Technologies

2025 iPhone Photography Award Winners Prove Any Phone Can Create Stunning Images

The 18th annual competition showcases masterpiece photos taken with Apple devices across the globe.

The winners of the 18th annual iPhone Photography Awards (IPPAWARDS), a competition that showcases stunning photos captured worldwide by photographers using an iPhone or iPad, were announced on Friday.

The full collection of this year’s winners and their photos — along with which Apple device they used to take their masterful shot — is now available at the IPPAWARDS site. You might be surprised to learn you don’t need the latest iPhone models to capture great images.

In the Photographers of the Year category, Jarod Peraza took the grand prize for his photo «Viajero Nocturno.» The US-based photographer captured the nighttime scene in Villa de Leyva, Colombia, using an iPhone 16 Pro Max.

In first place, US photographer Carol Addassi won for «Passage,» a black-and-white night shot of Central Park in New York City taken using a 7-year-old iPhone XS.

In second place, «Moto Cães» is a playful shot of two dogs in a motorcycle sidecar at sunset, captured by Brazil’s Thiago Bernardes de Souza on an iPhone 15 Pro Max.

Third place is a moody early morning photo of Virginia’s Corrotoman River, entitled «Foggy Morning on the Corrotoman,» taken by US photographer Martha Nance on an iPhone 15 Pro.

Since the first iPhone appeared in 2007, the awards have showcased both the technology and the aesthetics of mobile photography.

«When we began, the idea was simply to explore how this new device was transforming the way people create and share images,» said Kenan Aktulun, founder and editor-in-chief of IPPAWARDS, via email. «Early on, there was a heavy use of filters; users were experimenting with the novelty of mobile photography. Over the years, as users grew more fluent with the medium, the work became more personal, emotional, and relatable.»

In addition to the four top slots, the awards also name three winners in 12 different categories, including Abstract, Architecture, Landscape, Nature and Portrait. Dozens of photos are also named as honorable mentions in each category.

This year’s winning photos were made using a wide variety of iPhones, the oldest being an iPhone 8 Plus from 2017. Nearly every model since then is represented, with just a handful of the latest iPhone 16 lineup appearing among the awarded photos.

The competition stipulates that photos must be captured using an iPhone or iPad, and not edited in Photoshop on a desktop computer, although editing using apps on the device (presumably including the mobile versions of Photoshop) is allowed.

This year’s grand prize winner received a 13-inch Apple iPad Air, and the other Photographers of the Year received an Apple Watch Series 10. In the 12 specific categories, the first-place winners each received a gold bar, and the second and third-place winners each received a platinum bar.

Judges evaluated images and determined winners based on artistic merit, originality, subject and style. According to Aktulun, the panel is made up of 10 to 12 judges from different backgrounds, «such as photographers, art buyers, creative directors, architects, academics, people in the creative field and occasionally selected winners from previous years.»

Submitting work to the competition involves an entry fee of $7.50 for one image and discounted per-image rates for batches of up to 25 images. There are no limits on the number of entries you can submit.

Submissions for the 2026 iPhone Photography Awards are now open through March 31, 2026.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Connections Hints, Answers and Help for March 15, #1008

Here are some hints and the answers for the NYT Connections puzzle for March 15, No. 1,008

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

Today’s NYT Connections puzzle is kind of tough, but the yellow category has some fun options in it. Read on for clues and today’s Connections answers.

The Times has a Connections Bot, like the one for Wordle. Go there after you play to receive a numeric score and to have the program analyze your answers. Players who are registered with the Times Games section can now nerd out by following their progress, including the number of puzzles completed, win rate, number of times they nabbed a perfect score and their win streak.

Read more: Hints, Tips and Strategies to Help You Win at NYT Connections Every Time

Hints for today’s Connections groups

Here are four hints for the groupings in today’s Connections puzzle, ranked from the easiest yellow group to the tough (and sometimes bizarre) purple group.

Yellow group hint: Mine, all mine!

Green group hint: A part you might use to build something.

Blue group hint: Blended words.

Purple group hint: Not a cow, but close.

Answers for today’s Connections groups

Yellow group: Greedily control.

Green group: Toothed wheels.

Blue group: Portmanteaux.

Purple group: Bull ____.

Read more: Wordle Cheat Sheet: Here Are the Most Popular Letters Used in English Words

What are today’s Connections answers?

The yellow words in today’s Connections

The theme is greedily control. The four answers are bogart, corner, hog and monopolize.

The green words in today’s Connections

The theme is toothed wheels. The four answers are cog, gear, pinion and sprocket.

The blue words in today’s Connections

The theme is portmanteaux. The four answers are blog, motel, smog and spork.

The purple words in today’s Connections

The theme is bull ____. The four answers are dog, doze, frog and horn.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Strands Hints, Answers and Help for March 15, #742

Here are hints and answers for the NYT Strands puzzle for March 15, No. 742.

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 fun and timely, relating to a certain big ceremony held this weekend. Some of the answers 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: Best of all

If that doesn’t help you, here’s a clue: The envelope, please.

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:

RATE, RATED, DATE, DOTE, DATED, DOTED, GATE, GATES, TROD, TRODS

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: