Apple does these things with the iPhone 17 camera to impress consumers.
The iPhone 16 Pro’s amazing ca
mera can take a lot of great pictures
. With multiple crystal-clear lenses and new Photographic Styles, this iPhone has a lot to impress even the
most demanding photographers. It even
competes strongly with the best camera phones today, including the Galaxy S24 Ultra, Pixel 9 Pro, and Xiaomi 14 Ultra.
Illustration photo.
Illustration photo.
However, the iPhone 16 Pro's camera is not a perfect camera.
Here are the key areas that need to be improved on the iPhone 17 - expected to launch in September 2025.
Larger image sensor
While the 1/1.28-inch sensor on the iPhone 16 Pro's main camera is slightly larger than the Galaxy S24 Ultra's 1/1.33-inch sensor, Apple could actually go bigger. Lar
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ger image sensors can capture more light and provide better dynamic range. That's why professional cam
eras have "full frame" image sensors. In particular, high-end cameras like the excellent Hasselblad 907X have massive "medium format" sensors, which deliver impeccable image quality.
Xiaomi understands this, equipping its Xiaomi 14 Ultra with a 1-inch sensor. This sensor is larger than
the sensors found on most phones, allowing for great photos in a variety of conditions. Therefore, Apple needs to match Xiaomi phones with similar 1-inch sensors.
Variable aperture
Speaking of the Xiaomi 14 Ultra, one of the other reasons why this phone is great for photography is the variable aperture on the main camera. Its widest apertur
e is f/1.6 - significantly wider than the iPhone 16 Pro's f/1.78. The wider aperture allows more light to pass through in low-light conditions and achieves a more realistic out-of-focus bokeh effect around the subject.
Illustration photo.
Illustration photo.
But the Xiaomi's aperture can also be closed down to f/1.4, and with that narrower aperture, the camera can create a halo effect around the highlights. This aperture gives images that look like they were taken with a professional camera and lens, much better than the iPhone.
More Photographic Styles
While Apple has built Photographic Styles and various effects into the iPhone camera, the iPhone 16 series goes further with more control over the effects and more tonal options.
Photos taken by Xiaomi 14 Ultra are extremely impressive.
Photos taken by Xiaomi 14 Ultra are extremely impressive.
This is a great start. We expect Apple to introduce more Photographic Styles with different color tone options or even tones that mimic classic film from Kodak or Fujifilm.
Of course, many third-party apps like VSCO or Snapseed also allow users to freely use color filters. However, using Apple's Photographic Styles allows users to take photos with the applied look, then change it later if they don't like it.
Better ProRaw integration with Photographic Styles
Currently, Photographic Styles are only available when shooting in the HEIF (high efficiency image format) format. They can’t be used when shooting in ProRaw. Previously, Apple used ProRaw on iPhones, which provided DNG raw files for easier editing.
