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DJIâs Osmo Pocket 3 gimbal-camera was a category-defining camera. Two years since its launch, everyone from vloggers to pro film makers continue to upload how-to guides and gushing reviews to YouTube. When the Osmo Pocket 4 landed at the FCC at the end of 2025 (followed by a credible leak), creator forums and Reddit threads started to chatter with excitement. Over the following months the Pocket 4 leaked again and again, to the point where thereâs very little that someone with a passing interest and an internet connection doesnât already know about the camera. But DJI chose today to give us the official reveal, so weâre here with the full review which, remarkably, does contain some surprises.
Whatâs new
For those who were waiting for official, confirmed specs and information, hereâs a rundown of the headline new features of the Osmo Pocket 4. The camera is still 4K, but comes with an updated 1-inch CMOS sensor that DJI says is good for another two stops of low light performance (for a total of 14). The camera retains the 20mm equivalent, f/2.0 lens but squeezes in an improved max framerate of 240 fps (up from 120 fps) for up to 10x slow-mo. The Pocket 4 can also shoot in full, high dynamic range 10-Bit D-Log, upgraded from the more lightweight D-Log-M available on the Pocket 3. Shutter speeds are now expanded and go right down to 1/4 for extreme light effects.
Hardware changes are few, but do include two new buttons below the 2-inch display. One is a dedicated zoom button and the other you can assign a function from a selection of common tasks â rotating the gimbal, toggling recording presets and so on. You can assign up to three different controls to this button via single, double and triple clicks. Thereâs also 107GB of internal storage. You can still use SD cards, but you donât need to if you donât want to.
That zoom, DJI states, is good for 2x âlosslessâ zoom while shooting in 4K and 4x in 1080p. The Pocket 3âs 2x Mid-Tele zoom had to be activated first, but now you can use lossless zoom any time and/or while using ActiveTrack face-tracking. Itâs available in Portrait mode, too, but if youâll need to have the screen in the horizontal position to access the buttons, which means your viewfinder/preview will be teeny-tiny as itâs rescaled for 16:9.
James Trew for Engadget
DJI has added on-camera âFilm Tonesâ which are similar, functionally, to film simulations seen on Fujifilm cameras. There are six to choose from at launch and include subtle and not-so-subtle stylized color tones that apply different âmoodsâ to your videos without having to manually color grade or use a LUT after the fact. As for still images, thereâs an on-screen button for âLiveâ photos similar to what you might find on an iPhone. Live photos were sorta-kinda possible on the Pocket 3, but they are a little bit easier this time around.
A lot of DJI drones include Gesture Control, which lets you start/stop recording and engage ActiveTrack from a distance, and thatâs new on the Pocket 4 too.
On the audio side of things, the Pocket 4 now has âaudio zoom,â so if you have two people in a scene and do a close up on one of them, the volume of their voices will be boosted. Itâs a little crude, but it could be handy in certain situations. The Pocket 4 can also record spatial audio via the three onboard microphones, good for live music and other situations where sound placement might matter.
Lastly, the Pocket 4 has a modular component. At launch, thereâs a magnetic fill light that clips onto the gimbal and can be configured via the camera menus. Itâs included in the creator combo and opens the door for other modular accessories, though itâs limited to things that can sit on the gimbal without causing problems. A shotgun-style microphone, for example, could be possible.
James Trew for Engadget
Battery life also gets a slight boost over the Pocket 3 with a 1,545mAh cell â which is almost a 20 percent increase. That translates to an extra 30 minutes or so of recording time for an average of two and a half hours at 4K, more if you shoot in lower resolutions or are using the camera for photos.
What we donât see here, an item that you might have been hoping for, is any type of optical zoom. Whatâs more, the max resolution in vertical mode remains capped at 3K. You still have to rotate the camera if you want full-sensor, 4K video in portrait.
Video quality
The popularity of the Pocket series is thanks to its combination of high-quality video and a portable form factor. The Pocket 4 builds on this winning formula with exceptional quality for the cameraâs size. The new 1-inch sensor is noticeably more detailed than the Pocket 3 and DJIâs claim of improved low light performance is backed up by stellar results. I took the Pocket 4 out at night and it bested its predecessor with far more dynamic range and better exposure in shadowed areas that come out dark or fuzzy on the Pocket 3.
Image performance in general is impressive and a definite strong point for a camera of this size. Colors now look more natural than ever without looking over-saturated. Similar shots on the Pocket 3 look a little flatter when viewed side by side. I like that the f2.0 aperture still provides some light bokeh, and when combined with the new D-Log mode, thereâs plenty of scope for cinematic shots. These would be harder to achieve with a phone and donât require the setup and planning of a mirrorless camera.
