‘Zone of the Enders’ PS4 remaster adds PSVR support

It’s been a while since we’ve seen or heard anything about Zone of the Enders. The mech classic was created by Hideo Kojima, best known for the Metal Gear series, for the PS2 in 2001. A GBA spin-off was released six months later, followed by Zone of the Enders: The 2nd Runner in 2003. A third console entry was considered, but eventually cancelled. Kojima might be gone (he’s off doing his own thing now), but Konami has a plan to revive the franchise. A PS4 remaster titled Zone of the Enders: Anubis Mars will be out next spring with improved graphics and PSVR support. Nice.

Source: PlayStation JP (Twitter)

‘infltr’ Photo Editing App Now Lets You Edit Photos Taken in Apple’s Portrait Mode

Photo editing app infltr received an update on Monday that allows users to apply customizable filters to images and Live Photos containing depth information, or pictures taken in Apple’s dual-camera Portrait Mode.

In version 2.10 of infltr (short for “infinite filters”), users who capture a photo on an iPhone 7 Plus, iPhone 8 Plus or iPhone X using Portrait Mode are now able to toggle between the foreground and background to make separate edits to the two layers. infltr’s developers describe it like so:

On top of the colour information red, blue, green and alpha which makes a classic photo, if the photo is captured with depth enabled, an extra layer of information can be seen as a 3D map of the captured scene.


This depth layer is leveraged by infltr to let you edit the background and foreground of your photos differently. This is extremely powerful and integrates seamlessly within infltr’s editor, allowing you to get more creative and highlight the region of your image that matters the most to you.

infltr offers more than 7 million possible filters thanks to a color gradient mapping algorithm, and lets users choose a filter before they take a picture or record video. Moving a finger in any direction over the screen causes the photo filter to change its hue, while double-tapping shuffles the filter for a random pot-luck effect.

infltr can be used to edit photos, videos, animated GIFs, and DSLR shots in HD without a loss in resolution, using over 10 included adjustment and transform tools. Users can also apply infltr filters to the live camera feed while in iMessage.

As well as the ability to edit Portrait Mode photos, the latest update brings support for iOS 11, including the ability to edit photos stored in the new Files app, support for Drag and Drop, an improved iMessage app, new album management options, and the ability to revert filtered photos to their original version from the Camera Roll.

infltr costs $1.99 and can be downloaded for iPad and iPhone (with Apple Watch support) from the App Store [Direct Link], although Apple is still offering users of its official Apple Store app special redeem codes to download infltr for free until October 1 [Direct Link]. The infltr offer can be found in the Discover section on the main store screen.

Related Roundups: iPhone 7, iPhone 8, iPhone X
Tag: infltr
Buyer’s Guide: iPhone (Buy Now), iPhone (Buy Now)
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How To Recover Deleted Files From Your Hard Drive?

One of the most common problems many people have is that they accidentally delete some files or folders from their hard drive. You may have lost that amazing song, an essay, a project that you have been working on for many months, anything. The only thing that matters is that it was important for you. Either if you deleted them by mistake or if you thought that you wouldn’t need them anymore and now you do, what can you do?

The first thing you need to do is to calm down. There are multiple things that you can do to make sure that you recover deleted files and folders.

So, just start by checking your Recycle Bin or your Trash on your computer or Mac. Open the folder and see if you didn’t delete all the files “forever”. This may be the only thing you need to do.

In case you were proactive because you don’t like to have your hard drive space occupied by files and folders that you don’t want to use anymore, don’t worry. You still have a chance to recover them by using a free data recovery software

With a quick search on Google, you’ll find many different free data recovery software programs available. However, while with some you’ll need to pay a fee to access to your deleted files, others won’t be able to recover deleted files or, at least, the ones that you wanted. And this is why we are writing this post.

We have discovered that one of the best free data recovery software on the market is EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard Free. It’s not only completely free – don’t even think about hidden fees because there aren’t any -, as it is the best one that we have tried so far. It is able to recover deleted files that you thought you had lost forever. Plus, it’s incredibly simple to use and very versatile.

All you need to do is to install it on your computer and open it. As soon as it opens, you just need to select the hard drive where you had the files. In case you had them on an SD card, for example, just click on the respective drive. And click “Scan”. The EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard Free will immediately do a quick scan to see if it is able to find the files you are looking for. As the name says, it will be pretty quick. While most of the times, the software is able to recover deleted files, other times you need to take some time to do a “Deep Scan”. However, you can be sure it is completely worth it.

One of the best things about this recovery software is the fact that it can find any kind of file that you are looking for from a document to audio, video, photos, any kind of archive including ISO, RAR; .html, .exe, among so many others. And the best part is that it does it for free.

So, if you need to recover deleted files, make sure to download the best free data recovery software – EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard Free.

Get a glimpse of the music behind ultra-hard platformer ‘Cuphead’

Cuphead will probably be equally remembered for two things: Its already-infamous punishing difficulty and its gorgeous hand-drawn look. But folks shouldn’t count out its delightful big band/swing soundtrack, which pairs perfectly with the game’s 1930s-esque animated style. Studio MDHR released a teaser video showing a “making of” look into recording the title’s breakaway hit, “Floral Fury.”

The soundtrack was composed by Kris Maddington and performed by 42 musicians, including a 13-piece big band orchestra and various soloists and ragtime pianists. The press material noted influences by Duke Ellington, Cab Calloway and Gene Krupa, so expect more of a jazzy influence in all the tracks we haven’t heard yet. Cuphead lands on leading platforms September 29th for those ready to play this year’s most gorgeous and difficult platformer. The regular soundtrack will be available to buy on the game’s launch day, but for the discerning collector, there’s even a $100 deluxe version on vinyl, which boasts 4 LPs and a handsome case.

Source: Studio MDHR (YouTube)

August’s latest smart locks warn if you left the door open

If you’ve lived on this planet long enough, you’ve probably had that moment where you thought you’d closed the door on your way out, only to find out that it didn’t quite shut. But how are you supposed to know if no one’s at home to tell you, and even many smart locks won’t fill in the gap? August Home thinks it has the answer. It’s introducing two new locks, a lower-cost August Smart Lock (shown at center) and the August Smart Lock Pro (at left), that include a sensor to determine whether or not the door is really closed. If it’s ajar and the deadbolt didn’t engage, you can find out through your phone instead of having to return home.

The differences between locks come down to connectivity. The $279 Smart Lock Pro is the full-featured, familiar-looking model with support for WiFi (through a bundled Connect bridge), Bluetooth, HomeKit and Z-Wave Plus. The regular Smart Lock, meanwhile, has a new, no-frills design that drops the starting price for a lock from $179 to $149. Both locks still carry signature tricks like auto-unlocking and virtual guest keys, and they’re available right away.

August isn’t leaning solely on locks, though. It’s also trotting out the August Doorbell Cam Pro, which upgrades the company’s existing doorbell camera with a built-in floodlight (to offer color footage at night) and a video buffer that captures the few seconds leading up to a motion trigger, so you’ll see the full context of what’s happening — you’ll see that delivery driver walking up to the door, not just when he’s ready to leave. You should also see better video quality. The Doorbell Cam Pro doesn’t ship until October 10th, but its $199 price is the same as the earlier standard model. As such, you might as well spring for the Pro if you’re a first-timer or don’t like the lock you have now.

Source: August

August Announces Next-Generation $279 HomeKit-Compatible ‘Smart Lock Pro’

August today announced the launch of several new smart home access products, including the August Smart Lock Pro, a redesigned August Smart Lock, and a new version of the August Doorbell Cam.

According to August, the August Smart Lock Pro is the “most advanced smart lock on the market” with support for HomeKit, Google Assistant, Amazon Alexa, and Z-Wave Plus. It includes DoorSense, an integrated sensor that lets users know if the door is open or closed when away from home. DoorSense is also able to lock the door instantly when the door is closed, an update from previous devices that required users to set the door to lock after a set time.

Smart alerts, a beta feature, will let users know if the door has been left ajar for a set amount of time, and the lock will soon be able to deliver alerts about specific activities during a set timeframe, such as children arriving home from school in the afternoon.

With HomeKit support, the Smart Lock Pro can be monitored from inside the Home app and it works with Siri commands like “Hey Siri, unlock my front door.” It can also be used in combination with other smart products in Scenes and geofencing enables automatic unlocking when you arrive home or leave home.

August sells the Smart Lock Pro with the August Connect Wi-Fi Bridge, which combine together to allow users to control and monitor their front door from anywhere. August charges $279 for the Smart Lock Pro bundle.

Smart locks are playing an important role in the growth of the smart home,” said Jason Johnson, CEO of August Home. “With the Smart Lock Pro, we created a lock that gives people total control over their front door in ways that aren’t possible with a traditional lock. Now, people can make sure their door is closed and locked from anywhere. We’re also expanding our offering to include a more affordable lock so everyone can make their door safer and smarter.”

