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

Today’s NYT Mini Crossword Answers for Friday, Sept. 19

Here are the answers for The New York Times Mini Crossword for Sept. 19.

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

I didn’t get off to a great start with today’s Mini Crossword, completely blanking on 1-Across. Thankfully, the other clues were easy, and that answer filled itself in. Need some help? Read on. And if you could use some hints and guidance for daily solving, check out our Mini Crossword tips.

If you’re looking for today’s Wordle, Connections, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands answers, you can visit CNET’s NYT puzzle hints page.

Read more: Tips and Tricks for Solving The New York Times Mini Crossword

Let’s get to those Mini Crossword clues and answers.

Mini across clues and answers

1A clue: Cancel on plans at the last moment
Answer: FLAKE

6A clue: Shade of light purple
Answer: LILAC

7A clue: ___ acid (protein builder)
Answer: AMINO

8A clue: Sarcastic «Yeah, sure»
Answer: IBET

9A clue: Sardonic boss on «Parks and Recreation»
Answer: RON

Mini down clues and answers

1D clue: Stylish panache
Answer: FLAIR

2D clue: Party game that tests how low you can go
Answer: LIMBO

3D clue: Visitor from outer space
Answer: ALIEN

4D clue: Philosopher who posed the question «What can I know?»
Answer: KANT

5D clue: Environmentally friendly prefix
Answer: ECO

Technologies

Your Old Android Isn’t Dead. These Tweaks Can Bring It Back to Life

Clear space, optimize your battery and update the basics. These quick changes can make an old Android phone feel snappier.

You don’t need the latest Android flagship to get good performance.

Thanks to longer software support from brands like Google and Samsung, older models can still run smoothly, as long as you give them a little attention. Clearing out unused apps, updating your software and tweaking a few settings can breathe new life into a device that feels sluggish. These quick fixes can help your phone last longer and save you from spending on an early upgrade.

Before you start shopping for a replacement, try a few simple adjustments. You might be surprised by how much faster your phone feels once you free up space, optimize battery use and turn off background drains.

Whether you use a Samsung Galaxy, Motorola or OnePlus phone, chances are you can still improve battery life and overall speed without buying something new. Just remember that Android settings vary slightly from brand to brand, so the menus may look a little different depending on your phone.

Don’t miss any of CNET’s unbiased tech content and lab-based reviews. Add us as a preferred Google source on Chrome.

Settings to improve your battery life

Living with a phone that has poor battery life can be infuriating, but there are some steps you can take to maximize each charge right from the very beginning:

1. Turn off auto screen brightness or adaptive brightness and set the brightness level slider to under 50%

The brighter your screen, the more battery power it uses.

To get to the setting, pull down the shortcut menu from the top of the screen and adjust the slider, if it’s there. Some phones may have a toggle for auto brightness in the shortcut panel; otherwise, you need to open the settings app and search for «brightness» to find the setting and turn it off.

2. Use Adaptive Battery and Battery Optimization

These features focus on learning how you use your phone, including which apps you use and when, and then optimizing the apps and the amount of battery they use.

Some Android phones have a dedicated Battery section in the Settings app, while other phones (looking at you, Samsung) bury these settings. It’s a little different for each phone. I recommend opening your settings and searching for «battery» to find the right screen. Your phone may also have an adaptive charging setting that can monitor how quickly your phone battery charges overnight to preserve its health.

Why you should use dark mode more often

Another way to improve battery life while also helping save your eyes is to use Android’s dedicated dark mode. Any Android phone running Android 10 or newer will have a dedicated dark mode option.

According to Google, dark mode not only reduces the strain that smartphone displays cause on our eyes but also improves battery life because it takes less power to display dark backgrounds on OLED displays (used in most flagship phones) than a white background.

Depending on which version of Android your phone is running, and what company made your phone, you may have to dig around the settings app to find a dark mode. If your phone runs Android 10 or newer, you’ll be able to turn on system-wide dark mode. If it runs Android 9, don’t despair. Plenty of apps have their own dark mode option in the settings that you can use, whether or not you have Android 10.

To turn it on dark mode, open the Settings app and search for Dark Mode, Dark Theme or even Night Mode (as Samsung likes to call it). I suggest using dark mode all the time, but if you’re not sure, you can always set dark mode to automatically turn on based on a schedule, say from 7 p.m. to 7 a.m. every day, or allow it to automatically switch based on your location at sunset and sunrise.

Keep your home screen free of clutter

Planning to hit up the Google Play Store for a bunch of new Android apps? Be prepared for a lot of icon clutter on your home screen, which is where shortcuts land every time you install something.

If you don’t want that, there’s a simple way out of this: Long-press on an empty area of your home screen and tap Settings. Find the option labeled something along the lines of Add icon to Home Screen or Add new apps to Home Screen and turn it off.

