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So there's a new GoPro in town. Maybe you saw a bunch of new features and wondered if the new camera is worth the upgrade from an older model? Maybe you want to know if it's a better fit than a rival camera like DJI's Action 4? Here we'll go through everything that's new with the Hero 12 and hopefully, by the end of it, you'll feel ready to make an informed decision. There are some useful new tools, some neat hardware tweaks and of course, an important aesthetic update this time around. All of which we'll get to below.Battery lifeOkay, deep breath for this one as there's a bit to unpack. Battery life has always been a bit of a pain point for action cameras. Their smaller form-factor, exposure to different and high performance needs (shooting 4K slow-mo, and so on) means they are constantly battling basic physics. GoPro's claim then, that the Hero 12 offers 2x runtime" will have seen even the most ragged of outdoor filmers crack a smile. But remember, runtime isn't the same as record" time.What we're seeing here is an extension of the amount of time the camera can run at high power drain modes before it reaches its thermal limit and has to stop. So the claim is really that you should get about twice the recording time at the most demanding settings. If you're shooting at good ol' 1080p/30, for example, battery performance is only extended by a few minutes.Photo by James Trew / EngadgetTo test this, I pitted the Hero 12 against the Hero 11 in two scenarios, each at the opposite ends of the intensity" spectrum. On the high end, we set the cameras to record at 4K/120 while walking with the camera on a standard grip. On the other end of the scale we recorded a basic 1080/30 video for as long as the camera could. Both were performed outside to allow for airflow, which is what the camera was optimized for.In the 4K tests, I was surprised to see there was no noticeable difference between the Hero 12 and the Hero 11 with the same settings. I repeated the test a couple of times and the 12 was only able to best the 11 by about five minutes. On one occasion, the Hero 11 actually outlasted the Hero 12. The average duration for one continuous video was 35 minutes. Other outlets and reviews have had more success here, so I'm currently speaking with GoPro to see what might be causing this disparity in results. The 1080p tests were also comparable, with both cameras lasting around an hour and a half which is expected, as GoPro doesn't claim large advances in battery life at these settings.Bluetooth audioI don't think anyone was expecting this one, but it's a pleasant surprise nonetheless. Using a microphone with a GoPro typically involves using the Media Mod, which is usually an $80 additional purchase. Even with that, going wireless requires having a compatible microphone. With the new Bluetooth capability, you can use the AirPods (or other Bluetooth headset) that you may already own.I wouldn't recommend using a microphone over Bluetooth if you can avoid it, as they're typically designed for calls rather than delivering a standup to camera. That said, the quality is good enough for impromptu vlogs and or live commentary as you take part in your activity of choice. Either way, it's a neat new feature that's really easy to set up. I was worried about latency - a common problem with Bluetooth audio generally - but any there might be is barely perceptible.This functionality also allows you to control your GoPro from afar using voice commands. I might wager that this is equally, if not more useful to a lot of people. GoPro's voice commands are fairly reliable, so it's nice to be able to ask the camera to take a photo from a distance so you don't need to set a timer. Likewise, you can end a video without having to record those final seconds of you walking back to the camera to press the button. All these little time saves add up!8:7 everywherePhoto by James Trew / EngadgetThe big news with the Hero 11 Black was a larger sensor that meant you could do cool things like punch out different aspect ratio videos in 4K from the same source material. That source video was also usable on its own, if square-ish 8:7 video was something you needed. With the Hero 12, 8:7 mode is now available everywhere, including TimeWarp, TimeLapse and Night Effects modes.An 8:7 TimeWarp is a fun addition, but the real gain here is the option to shoot in that mode, capture every pixel available to you, and then have the flexibility to do more with it later. For Night Effects, for example, you could output a vertical version for social media, and a 16:9 one for YouTube and both of them would be in full resolution. This is the only new direct video feature this time around, which will disappoint some potential upgraders, but for fans of those specific modes it's good news.Vertical capturePhoto by James Trew / EngadgetNow that 8:7, full-sensor recording is available across the board, GoPro is seeking to make some of its use cases even easier. One such example is vertical capture mode. In short, since the Hero 11 there's no technical reason why you need to rotate or mount the camera vertically as you can achieve full resolution 9:16 videos even with the camera positioned horizontally.Essentially, this feature provides a way to record a video for social media without having to either remount it or to punch it out in 9:16 via the app. Thus, vertical capture greatly smooths the process from shooting on the camera to sharing with your followers. There's not much more to say here other than it works as advertised and should save a fair amount of time for those who use that aspect ratio frequently.HDR video in ultra-high resolutionsDynamic range may sound like a technical setting for pro