The August Smart Lock, priced at $149, is designed to be a more affordable option for those looking to install a smart lock. It includes all of the features of previous-generation August Smart Locks, including the new DoorSense feature, but offers a simple new design with a traditional thumb turn to lock and unlock the door. It does not support HomeKit.

Both the August Smart Lock and the August Smart Lock Pro replace the interior side of most standard deadbolts, leaving the exterior door hardware the same so a standard key can continue to be used.

Rounding out August’s list of new products is the $199 August Doorbell Cam Pro, a new version of the Doorbell Cam. There’s no HomeKit support in the Doorbell Cam Pro, but the updated camera features a built-in flood light for color night time video and motion detection alerts when something’s happening at the front door. A new feature called HindSight adds a few extra seconds to the beginning of a video recording so you can see what’s happening just before motion is detected.

August has also built improved video quality into the Doorbell Cam Pro for crisper video recording, and August Video Recording lets users replay, download, and share recordings from the August app. The Doorbell Cam Pro replaces an existing doorbell button and it offers a USB dock for easy setup ahead of installation.

The August Smart Lock Pro and the August Smart Lock are available immediately in silver and dark gray, while the Doorbell Cam Pro can be pre-ordered and will begin shipping out in October.

Tags: HomeKit, August
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Pioneer HTP-074 HTIB unboxing and setup guide: Boost your audio experience

Breaking in a new apartment or house? Perhaps you just need an update to your system? It’s all too easy to load up a cart with all the trappings necessary for a solid home theater setup — a receiver, a subwoofer, satellite speakers, the works — then realize you’re looking at a $1,000-plus investment.

Enter Pioneer’s $400 home theater-in-a-box (HTIB), which includes everything you need to bolster your cinematic audio experience. It can be a task to get everything working properly, though (especially if you don’t have much experience in the field), which is why we put together a quick Pioneer HTP-074 HTIB unboxing and setup guide to help you out. Godspeed, dear reader.

What’s in the box?

There is a lot of stuff to unpack here. Altogether, you get:

• A 100-watt subwoofer
• A 5.1-channel A/V receiver, rated at 100 W/channel
• A remote w/ batteries
• AM and FM antennae
• Four identical satellite speakers
• A center channel speaker
• Speaker wire to connect everything
• Mounts and screws for the satellite speakers

You won’t get any extra cables bundled in, HDMI or otherwise, so be sure to pick some up if you need anything to connect your components to the receiver in this system.

Hardware setup

The cool thing about having a full HTIB setup is that you can route pretty much all your devices through the receiver. Four HDMI-in ports should do the trick for game consoles, streaming devices, HD cable boxes, Blu-ray players, and the like. There are two composite inputs for non-HD devices, along with coaxial, optical, antenna, and analog audio. A single, HDMI ARC output is where you will connect to your television.

We recommend wiring and placing the speakers one by one, so you never get confused — it’s a lot of wiring, after all. To connect the speakers, unlock the bindings and feed the exposed ends of each wire into the corresponding binding (they are color-coded, so red goes to red, and white to black). Then, take the other end of the wire and do the same, feeding into the receiver.

In terms of placement, you will want to place the center channel directly above or below your television, with the four satellite speakers arranged in a sort of trapezoid. See the above diagram.

Features and design

The remote has basically every function you could want, including input selection, Bluetooth audio control, and more. The speakers themselves are more function than flash, in all black. The HTP-074 does support 4K passthrough and can faithfully reproduce high dynamic range (HDR) signals.

Software setup

To adjust settings, hit the “Home/Menu” button on your remote, which should bring up a black screen with some different options. Select “Manual SP Setup,” then head to “Speaker distance.” You will want to measure the distance between each speaker and your listening location — i.e. the center of your couch — and enter the appropriate values.

Next, go back to “Manual SP Setup,” and select “Channel Levels.” It will walk you through calibration so your speakers’ volume is properly balanced. To help with this process, try downloading a free db meter app on your smartphone to measure accurately and get all channels outputting the same level. You may want to adjust the center channel and surround speaker volume to suit your tastes, but going through this process will get you to a baseline from which you can make slight adjustments.

Finally, you will want to enable HDMI ARC, if that is how you are connected. Head back to the Home menu, then select “HDMI Setup” and enable ARC. Make sure ARC and HDMI-CEC are turned on in your TV as well.

We hope you have found this Pioneer HTP-074 HTIB unboxing and setup guide helpful. Happy listening!