With the extended shutter speeds you can get some interesting effects â dramatic light trails in traffic for example â but itâs going to over expose any other light source in your shot. So, proceed with caution. The Pocket 3 bottomed-out at 1/25, but the Pocket 4 goes right down to a dramatic 1/4.
The 2x lossless zoom surprised me. At first, I was sceptical about DJIâs claims of it being lossless, but it does seem to maintain visual quality without noticeable loss of detail. Though if you want to use that 4x zoom in 4K, expect to see some digital artifacts. The Pocket 4âs 20mm lens is particularly suited to wider, vlog-style shots, so a usable zoom is a welcome addition. Itâs worth noting that itâs better used for static and tripod shots as any gimbal movements and keeping a subject in frame can feel like steering a ship.
Film tones
Until now, if you were aiming for a more cinematic style, you had to get comfortable shooting in D-Log-M and boning up on color-grading. DJI provided some filters in the Mimo app for a quick and dirty way to add a mood or vibe to your videos, but that still caused some friction in the workflow. The new film modes are on camera, so achieving something more stylized is now just a menu tap away. Iâll be honest, Iâm not a huge fan of the selection available right now as theyâre either too hot or too cold. Of the six, Warm and Movie seem the most usable for cozy-style landscapes or B-roll cityscapes.
DJI hasnât shared much about whether these are just on-camera filters or true film simulations. Movie and Retro, at least, were already available as filters in the app. If the full effect is too strong, you can dial down the intensity, but thatâs the extent of the control. Their addition here expands what you can get out of the camera without using the app or having to drag things over to your editing software. Itâs unclear if weâll see more options in the future, but theyâre there if you need them.
New buttons
One of my main complaints with the Pocket cameras was the zoom. More specifically, controlling it with the joystick. It always looks slow, inconsistent and a bit amateur when zooming in manually. The new button provides an instant punch-in that can be used for an intentional, attention-drawing effect. I canât count the number of times Iâve ruined a shot because I thought I had the joystick set to zoom, but it was still assigned to panning (you had to toggle its use via an on-screen button). With the physical button, I can close in on a target instantly and never worry about accidental pans.
James Trew for Engadget
The second, customizable button is also a real usability upgrade. If, like me, youâre constantly recentering the gimbal, youâll know that the usual double-click on the joystick is often unreliable. Now you can assign that action to the button plus two more controls from a selection of common actions. I have it set so double-click switches to one of my manual recording presets and triple-click locks the gimbal so I no longer have to jump into the main menu to switch gimbal modes. It even works while recording if I spontaneously decide I want to keep my horizon level.
Changing what this button does is simple: Long-press it and itâll jump into the settings where you can choose its functionality. Thereâs still scope for some refinement, as although a double click can instantly start recording with my preferred settings, clicking again doesnât stop it. You have to use the record button. This makes some sense, but Iâm used to using the same button to stop/start recording, so intuitively I thought that might be the case here. Sadly not.
Audio upgrades
Something a little unexpected in the Pocket 4 is the addition of spatial audio. Using the three built-in microphones, the theory is you should be able to hear where sounds are coming from â though youâll need headphones on for the effect to work. In practice, it does create a different audio ambience, one where sounds feel more relative to their location, but it comes at a price. If you speak to the camera, even if youâre nearby, your voice will sound distant and muddled so spatial audio is something youâll want to use intentionally and certainly not as a default setting.
The same is true for that audio âzoom.â To be fair to DJI, Iâve never found an audio zoom I truly liked. You canât capture better audio than what the microphone is receiving, so amplifying it in any way isnât going to improve it beyond what you can do with editing software. In a pinch, this might help with interviews when you have multiple speakers, no external microphone and need to publish quickly, but Iâm reluctant to recommend it for anything else.
James Trew for Engadget
The new âVocal Boostâ is a more useful option under the Pro settings menu. When activated, it enhances voices by lowering background noise and other sounds. Again, itâs not a fix for getting good source audio, but in noisy run-and-gun vlogging environments, it can improve your chances of capturing something useful with just the internal microphones.
Fortunately, DJI has a much better solution that was already a feature of Pocket cameras â native connectivity with its wireless microphones. The Creator Combo now includes a single DJI Mic 3 transmitter and charging cable, and itâs the absolute best way to get YouTube-ready audio from the camera. One nice tweak with the Pocket 4 is that you can now export videos with both the built-in and external mic audio as one 4-channel file. Open this in your video editor and you can mix and cut between mic and ambient audio without having to deal with separate files as before.