photographers, but it's important even for casual users. As a camera tries to capture a shot, it will assess the lighting and adjust its exposure to maintain the best balance (unless you're using all manual settings). When there are bright and dark areas in the same shot, the camera has to make a best guess. To improve on that, modern cameras have HDR modes specifically for times when there's a High Dynamic Range (HDR)." In short, the Hero 12 Black claims to be better than its predecessors in these situations.Technically, the Hero 11 is capable of outputting HDR video (the Hero 12 and Hero 11 share the same internal hardware), but you usually had to do some legwork in post to get there. The Hero 12 has HDR" as one of the shooting modes right in the menus making it a simple button push to get those more natural tones.Photo by James Trew / EngadgetIn side by side testing, there's a marked difference between the Hero 12 and last year's camera. In the same, sunny conditions during the day I found the sky was sometimes blown out on the Hero 11 when there were also a lot of shaded areas in shot as the camera tries to expose for both. The Hero 12 was able to handle the same lighting conditions without blowing out bright areas or under exposing the shade giving a more balanced image overall.(Speaking of HDR, the GoPro 12's implementation isn't true HDR in the sense that it captures using the BT.2020 HDR color space - i.e., if you plug it into your Samsung HDR TV you won't see it in HDR, but just regular TV mode. Rather, it takes two images of each frame in quick succession - like bracketing on a photo camera - one exposed for shadows and one for highlights, and combines them into a single image. The end result is more detailed skies, shadowy areas, etc.)Better selfiesBack in the olden days, there was a light hack" for getting the best selfie out of a GoPro: put the camera into Time lapse Photo mode and grab multiple shots just to be sure. In newer GoPros you have to grab a frame from a time lapse via the app as the camera automatically outputs a ready-to-share video. Interval Photo, then, revives some of that old functionality in a new, improved way. The basic gist is that you don't need to use a timer, instead you can capture multiple photos and pick the one you like best, such as the one below where I had all the time in the world to perfectly place my hand on top of the towers.Photo by James Trew / EngadgetTo prevent confusion, Interval Photo is a setting under the Photos menu and not the Time Lapse menu. From there you can set a wide range of intervals - from half a second up to two minutes - and use this with all photo types, including HDR and SuperPhoto (GoPro's auto" mode). This differs from a time lapse where the images are processed in a way that prevents sudden changes in exposure between photos for a smooth video. That's to say, images are optimized for the resulting video. With Interval Photo, they're standard photos for use as photos with no further processing.Night Effects come to photos (kinda)Another feature that builds on something that was introduced in the Hero 11 is the extension of the Night Effects (Star Trails, Vehicle Lights and Light Painting) to create a photo. These three effects use long exposures and witchcraft (maybe) to create videos with these dramatic light-based effects. With the Hero 12, you will now be presented with a photo alongside the video. There's no extra action required to get this, it'll just show up in your gallery automatically.What you won't see are any controls or any way to choose at which point of the video the image will be extracted from, the image appears to be based on the final frame of the video, which makes sense. That said, in our testing it generally produces good results (assuming your video was good in the first place!). Again, you've pretty much always had the option to extract frames from videos and with the Quik app that's easier than ever before, but having one ready for you, is another welcome convenience.LogSteve Dent contributed the following section.GP-Log is designed to give creators more control over images by increasing dynamic range, specifically by allowing more detail in shadows and highlights. That can be combined with 10-bit encoding which boosts the total number of colors to billions, meaning subtle gradients (mainly in skies) will show less banding.Photo by James Trew / EngadgetAs ever with log, it can be a challenge to get a nice image out of it. The LUTs supplied by GoPro do an OK job, but significant tweaking is still required by the editor to gain any major benefits. Plus, it's not a very aggressive log setting, so the boost in dynamic range is small, akin to DJI's D-Log M setting. It does give editors who know what they're doing more options, but if you're unfamiliar with log, HDR is a much easier way to improve dynamic range - with no adjustments required.New mounting optionPhoto by James Trew / EngadgetIf you've been using GoPros for any amount of time, you'll be familiar with the finger" mount system. It's... fine. It's certainly sturdy, which is what you want in an action camera, but it's also fiddly and those thumb screws can get real tight, so tight that sometimes it feels personal. Sometimes you wish you could just use the tripod or selfie pole you already have without having to dip into your bag of adapters. Well, now you can.Flip the GoPro Hero 12 Black over and lo and behold, you'll be presented with a 1/4 inch thread (along with the sound of angels harmonizing, possibly). I have a bunch of the aforementioned GoPro-to-tripod mount adapters, but I can never seem to find them when I need them. I also have a bunch of small tripods that will get a lot more usage now that they are directly compatible with the GoPro. Not to mention, if you use your GoPro as a webcam, it's not a lot easier to use with other streaming mounts and boom arms. I'm not sure what it says about the Hero 12 when this is my personal favorite new feature, but here we are!This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gopro-hero-12-review-new-features-143039315.html?src=rss

Have you seen the meme about people who dangle too many things on their fingers for no reason whatsoever? I'm not proud to admit it, but I'm one of those. No matter how big of a bag I'm carrying, I always find my hands full, making it difficult to interact with my phone or smartwatch on the go. And I'm not alone there. Which is why voice controlled assistants and hands-free gestures are so appealing.With the Apple Watch Series 9, the company is introducing two new methods of interaction: Double Tap and Raise to Speak (to Siri). It's also rolling out on-device Siri processing, which will let you ask the assistant for your health data and to log your daily stats. These are enabled by the new S9 system-in-package (SiP) that powers the device, meaning they likely won't be available to older models via watchOS 10.The Series 9 also has a new second-generation ultra wideband (UWB) chip like the one in the iPhone 15 series, which allows for an updated interface when pinging your paired phone. On the outside, the new Apple Watch looks just like its predecessor, but the new gesture alone may be intriguing enough to coax some of you into upgrading this year.Double TapFull disclosure: Due to a series of FedEx mishaps, I wasn't able to receive a separate sample of the Apple Watch with Double Tap enabled until just yesterday. That means I've only spent about a day testing out the new gesture in the real world. To be clear, the feature will not be available on the watches that ship come September 22, and will be activated over the air later in October. Apple sent reviewers supplemental units with Double Tap enabled for our coverage and testing purposes, in addition to the actual devices that will be going to consumers. Not to worry, though, the rest of this review is based on a Series 9 I've had since the Apple event last week. It's only the Double Tap sample that I received late. Still, I already have a better sense for when and how it might be useful.When both hands, or at least my watch hand, are occupied, Double Tap will obviously not be helpful. You'll need to at least have your thumb and index finger available to pinch. But when I'm cleaning my apartment, holding a side plank, raising a single dumbbell or reading a book, the gesture does make my life easier. In fact, I love it just for the pleasure of continuing to scroll Reddit on my phone in my right hand without having to put the device down to swipe something away on my left wrist.Photo by Cherlynn Low / EngadgetThe Series 9 is fairly good at recognizing when I've pinched twice quickly, but it took me a few attempts to figure out the right cadence. You can't tap too quickly or too subtly, or it won't register. I hate when companies tell us we're doing something wrong, but in this case where we're learning a new gesture altogether, I'm inclined to put in the work.Apple uses a combination of data from the accelerometer, gyroscope and optical heart rate monitor to detect movement and blood flow changes. This lets the watch understand the difference between, say, when you're touching your middle finger versus your pointer. I was able to trigger Double Tap by pretending to snap my thumb and forefinger, and also when striking the side of my digit rather than the pad.This is also a good time to clarify that Double Tap is quite different from Assistive Touch, which was brought to watchOS in 2021. The latter is an accessibility-minded feature that was already available for years in iOS, and allows those with different mobility needs to interact with the respective operating systems. You'll have to first go into the settings to enable it on the watch, and then you can use gestures like pinching and clenching to navigate. Clenching twice will activate Assistive Touch,which brings up an outline around items on the screen. Then, pinching will move through individual elements and clenching will act like tapping on them.Photo by Cherlynn Low / EngadgetAssistive Touch is more complete and nuanced than Double Tap, as it has to help users access all of watchOS. Meanwhile, the new feature is more of a convenience and there's only one action available. It also does very specific things. You'll first have to make sure the Series 9 is awake. From the home screen, double tapping pulls up the Smart Stack, and subsequent pinches scrolls through the widgets on that page. You can change the default setting so that follow-up double taps on the Smart Stack enters the top card instead.Everywhere else in watchOS, the Double Tap will trigger the primary button. Start or pause a timer, snooze your alarm, play your music or reply to messages, for example. Apple's programmed some of these applications thoughtfully, too. If you've used Double Tap to reply to a message, it will bring up the voice typing option so you can dictate your response. That's a nice touch, considering you're likely unable to use your other hand to tap out a message if you're already pinching to react to a notification.But Double Tap isn't available in every part of watchOS. When I was looking at the Phone app or my Move rings, for example, the gesture didn't do anything. A small indicator appeared to show that it did register; It just didn't map the action to anything on the page. I like the little indicator bubble, by the way, as it goes a long way in helping me learn the gesture.Photo by Cherlynn Low / EngadgetAll that said, it feels like Double Tap might not be as groundbreaking as it may have seemed from the keynote. But it still is a useful tool that will likely reduce my need to lift my wrist and swipe the screen.A better SiriAnother way Apple is reducing my reliance on the Series 9's display is through voice control. Specifically, Siri requests on the new watches (including the Ultra 2) will be processed on-device. There are quite a few benefits to this - speed of response being the least significant. I compared the Series 9 and Series 8 side by side and this year's watch was only marginally faster at responding to my Hey Siri" requests.Other advantages of on-device processing are more impactful. The ability to still ask Siri for help when offline or disconnected from my iPhone, for example, was a surprisingly simple upgrade. I left my paired iPhone 15 Pro at home when I went to the gym, and was relieved when I could still tell the assistant to record an outdoor walk when I made my way home (since my hands were full, as usual).Since your requests no longer leave your watch, Apple is also able to let you ask Siri for your health data. You can ask the assistant how long you slept, how many steps you've taken that day, or to log a period and more. Some of this is available now, while others will be available in a software update later this year.Photo by Cherlynn Low / EngadgetRight now, the responses aren't great. I asked Siri to tell me how many steps I'd taken or calories I'd burned, and instead of giving me a direct answer, it'd take me to the Move or Exercise ring pages. I asked for my heart rate, and was brought to the Heart Rate app for a reading, which is reasonable. But hopefully, with the software update, I'd get a straightforward answer of how many steps or calories.Since I can't test it just yet, I can't fully evaluate how impactful Siri Health Requests will be, but it's something I suspect will put Apple ahead of its smartwatch competitors. Being able to edit your stats with just your voice could make it much easier for people to input data, which will ultimately improve the insights you'd get from your watch. No other wearable OS offers this yet, either.Finally, with the Series 9, Apple is also adding Raise to Speak." In theory, this means you should be able to just bring the watch to your mouth and ask Siri for things. But in my experience, this barely worked half the time. I wish it were more consistent, because, and pardon my hyperbole here, when it did behave as expected, it felt almost magical. I'd lift my wrist and speak into the watch case, and the Siri icon would appear, along with the words I'd just uttered. No more long pressing the Digital Crown or saying Hey Siri."The good news is, even when Raise To Speak doesn't register, I can still go back to saying Hey Siri." It just got really annoying trying to test this feature, because I quickly grew tired from all the repetitive wrist lifting. Look, it's been arm week at the gym, okay?Photo by Cherlynn Low / EngadgetUWB precision finding, in use and battery lifeOne last hardware-related feature on the Series 9 is its second-generation UWB chip, which enables a new interface for locating your paired iPhone. Currently, all you can do is use your Apple Watch to ping your handset and make it ring. With the Series 9 paired to another device with the new UWB chip, not only can you also see exactly how many feet you are from your misplaced device, you can also see what direction it's in.I nearly panicked after clearing security at the San Francisco airport, when I thought I had lost the iPhone 15 Pro Max. Thankfully, I had a moment of clarity and used the Series 9 to buzz the phone. I was immensely relieved to hear the ringtone, but also amused when the watch told me I was only a foot and a half away from the handset.To see the new interface that tells you which direction your missing item is in, you'll have to be more than five feet away from it. I came home from the gym and used the Series 9 to see where the iPhone was, and the onscreen arcs and distance indicators easily guided me to my couch where I had left it. As I got within five feet, the phone buzzed and rang, which helped in locating it.I didn't have a HomePod to test this with, but the Series 9 will also know when you're within four meters of one, and automatically pull up the Now Playing screen so you can quickly control playback.Photo by Cherlynn Low / EngadgetIf your Series 8 (or older) is a little too dim in sunlight or too bright in your blacked-out bedroom, you might appreciate that the new model's screen can now get up to 2,000 nits and as low as 1 nit. That's double the brightness of the Series 8, which I never had trouble reading, so it makes sense that I found the latest model easy to see on a bright day as well.It's worth noting, though, that, in a dark room, the low-nit display might be hard for some to read. I was wearing both the Series 8 and 9, and the newer watch was noticeably dimmer, to the point where smaller text with low contrast was almost illegible. If this affects you, the good news is you can still adjust the general device brightness to avoid having the screen going as dim.There's not much else drastically different about the Series 9 that you won't get by updating to watchOS 10. That is, unless you like the new pink color option so much that you're willing to buy a whole new device just for it (which I would understand, since I love the pink of my review unit). Springing for the latest hardware will get you the S9 SiP, which is supposed to process machine learning tasks up to twice as fast as the last generation while delivering 25 percent more power efficiency.Photo by Cherlynn Low / EngadgetHonestly, I barely noticed a difference in performance, and battery life felt a