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

Certain, I’d’ve been emotionally hooked up to my iPhone 12 Pro (though it was hanging on by a thread), however I used to be by no means so completely happy to see the digital camera go. After I first obtained it again in 2020, like all new telephones, I felt like I had the most recent, baddest digital camera on the block. I do not know if it was age, being left within the solar too lengthy (a number of occasions) or the conspiracy that Apple deliberately degrades older iPhone fashions, however now in 2025, the digital camera high quality had develop into borderline embarrassing.

I am not kidding — my mates would seize my cellphone to take an image and instantly ask what was fallacious with it. However then different occasions, so long as the lighting was completely excellent, it might gaslight me into considering it was the most effective digital camera round once more. I used to be completed questioning whether or not or not a photograph would end up a number of weeks in the past once I lastly upgraded to an iPhone 16 Pro.

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

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

The starkest distinction

Lighting did not should be on its greatest conduct

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

Now, let’s transfer to aperture, which is how a lot mild a lens permits right into a digital camera. The 12 Professional has ƒ/1.6 aperture on its principal digital camera whereas the 16 Professional has ƒ/1.78. On the floor, aperture going up is not all the time the most effective factor — it does let in additional mild. Nevertheless, that was the principle concern I used to be operating into with my dusty 12 Professional — every thing was simply means 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 will take the 16 Professional successful the specs struggle day-after-day of the week.

Hear, I used to be anticipating to be blown away by the iPhone 16 Professional’s digital camera high quality in comparison with the dinosaur I used to be taking photos on the 5 years prior. However after tooling round for a short while, I spotted that even after 4 generations, Apple did such an excellent job with the iPhone 12 Professional’s lenses that every one the upgrades that got here after have been actually simply fine-tuning tweaks to optimize an already good digital camera. I wasn’t as overwhelmed with image high quality as I believed I’d be.

Granted, my Snapchats have been noticeably greater high quality — I even had a buddy ask me what I had completed in another way within the final week. I am not saying I appeared higher. Quite the opposite, you could possibly 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 below any lighting, excellent or pitch black, my new iPhone 16 Professional obtained an excellent shot in it. My iPhone 12 Professional would fully freak out in any type of lighting — and I could not even take into consideration taking a selfie exterior for the sake of sunshine stripes that fully dominated any facial options, not to mention posting any photos I took to my Instagram.

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Spare {hardware}, good sir?

I assume my 12 Professional gave me a bit of picture PTSD, as a result of I discovered myself hesitating to take photos 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 positive helps any image, nevertheless it did not make or break my image high quality within the slightest.

New images options

Whats up Photographic Types

Keep in mind how Portrait Mode took the world by storm again in 2016? Effectively, I used to be not impressed. I thought of myself a Lightroom Cellular skilled on the ripe age of 17, and I most popular to edit my photos after I took them — not throughout — thanks very a lot. Through the years, increasingly modes got here out, however I wasn’t one to leap on that bandwagon. It was all the time the worst once I would ask a stranger to take an image on my cellphone out in public solely to undergo my digital camera later and see that they selected to make use of Portrait Mode. They nearly all the time did it to be thoughtful, so I’d scream into the theoretical pillow once I obtained house so they would not suppose I used to be ungrateful.

However a brand new characteristic has lastly had the gall to strike my fancy this time: Photographic Types. 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 numerous components of your photographs. Individuals usually use it to personalize how they need their pores and skin tones to seem right down to the pixel. I used to be intrigued by how nuanced it may get.

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Get that “Excessive Effectivity” out of my face.

To start out, it’s a must to select 4 of your favourite photos — 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 match totally different Types. 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 obtained to enjoying round with the depth of the tone and shade. Like all Apple options, it was extremely intuitive — so long as you have used any type of primary picture 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 routinely be edited in that model. I prefer it as a result of it is extremely refined — not in your face just like the notorious Portrait Mode. Now, my photos are simply ever-so-slightly hotter in the way in which I’d normally 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 digital camera. 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 should acknowledge it, because it’s the most recent 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 an excellent 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 instantly open the digital camera app with out having to unlock or get up the display within the first place.

The iPhone 16 Professional’s default is to require the display to be on to launch digital camera 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 may have it — now you’ll be able to deal with your iPhone just like the point-and-shoot Apple needs you to. Tremendous-computer capabilities tagged on, in fact.