The competition
The fact that thereâs no real direct competition for the Pocket series is surprising. For true, like-for-like gimbal cameras, expect to find alternatives from brands youâre less familiar with â such as Agfaphoto or Feiyu. Most of the nearest competition will be action cameras like the GoPro Mission 1 or Insta360 Ace Pro 2. Both of these are great portable cameras with solid stabilisation, but they unsurprisingly favor that wide, bright and sharp action-style footage. The Pocket 4âs nearest rival for stabilized vlog-friendly filming is still the Pocket 3.
This raises the question of whether the Pocket 4 (£445) is worth it over the more affordable Pocket 3 (£389) at launch. (DJI canât directly sell the Pocket 4 in the US, so official prices are in British Pounds or Euros.) Both are great, all-purpose, vlogging cameras versatile enough for recording in a variety of situations â though less suited to rugged/action filming thanks to the delicate mechanical gimbal. Itâs likely that the price difference between the two will expand after the launch window.
James Trew for Engadget
Wrap-up
The Pocket 4 might not bring defining new features like optical zoom or higher resolution, but itâs a better camera in every way that matters. There are also several quality of life improvements that make it incredibly compelling. For the extra money, youâre getting better image quality that will pay you back over time. The new buttons make the camera even more convenient and that onboard storage alone effectively closes the price gap â not to mention the huge convenience that feature alone brings with it.
Hardcore fans might have been hoping for more âdazzleâ with the Pocket 4. In reality, DJI delivered a camera that builds on an already winning formula in ways that actually matter: higher quality video, improved usability, modular capabilities and longer battery life. Itâs hard to argue with that.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/cameras/dji-osmo-pocket-4-review-the-only-vlogging-camera-youll-ever-need-120000374.html?src=rssAnthropic has started rolling out identity verification on Claude âfor a few use cases.â The company didnât list out those use cases in its announcement, but weâve asked it for details and will update this post when we hear back. Anthropic says you might see a verification prompt upon âaccessing certain capabilities,â asking you to verify your identity. You would have to show a valid and physical government-issued photo ID. Youâd also have take a selfie with your phone or computer camera that the system will compare against the ID you present.
The news, as youâd expect, wasnât well-received. Many users are questioning the necessity of identity verification to be able to use an AI chatbot, especially if Anthropic already has their credit cards on file as paying subscribers. People are also criticizing Anthropicâs decision to use Persona Identities, which also provides age verification services for OpenAI and Roblox. One of Personaâs major investors is venture firm Founders Fund, which was co-founded by Peter Thiel, whoâs also the co-founder and chairman of surveillance company Palantir.
Palantirâs customers are mostly federal agencies and government offices, including the FBI, the CIA and US Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Most criticisms against the company center around the services it provides those customers, as theyâre mainly used to expand government surveillance using its facial recognition and AI technologies.
In its announcement, Anthropic said that Persona will be the one handling your IDs and selfies. It will not copy and store those images. It also said that Persona is âcontractually limitedâ in how it can use your data and that all data passing through its process is âencrypted in transit and at rest.â Anthropic emphasized that it will not use your identity data to train its models and that it will not share your data with anyone else.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ai/anthropic-will-ask-claude-users-to-verify-their-identities-for-a-few-use-cases-115754092.html?src=rssAmazon MGM's 2026 theatrical slate includes 'Highlander' and 'Spaceballs: The New One'
April 16 | 2026
Fresh off the box office success of Project Hail Mary, Amazon MGM Studios has announced its theatrical release lineup for the next year. Most of the titles aren't likely to hit the highs of the Ryan Gosling starrer which has grossed $515 million in theaters. However, there are a number of promising releases like Spaceballs: The New One and Highlander starring Henry Cavill, both sequels to '80s films. Another is The Sheep Detectives with Hugh Jackman, the trailer for which has been a hit on YouTube.
Earlier this year, Amazon MGM promised to release up to 14 films in theaters over the next year and leave them to run for as long as 45 days â a far cry from its previous policy of releasing just a few films for several weeks at most. That strategy is paying off so far. "Four months. Four films. Over $670 million at the box office. And we have nine more on the way,â said Amazon MGM's head of domestic theatrical distribution, Kevin Wilson.
The company said that it's not about volume, but impact. "We are building films that give audiences a reason to leave the house. Films with scale. Ambition," Wilson said. Looking at the slate, though, some of those films are likely to be hits and some not so much.