How to set up hands-free calling on the Google Home

The future is coming, and it’s going to be smart. Smart home assistants are becoming more and more useful around the house helping to keep lists, set timers, and answer questions. They are connected to everything from lights to locks to televisions, and now they are connected to your contacts.

Google Home has hands-free calling, allowing users to call most numbers in the United States and Canada for free, but how do you set up this wonderful feature, you ask. Here is a detailed guide on how to set up hands-free calling on the Google Home.

Setup

Before you can set up hands-free calling, you need a Google Home. Once you have set up your Google Home you can immediately start calling businesses without any further setup needed. Calling your personal contacts, however, requires a little more effort.

Sync your contacts

Whether you have an Android or iOS device, the first step is to turn on your Personal Results in the Google Home app.

If you do not have the Google Home app, download it from the Google Play Store for Android devices or the App Store for iOS devices.
Open the Google Home app.
Check to make sure your phone or tablet is connected to the same Wi-Fi network as your Google Home.
In the top left-hand corner, tap the Menu icon and confirm that the Google Account listed is the one linked to your Google Home.
 If it is not the same, you need to switch accounts.
Tap the triangle and select the correct account name to change accounts.

Once the correct Google Account is listed, tap Menu in the top left corner of the app Home screen.
Tap More settings.
Under Devices, choose the Google Home you wish to connect your contacts to.
Find and tap the section labeled Adjust settings for this device.
Turn on Personal results by moving the slider to the right.

Repeat this process for each Google Home device you want connected to your contacts.

The next step is to sync your device’s contacts with your Google Home device. All of your Google Contacts are available to your Google Home, but to call your contacts on your device you need to sync them with your Google Home first. This step is different depending on if you are using an Android or iOS device.

Android

If you do not have the Google App, download it from the Google Play Store.
Open the Google app.
Tap Menu > Settings > Accounts & privacy > Google activity controls > Device information.

Turn on Device information.

It may take a few minutes for your contacts to be available on your Google Home while they sync to your device.

iOS

One way to sync your device contacts with your Google home is to first sync them with your Google Assistant.

If you do not have the Google Assistant app, download it from the App Store.

Open the Google Assistant app.
Ensure that your Assistant has access to the contacts on your device.
To do this say “OK, Google, call mom.”
If your Assistant does not have access to your contacts, a screen will pop up on your mobile device asking for permission.
Grant your Assistant permission to access your contacts.

The contacts on your device will now be synced with your Google Assistant periodically.

If you don’t want to use Google Assistant you can change the default contact account on your mobile device to create new contacts as Google Contacts.

If you haven’t added a Gmail account on your mobile device:

Open the Settings app.
Tap Contacts > Accounts > Add account.

Select Google.
Enter your email and password.
Switch “Contacts” on.
Tap Save.
Tap Contacts > Default Account.
Select Gmail.

If you already have a Gmail account on your mobile device:

Open the Settings app.
Tap Contacts > Default Account.

Select Gmail.

Turn this on.

It may take a few minutes for your contacts to be available on your Google Home while they sync to your device.

Caller ID

An option, independent of the type of mobile device you use, is to display your Project Fi or Google Voice number on outbound calls. This only works if you have a Project Fi or Google Voice account and is available for U.S. calls only.

Open the Google Home app.
Tap the Menu icon and make sure the Google Account listed is the one linked to your Google Home.
Tap More settings.
Under Services, tap Calls.
Select from the services available to you.

If you do not have a Project Fi or Google Voice number or choose not to display it, your outbound calls will use an unlisted number. Recipients of your calls will see something along the lines of “Private” or “Anonymous” as the Caller ID.

Make a call

To make a call using your Google Home, say “Hey Google,” then follow it with a command. You can call by business name, by the contact name in your contact list, or by a number. If you call by saying a contact’s name you must turn on Personal Results and give access to your device’s contacts. Another option is to ask for the nearest business and then say “Call them.”

End a call

Ending a call on your Google Home is fairly easy, you have two options. You can tap on the top of the Google Home or say “Hey Google, stop/disconnect/end call/hang up.” Even if the recipient ends the call, you will hear the end call tone until you also end the call.

Enjoy crisp audio with our Samsung Sound Plus soundbar setup and unboxing guide

Soundbars provide a great way to boost your TV’s audio output for a reasonable price. At less than $500, Samsung’s Sound Plus HW-MS650 is an excellent option, offering powerful, balanced sound and a litany of useful features to bolster your home theater. To help you get started, our Samsung Sound Plus soundbar setup and unboxing guide will walk you through all the important information, so you don’t have to call customer service to get everything up and running.

