the other answers. Some of them are difficult to unscramble, so if you need hints and answers, read on.

I go into depth about the rules for Strands in this story.

If you’re looking for today’s Wordle, Connections and Mini Crossword answers, you can visit CNET’s NYT puzzle hints page.

Read more: NYT Connections Turns 1: These Are the 5 Toughest Puzzles So Far

Hint for today’s Strands puzzle

Today’s Strands theme is: A work of art.

If that doesn’t help you, here’s a clue: On museum walls.

Clue words to unlock in-game hints

Your goal is to find hidden words that fit the puzzle’s theme. If you’re stuck, find any words you can. Every time you find three words of four letters or more, Strands will reveal one of the theme words. These are the words I used to get those hints but any words of four or more letters that you find will work:

FINS, FINE, FINES, GARB, BOAT, GATES, GATES, FIST, RATE, RATS, STAR, PAINT, SILL, SPAT

Answers for today’s Strands puzzle

These are the answers that tie into the theme. The goal of the puzzle is to find them all, including the spangram, a theme word that reaches from one side of the puzzle to the other. When you have all of them (I originally thought there were always eight but learned that the number can vary), every letter on the board will be used. Here are the nonspangram answers:

STARRY, NIGHT, WATER, LILIES, BOATING, PARTY

Today’s Strands spangram

Today’s Strands spangram is FAMOUSPAINTING. To find it, start with the F that’s four letters down on the far-left vertical row, and wind up, across, and then down.

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Toughest Strands puzzles

Here are some of the Strands topics I’ve found to be the toughest.

#1: Dated slang. Maybe you didn’t even use this lingo when it was cool. Toughest word: PHAT.

#2: Thar she blows! I guess marine biologists might ace this one. Toughest word: BALEEN or RIGHT.

#3: Off the hook. Again, it helps to know a lot about sea creatures. Sorry, Charlie. Toughest word: BIGEYE or SKIPJACK.

Technologies

San Diego Comic-Con Draws a Line: No AI Art Allowed at 2026 Event

The long-running fan convention is banning AI-created works from its popular art show.

Like Sarah Connor in The Terminator, San Diego Comic-Con is fighting back against AI. The prestigious, long-running pop culture convention has banned all artwork created by artificial intelligence from the 2026 Comic-Con art show. Rules posted on the Comic-Con website now state that AI-generated art won’t be shown in any form.

«Material created by Artificial Intelligence (AI) either partially or wholly, is not allowed in the art show. If there are questions, the Art Show Coordinator will be the sole judge of acceptability,» the website reads.

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A representative for San Diego Comic-Con did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

In the past, the convention allowed participants to display AI artwork, provided it was clearly marked as such and wasn’t sold. But now, those artists can’t even bring it through the door. The rule change is a response to artist-led pushback, according to a 404 Media report. San Diego Comic-Con is one of the world’s most famous pop culture conventions, uniting comics, movies, television, gaming, cosplay and collectibles.

Jim Zub, writer for the Conan the Barbarian and Dungeons and Dragons comic book series, told CNET he supports Comic-Con’s decision and hopes other conventions will follow their lead.

«Hundreds of thousands of people attend San Diego Comic-Con each year, and the excitement that generates isn’t because they’re eager to meet a computer spitting out homogenized slop,» Zub said.

Zub, who’s also an artist, is scheduled to appear at Comic-Con in 2026.

Entertaining AI

The use of generative AI in comic book and pop culture art has generated controversy in recent years as AI programs have become more skilled at imitating creators.

A central focus of the 2023 actor’s strike involved backlash against the use of AI in movies and television. The issue has continued to roil Hollywood, as actors, special effects designers, and other film workers see the technology as a threat, while some movie studios view AI as a way to reduce production costs.

Netflix has already begun using AI-generated imagery in at least one series, Argentine sci-fi show El Eternauta. CEO Ted Sarandos praised the technology during a 2025 earnings call.

«We remain convinced that AI represents an incredible opportunity to help creators make films and series better, not just cheaper,» Sarandos said at the time.

AI is also an issue in the video game industry, with publishers facing swift backlash whenever fans discover AI was used in a game. The Indie Game Awards rescinded two awards for the hit RPG, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, after they found out that AI-made placeholder assets were included when the game launched. The game developer quickly patched the assets out.

While the movie and video game industries appear to have mixed views on using AI, Comic-Con has taken a firm stance, at least for now.

«Artists, writers, actors and other creatives gather and celebrate the popular arts in person because the people part of the equation is what matters most,» Zub said.