First up is The Sheep Detectives set to arrive on May 8th. You may scoff at the title, but the trailer has racked up 20 million views and mainly positive comments. It looks like fun, family-friendly fare and stars a popular actor, so one could easily see this being a hit for Amazon MGM.
Masters of the Universe is next up on June 5, 2026. "Director Travis Knight brings the world of Eternia to life on a massive scale with stars Nicholas Galitzine, Camila Mendes, and Idris Elba," Amazon explains. The film is based on the Mattel toy franchise and animated series so again, it could be another magnet for kids and their nostalgic parents.
How to Rob a Bank is a heist comedy with a solid cast including Nicholas Hoult, Zoë Kravitz, Anna Sawai, Pete Davidson, and John C. Reilly, set to arrive on September 4. That's followed by Verity (October 2, 2026) based on the Colleen Hoover novel and Peter Farrelly's I Play Rocky Sylvester Stallone biopic about the production of the 1976 film Rocky.
2027 starts with the The Beekeeper 2 (January 15) starting Jason Statham, followed by The Thomas Crown Affair (March 5, 2027) directed by and starring Michael B. Jordan. Spaceballs: The New One, a sequel to the classic Mel Brooks movie arrives on April 23, 2027 with Rick Moranis, Josh Gad, Keke Palmer, Lewis Pullman, Daphne Zuniga, Bill Pullman, and Mel Brooks.
Other films expected but without release dates yet include The Chosen: Crucifixion, A Colt is My Passport, Your Mother Your Mother Your Mother and Highlander starring Henry Cavill based on the 1986 cult classic.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/entertainment/amazon-mgms-2026-theatrical-slate-includes-highlander-and-spaceballs-the-new-one-094505690.html?src=rssYou now have the power to remove short-form videos from your YouTube feed if you donât want to see them. YouTube has rolled out the capability to set your Shorts feed limit to zero minutes, which could help you stop doomscrolling, at least on mobile. The video-sharing platform originally launched a Shorts feed limit back in October last year, but the lowest option you could choose was 15 minutes. Once 15 minutes are up, youâll get a pop-up reminding you to take a break.
Earlier this year, it integrated the feature with parental controls, allowing guardians to set time limits for younger users. YouTube said back then that parents will soon see the option to set the timer to zero. Now, the Shorts timer is live not just for parents, but for all users. We can confirm that weâre now seeing the zero minutes option in our (adult) account and were able to activate it for ourselves. When you select it, you may see a notice that says âScrolling is paused but you may still see individual Shorts.â You may also have to refresh your app before short-form videos disappear from your feed.
To be able to block stop Shorts from showing up for you, go to your Setting page in the YouTube app for mobile. Look for âTime managementâ and scroll down to âDaily limits,â where you can find the âShorts feed limitâ section. If you donât want to get rid of Shorts altogether, you can choose from any of the other options, with two hours being the maximum time available.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/apps/youtube-now-lets-you-hide-shorts-085538825.html?src=rssOpera is offering a new choice for looping in an AI assistant during browsing. Today, the company introduced Browser Connector, which allows Opera One and Opera GX users to integrate either ChatGPT or Claude into the platform. The chatbots will be able to access page content while a person is browsing and will draw context for queries from the information in your open tabs. The free new feature can be enabled through the AI Services section of the Settings menu.
Opera is one of the many browser companies that has been experimenting with an AI-focused service. It began rolling out the $20-a-month Opera Neon agentic AI browser last year. The benefit of something like Browser Connector means you aren't limited to a single brand's product offerings and can switch things up at will.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ai/opera-adds-browser-connector-for-integrating-ai-chatbots-080000153.html?src=rssEarlier this year it was revealed that Apple and Google were offering "nudify" apps on their stores despite having clear policies barring such content. Nearly three months later, such apps are not only still available, but being actively promoted on the iOS App Store and Google Play, according to a new report from the Tech Transparency Project(TTP). Many of those were labeled "E" for Everyone, meaning they can be downloaded by children.
Searching for "nudify," "undress" and other terms in those stores gives users access to apps that can make real people nude or put them into pornographic videos. The new report alleges that "the platforms are key participants in the spread of AI tools that can turn real people into sexualized images," TTP wrote. The app stores even ran ads for similar nudifying apps in the search results.
The group identified 18 nudify apps in Apple's App Store and 20 in Google Play. Some were marketed with sexual images, while others weren't advertised as such but could still be used for deepfakes. Those apps have collectively generated around $122 million in revenue and been downloaded 483 million times, according to the report.
