If you're tired of running out of juice for your phone, earbuds, and other doodads when you're on the go, Realme's got you. Its upcoming phone not only packs one of the biggest batteries around, but it can also fast charge your devices. Talk about earning your keep in your everyday carry!
Category: Mobile Technology, Consumer Tech, Technology
Tags: smartphones, Battery
If you've thought about upgrading your audio hardware beyond your phone, the Maono PD200W mic makes a strong case for it. It offers versatility, quality and a simplicity that isn't common with audio gear. And, just as important, it's under US$100.
Category: Consumer Tech, Technology
Tags: Microphone, Portable, Podcasts, recording, Audio, USB Type C, Wireless, Reviews
Sometimes safety becomes unsafe when it's carried too far. A new study by Lloyds Register reveals that ships, especially cruise ships, have so many alarms going off on the bridge that it's overwhelming crews and creating unsafe conditions.
We're back with the first episode of the DPReview team discussions show of the new year, and just in time. The first few weeks of the year have been relatively busy, with Ricoh bringing out a new variant of the GR IV, this time with a completely monochrome sensor, and Fujifilm bringing video to its Instax line.
The team got together to discuss these cameras and the community's reactions to them. Be sure to let us know what you think in the comments below, and over on our forums.
You can start 2026 like it's 1990 with GameSir's Pocket Taco, a cute compact controller that transforms your phone into a handheld gaming device. We must say, it's a bold design move, considering how litigious the original Game Boy maker Nintendo is known to be.
Category: Consumer Tech, Technology
Tags: Nintendo, Gaming, Smartphones, Mobile, Retro, Video Games, Portable Gaming
No prizes for guessing where the Dark Vader draws its inspiration from. Though not overly themed around Star Wars, the tiny house certainly makes a forceful impression and combines its sleek black appearance with a compact but storage-packed interior layout.
Category: Tiny Houses, Outdoors
Tags: Building and Construction, Tiny Footprint, Micro-House, House, Home
It’s been a while since Toyota revealed plans to launch the new electric C-HR SUV. It’s set to become the company's smallest battery-powered crossover, and not just that, it will also become Toyota’s most affordable e-SUV.
Category: Automotive, Transport
Tags: Toyota, Electric Vehicles, Compact, SUV, Crossover
Mecum's Kissimmee auction always kicks the year away with a bang, but this year it smashed a laundry list of world records: the biggest car auction in history ($441 million), the highest single day in history ($259 million), plus world record prices for the Ferrari Enzo, F40, F50, La Ferrari, La Ferrari Aperta, 288 GTO, FXX, 275 GTB/4 Alloy, 599 GTO, 250 GT/L Lusso, F12tdf, 458 Speciale A, 599 SA Aperta, 430 Scuderia and 458 Speciale A plus the Pagani Huayra and Porsche 918 Spyder Weissach.
Category: Automotive, Transport
I’m not sure how long it will take you to read this article. Maybe a few minutes. Maybe you take a little longer and give it a close read. Either way, I’m confident however long you take to read this will not come close to the amount of time it took me to write it. And that’s a good thing. That is how communication should work.
Category: AI and Humanoids, Technology
Tags: LLM (Large Language Model), Communicate, Thinking, Human, GPT
Imagine you’re eight years old and it’s your birthday. You open a big box. Inside is a huge, off-road, remote-controlled truck. You’re ecstatic and can’t wait to head out and eat up some Duracells as you ply your new toy around the yard. Now, as a grownup, you realize why the Hummer EV exists.
Category: Automotive, Transport
Tags: GMC, Hummer, Electric Vehicles, Reviews
You might already know that JBL doesn't just do wireless speakers and earbuds; they're also a big name in live audio. The brand is now trying its hand somewhere in between with a novel product designed for the jam room.
Category: Music, Consumer Tech, Technology
Tags: Amplifiers, JBL, Speakers, Bluetooth Speakers
Fujifilm has unveiled a more advanced version of its flexible rotating-lens business projector. The ZUH12000 is the brightest member of the company's Z-series and becomes its second 4K model. But it's the first to have an interchangeable lens system.
Category: Technology
Tags: Fujitsu, 4K UHD, Projectors, Flexible, Lens
Not getting enough vitamin D can weaken bones, teeth, and muscles by interfering with calcium absorption. Lack of the vitamin has also been implicated in dementia and an increased risk of colorectal cancer. Now there's another reason to avoid a serious D deficiency: it can make respiratory tract infections much worse, according to a new study.
Category: Illnesses and conditions, Body and Mind
Tags: Lung, Pneumonia, Respiratory health, University of Surrey, University of Oxford, University of Reading, Vitamins and minerals
Omega-3 fatty acids sourced from wild-caught fish stocks are valued for their studied health benefits such as healthy skin, joints, heart and brain function along with enhanced immunity, but this has resulted in a reduction in fish stocks globally. A Scottish firm is working on a solution, in the form of omega-3s made from whisky waste.
Category: Environment, Science
Tags: Omega Garden Technology, Fish, Whisky, Conservation, Algae
There's only so much you can realistically fit into a tiny house that has a length of 6 m (20 ft). Despite this, the Tiny Rubik does a good job of squeezing in a compact but well-designed layout that fits a small family, including a downstairs sleeping space and another up top.
