Best PlayStation 4 Games

Want to know what to get for your PlayStation 4? Start with these, the best games you can buy!

The PS4 has a ton of great titles available, but we all have a limited amount of time (and money) so we can’t just aimlessly pick games. That’s why we have a list of fantastic choices for you to check out if you’re looking for something new to play on your PlayStation 4.

1. Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End

It’s impossible to talk PS4 games and not recommend Uncharted as a must buy. A Thief’s End is the first outing for infamous adventurer, Nathan Drake, on the current generation console and takes place three years along from the end of Uncharted 3.

Drake has given up the life of old, but gets dragged back into action when his brother come’s calling. Uncharted has never looked or played better than it does in a Thief’s End and it cements the series’ legacy as one of the best you can play on any platform.

See at Amazon

2. The Witcher 3

The Witcher 3 is one of the most acclaimed games ever made, taking place in a huge open-world densely packed with incentives to explore, secrets to uncover and stories to unravel. It’s as action-packed as they come, interweaved with a darkly mature plot, choice and consequences, and a virtual world teeming with life.

The game has been continuously updated and refined since its launch, adding new features for free in addition to large expansions that heap value on top of its solid foundation. The Witcher 3 is completely unmissable.

See at Amazon

3. Grand Theft Auto V

The legendary franchise initially missed the launch of the PlayStation 4, instead remaining exclusive to the PS3 and Xbox 360. Eventually that changed and with its arrival on the PS4 came much improved graphics and an optional first-person view that brings a whole new dimension to the GTA world.

What GTA V does best is what it’s always done. Thrown a huge open world map onto your console with a lengthy, compelling campaign and an abundance of side missions. And with GTA Online in for good measure, the action never stops.

See at Amazon

4: Overwatch

Blizzard’s first FPS game has literally taken the world by storm, and for good reason. There’s no single player campaign, which is perhaps all some might be able to criticize it for. But your average shooter this is not.

Overwatch has a big variety in its characters with different abilities and weapons for each one of them. The gameplay is objective based and just getting the most kills is no longer good enough. Throw in a unique look and some terrifically designed maps and Overwatch is one that will have you coming back for much, much more.

See at Amazon

5: Battlefield 1

In a world of futuristic sci-fi shooters, DICE and EA went back in time to World War 1 for the latest Battlefield game. Battlefield 1 is about as far from the likes of Call of Duty as you’ll find, and it’s all the better for it.

It looks gorgeous, or as gorgeous as the muddy fields of Northern Europe could look, and the campaign is something that just has to be played. It’s an emotional rollercoaster packed with historical gunplay, tanks and more besides. The multiplayer is ambitious, and has support for 64 players at once on a gigantic map.

See at Amazon

6: Doom

DOOM is a reboot of the classic series developed by id Software. After many delays, DOOM emerged from the depths of development hell and took everybody by surprise, delivering the possibly greatest shooter campaign of this generation so far.

Unashamedly violent and gory, DOOM riffs on the classic, fast-paced formula, atop some modern flare, a nightmarish art direction, and a fist-poundingly awesome soundtrack. DOOM has a sense of purity often lost in modern shooters.

See at Amazon

7: Rise of the Tomb Raider

PlayStation fans had to wait a whole year to get their hands on Lara Croft’s latest adventure and it comes in the form of the 20-year celebration pack that also includes a free PlayStation VR experience to boot. It sees Lara get back to her roots; raiding tombs, heading first to the freezing wilderness of Siberia.

It looks fantastic and feels just like the Tomb Raiders of old, which is in no way a bad thing. Lara may have grown up and got a little darker in places, but Rise of the Tomb Raider is one for fans and newcomers alike.

See at Amazon

8. Fallout 4

Fallout 4 is the latest installment in Bethesda’s post-apocalyptic RPG series, and is one of the finest open-world games around. This time Fallout heads to Boston and Vault 111, the hole in the ground from which you emerge in a future destroyed by nuclear weapons.

With its rich RPG systems, improved shooting mechanics, deep settlement construction engine and console-exclusive Xbox One mods, you’ll struggle to see everything Fallout 4 has to offer.

See at Amazon

9. Inside

INSIDE is among the most critically acclaimed games of 2016 for its meticulously polished gameplay, ravenously dark plot and fiendish puzzles that are just as likely to warp your mind as the game’s shocking ending.

INSIDE is from the creators of LIMBO, and is every bit as haunting. It’s not expensive and it’s one everyone should experience.

