Technologies

We Tested Night Mode on the iPhone 14 Pro, Pixel 7 Pro and Galaxy S22 Ultra

We compared the best flagship models from Apple, Google and Samsung in a nighttime photo shoot field test.

We’ve been really impressed by the cameras on the Pixel 7 Pro, iPhone 14 Pro and Galaxy S22 Ultra. The Pixel 7 Pro’s zoom skills even gave the Galaxy S22 Ultra a run for its money, as well as offering some genuine competition to a professional DSLR. But how do these top phones perform when things go dark?

All three phones pack impressive nighttime shooting modes, which let you capture bright and clear shots even in almost total darkness. I’ve done some night mode testing on the phones already as part of the main Pixel 7 Pro review, but I wanted to spend a bit more side-by-side time with all three phones to see which one truly takes the best-looking images at night.

So I charged them up, put on my winter coat and headed out into the cold and dark streets of the Edinburgh suburb of Leith, Scotland. All images were taken in JPEG format, with the main cameras (unless otherwise stated) and using the dedicated night modes on both the Pixel 7 Pro and Galaxy S22 Ultra. The iPhone 14 Pro‘s mode kicks in automatically, so I simply made sure it was active when taking photos.

This first test above isn’t a great start for the Pixel 7 Pro. Its shot is darker than its rivals, with quite grungy details on the boat itself.

Zooming in to 100% on the same shots above, it’s clear that both the iPhone 14 Pro and Galaxy S22 Ultra achieved crisper, more balanced images. Between the two, the S22 Ultra did a better job at capturing more natural color tones and its shot wasn’t affected by reflected lights in its lens — something much more noticeable in the iPhone’s shot.

The Pixel 7 Pro did a much better job in the river scene above, with an excellent exposure across the whole image and tons of details visible on buildings in the distance. All three phones captured the scene well, with sharp details and minimal image noise. The iPhone’s image is a bit more contrasty, which I don’t dislike, but it makes the shot look a touch darker as a result.

One thing to note on the Pixel’s shot however is the noticeable lens flare from the streetlight on the left side of the image. While all three phones suffer from flare to an extent, it’s noticeably worse on the Pixel’s image, which is something I’d found on my initial tests for the review. Some shots I took had flares so prominent they ruined the image, and it’s something that you’ll need to keep in mind with bright light sources.

All three phones captured the old pub front above well, with excellent exposures across the board. I’m impressed at how they’ve all captured lots of detail in the shadowy areas of the images, yet managed to balance the bright highlights in the window and on the carvings well.

As with the earlier image of the boat, the iPhone 14 Pro’s shot leans toward a yellow-tinged white balance, which doesn’t look quite as realistic as the Galaxy S22 Ultra’s shot. The Pixel went a little far the other way, with a more magenta-toned image.

Zooming in to 100% on the same images and things switch around. It’s very marginal, but the Pixel 7 Pro achieved a slightly sharper image than its rivals, with the iPhone following close behind and the S22 Ultra bringing up the rear. I have to pixel peep at this point though, and even then the difference is almost negligible. At full screen, all three images are pin-sharp and look great.

The scene above works to summarize the approach the three phones take. The iPhone’s image has a more yellowy white balance which isn’t particularly realistic. The Pixel 7 Pro’s shot is a little darker and more magenta-toned, while the S22 Ultra’s shot seems to strike a better balance between the two with excellent exposure and more even colors.

But what about when we use the zoom lenses on these phones? Well, starting off with the standard cameras, all three phones have managed to capture solid images above.

Both the iPhone and Pixel offer 2x zoom modes (digitally cropping) and there’s not a huge amount to choose between them in the photos above. The digital crop has noticeably reduced the quality on photos from both phones and while the iPhone’s is a touch sharper, the Pixel’s has slightly better dynamic range, with some of the highlights being less blown out.

At 3x optical zoom on the iPhone 14 Pro and Galaxy S22 Ultra (the Pixel 7 Pro has a 5x zoom, which I’ll come to), the iPhone’s shot above is noticeably better than its 2x digital zoom shot, with improved details and dynamic range. And although its shot looks a little darker than the S22 Ultra’s, it has sharper, more defined details and a more even dynamic range which results in a better image overall.