Category: Tiny Houses, Outdoors
Tags: Micro-House, Building and Construction, Tiny Footprint, House, Home
I’ve been thinking a lot about growth in photography lately, especially how projects and challenges can push creativity forward. Recently, during one such project, someone asked a question that made me pause: how can taking a bad photograph possibly help you get better or feel creative again?
That question stuck with me. At face value, it can seem pointless to take photos you’re not confident will work, and it’s easy to feel bad when an image doesn’t turn out the way you wanted. Yet I’m a firm believer in the importance of bad photographs. Creating bad work is essential for any creative, and photographers are no exception.
What I mean by "bad" photographsPhotography is, of course, subjective; what's bad in one person's eyes may be brilliant to another. A photograph can also be bad for countless reasons. It may have technical mistakes, such as blur, poor focus or incorrect exposure. There can also be compositional issues that weaken the image. Or there might be a conceptual disconnect, and the photo doesn't capture what you intended to convey. It could also simply capture a subject or theme that doesn't resonate with viewers.
The list of reasons a photo might be “bad” goes on and on. What matters more, though, is that those imperfect images are often the ones that teach you the most.
Learning often happens from mistakesIn my mind, there are two distinct periods of making bad work. The first is when you’re new to photography and trying to learn the craft. Ira Glass has a well-known talk about what he calls "The Gap": you have good taste, which is what drew you to the art form, but you don’t yet know how to create work that lives up to that taste. The only way to close that gap is to keep making work that falls short, building your skills until your photographs begin to match the images you imagine.
Along the same lines, photographer Henri Cartier-Bresson famously said, "Your first 10,000 photographs are your worst." It's also worth noting that Cartier-Bresson was an early adopter of 35mm film, when the medium wasn't nearly as approachable or forgiving as it is today. In our digital age, that number should perhaps be much larger, since it's significantly easier (and more affordable) to take thousands upon thousands of photographs, even in just a single day.
"Your first 10,000 photographs are your worst."Simply put, photography is a skill that requires work and practice. Bad photographs are simply inevitable. However, the key is remembering they aren’t a sign you should quit. Their existence, and your ability to recognize that they've missed the mark, is often the clearest sign that you’re doing the work, which is how progress is made.
This image is from a failed self-portrait shoot back in 2013. There were plenty of technical and compositional issues with the images, and conceptually, they weren't hitting the mark, either.The second stage comes after you have years of experience. Even then, you don’t magically start producing only award-winning images. In the beginning, bad photographs teach you fundamentals; later on, they keep you from getting stuck and keep your practice alive. I first picked up a camera seriously nearly 20 years ago, and I can still say, with confidence, that I produce bad photographs on a regular basis. I screw up my settings, I fumble compositions and I create images that just aren’t very interesting. I have a strong foundation of skills and knowledge, but I still make work that misses the mark.
Those mistakes can be frustrating. But they’re not a signal to put the camera away, and they aren't a sign of failure. When I’m culling images after a shoot, I go through the "bad" ones slowly, asking what went wrong and why, and how I could approach them differently next time. That deliberate look at my failures is often where the real learning happens. By taking the time to reflect on that bad work, I'm improving in the process.
"As photographers, especially in certain genres, it can be easy to slip into a perfectionist mindset"As photographers, especially in certain genres, it can be easy to slip into a perfectionist mindset and only take images that you are confident will work out. I am guilty of having ideas for photos, but I worried about how they would turn out and let that keep me from even trying. By forcing myself to just take photographs, even when I'm uninspired or unsure of the outcome, I risk a bad or uninteresting image, but I'm also putting myself in a position to learn and grow. Plus, it also allows for the outcome that it could be good, or even the serendipity of "oh, this isn't what I imagined at all, it's better!"
Make room for bad workFor some, the idea that bad photographs are crucial to learning may seem obvious. For others, it may feel pointless to intentionally put yourself in situations where you might make bad work. But, as in most areas of life, progress usually comes when you’re uncomfortable. Trying new compositions, experimenting with unfamiliar gear or tackling a new genre – even when the outcome is likely to be bad – is often the best way to move your photography forward. Bad work is evidence that you’re still experimenting instead of coasting. I, for one, will continue to make bad work and embrace those mistakes when they happen.
If you've been getting back into vinyl records lately, or need to upgrade your basic setup, I've got good news. Sony's returning to the turntable business with its first new models since 2019.
Category: Home Entertainment, Consumer Tech, Technology
Tags: Audio, Sony, Vinyl, Turntables
After a decade of false starts across the industry, Nex Computer revisits the idea of replacing your laptop with a smartphone. By combining Android, Linux, and Windows in one device, the NexPhone may have made the vision a reality.
Category: Consumer Tech, Technology
Tags: smartphones, Computers, Laptop, Hybrid, Productivity, All-in-one
The makers of a smart Rubik's Cube-like puzzle have upped the ante with their game technology with a special-edition Harry Potter-themed chess board, complete with character pieces. But can AI help you learn how to play? You might be surprised (well, I was, at least).
Category: Games, Consumer Tech, Technology
Tags: Chess, Brain, Gaming, Smart technology, Artificial Intelligence, Smartphones, Reviews
The imposing Sphere in Las Vegas might soon have a little sibling on the East Coast. The company behind it has announced its intent to build a similar venue at National Harbor in the Washington DC metropolitan area.
Category: Architecture, Technology
Tags: La Sphere, Sphere, Construction, Building and Construction, America