See at PlayStation

10. Journey

That this is a remaster of a PlayStation 3 game makes it no less rewarding to play. If anything it makes it more worthwhile because the game art looks better than ever and the higher frame rates mean its more polished, too.

There is no dialog, no real instruction, but you’re in a uniquely stunning world going on a journey. Get it? It’s quite short, but intense and emotionally involving. Not to be missed.

See at PlayStation

If you’re looking for the very best games you can find for PlayStation VR, then head on over and visit our buddies at VR Heads who’ll walk you through the best games for your headset!

Why is there PlayStation stuff here?

PlayStation on Android Central?!? We use our Android phones to interact with the PlayStation 4 — especially if you have a Sony Xperia phone. We’re also talking a lot more about VR, and PlayStation VR is just as big a part of that conversation. It stretches things outside of Android a little, but it’s also going to be a lot of fun. Enjoy!

• Gaming with Second Screen apps
• Hands-on with PlayStation VR
• Specs comparison: Playstation VR, Oculus Rift, HTC Vive, and Gear VR

How to celebrate New Year’s in VR

Celebrate the new year from inside VR!

The end of 2016 is upon us, which means parties full of friends, watching the ball drop, and washing your hands of this year in preparation for 2017. If you don’t yet have plans for the big night, then don’t worry! There are a few awesome ways that you can experience the New Year’s party in London, or New York City, all with the aid of your VR headset. Whether you’re hoping to enjoy the feel of NYC from the relative comfort of your couch, or you couldn’t get tickets to see the fireworks over London, we’ve got you totally covered.

Read More at VRHeads

Smartwatches failed to excite in 2016

When the first smartwatches made it to our wrists a few years ago, we were willing to overlook shortcomings because the product category was in its infancy. But the technology has had time to mature, and 2016 should have been an exciting year in this space. Instead, we saw a number of important brands pull out of the smartwatch race; meanwhile Google deferred major updates to 2017. Smaller but significant companies were swallowed by competitors, and the devices that did launch this year were unexciting at best. Smartwatch sales started to decline in the second quarter, and while the all-important holiday shopping numbers haven’t been tallied yet, the future isn’t looking good for the category.

This year’s new watches, such as the Apple Watch Series 2, the Fitbit Blaze and a slew of Android Wear watches, were mostly underwhelming, with merely incremental upgrades. Battery life continues to be unsatisfactory, the cases are usually still too thick, and companies still struggle to balance timeless design with futuristic functionality. Google, which originally planned to launch Android Wear 2.0 this year, is pushing that update to early 2017. The new version will apparently allow for apps that can run independently on smartwatches without requiring a companion phone, something that Apple’s watchOS 2 has offered since fall 2015. Speaking of Apple, the Series 2 appears to be one of the few smartwatches that did well this year: It’s received mostly positive reviews and appears to be selling decently well, although Apple did not respond to queries on actual sales numbers.

Traditional watchmakers continued to smarten up their products this year, with one of the most notable being Tag Heuer and its fancy Connected watch. That thing costs a whopping $1,500, and it doesn’t offer much more than the other Android Wear watches. Sure, it’s a Tag, but when most Android Wear watches cost between $150 and $400, you realize that you’re paying $1,200 more for yet another wearable that needs recharging every two days or so, with a display that’s middling at best.

The only established watchmakers that succeeded at producing decent devices (think Timex and Fossil) did so by avoiding going fully digital, sticking instead to more-conventional analog designs with hidden sensors for basic fitness tracking. Really, then, the watches that did well this year were the hybrids, with the one big exception being the Apple Watch Series 2.

Then come the brands that have basically given up on making smartwatches altogether. A Motorola exec recently said the company is not working on a successor to last year’s Moto 360, because it just doesn’t “see enough pull in the market” to justify developing an updated model. That this kind of sentiment is coming from Motorola, of all companies, is telling. After all, the Moto 360 was the first Android Wear watch to have a round face and is one of the most well-received smartwatches running Google’s software.

Similarly, this year Microsoft discontinued its Band fitness wearable. Although it’s more of an activity tracker, the Microsoft Band always toed the line, what with its color touchscreen and smartwatch-like features such as phone notifications and third-party app support. Unlike Motorola, however, Microsoft never explained its exit from the field, although it continues to support its suite of health apps that can run on other devices.