"Itâs not just that the companies are failing to actually appropriately review these apps and continue to approve them and profit from them," TTP director Katie Paul told Bloomberg. "They are actually directing users to the apps themselves."
Apple and Google both have policies banning sexual or pornographic material, and Google has a specific policy against nudifying apps. Apple told Bloomberg that it removed 15 apps identified by the group, while Google said that it suspended a number of them. One of the apps cited in the report called Video Face Swap AI: DeepFace, advertises itself by showing an actress's face swapped onto another actress's body and allows users to put a real person's face on the bodies of partially undressed women. The app was rated "E" for Everyone.
The proliferation of nudify and deepfake apps has pushed some governments to propose laws against them. The UK's Children's Commissioner recently called for a ban on AI deepfake apps that create nude or sexual images of children. The US and other countries have proposed or created laws banning explicit deepfakes, and the California Attorney General recently sent Elon Musk's X a cease and desist order over Grok's explicit deepfakes.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/apps/apple-and-google-are-reportedly-pointing-users-to-nudify-apps-065144277.html?src=rssBusiness and Trade Secretary Peter Kyle has defended the Government's taxation approach during an appearance on GB News, conceding that Britain maintains a lower tax threshold compared to France.Mr Kyle told GB News: "We did have to take some difficult decisions at the beginning of this Government, and we acknowledge that we still have a lower tax threshold than France."The Cabinet minister drew a distinction between the overall threshold level and the necessity of raising taxes to fund investment. He pointed to economic fundamentals moving in a favourable direction, suggesting the early tough choices were yielding results.Kyle expressed considerable frustration that economic indicators were trending positively prior to the current conflict. He told GB News: "That's why Rachel expressed such frustration, and it's why I have such frustration that going into this conflict, all of the indicators for our economy are going in the right direction."The minister argued that Britain cannot sustain a combination of sluggish growth and elevated taxation. He emphasised that boosting economic expansion remains the Government's priority, which would allow authorities to reduce obstacles and friction for businesses operating within the UK. Mr Kyle stated the country must inject growth into the economy to alleviate these burdens.The Business and Trade Secretary highlighted the international dimension of the Government's growth strategy. He pointed to ongoing negotiations with multiple major economies as central to improving Britain's trading position.Mr Kyle told GB News: "That's not just domestic, it is internationally, which is why we're striking so many trade deals with South Korea, with America, with the European Union, with all of these deals are going to benefit hugely the UK."The minister described these agreements as transformative for the country's economic foundations. He said such deals would "fundamentally improve the fundamentals of our economies as we go forward and create opportunities."WATCH ABOVE.
Apple's MacBook Neo is a $600 (or $500 for students) shot across the bow at affordable Windows laptops, and it seems like Microsoft has ready its first response. The newly announced "Microsoft College Offer" is a bundle of Microsoft 365 Premium, Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, custom Xbox controller and discounted laptop that the company thinks could woo students away from Apple's new deal.
With the purchase of a discounted machine directly from Microsoft, retailers like Amazon and Best Buy or PC makers like HP, ASUS and Acer, you can get what the company says is an extra $500 of value from its bundle. The laptop deals include a Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 3x with a Snapdragon X chip, 16GB of RAM and 256GB of storage for $500 from Best Buy, around $250 off the laptop's usual $750 price. Or if you wanted something even cheaper, Walmart is selling an HP Omnibook 3 for $429, a discount of $270 off its usual $699 price. Microsoft is less generous with the deals on its own laptops and tablets, but you can even get a discount on a Surface Laptop as part of the offer.
A discounted laptop is great, but where the value of the Microsoft College Offer gets harder to define is with the services the company is packing in. Getting what would normally be a $200 year-long subscription to Microsoft 365 Premium for free is a meaningful deal, but many colleges give their students access to Microsoft's apps (and other software) with the cost of their tuition. A year of Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, which costs $30 per month as of October 2025, sounds like significant savings, but the offer is only valid for new subscribers. That leaves the free custom Xbox controller as the simplest bonus of the bunch, a value of around $76.
Windows PC makers are expected to make more serious attempts to compete with the Neo over the next year. For now, though, the Microsoft College Offer isn't exactly a bad deal, but it's certainly not as straightforwardly appealing as an Apple-quality laptop for $500 with a college discount.
The Microsoft College Offer is available to students starting April 15 and runs through June 30, 2026. Microsoft says redemption of the full bundle of services and accessories itâs offering needs to happen by July 31, 2026.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/computing/laptops/microsofts-new-college-deal-is-a-half-hearted-answer-to-the-500-macbook-neo-215336362.html?src=rss