What’s in the box?

In addition to the Sound Plus, you will find the following:

• An A/C power cable
• An optical cable for digital connection
• A remote with two batteries
• A wall mount template and a user manual
• Wall mount brackets
• Feet extensions
• A cable management clip

The soundbar does not come with HDMI cables or the drywall anchors or screws you need for mounting purposes.

Hardware setup

All the ports and jacks are located on the bottom of the soundbar, rather than its rear. There is a power port, an optical port, a jack for a wireless subwoofer dongle (not included), an auxiliary jack, and HDMI in+out (with ARC support). There is also a port which routes power to a Samsung TV so you can reserve an extra wall outlet if need be.

Speaking of HDMI ARC, that should be your first priority when it comes to TV connection. If you don’t have an appropriate cable, though, optical will work fine as well; just make sure to remove the plastic caps from the ends.

There are also two buttons hidden in a small alcove to the right of the ports. Here you will find the “Wi-Fi Setup” button, which will enable the soundbar to connect wirelessly with a Samsung TV, and the ‘SPK ADD” button, used to connect with the Samsung mobile app.

Features and design

The attractive soundbar is clothed in black and carbon gray, with speaker mesh across the front and a few onboard control buttons on the right side. Frankly, it is unlikely you will be using these, given the inclusion of a remote, but it is nice to know they exist in case you run out of batteries (or if the remote decides to disappear inside a couch).

The remote itself has some cool features, including dedicated bass control, surround sound activation, and sound mode switching. If you have a Samsung One Remote and a matching Samsung TV, you can use that remote to control the soundbar via the TV’s interface.

Software setup

To get the soundbar working properly with your TV, head into the audio settings and switch “sound out” to Optical/HDMI ARC. If you want to listen to music with the soundbar, Samsung’s Connect app can be fairly useful. Once downloaded, it will walk you through the steps to connect to your soundbar, and it offers compatibility with tons of popular music streaming apps.

How do you crown the best smartphone camera? The experts share their secrets

They say the best camera is the one you have with you, and most of us are never without our phones.

But how do you know which smartphone has the best camera? Every manufacturer claims to have a great camera, they throw around megapixel counts and aperture sizes, but none of this tells you how good your shots will be in the real world.

Many of us turn to independent photography lab, DxOMark, for in-depth reviews that boil down the camera quality of each flagship smartphone to a single number out of 100. Since the Parisian company began to test mobile phone cameras in 2012, it has been the gold standard. The scores it bestows are trusted enough to be widely referenced in the tech press.

“When Google achieved top marks [for the Pixel], they covered London in ads because they were proud,” Clement Viard, Senior Director, Image Quality Evaluation at DxOMark told Digital Trends.

Collectively we shared around 2.5 trillion photos online last year and 90 percent of them were captured on smartphones, according to a report from Deloitte. That number is going up every year. The Millennial generation is particularly interested in mobile photography, with 24 percent saying it’s the most important function of their smartphone, and 57 percent saying it’s very important, according to Osterman Research.

Little wonder, then that a good DxOMark is so coveted. But how does the firm arrive at these widely quoted scores?

“Today, the differentiator for the phone is probably the software more than the hardware,”

“For smartphones, we always use the auto mode. We take the phone out of the box, turn it on, start the camera app, and take pictures,” explains Viard. “Camera users are used to tweaking settings, but smartphone users expect to be able to just push a button, so the testing has to be completely different.”

Every smartphone camera is subjected to the same battery of tests, broken down into sections that cover things like exposure and contrast, color, and autofocus. Each camera is meticulously tested with a mix of specialized equipment in the lab.

“We also have to get out of the lab and test in the real-world. We go to the same spots around Paris, around the same time of day. We try to find places where the colors will always be the same, where there is dark and light to see how it handles shading.”

They take 1,500 photos with every smartphone camera that’s tested and then break them down and grade them. To account for changes in light and weather, they also snap shots with a reference device for comparison, so they can be sure they’re grading the phone and not the weather. Each photo is cross-checked by at least two experts from the 40-person team. The result is a 100-page report for each review, highlights of which are published on the DxOMark website.

Viard says they’re usually in agreement, but when there’s a difference of opinion the rest of the team will be called in for a debate. There’s no doubt they take the scoring system seriously, but separating opinion from objective fact can be tricky. You’ll often see people saying that Samsung’s Galaxy phones are oversaturated, for example, but some people prefer the way they look. Where is the line on quality?