One of the biggest signs that smartwatches are in trouble, though, was industry pioneer Pebble’s recent acquisition by Fitbit for the modest sum of about $40 million. Back in its heyday, Pebble reportedly received bids from Citizen and Intel for $740 million and $70 million, respectively. The startup declined both suitors and went on to launch a new line of fitness-focused smartwatches this year. The Pebble 2 and Pebble Time 2 raised $12 million on Kickstarter, beating the $1 million funding goal. Despite the company’s fundraising successes, Pebble failed to resolve its financial woes and eventually accepted Fitbit’s offer.

With so much consolidation in the smartwatch space, the future of the category looks gloomy. Less competition can mean less innovation, which can result in products growing stale and eventually fading altogether. Still, there have been developments in 2016 that could give the industry a boost. Startup Matrix Industries came up with a way to use body heat to power a smartwatch, which could eliminate (or at least alleviate) the problem of inadequate battery life. Plus, with Android Wear 2.0 slated to arrive early next year, the next generation of smartwatches will likely become more functional, giving users more reason to wear them.

We also saw a few watches this year that let wearers control Amazon’s Alexa from their wrist, although they ran obscure independent operating systems that barely had third-party app support. The Alexa integration means that these watches can access more than 2,000 so-called skills, letting you do things such as turn on your smart lights or thermostat, ask how much you’ve spent at specific stores, or buy many, many pairs of socks. You can’t do most of that yet with Android Wear’s OK Google command, but Alexa’s expansion into watches could spur Google to improve its own assistant.

So 2016 wasn’t a great year for smartwatches. In fact, it was a disappointing 12 months that don’t bode well for the future of the category. But there are enough upcoming potential enhancements that the industry could be revived. Components could also get smaller and more powerful over time, as they did with smartphones, eventually leading to sleeker frames housing more full-featured systems. But that’s something to look forward to in the future. As for this year’s smartwatches? Goodbye, and good riddance.

Check out all of Engadget’s year-in-review coverage right here.

Recommended Reading: Some suggestions for Twitter in 2017

A Billion Dollar
Gift for Twitter
Anil Dash,
Medium

Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey asked the masses this week what the company should focus on in 2017. After a year filled with harassment issues and the failure to court a buyer, the next few months will be very important for Twitter’s future. Tech entrepreneur and blogger Anil Dash penned some suggestions for the company and the list would be a great place for Dorsey to start in January.

‘Duck Dynasty’ vs. ‘Modern Family’: 50 Maps of the US Cultural Divide Josh Katz, The New York Times Sure, this is more looking than reading, but The New York Times’ “Upshot” examines how the TV shows we watch are so closely linked with political divisions.	The Farmer Who Built Her Own Broadband Zoe Kleinman, BBC What happens in a rural community when internet connectivity isn’t the best? Well, one farmer bought fiber-optic cable and fixed the issue herself. Now the folks in Lancashire have faster internet than the average speeds for the UK as a whole.
Midnight in a Perfect World Justin Sayles, The Ringer We may have missed this when it was posted a few weeks ago, but DJ Shadow and other artists discuss what it’s like to go crate diving in the digital age.	Ninterview: Learning Retro Secrets with a Former Nintendo Game Play Counselor Darren Calvert, Nintendo Life Yes, this is technically a repost, but we couldn’t resist Nintendo Life’s interview with Game Play Counselor Erich Waas.

How to fix push notifications in MIUI 8

Not getting push notifications in MIUI 8? Here’s how to fix it.

MIUI 8 offers a ton of new features, including a power-saving mode that automatically extends battery life by killing background apps, adjusting system apps’ performance, and limiting apps that drain the battery.

However, one of MIUI’s most common bugs — one that affects push notifications — is still prevalent in the latest version of the operating system, and it seems to inexplicably affect a few Xiaomi handsets. I had the issue earlier this year on the MIUI 7-based Redmi Note 3 wherein the phone never displayed Gmail or WhatsApp notifications, although enabling priority notifications for both apps fixed the issue. At the same time, the Mi 5 delivered push notifications without me having to tweak any settings.

At least in the case of MIUI 8, the issue seems to be tied to the OS’ aggressive battery management, which kills background apps and sync services when your phone is idling. To negate it, you’ll have to prioritize notifications and enable autostart for apps that aren’t showing notifications.

The problem isn’t as exacerbated as before, but if you’re unable to receive push notifications on your Xiaomi phone, there are a few things that you can do. Here’s how to fix push notifications in MIUI 8.

Prioritize notifications

Open Settings from the home screen.
Navigate to Notifications & status bar.

Select App notifications.

Select the app you want to prioritize.
Ensure Floating notifications, Lock screen notifications, and App icon badge are enabled.

