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

Certain, I would’ve been emotionally hooked up 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 joyful 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 (just a few 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 associates 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 good, it might gaslight me into pondering it was one of the best digicam round once more. I used to be completed questioning whether or not or not a photograph would end up just a few weeks in the past once I lastly upgraded to an iPhone 16 Pro.

Now that I have been capturing my pictures with the for the final two weeks, here 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 need to be on its greatest conduct

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 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 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 foremost digicam whereas the 16 Professional has ƒ/1.78. On the floor, aperture going up is not at all times one of the best factor — it does let in additional mild. Nonetheless, that was the primary problem I used to be working into with my dusty 12 Professional — every little 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 profitable the specs struggle day-after-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 while, I spotted that even after 4 generations, Apple did such an excellent job with the iPhone 12 Professional’s lenses that each one the upgrades that got here after have been actually 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 have been noticeably greater high quality — I even had a good friend ask me what I had completed otherwise within the final week. I am not saying I seemed higher. Quite the opposite, you possibly can 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, good or pitch black, my new iPhone 16 Professional received an excellent shot in it. My iPhone 12 Professional would utterly freak out in any form 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. Nonetheless, 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, however it did not make or break my image high quality within the slightest.

New pictures options

Howdy Photographic Types

Keep in mind how Portrait Mode took the world by storm again in 2016? Nicely, 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 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 assume 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. Principally, it makes use of scene understanding to regulate explicit colours in several components of your pictures. Individuals typically 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 begin, it’s important 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 match completely 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 received to enjoying round with the depth of the tone and coloration. Like all Apple options, it was extremely intuitive — so long as you have used any form 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’re taking will robotically 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 way in which 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. Nonetheless, 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 stated out loud, “I’m by no means going to make use of this factor.”

Nonetheless, 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 Digital camera Management: clicking it as I decide up my locked iPhone to instantly open the digicam 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 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 needs you to. Tremendous-computer capabilities tagged on, in fact.