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

Positive, 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 completely satisfied to see the digicam go. Once 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 instances) or the conspiracy that Apple deliberately degrades older iPhone fashions, however now in 2025, the digicam 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 good, it could gaslight me into pondering it was one of the best digicam 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 pictures with the for the final two weeks, this is what I discovered stark (and never so insane) concerning 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 must be on its greatest conduct

First, let’s speak specs. The iPhone 12 Professional has a 12-megapixel digicam whereas the 16 Professional has a 48-megapixel digicam — 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 digicam, and it brings me nice pleasure as a social media supervisor who’s all the time chopping, 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 major digicam 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. Nonetheless, that was the principle challenge I used to be working into with my dusty 12 Professional — every thing was simply method 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 on daily basis 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 time, I spotted that even after 4 generations, Apple did such a very good job with the iPhone 12 Professional’s lenses that each one the upgrades that got here after had 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’d be.

Granted, my Snapchats had been noticeably larger high quality — I even had a pal ask me what I had executed otherwise within the final week. I am not saying I seemed higher. Quite the opposite, you may 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 underneath any lighting, good or pitch black, my new iPhone 16 Professional received a very good shot in it. My iPhone 12 Professional would fully freak out in any sort 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 picture PTSD, as a result of I discovered myself hesitating to take footage I knew it could not take even after I already upgraded to the 16 Professional. Nonetheless, 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 images options

Good day Photographic Types

Bear 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 well-liked to edit my footage after I took them — not throughout — thanks very a lot. Over time, an increasing number of 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 digicam 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 received residence so they would not suppose 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 specific setting. Mainly, it makes use of scene understanding to regulate specific colours in numerous components of your images. Individuals typically 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 might get.

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Get that “Excessive Effectivity” out of my face.

To begin, it’s a must 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 totally different Types. 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 sort of fundamental picture editor ever in your life.

You possibly can return and edit this setting any time, however from there on out, the images you are taking will mechanically be edited in that fashion. 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 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 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 mentioned out loud, “I’m by no means going to make use of this factor.”

Nonetheless, I do must 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 images division right here. In looking for a very good 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 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 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.