Toggle Priority.

Prioritizing an app should fix issues with push notifications. If you’re still not seeing alerts for incoming messages, you should enable autostart.

Enable autostart

Open Settings from the home screen.
Navigate to Permissions.
Tap Autostart.

Select the apps you want to start automatically.

Turning on autostart ensures that the app isn’t affected by the operating system’s battery management. If you don’t see a specific app listed in the menu (I cannot autostart Gmail), then try disabling battery saver.

Disable battery saver mode

Open Settings from the home screen.
Select Battery & performance.
Tap Manage apps battery usage.

In Power saving modes, select Off.

Disabling battery saver mode allows apps to continue running unrestricted in the background. Doing so didn’t affect the battery life on the three phones I’m currently using — the Redmi Note 3, Mi 5s, and the Mi Note 2. If none of the methods listed above work, you should consider re-installing the global MIUI ROM afresh.

Were you able to get push notifications fixed in MIUI 8? Let us know in the comments below.

The best virtual reality apps for meditation

“Om” your way through life with the help of these meditation apps.

There’s no hippie mumbo jumbo here. Meditation is often encouraged by medical professionals as a way to decompress when life might be moving too quickly for you to catch up. On a physical level, meditation can be particularly helpful with lowering blood pressure, reducing anxiety attacks, helping insomnia, increasing serotonin production, and simply gaining clarity and peace of mind.

I’ve personally reaped the benefits of consistent meditation throughout my life. I practice yoga, so meditation is a part of it, but sometimes I don’t have the room or the time to get into a physical flow. So what do I do? I pop on a pair of headphones and the Daydream View to get going. I’ve found this method to be particularly effective in helping me drown out the noise around me, whether that’s my inner voice crowding around everything else I’m worrying about, or the cat yowling for a bowl of food. Virtual reality has helped me efficiently reach that state of “nothingness.” Here are some of the apps that I’ve found to be particularly effective in aiding my own meditative practice.

Read more at VR Heads!

ICYMI: Say farewell to 2016 with these favorite stories

Today on In Case You Missed It: We are rounding up some favorite stories from the year before it’s lost to us all. When next you see ICYMI, it’ll be from CES.

As always, please share any interesting tech or science videos you find by using the #ICYMI hashtag on Twitter for @mskerryd.

The Morning After: Weekend Edition

Letter from the Editor

Happy New Year, everybody! Good riddance to 2016.

And it was a particularly painful year for the likes of Samsung. It wasn’t all bad, of course, but Chris Velazco explains that when your biggest headlines of 2016 are about flaming phones, you can’t wait to flip the calendar to 2017.

Similarly, Jess Conditt recounted Yahoo’s series of catastrophes that was the past twelve months. An attack compromising 500 million accounts was only the company’s second-biggest hack revealed this year. It beggars belief. Almost.

Nathan Ingraham was disappointed by Apple. Dan Cooper described Theranos’ and Twitter’s self-inflicted wounds. Andrew Tarantola gave us the counterpoint to next week’s Best of CES awards. And Terrence O’Brien explained why we all lost in 2016.

Next year can be better. Here’s to making it happen.

Minor, but ominousA Vermont power company found Russian malware on a laptop

On Friday the Burlington Electric Department says it found a malware signature matching Russia’s “Grizzly Steppe” attackers on a company laptop. There’s no sign yet that the power grid is at risk, however, due to reports of Russian hackers attacking utilities in Ukraine, it’s a worrying development.

Smart snitchingPolice seek Amazon Echo data in murder case

If you don’t want your digital assistant taking notes on a criminal conspiracy, you might want to disable its microphone. Police requested information from Amazon because they believe an Echo speaker could have picked up evidence of a murder. Amazon declined the request (and it’s unclear whether any relevant information was recorded), but the prosecution’s case is being helped by a different connected device: the defendant’s smart water meter.

Take my moneyA South Korean robotics company just built a real Gundam

Yup, that’s a real mech. The 1.3 ton Method-2 is the work of a Korean robotics company and a Hollywood special effects designer, who envision real-world applications beyond looking cool and being a mech. If all goes well, it could go on sale by the end of 2017 for a little over $8 million.

SoonNintendo Switch FCC docs reveal a sealed battery

The next Nintendo console is only a few months away, and we still know very little about it. Thanks to regulators, we got a closer look at its design this week, and the bad news is that you won’t be able to swap its battery pack on the fly, or easily upgrade it with a larger one.