little shorter, with the Series 9 needing a charge every evening rather than every night. I'd chalk that up to the fact that the review unit I received is the smaller 41mm size, while the Series 8 I've been using is the larger 44mm version, and understandably has a longer-lasting battery. Apple says you'll still get 18 hours of runtime with the Series 9, and though that's in line with previous generations, I wish it lasted longer. Samsung and Fitbit's smartwatches generally clock about two or more days, and it'd be nice to see Apple give us more.There are a lot of changes coming via watchOS 10, too, but since those will be available to people with older Apple Watches, I won't cover them here. I also won't delve into things we've already tested, like fitness and sleep tracking or fall detection and emergency SOS. They won't affect your decision on whether to get the new watch.One more new thing you can use regardless of the generation of watch you own: FineWoven bands. This is Apple's replacement for leather, which it declared it will stop selling in an effort to reduce its carbon footprint. FineWoven is a suede-like material made from recycled material, and is meant to feel premium. I don't mind it, and though I prefer the texture of leather, I'm more than happy to give up a nice tactile sensation in the interest of saving our environment.Photo by Cherlynn Low / EngadgetWrap-upThe fact that the Apple Watch Series 9 and Ultra 2 are the company's first carbon neutral products is a significant achievement that's worth calling out. We have to give Apple credit for making an effort to minimize its adverse impact on the earth, despite all the marketing bluster (and the fact that it ironically outlined its 2030 vision at a launch event for new devices it wants people to buy).If you're environmentally conscious, the company's efforts to be net carbon neutral may affect whether you buy the Apple Watch Series 9 over something from a competitor like Fitbit, for example. But if that's not a priority for you, then you're more likely to base your decision over features like Double Tap and Siri, as well as performance and battery life.The Series 9 is a capable, well-rounded smartwatch that remains the best in the category. Double Tap and on-device Siri alone may be reasons enough to trade in your older Apple Watch (yes, even the Series 8), especially if you hate having to swipe or tap a tiny screen on your wrist.What intrigues me more is the vision of the future that's starting to take shape. With gestures like Double Tap and a stronger focus on voice commands, as well as the introduction of the Vision Pro headset earlier this year, it's clear Apple has a direction in mind for the next few years. I'm curious to see where wearables fit in, and I have a strong suspicion the Series 9 is simply laying the groundwork for a more immersive, hands-free ecosystem to come.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/apple-watch-series-9-review-freedom-from-touching-your-screen-130009764.html?src=rss

Since 2012, Yelp has caught nearly 5,000 businesses engaging in shady tactics, like paying customers for favorable ratings or hiring people to write phony reviews. Now, the company has a new tool to help people - and maybe the feds - track businesses that have tried to manipulate their standing on the review platform.Yelp is releasing a new index that tracks every U.S establishment it's ever caught engaging in suspicious" activity to influence its reviews. The company has made some of this information available in the past. Yelp places temporary alerts on businesses' pages when it discovers fake reviews, and regularly releases transparency reports detailing its moderation efforts. But the index is the first time the company has offered a single place where users can find a historical record of every business that's ever been subject to such a warning as well as a current list of businesses with active alerts on their pages .For Yelp, the index is both its latest move in a long-running war on fake reviews, as well as a nod to a changing regulatory environment in which fake reviews are attracting increasing scrutiny from regulators. The FTC recently proposed a formal ban on fake reviews with penalties of up to $50,000 for businesses caught buying, selling or manipulating online reviews.Yelp has said it supports such a rule. The company's head of user operations, Noorie Malik, points out the company has previously worked with the FTC to notify them when it discovers fake reviews and the sometimes complex operations behind them. We'd love to get to a place where this new index develops into a regular resource for others, whether it's FTC, consumers, regulators or other sites," Malik tells Engadget.But she's also quick to point out that the index is also meant to help Yelp users make educated decisions" about where to spend their money. While you may not think much about visiting a coffee shop with a history of paying people to leave positive Yelp reviews, your feelings may be very different if you're looking for a contractor to remodel your home, or for a daycare or moving company (all of which appear in the index).Of course, fake reviews isn't just a Yelp problem. Malik notes that phony reviews are often coordinated on other websites among organized groups of review rings. We also hope that it inspires other review platforms to take a firmer stance against reduced solicitation and incentivisation," she says.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/yelp-has-a-wall-of-shame-for-businesses-caught-paying-for-fake-reviews-110011882.html?src=rss