“There was a lot discussion in trying to work out what would be the best way to assess color quality,” explains Viard. “We take pictures of a scene with colors and we map colors into a color space that will look at saturation and bias. What we found is that if the distance between the real color and the color from the camera is within an area, then it’s really a matter of taste. Different people can argue for weeks and they’re not going to come to the same conclusion.”

What DxOMark does in this situation is to stop factoring it into the score beyond a certain point. It does the same thing at the bottom end of the scale. There’s a cut-off point where a photo is so bad that you’ll discard it anyway.

Because DxOMark also offers consulting services and specialized equipment to help manufacturers to improve their camera performance, it has been subject to occasional claims of bias. The idea being that manufacturers who engage its consulting services will get a better score.

“The exact score calculation is confidential and the reason we keep it confidential is because we don’t want manufacturers trying to optimize for the score,” says Viard. “We are very aware that the way we design the score formula may influence some choices companies make, but the testing protocol will be exactly the same for every single phone, with all the same objective metrics, real world results, and human grading.”

DxOMark recently updated its testing protocol for the first time, to add two new categories to every score: Zoom and bokeh. The new protocol also places greater emphasis on low light conditions, and DxOMark introduced more motion into its testing, to see how cameras perform when both the subject and photographer are moving. This is all intended to better reflect what consumers want and the real-world conditions we take photos in.

The new testing protocol has been a long time in the making. DxOMark is keen to ensure that it only tests features that really matter to people. It considered the impact of 3D capabilities a few years ago, but decided it was a fad. It’s already testing front-facing cameras with the rise in popularity of selfies, and watching 360-degree camera technology very carefully, but it will be a while, if ever, before these make into the score.

“We always try to focus on usage rather than technology,” says Viard.

Apple’s iPhone 7 Plus bokeh effect, where the subject is in sharp focus and the background is blurred, is a good example, as it sparked a demand for bokeh and got everyone talking about it.

“There are many ways of creating the bokeh effect,” Etienne Knauer, Senior VP, Sales and Marketing, Business Solutions, DxOMark explained to Digital Trends. “But you require at least two different images, so with a single camera, you don’t know it, but actually you’re taking multiple images, even if it’s from the same sensor, or they use a dual camera. You need two to make an estimation of the depth and then software blends them.”

Under the old test protocol, there was no distinction between the single-lens iPhone 7 and the dual-lens iPhone 7 Plus, but the introduction of zoom and bokeh, enabled the 7 Plus to creep up the chart with a score of 88, while the iPhone 7 scored 85. The rescored Google Pixel managed 90 on the new scale, putting it joint top with the HTC U11 , but there are some very big phones on the horizon that might challenge the current champions.

“We only test the flagships and the very best phones,” says Viard. “We look at the specs and what the manufacturer is saying to find the phone where they’ve put most emphasis on photography and that’s the one we will pick.”

Sadly, DxOMark lacks the resources to test every phone that comes out, though Viard says they’d like to. There’s no doubt that the field has widened in the last couple of years.

“For the first few years Apple, Nokia, Sony, or Samsung was always the best. Today everybody is putting emphasis on the camera. HTC, Huawei, OnePlus, and Google have made huge improvements to the camera, so the number of companies we test has grown.”

If you’re into smartphone cameras, you’ll know that Sony makes most of the sensors that the flagships use, yet its own phones don’t tend to score as highly as other handsets with the same sensor.

“Today, the differentiator for the phone is probably the software more than the hardware,” says Viard. “Camera tuning makes such a big difference. You can have two manufacturers with exactly the same hardware, even the same chipsets, but the image quality is very different because of the algorithm.”

Even with the enormous processing power smartphone cameras now possess and all the clever software tricks, there are some things a DSLR does better. DxOMark’s bokeh test, for example, is designed to catch out these tricks. It’s a face with triangles that go out to a fine point, wires on the same plain, and lots of details and broken images in the background, to see if the camera gets confused and blurs the wrong parts, which it invariably does.

“On a DSLR, if it’s on the same plain, it will have the same sharpness,” says Viard. “Smartphone cameras have a long road before they reach DSLR level, but I think the gap is closing, the progress has been huge in the last five years.”

All the major manufacturers are investing serious resources into improving camera technology, trying to make it easier for average people to capture perfect shots. That’s great news for us, because at the end of the day, mobile photography is all about capturing precious memories. If you want to know which smartphones will give you the best chance of catching those spontaneous moments, then it’s always worth checking out what DxOMark has to say.