Put the kids to bed whenever you’re ready
Netflix has 10 New Year’s Eve countdowns ready for streaming

Netflix posted countdown videos based on series like Fuller House, Trollhunters and Skylanders Academy for kids to watch instead of the celebrations on regular broadcast TV. Since they’re ready to go whenever you are, the only task standing between you and an early bedtime is resetting every clock in the house.

But wait, there’s more…

• CyanogenMod project rises again as LineageOS
• After 13 years of development, Handbrake 1.0 is ready
• The Engadget Podcast Ep 20: I Can’t Stand Up For Falling Down
• Facebook will set off fireworks on your feed for NYE

The Morning After is a new daily newsletter from Engadget designed to help you fight off FOMO. Who knows what you’ll miss if you don’t subscribe.

OnePlus 3T Nougat beta now available, stable rollout for 3 and 3T begins ‘tonight’

“Gradual rollout” of stable Android 7.0 builds to commence from tonight, says co-founder

Update: We’ve updated this story with comments from Carl Pei, and news of the stable rollout coming later today.

OnePlus has stumbled over the finish line in its bid to update the OnePlus 3 and 3T to Android 7.0 Nougat in the promised end-of-year timeframe. A post on its forums today announces the first OxygenOS 4.0 (Android 7.0) beta build for the OnePlus 3T. The release puts the 3T in line with the OnePlus 3, which has been receiving beta builds since late November, the most recent one just a few days ago.

In a highly unusual move, the first 3T beta build goes live just hours ahead of the stable Nougat release for both phones. OnePlus co-founder Carl Pei says a gradual rollout for OnePlus 3 and 3T will commence from tonight.

2) Android N stable OTA for the OP3 and the OP3T. Gradual rollout will begin later tonight.

— Carl Pei (@getpeid) December 31, 2016

Today’s launch gives eager 3T owners their first taste of Nougat ahead of the promised end-of-year deadline (though in beta, not stable form for the time being), while they wait for the final update to become available.

We’ve reached out to OnePlus for clarification on stable Nougat updates for its phones, and will update this post with its response.

More: First look at Nougat on the OnePlus 3 + 3T

Android Nougat

• Android 7.0 Nougat: Everything you need to know
• Will my phone get Android Nougat?
• Google Pixel + Pixel XL review
• All Android Nougat news
• How to manually update your Nexus or Pixel
• Join the Discussion

OnePlus 3 and OnePlus 3T

• OnePlus 3 review: Finally, all grown up
• The OnePlus 3T is official
• OnePlus 3 specs
• OnePlus 3T vs. OnePlus 3: What’s the difference?
• Latest OnePlus 3 news
• Discuss OnePlus 3 in the forums

OnePlus

9 tips for recording better video with your smartphone

Thanks to smartphones, recording video has never been so easy or effortless.

Everyone has a powerful video camera in their pocket: a smartphone. And with a little practice and access to a few key tips, even you – yes, you – can start recording great footage, vlogging, or even record an indie film or documentary using just your smartphone.

Thus, in an effort to help you capture whatever it is you want in the best way possible, Pocket-lint has rounded up nine tips. Although some of the tips might seem obvious, we guarantee that following all of them will result in amazing video every time.

Landscape

Nothing ruins great footage like having two black vertical bars along both sides of your video. To avoid this amateur mistake, make sure to use landscape orientation and not portrait orientation while recording.

Not only does landscape make your video seem more aesthetically pleasing in general, it’ll also make it more enjoyable to watch when viewed on a widescreen or television. Plus, you’ll capture more in the actual video.

So just remember: never hold your phone vertically while recording, unless you really like or want those vertical black bars included.

Framing

Now that you’re recording in the proper orientation (see above), completely fill the frame with your subject. You can also put him or her or it slightly off-center to create a more visually interesting scene. Just play around and see what looks best.

Zoom

Nothing is more gross than digital zoom – just ask any professional photographer. Most smartphones unfortuantely feature digital zooms, which are just software tricks that’ll make your subject appear closer but not without copious amounts of pixelation.

In order to zoom in while recording without losing the crisp, vivid quality you desire in videos, you’ll have to get closer to your subject (or use an accessory, but more on that later). In general, you should always get as close as you can, especially for tight shots on faces. Let us see those freckles and fine lines and cheek fuzz

Flash

We’ve all seen those videos where the subject has yellow skin and red devilish eyes combined with super dark backgrounds. The culprit? Well, yes, it’s the photographer…but it’s also the flash.