Zooming right in to 150%, it’s clear that the iPhone’s dynamic range is better (look at the bright clock face in the upper left of the scene) and the details are much sharper.

The Pixel 7 Pro and Galaxy S22 Ultra can take their zooms further though, with 5x and 10x optical zooms being offered, respectively. The S22’s image above is obviously a lot more zoomed in, yet it maintains details and exposure. The Pixel’s looks solid too, with good colors and clarity. Given the big difference in zoom levels, there’s little point in deciding which one is better here.

Which phone takes the best night mode photos?

Overall I’m impressed at how well all three phones have done in these tests. Despite the dark conditions, I got images that are bright, colorful and packed with details, which is amazing to see given that I just took the shots hand-held, without a tripod — which I would need if I were taking the same shot on my professional camera. There’s not a huge gulf between any of them and any photographer would be pleased with the results they’re able to get in night time conditions.

That said, I’d have to give the overall win to the Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra. Its shots were consistently bright and clear, and crucially produced more natural color tones than the iPhone 14 Pro or Pixel 7 Pro managed to achieve. The iPhone sometimes produced slightly sharper images, but that’s only noticeable when you zoom right into a pixel-level view, which most of us are unlikely to do. For pure, straight-out-of-camera images that are ready to upload to Instagram, the S22 Ultra slightly edges out its rivals.

Technologies

Why Are Switch 2 Games So Expensive? Trump’s Tariffs May Not Be Sole Factor

It still comes down to money.

Wednesday’s reveal of the Switch 2 had a lot of buzz from Nintendo surrounding its successor to the Switch. One shocking bit, though, was the high price of its games. There’s a lot of confusion, especially with news of President Donald Trump’s increased tariffs on many trading partners, including Japan.

After the Switch 2 Direct, Nintendo released the full details of the upcoming console and games on its website. The price of Mario Kart World shocked gamers and led to some disdain, as the $80 MSRP was $10 more than what most new games cost today. This led many to wonder if this would be a new normal for game prices due to Trump’s tariffs or if Nintendo was just being greedy. The answer, however, might be something completely different.

Are Nintendo Switch 2 game prices hiking?

To start, some details need to be cleared up. Some people have posted on social media that the price of Nintendo’s Switch 2 games, at least in the US, will be $90. That is incorrect, as of right now.

One X user posted Switch 2 EU prices for Mario Kart World, which start at 80 euros for a digital version and 90 euros for the physical copy. Typically, US and EU games match in price, which caused some to assume that this pricing would be the case for the US.

Nintendo Switch 2 games will be more expensive physically than digitally.
Mario Kart World will be 90 freaking euros phisically. pic.twitter.com/iXuRwzlFqH

— Centro LEAKS (@CentroLeaks) April 2, 2025

US retailers, however, already posted their Switch 2 game prices, and Nintendo-published games are listed at $80.

Will Trump’s tariffs cause the Switch 2 to cost more?

As for Trump’s tariffs, that is unlikely to be a driver of this price bump. Tariffs are not applied to digital goods, and when the prices were published, there were no tariffs on Japan. Plus, games are similarly expensive in other countries like Canada and the UK.

With that cleared up, why are Nintendo games on the Switch 2 so expensive? One likely reason is game storage.

Read More: All the Nintendo Games You Can Update to Switch 2 for Free

The Switch 2 uses what Nintendo calls game-key cards, which are Switch 2 cartridges that don’t have all the game data on the cartridge itself. This helps save on production costs as storage is expensive. The original Switch cartridges went up to 32GB of storage, which doesn’t seem like a lot these days, with some games taking up 100GB or more of storage, but this is for the original Switch. Only a few games, like The Witcher 3, went above 32GB because the graphics for the Switch weren’t on the high end like with a PC, PS5 or Xbox Series console, where a Witcher 3 install size starts at 50GB.

Switch 2 games are going to be bigger in size — there is little doubt about it. CD Projekt Red confirmed it would put its Cyberpunk 2077: Ultimate Edition on one 64GB cartridge, and there will likely be other games to surpass that 64GB. With the max size of the cartridge doubling in size, it adds to the price of the physical card, as not only does storage have to be bigger, but they will need to transfer data faster. That can get more expensive for physical copies, unlike optical discs, which are still the same price whether it has 20GB or 100GB on the disc.