Presto! No more icons on the home screen when you install new apps. You can still add shortcuts by dragging an app’s icon out of the app drawer, but they won’t appear on your home screen unless you want them to.

Read more: Best Android Phones You Can Buy in 2024

Set up Do Not Disturb so that you can better focus

If your phone routinely spends the night on your nightstand, you probably don’t want it beeping or buzzing every time there’s a call, message or Facebook alert — especially when you’re trying to sleep. Android offers a Do Not Disturb mode that will keep the phone more or less silent during designated hours. On some phones, this is referred to as the Downtime setting or even Quiet Time.

Head to Settings > Sounds (or Notifications), then look for Do Not Disturb or a similar name. If you can’t find it, search for it using the built-in search feature in your settings.

Using the feature, you can set up a range of hours when you want to turn off the digital noise. Don’t worry, any notifications you get while Do Not Disturb is turned on will still be waiting for you when you wake up. Also, you can typically make an exception that allows repeat callers and favorite contacts’ calls to go through. Turn that on. If someone is calling you in an emergency, odds are they are going to keep trying.

Always be prepared in case you lose your phone or it’s stolen

Is there anything worse than a lost or stolen phone? Only the knowledge that you could have tracked it down if you had turned on Google’s Find My Device feature.

To prepare for a successful recovery, here’s what you need to do: Open the Settings app and then search for Find My Device. It’s usually in the Security section of the Settings app.

If you have a Samsung device, you can use Samsung’s Find My Mobile service, which is found in Settings > Biometrics and security > Find My Mobile.

Once that’s enabled, you can head to android.com/find from any PC or mobile device and sign in to your account. Samsung users can visit findmymobile.samsung.com to find a lost phone.

If you have trouble setting any of this up, be sure to read our complete guide to finding a lost Android phone.

Assuming your phone is on and online, you should be able to see its location on a map. From there, you can make it ring, lock it, set a lock screen note to tell whoever has it how to get it back to you, or, worst-case scenario, remotely wipe the whole thing.

And always keep your phone up to date

As obvious as it may seem, a simple software update could fix bugs and other issues slowing down your Android device.

Before you download and install the latest software update, make sure your device is connected to Wi-Fi, or else this won’t work.

Now, open the Settings application and type in Update. You’ll then either see Software update or System update — choose either one. Then just download the software, wait for a few minutes and install it when it’s ready. Your Android device will reboot and install the latest software update available.

There’s a lot more to learn about a new phone. Here are the best ways to boost your cell signal, and here’s a flagship phone head-to-head comparison. Plus, check out CNET’s list of the best cases for your Samsung phone. More of an Apple fan? We have tips for boosting your iPhone’s performance, too.

Technologies

Your Pixel 10 Might Have Issues With Older Wireless Chargers

You might want to try taking the case off your phone in order to successfully charge it.

When Google introduced the Pixel 10 lineup in August, it became one of the first major Android phones to receive the Qi 2 wireless charging standard, which Google calls Pixelsnap. However, users noticed issues with wireless charging on the Pixel 10 almost immediately after its release.

Some people are having trouble charging their phone with the new Pixelsnap charger, and others are having issues with older wireless chargers, including Google’s own Pixel Stands. The bulk of the problems happen when a case is on the phone — whether it has the magnet array or not.

I own both the first and second generation Pixel Stands and both will charge my Pixel 10 Pro XL without an issue if there’s no case on it. However, when I add a case to my phone, the problems begin.

I have three cases for my phone, the Mous Super Thin Clear Case, the Magnetic Slim Case Fit by Grecazo, and a no-name soft TPU case. If my phone has any of those cases on and I attempt to charge it while it’s vertical, it starts to charge and then stops after a second or two, and keeps doing that.

I can fix this for the first-generation Pixel Stand by turning the phone horizontal, but it will still charge very slowly. I can’t seem to fix it at all for the Pixel Stand 2 — vertical, horizontal, it doesn’t charge.

Not everyone has this issue

The problem doesn’t seem to be universal. CNET editor Patrick Holland said he had no issues charging the Pixel 10 Pro during his time with it.

A Google spokesperson told me the Pixel 10 lineup is not optimized for older Qi wireless charging standards, but that doesn’t necessarily mean the phones won’t work with older wireless chargers.

Qi 2 is backwards-compatible with older standards, but the phone’s height and charging coil placement on both the phone and the charger are still factors. If you’re having problems, you might see if removing the case helps.

The prospect of potentially needing to replace your older wireless chargers with newer ones isn’t ideal, especially if you shelled out $80 for one or both of Google’s own Pixel Stands. Still, if you want the best wireless charging speed for your brand new Pixel 10 phone, it won’t be with wireless chargers that only support older Qi standards.