Smartphones, you see, come equipped with LED lights that are too bright and can easily skew the color temperature of photos. Also, video will often times still come out poorly lit in the end. If you want to record a photo at night, you’ll have to find another light source.

Get creative with available lights such as a neon sign or juke box. They can add a little bit of needed glow while also jazzing up your video with colour.

Backlighting

There’s something else you should keep in mind when thinking about flash and lighting in general: avoiding backlit-settings.

You may be able to see people and their faces when they’re backlit, but your smartphone camera usually can’t and will output footage with a bright light haloing a dark figure. That figure will also have no visible features, meaning you just missed whatever it was you were trying to capture.

To avoid this situation, try configuring a basic light setup. Those of you who are recording on the fly can also improve a backlit situation by moving to one side or another. Although some stock camera apps try to reduce the effects of backlighting, you should try reducing the effects on your end as well.

Time lapse

Time lapse or time-lapse photography is a cinematography technique whereby frequency at which film frames are captured (the frame rate) is much lower than that used to view the sequence. When you replay this sequence at normal speed, time appears to be moving faster and thus lapsing.

Simply put: time-lapse photography is time manipulation. Objects and events that would normally take hours, days, months, or years can be captured and then viewed later at a much faster speed, thanks to time-lapse photography techniques.

Before the Instagram team debuted Hyperlapse, creating a time-lapse video with your smartphone was both tedious and, to be honest, hard. Hyperlapse allows you to create time lapses in no time at all, and without much effort. It also features impressive built-in stabilisation.

In fact the app’s stabilisation feature is what makes it stand out entirely from Apple’s time-lapse feature. For more information about how Hyperlapse stabilisation works, check out Pocket-lint’s in-depth look at the app.

GIFs

Pocket-lint

GIFs are everywhere. On any given day, you’ll see them on Tumblr, news sites, adverts, and any other site imaginable.

They’re like little stop-motion video clips that you can send via email, social networks, or SMS messages. Not only are they brief to watch and easy to share, but they’re also simple to create. All you need is a camera-equipped smartphone and an app. Tumblr lets you make gifs. So doesn’t Giphy. Even Google Photos offers a GIF option.

Pocket-lint also has a guide that details the best ways to make a GIF. You can get started today, and it probably won’t cost you a thing except maybe a bit of time. Check out Instagram’s Boomerang app too. It takes bursts and then stitches them together into a HD video loop. The loop starts to play forward but then plays backward, creating a GIF-like video that does not include audio.

Instagram recommends that you find something that’s moving, then record it while holding still, and voila! From there, you can share it on Instagram. Boomerang also automatically saves the video to your camera roll.

The idea is that – with a GIF – you’ve made an interesting little video clips that can easily go viral. Just check out these GIF examples of cats and dogs riding robot vacuums, all of which have gone viral.

Accessories

Let’s be honest: smartphone cameras are just not as good as the powerhouses made by Canon or Nikon or Sony, mostly because smartphone cameras and their stock camera apps lack fine controls and other things.

If you therefore want to take your smartphone video-recording skills to the next level, without having to buy a pricey DSLR, you might want to consider buying accessories that reveal your camera’s true potential. You can get everything from tripod mounting systems to creative lens add-ons.

A website called Photojojo sells a tonne of different accessories at a variety of different price points. You could get a bike mount for your Android phone, for instance, or a telephoto lens for your iPhone. The possibilities are endless (and addicting).

Editing

And finally, sometimes a little editing is required in order to make your footage go from “meh” to “wow”. And nowadays you can do some intense editing on your smartphone as well, meaning you won’t need to invest in fancy desktop software.

Everything from basic trimming to adding transitions, titles, and effects is simple on both iOS and Android mobile devices. Whether your next video is a montage or a school project, mobile apps can streamline the video-editing process.

Apple’s own iMovie for iPhone and iPad, for instance, includes titles and transitions and even supports making theatrical trailers on the go. Other features include picture-in-picture, split screen, and slow motion effects. It’s very similar to iMovie on the Mac, in fact.

Pinnacle Studio is another good example, as well as Videon and Magisto. But that’s not all: Adobe’s Premiere Clip app for iPhone and iPad is a powerful video editing tool with many of the features of Premiere Pro, though it’s stripped down and can be used by anybody.

It offers fast video editing, much like other mobile apps, where you can just drag and drop footage and photos in the order you like and trim them down, but it is also compatible with Premier Pro so you can export the end result to the desktop software and refine with greater control.