Let's charge the iPhone 15 Pro Max before going to bed," I thought wearily after a long day at Apple Park. Even though the device, which I had just unboxed a few hours earlier, was still showing at least 80 percent left of juice, I wanted to make sure it didn't run out the next day. Time with a new review unit is precious, and I couldn't risk wasting any of it on a dead phone.I dragged myself over to the work desk in my hotel room, unplugged my iPhone 14 Pro and stuck the Lightning charger into the iPhone 15 Pro Max. It didn't work. In my sleep-deprived fog, I tried a few more times to jam the cable into the port. It wasn't until about five attempts later that it hit me: This is USB-C.A spark of joy broke through the haze clouding my brain, until I realized I had to unplug my laptop or set up a whole new USB-C charger. I looked at the clock, glanced at the iPhone 15 Pro Max's battery indicator, shrugged and went to sleep. It'll probably have enough power till I can plug it in in the morning.As it turns out, although my dream of a one-charger-fits-all world had finally come true (at least for the devices I use), the utopia I had envisioned wasn't quite perfect in reality. I wanted to just be able to carry a single charger for the half dozen (or so) gadgets I carry around when I travel, but that's probably never going to happen. If I'm going to have to bring multiple wires anyway, does it matter if one of them is Lightning?In the end, it does, but the convenience of being able to use any of the cables I have to charge any of the devices I own doesn't make as huge of a difference as I had expected. Not yet, anyway. Perhaps it will be a bigger improvement when people using older, Lightning-charging iPhones finally move on to USB-C and the whole world adopts this standard. For now, though, the change is small.What might matter more on the iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max are the new action button, camera improvements, refined design and updated processor. Apple also managed to keep the same price for the Pro ($999) and Pro Max ($1,199) while doubling the storage capacity on the base model of the latter. If you've been holding onto an iPhone that's at least two years old (or even just a year old), this could well be the year to upgrade.Photo by Cherlynn Low / EngadgetDesignFor the first time, I've found myself seriously considering switching to a Pro Max. In the past, despite some performance benefits and superior features, Apple's largest handset has always felt too hefty. But thanks to its new titanium build, the iPhone 15 Pro Max is fractions of an inch smaller and almost 20 grams (or about half an ounce) lighter than its predecessor. I said this in my hands-on and I'll say it again: The iPhone 14 Pro Max felt like it would fracture my skull if it fell on my face, while the new model may only leave a bruise (or maybe a dent).That's probably in part thanks to the fact that the new iPhone's edges are slightly curved, which not only makes them feel less sharp, but gives the handset the illusion of being thinner, even though it's actually a hundredth of an inch thicker than last year.Speaking of teeny measurements, the iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max's bezels are also ever so slightly smaller than before. That's largely why Apple was able to retain the same screen sizes while bringing the length and width of each device down.Photo by Cherlynn Low / EngadgetTogether with the smaller bezels, the overall design changes make the iPhone 15 Pro Max slightly easier to use with one hand. I also appreciate the brushed metal finish on my Natural Titanium review unit, though I wish Apple would give the Pro line some brighter colors already. This year, you can choose from the silver-ish shade I have, or white, black and blue. Yawn. I know a lot of people slap a case on their new phones the second they get them, but some of us like to live a little dangerously and want a pretty color like those on the regular iPhone 15s.Though the iPhone 15 Pro Max is smaller and lighter than the last generation, it's certainly still one of the heaviest in its category. The Pixel 7 Pro is a bit lighter at 212 grams (7.5 ounces) while the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra is the heaviest at 234 grams (8.25 ounces). Meanwhile, the smaller Pro model is actually lighter than the S23 Plus (195 grams) and the Pixel 7 (197 grams, 6.9 ounces).I haven't used the phones long enough, nor have I been brave enough to risk exposing these review units to my hazardous purse without a case, so I can't tell you how durable or scratch-resistant the titanium build is yet. Thankfully, I have also not dropped either device so far, but, as in previous years, they're both rated IP68 for dust and water resistance, which should provide the clumsiest of us some peace of mind.Photo by Cherlynn Low / EngadgetThere are, of course, two crucial external hardware changes this year: USB-C and the Action button. If you're not looking for them, these differences aren't obvious. The hole at the bottom is still a hole, while the button now juts out slightly more than before. And because the iPhone 15 Pros are slightly smaller than their predecessors, your old case will not fit.Action buttonI was surprised to learn that I'm actually in the minority of people who used the mute slider on older iPhones. It turns out that apparently most people set their devices to mute and leave it at that. I tend to leave my phone on my couch while doing chores, so every now and then I'd set it to ring so I wouldn't miss calls from delivery people.In any case, Apple switching the mute slider out for the Action button doesn't bother me. I still get access to a physical key to quickly mute my phone, but for people who don't use that function, there are plenty more options. You can set it to open the camera, turn on the flashlight, begin a voice recording, change