This hidden setting turned my iPhone 16 Professional into an expert photograph studio

Certain, I’d’ve been emotionally connected to my iPhone 12 Pro (though it was hanging on by a thread), however I used to be by no means so completely satisfied to see the digicam go. After I first received it again in 2020, like all new telephones, I felt like I had the most recent, baddest digicam 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 digicam high quality had turn into borderline embarrassing.

I am not kidding — my pals would seize my telephone to take an image and instantly ask what was incorrect with it. However then different occasions, so long as the lighting was completely excellent, it might gaslight me into pondering it was the very best digicam round once more. I used to be carried out questioning whether or not or not a photograph would prove a number 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 leap 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 need to be on its greatest habits

First, let’s discuss 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 observed the distinction once I’m zooming in or cropping my images from my new digicam, and it brings me nice pleasure as a social media supervisor who’s at all times reducing, 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 digicam. The 12 Professional has ƒ/1.6 aperture on its fundamental digicam whereas the 16 Professional has ƒ/1.78. On the floor, aperture going up is not at all times the very best factor — it does let in additional mild. Nevertheless, that was the primary situation I used to be working into with my dusty 12 Professional — all the things 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 profitable the specs conflict daily of the week.

Hear, 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 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 really simply fine-tuning tweaks to optimize an already good digicam. I wasn’t as overwhelmed with image high quality as I believed I’d be.

Granted, my Snapchats have been noticeably increased high quality — I even had a buddy ask me what I had carried out in another way within the final week. I am not saying I regarded higher. Quite the opposite, you would 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 beneath any lighting, excellent or pitch black, my new iPhone 16 Professional received 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 footage I took to my Instagram.

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Spare {hardware}, good sir?

I assume my 12 Professional gave me a bit 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 telephone. Lighting certain helps any image, nevertheless it did not make or break my image high quality within the slightest.

New images options

Hiya Photographic Kinds

Bear 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 popular to edit my footage after I took them — not throughout — thanks very a lot. Over time, increasingly 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 telephone out in public solely to undergo my digicam later and see that they selected to make use of Portrait Mode. They nearly at all times did it to be thoughtful, so I’d scream into the theoretical pillow once I received dwelling so they would not assume 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 explicit setting. Mainly, it makes use of scene understanding to regulate explicit colours in numerous elements of your images. Individuals usually 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 need to select 4 of your favourite footage — the catch is that they needed to be taken on the brand new telephone. After you select them, they will act as mediums to match completely different Kinds. You possibly can choose between:

• Customary
• 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 shade. Like all Apple options, it was extremely intuitive — so long as you’ve got used any type of fundamental photograph editor ever in your life.

You possibly can return and edit this setting any time, however from there on out, the images you’re taking will mechanically be edited in that model. I prefer it as a result of it is extremely delicate — not in your face just like the notorious Portrait Mode. Now, my footage are simply ever-so-slightly hotter in the best way I’d 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 telephone, 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 because the Motion Button, and I’m neck-deep into the images 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 Digital camera Management: clicking it as I choose up my locked iPhone to instantly 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 possibly can deal with your iPhone just like the point-and-shoot Apple needs you to. Tremendous-computer capabilities tagged on, after all.