This hidden setting turned my iPhone 16 Professional into knowledgeable photograph studio

Certain, I’d’ve been emotionally connected to my iPhone 12 Pro (regardless that it was hanging on by a thread), however I used to be by no means so pleased to see the digicam go. Once I first received it again in 2020, like all new telephones, I felt like I had the latest, baddest digicam on the block. I do not know if it was age, being left within the solar too lengthy (a couple of occasions) or the conspiracy that Apple deliberately degrades older iPhone fashions, however now in 2025, the digicam high quality had grow to be borderline embarrassing.

I am not kidding — my buddies would seize my cellphone to take an image and instantly ask what was mistaken with it. However then different occasions, so long as the lighting was completely excellent, it will gaslight me into pondering it was the most effective digicam round once more. I used to be performed questioning whether or not or not a photograph would end up a couple of weeks in the past once I lastly upgraded to an iPhone 16 Pro.

Now that I have been taking pictures my photographs with the for the final two weeks, here is what I discovered stark (and never so insane) in regards to the soar up 4 generations.

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I traded in my iPhone 12 Professional and walked right into a tech identification disaster.

The starkest distinction

Lighting did not must be on its finest conduct

First, let’s speak specs. The iPhone 12 Professional has a 12-megapixel digicam whereas the 16 Professional has a 48-megapixel digicam — that is actually 4 occasions the megapixels 4 generations later. I’ve already seen the distinction once I’m zooming in or cropping my pictures from my new digicam, and it brings me nice pleasure as a social media supervisor who’s at all times slicing, cropping, and pasting all whereas my fingers are crossed on the standard facet of issues.

Now, let’s transfer to aperture, which is how a lot gentle a lens permits right into a digicam. The 12 Professional has ƒ/1.6 aperture on its foremost digicam whereas the 16 Professional has ƒ/1.78. On the floor, aperture going up is not at all times the most effective factor — it does let in additional gentle. Nevertheless, that was the principle situation I used to be operating into with my dusty 12 Professional — every thing was simply manner too darkish. Mix that barely “worse” aperture on the 16 Professional with 4 occasions the megapixels and the opposite improved processing powers it possesses? I am going to take the 16 Professional successful the specs conflict each day of the week.

Pay attention, I used to be anticipating to be blown away by the iPhone 16 Professional’s digicam high quality in comparison with the dinosaur I used to be taking footage on the 5 years prior. However after tooling round for a short time, I spotted that even after 4 generations, Apple did such a great job with the iPhone 12 Professional’s lenses that each one the upgrades that got here after had been really simply fine-tuning tweaks to optimize an already good digicam. I wasn’t as overwhelmed with image high quality as I assumed I might be.

Granted, my Snapchats had been noticeably increased high quality — I even had a pal ask me what I had performed in another way within the final week. I am not saying I regarded higher. Quite the opposite, you would really see each single pore on my face (which I did not love, clearly). However what I did discover proper off the bat was that beneath any lighting, excellent or pitch black, my new iPhone 16 Professional received a great shot in it. My iPhone 12 Professional would utterly freak out in any type of lighting — and I could not even take into consideration taking a selfie outdoors for the sake of sunshine stripes that utterly dominated any facial options, not to mention posting any footage I took to my Instagram.

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Spare {hardware}, good sir?

I suppose my 12 Professional gave me somewhat photograph PTSD, as a result of I discovered myself hesitating to take footage I knew it could not take even once I already upgraded to the 16 Professional. Nevertheless, I overcame that feature-fear and was delighted to seek out that I had image freedom as soon as extra with the brand new cellphone. Lighting certain helps any image, but it surely did not make or break my image high quality within the slightest.

New images options

Howdy Photographic Kinds

Keep in mind how Portrait Mode took the world by storm again in 2016? Effectively, I used to be not impressed. I thought-about myself a Lightroom Cellular skilled on the ripe age of 17, and I most well-liked to edit my footage after I took them — not throughout — thanks very a lot. Over time, increasingly more modes got here out, however I wasn’t one to leap on that bandwagon. It was at all times the worst once I would ask a stranger to take an image on my cellphone out in public solely to undergo my digicam later and see that they selected to make use of Portrait Mode. They virtually at all times did it to be thoughtful, so I might scream into the theoretical pillow once I received residence so they would not suppose I used to be ungrateful.

However a brand new function has lastly had the gall to strike my fancy this time: Photographic Kinds. Granted, it helps to work at a tech web site — Patrick O’Rourke, Pocket-lint’s Editor-in-Chief, put me onto this explicit setting. Mainly, it makes use of scene understanding to regulate explicit colours in several components of your pictures. Folks typically use it to personalize how they need their pores and skin tones to look right down to the pixel. I used to be intrigued by how nuanced it might get.

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Get that “Excessive Effectivity” out of my face.

To start out, you need to select 4 of your favourite footage — the catch is that they needed to be taken on the brand new cellphone. After you select them, they’re going to act as mediums to check totally different Kinds. You’ll be able to choose between:

• Commonplace
• Amber
• Gold
• Rose Gold
• Impartial
• Cool Rose

Since I’ve hotter undertones, the latter three made me look completely insane and straight out of a 2014 Tumblr selfie captioned: Listening to Sweater Climate #theneighbourhood. So, I opted for Amber, after which received to taking part in round with the depth of the tone and colour. Like all Apple options, it was extremely intuitive — so long as you have used any type of fundamental photograph editor ever in your life.

You’ll be able to return and edit this setting any time, however from there on out, the images you are taking will robotically be edited in that type. I prefer it as a result of it is extremely refined — not in your face just like the notorious Portrait Mode. Now, my footage are simply ever-so-slightly hotter in the best way I might often edit them anyway.

Digital camera Management

I actually could not care much less about it

Sure, we all know — there is a enjoyable new button on the iPhone 16 fashions that successfully flip your iPhone right into a digicam. Nevertheless, I fairly actually have not used it since I arrange the cellphone, thought, “Oh yeah, there’s this new factor,” tried it as soon as, and mentioned out loud, “I’m by no means going to make use of this factor.”

Nevertheless, I do must acknowledge it, because it’s the latest piece of {hardware} on the iPhone because the Motion Button, and I’m neck-deep into the images division right here. In trying to find a great use for the brand new button (and to throw Apple a bone right here), I tweaked a fast setting to create an precise use for Digital camera Management: clicking it as I decide up my locked iPhone to right away open the digicam app with out having to unlock or get up the display screen within the first place.

The iPhone 16 Professional’s default is to require the display screen to be on to launch digicam management. To alter this:

1. Open Settings.
2. Choose Digital camera Management.
3. Scroll to the underside and toggle off “Require Display screen On.”

And there you have got it — now you may deal with your iPhone just like the point-and-shoot Apple desires you to. Tremendous-computer capabilities tagged on, after all.