This hidden setting turned my iPhone 16 Pro into a professional photo studio

Positive, I would’ve been emotionally hooked up to my iPhone 12 Pro (although it was hanging on by a thread), however I used to be by no means so joyful to see the digital camera go. After I first received it again in 2020, like all new telephones, I felt like I had the latest, baddest digital camera 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 digital camera high quality had change into borderline embarrassing.

I am not kidding — my buddies 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 could gaslight me into pondering it was one of the best digital camera round once more. I used to be executed questioning whether or not or not a photograph would prove just a few weeks in the past after I lastly upgraded to an iPhone 16 Pro.

Now that I have been capturing 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 should be on its greatest habits

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 occasions the megapixels 4 generations later. I’ve already observed 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 reducing, 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 gentle a lens permits right into a digital camera. The 12 Professional has ƒ/1.6 aperture on its fundamental 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 gentle. Nevertheless, that was the principle concern I used to be working into with my dusty 12 Professional — all the pieces was simply approach 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.

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 noticed that even after 4 generations, Apple did such a great job with the iPhone 12 Professional’s lenses that each one the upgrades that got here after have 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 might be.

Granted, my Snapchats have been noticeably increased high quality — I even had a pal ask me what I had executed in a different way 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 a great 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 outdoors 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 slightly picture 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 search out that I had image freedom as soon as extra with the brand new cellphone. Lighting positive helps any image, but it surely did not make or break my image high quality within the slightest.

New pictures options

Good day 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 well-liked to edit my photos 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 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 might scream into the theoretical pillow after 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 Kinds. Granted, it helps to work at a tech web site — 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 components of your images. Individuals usually use it to personalize how they need their pores and skin tones to look 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:

• Normal
• 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 colour. Like all Apple options, it was extremely intuitive — so long as you’ve got used any type of primary picture 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 routinely be edited in that type. I prefer it as a result of it is extremely delicate — 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 might 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 latest 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 a great 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 right away open the digital camera 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 digital camera management. To alter this:

1. Open Settings.
2. Choose Digital camera Management.
3. Scroll to the underside and toggle off “Require Display On.”

And there you could 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, after all.