This hidden setting turned my iPhone 16 Profession...

Certain, I’d’ve been emotionally connected to my iPhone 12 Pro (despite the fact that it was hanging on by a thread), however I used to be by no means so glad 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 couple of instances) or the conspiracy that Apple deliberately degrades older iPhone fashions, however now in 2025, the digital camera high quality had turn out to be borderline embarrassing.

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

Now that I have been taking pictures my pictures 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 need to be on its finest conduct

First, let’s discuss 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 instances the megapixels 4 generations later. I’ve already seen the distinction after I’m zooming in or cropping my images from my new digital camera, and it brings me nice pleasure as a social media supervisor who’s all the time 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 mild a lens permits right into a digital camera. The 12 Professional has ƒ/1.6 aperture on its primary digital camera whereas the 16 Professional has ƒ/1.78. On the floor, aperture going up is not all the time one of the best factor — it does let in additional mild. Nevertheless, that was the primary subject I used to be operating into with my dusty 12 Professional — every part was simply means too darkish. Mix that barely “worse” aperture on the 16 Professional with 4 instances the megapixels and the opposite improved processing powers it possesses? I am going to take the 16 Professional profitable the specs battle day by day of the week.

Pay attention, 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 noticed 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 had been really 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 had been noticeably increased high quality — I even had a good friend ask me what I had finished in a different way within the final week. I am not saying I regarded higher. Quite the opposite, you might truly 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 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 photos I took to my Instagram.

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Spare {hardware}, good sir?

I suppose my 12 Professional gave me a bit of photograph PTSD, as a result of I discovered myself hesitating to take photos I knew it could not take even after 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 pictures options

Hey Photographic Kinds

Keep in mind how Portrait Mode took the world by storm again in 2016? Properly, 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 more modes got here out, however I wasn’t one to leap on that bandwagon. It was all the time the worst after 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 virtually all the time did it to be thoughtful, so I’d scream into the theoretical pillow after I obtained 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 website — Patrick O’Rourke, Pocket-lint’s Editor-in-Chief, put me onto this specific setting. Mainly, it makes use of scene understanding to regulate specific colours in numerous elements of your images. Individuals typically use it to personalize how they need their pores and skin tones to seem all the way 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 begin, you must 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 will act as mediums to match totally different Kinds. You may 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 taking part in 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 photograph editor ever in your life.

You may return and edit this setting any time, however from there on out, the images you are taking will mechanically 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 best way I’d often edit them anyway.

Digicam 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 need to acknowledge it, because it’s the most recent piece of {hardware} on the iPhone for the reason that Motion Button, and I’m neck-deep into the pictures division right here. In looking for 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 Digicam Management: clicking it as I choose up my locked iPhone to right away 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 Digicam Management.
3. Scroll to the underside and toggle off “Require Display On.”

And there you might have it — now you possibly can deal with your iPhone just like the point-and-shoot Apple desires you to. Tremendous-computer capabilities tagged on, in fact.