What does all this mean for gamers?

This leads to a dilemma for publishers: Put the entire game on the physical card and sell it at a loss, increase the price of the physical copy with the full game on it or use the game-key card to have a card with minimal storage, requiring gamers to download the entire game.

Read More: The 17 Best Nintendo Switch Games Right Now

It appears that Nintendo went with door No. 2. This doesn’t come as much of a surprise, knowing the company. Anyone who wants to save money on games knows that Nintendo will seldom bring the price down of its own games. Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, for example, is 8 years old and is still full price on Nintendo’s website.

According to an industry analysis from Niko Partners, this new pricing could become the new normal in a couple of years when it comes to physical cartridges.

«While there has been some sticker shock regarding the price of games increasing from $60 to $70 or $80, these price points are set to become industry standard over the next two years, especially so for Nintendo first-party games,» Niko Partners said in a statement Wednesday. «One reason for the higher price is the increased cost of the new and faster Game Cards themselves, with higher capacities being more expensive to manufacture than a PS5 Blu-ray disc.»

Nintendo didn’t respond to a request for comment about the higher price of its games.

That said, this doesn’t explain the lower price of Donkey Kong Bananza, which comes out in July; that’s listed on Nintendo’s site for $70. This could mean the game isn’t using a larger storage card, but that can’t be said for sure until the game comes out. It’s unclear how things will change in the future.

Technologies

Nintendo Switch 2 Pre-orders in US Delayed Due to Trump’s Tariffs

The Switch 2 launch is still happening on June 5, and preorders outside the US seem unchanged.

Nintendo Switch 2 preorders in the US were to start April 9, but it appears those plans have changed due to the new tariffs imposed this week by President Donald Trump. It’s unclear if this means Nintendo will also have to increase the price of the Switch successor, which currently starts at $450.

Nintendo said Friday that it’s delaying Switch 2 preorders in the US, but its June release date is unaffected.

«Pre-orders for Nintendo Switch 2 in the U.S. will not start April 9, 2025 in order to assess the potential impact of tariffs and evolving market conditions,» the company said in a statement. «Nintendo will update timing at a later date. The launch date of June 5, 2025 is unchanged.»

Nintendo didn’t indicate if preorder dates outside the US would change, but Eurogamer reports that preorders are live at various retailers in the UK.

A tariff of 24% has been applied by the US to goods from Japan. Were that rate to be applied directly to the Switch 2’s announced price, it would rise to $558, but it would be up to Nintendo how much of the tariff it will pass on to consumers.

This is a developing story.

Technologies

Twelve South’s Foldable Wireless Charger for iPhone and Apple Watch Is Up to 27% Off at Amazon

This handy accessory makes it easier to travel with your Apple gear and stay charged wherever you go.

Whether you’re traveling for business or off on a wonderful family vacation, charging your stuff shouldn’t be something you have to worry about. Taking extra chargers and cables can be a pain, and they all take up space in your bag. But the handy Twelve South Butterfly SE charger is a compact alternative that can wirelessly charge an iPhone and an Apple Watch at the same time. And it’s available with up to 27% off right now at Amazon.

That top line discount applies to the pink version, though the white model is only $7 more and other colors are seeing 15% off the usual $100 price tag if you have a strong preference. It’s not clear how long the discounts will last, though.

Hey, did you know? CNET Deals texts are free, easy and save you money.

The charger itself offers a way to wirelessly charge a iPhone and Apple Watch from a single AC outlet, and you can even charge your AirPods when your phone is done, too. And because this is a Qi2 charger you’ll get a full 15 watts of wireless charging for compatible devices — including the best iPhones.

When you’re not using the Butterfly SE, it folds up so it can be slid into a pocket, bag or luggage without taking up too much space. It really is the perfect partner for people who like to travel light.

Unfortunately, this charger doesn’t come with an AC adapter in the box, so you’ll need to provide your own. Make sure it’s rated for 20 watts or more. If you need to buy one, Apple’s 20-watt USB-C charger is just $15 right now.

Why this deal matters

We all carry multiple devices around with us these days. Anything that can make charging them more convenient is a win in our books, especially when you’re traveling. This charger takes up little space when it isn’t being used and charges quickly when it is.