Focus modes or start a shortcut. In each of those, you can fine-tune the settings to have the system, say, launch the camera in selfie or portrait mode.Once you've used the Action button to trigger your shortcut, you can keep pressing the button to control the primary action in each scenario. In the camera, that's the shutter. For voice recordings, that becomes the start or stop key.Photo by Cherlynn Low / EngadgetIn the days that I've been testing the iPhone 15 Pro Max, I've set it to launch the camera, since I've been focusing on testing the new hardware. It's frankly been a blessing and a curse. On one hand, it's so much faster to use the Action button to open the camera than having to long press or swipe on the on-screen shortcut. On the other hand, it wasn't always easier to reach for the Action button, and though it's easy enough to identify it by size, I found myself accidentally pressing the volume keys a few times.I get the sense that this is a gesture I'll get used to over time, especially since it did eventually come in handy when I was frantically photographing some wild deer and rabbits in Caumsett State Historic Park.It's also worth noting that, despite my concerns that the Action button might be too easy to accidentally trigger, I have yet to unintentionally launch the camera. I've tossed the iPhone 15 Pro Max in a satchel full of other phones, a backpack stuffed with jackets and snacks, as well as a tightly packed overnight duffel bag. Surprisingly, none of these tight squeezes caused the shortcut to trigger.Cameras - To zoom or not to zoomThis year, the Pro Max has a new telephoto lens that offers 5x optical zoom, thanks to a tetraprism design that reflects light four times within the iPhone's body and creates enough space for a 120mm focal length. Meanwhile, the smaller Pro still retains a 3x optical zoom at 77mm.Photo by Cherlynn Low / EngadgetIn reality, the iPhone 15 Pro Max delivered closeups that are slightly cleaner than what its predecessor was capable of. I used them both to take photos of an ad for the iPhone 15 Pro Max on the side of a building, and only after I zoomed all the way into the pictures on my laptop did I notice a slight difference. The newer phone rendered a window frame better, with a bit less noise than the iPhone 14 Pro Max.When I set both cameras to shoot at the older phone's maximum range of 15x, the newer phone had a noticeable advantage. Wording on the back of a faraway bus was so much clearer on the 15 Pro Max that I could actually guess what an ad said, while the 14 Pro Max's image was basically a blur.The iPhone 15 Pro Max's closest rival on the zoom photography front is Google's Pixel 7 Pro, which also offers 5x optical zoom. Samsung's Galaxy S23 Ultra has 3x and 10x options, with a total of 100x zoom when combined with digital processing. It's no surprise, then, that in general, the Galaxy handset tended to deliver the clearest images at 3x, 5x and beyond. Words were visible on distant objects, and blades of grass were clearer.Compared to the Pixel 7 Pro, the iPhone 15 Pro Max offered similar clarity and detail, as well as brighter images. But Google usually offers better contrast and shadows.In a very challenging situation when I was trying to shoot a gray heron that was bathing by Oyster Bay in Long Island, the iPhone was better at retaining the ripples on the water's surface, while the Pixel mostly overexposed the sea. At 10x zoom, the Galaxy S23 Ultra's pictures of the bird looked like I had captured images of the Predator, complete with extreme halo effect around the subject.The iPhone and Pixel both allow you to make use of these telephoto options while recording video, which came in handy when I tried to film a finicky baby deer from a distance. The Galaxy, on the other hand, is stuck at one zoom level. Ultimately, if you frequently use your phone to capture distant subjects, the iPhone 15 Pro Max will serve you well and has mostly caught up to the competition.What might matter more in your daily photography scenarios is the updated portrait mode pipeline, which Apple says now benefit from the Photonic Engine." I was really excited to see an improvement here, since I rely heavily on Portrait mode for most of my photos of food, animals and people. For the latter two (specifically cats, dogs and people), Apple will automatically capture depth information so you can edit background blur later, and you won't have to go into Portrait mode just to get bokeh. But sadly, the iPhone still lags behind the likes of its Pixel and Galaxy competitors.In my close-up portraits of sprinkles on a scoop of ice cream, the Pixel 7 Pro and Galaxy S23 Ultra managed to keep the individual grains as well as a spoon in focus while retaining the frosty texture of the mounds underneath. Meanwhile, the iPhone 15 Pro Max's picture was a mess, with large parts of the spoon and ice cream blurred out and random other bits in focus. This could have been a fluke, but I never got the same with the other phones.Apple's portrait effect fared better when I changed over to 1x zoom, although as with older iPhones I have to move back a significant distance before the bokeh effects will kick in. But when it did work, the iPhone's portrait mode produced a shallower, more pronounced depth of field than Google and Samsung's phones. The Pixel delivered a more natural and subtle result, though.The good news is that with Apple's new Focus and Depth Control tool, you can go into most pictures and edit the amount of background blur. Or you can change up the focal point altogether. This works with the front camera and live photos well, and generally delivers pleasant results. The iPhone is surprisingly accurate at recognizing the outlines of subjects, although not all my