Well, that was a big evening here in the UK, eh? I didn't really realise there was a solar eclipse coming until a couple of days ago, when I was suddenly inundated with stories about how impossible it would be to find some viewing glasses, which was a pretty worrying start.
With vague memories of the 1999 eclipse when I was six years old, and the lengthy buildup of pinhole camera construction, I decided to just accept my fate yesterday and head to my local hill with sunnies in tow and the commitment to potentially go blind by catching glimpses of the sun despite the official advice.
Of course, this being London, what I actually found was that loads of people with safe viewing glasses were happy to share them around and lend them to those without, so I got to view the eclipse properly, and safely, without a permanent blind spot in either eye – result.
What took me by surprise, though, was how the experience shone a spotlight on the phone upgrade race, and made me wish I had something a bit newer than the admittedly very nice iPhone 15 Pro I've been using since it launched.
That phone is a trooper, for sure, and I've rarely ever had any issues with its camera setup – but occasionally things do rear their head. On safari in 2024, I was struck by how the extra zoom of the iPhone 16 Pro was indeed a bigger upgrade for special moments than I'd realised, for example.
Now, the 2026 solar eclipse goes on that list, too, because my phone was almost unable to come up with any reasonable photos of the event. Sure, it's a tall order given the risk of sensor damage, but my Instagram feed confirms that some with newer phones have managed some impressive snaps.
The above picture was one I snapped through the lens of a pair of eclipse glasses, and is the closest I've come to having something that looks remotely like the high-quality shots now flooding the internet. Of course, it's quite blurry, tiny and hard to make out – nothing I can do about that now.
I also got various nicer shots of the hillside vibe in south London, with hundreds of people out and enjoying the moment, complete with telescopes, pinholes, colanders and more – but these were hardly putting the phone to the test much.
To be clear, I'm also not saying that the iPhone 17 Pro would definitely have done way better. Wanting to upgrade your phone is often as much a state of mind as it is a practical necessity, though, and this photography just pushed me right back into it.
At 82% battery health, approaching the three-year mark, I've been eyeing up an upgrade anyway, and with the iPhone 18 Pro due in about a month's time, I'm going to be watching keenly to see how bad the expected price hike Apple levies will be.
If it's not too savage, then I think this is the time to upgrade, and while that doesn't mean I'll go off hunting down eclipse glimpses to put my photos right, I still can't deny that last night's extravaganza has become another brick in the wall for me.