pictures with people in them were identified as portraits. I also couldn't use this tool to fix the wonky ice cream photos, since multiple parts of the sprinkles remained blurry no matter where I tried to set a new focus.Although Apple has worked on improving its Night mode, Google still has the upper hand in low light. My shots of trees and houses along a lake in the dark came out best on the Pixel, which retained the gradient in the sky and a bench in the foreground, without blowing out the lights from homes across the water. The iPhone 15 Pro Max and Galaxy S23 Ultra fared respectably, though Samsung's phone was the most susceptible to overexposure from the lights.It's worth pointing out that the iPhone's photos now use a default resolution of 24 megapixels, combining the light you get from 12MP shots and the detail from the 48MP sensor. File sizes are about half a megabyte larger than before, which will probably eat up your storage more quickly.One thing this processing allows Apple to do is offer three focal length options: 24 mm, 28mm and 35mm. Practically, this just means you can tap the 1" icon at the bottom of the viewfinder to jump between 1x, 1.2x and 1.5x options. Apple didn't just crop in from a 48MP image to create these views - it created individual processing pipelines to enable these at the default 24MP resolution. But for most mobile photographers, that won't mean much. All it translates to are some nifty zoom options, which were fun to use but I didn't find myself reaching for them much.For the most part, the iPhone 15 Pro Max delivered solid landscapes and portraits in daylight, and has shown slight improvement at night. Its video quality remains arguably the best in the industry, with cinematic mode videos still as aesthetically pleasing as before.Performance, in use and battery lifeIt's hard to evaluate the performance of any new phone in just a week. Out of the box, handsets rarely have any lag, and the iPhone 15 Pro Max is as speedy as you'd expect. Its A17 Pro chip kept things running smoothly as I tested multiple camera and video modes in rapid succession, while downloading games, pulling up pictures and hotspotting to another iPhone nearby. I did notice some hiccups when launching the camera with the Action button, but I suspect that has more to do with glitchy software than actual performance.Photo by Cherlynn Low / EngadgetOne of the biggest updates with the A17 Pro processor is the six-core graphics processor that enables hardware-accelerated ray-tracing for realistic lighting effects in games. This allows Apple to coax serious developers and studios like Capcom and Ubisoft to bring console-level versions of their titles to the iPhone. I was able to check out a preview of Resident Evil Village on the iPhone 15 Pro and it ran smoothly as expected. Creepy babies aside, some of the graphics and lighting effects were nice and I saw no dropped frames, although the edges of a character's hair looked a little jagged. Don't expect high-end console level quality here, but you'll get pretty good animations in general.I loved looking at my new contact poster on the Pro Max's 6.7-inch display, and thanks to ProMotion's 120Hz refresh rate, scrolling through the long lists of my Instagram Story viewers was satisfyingly smooth. When I was getting ready in a hotel room, the background music I played sounded surprisingly clear and loud through its speakers.I've already described the impact USB-C actually makes in the real world, so I won't go on about it again. What I didn't mention was that with the move to the new port, Apple was also able to add support for USB Power Delivery (USB PD), which allows the iPhone to charge up other devices. You can use a USB-C to Lightning cable to power up an AirPods case for example, or even another iPhone.That's a pretty handy feature, especially considering how much battery life the iPhone 15 Pro Max has. It usually lasted about two days on a charge, which is slightly longer than other handsets of this size. Of course, over time, I expect battery life to deteriorate and average out at about one and a half days, based on previous experience.When it's time to recharge your iPhone, you can expect similar charging speeds to older models in that you should get up to 50 percent in about 30 minutes. Fast charge is supported with compatible power units, capped at 27 watts, which is basically the same as before.Photo by Cherlynn Low / EngadgetWrap-upThis year's new iPhones actually feel like significant upgrades compared to the last two models. With the introduction of the Action button, USB-C and some camera improvements, the changes coming to Apple's Pro handsets feel meatier than before. Plus, the new titanium build makes the devices seem refreshed, while under-the-hood advances like the A17 Pro processor and a second-generation ultra wideband chip should make for smooth day-to-day use. Though the individual features seem small on their own, altogether this year's set of updates add up to more than the sum of their parts.Of course, there's also the non-pro models of the iPhone 15 to consider, and thanks to their new 48MP sensors and pretty colors, they're a compelling, lower-cost alternative. They also charge via USB-C and come with the same new portrait image effects, which might be good enough for most people. Our review of that device is coming soon, so stay tuned if you can't decide between the standard iPhone 15 or the Pro.Meanwhile, if you've always been a Pro user and already live in a USB-C world, the iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max will almost certainly satisfy.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/iphone-15-pro-max-review-apple-makes-a-strong-case-for-its-biggest-phone-130018980.html?src=rss