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

Certain, I’d’ve been emotionally hooked up to my iPhone 12 Pro (though it was hanging on by a thread), however I used to be by no means so completely happy to see the digicam go. Once I first acquired it again in 2020, like all new telephones, I felt like I had the latest, 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 mates would seize my cellphone to take an image and instantly ask what was incorrect with it. However then different occasions, so long as the lighting was completely good, it will gaslight me into pondering it was the most effective digicam round once more. I used to be accomplished questioning whether or not or not a photograph would end up 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 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 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 all the time slicing, 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 digicam. The 12 Professional has ƒ/1.6 aperture on its primary digicam whereas the 16 Professional has ƒ/1.78. On the floor, aperture going up is not all the time the most effective factor — it does let in additional gentle. Nonetheless, that was the principle subject I used to be working into with my dusty 12 Professional — every part 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 will take the 16 Professional successful the specs conflict on daily basis 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 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 believed I’d be.

Granted, my Snapchats had been noticeably increased high quality — I even had a good friend ask me what I had accomplished in another way within the final week. I am not saying I regarded higher. Quite the opposite, you 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 underneath any lighting, good or pitch black, my new iPhone 16 Professional acquired a very good 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 of picture 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 positive helps any image, however it did not make or break my image high quality within the slightest.

New images options

Hiya Photographic Types

Keep 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, 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 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 all the time did it to be thoughtful, so I’d scream into the theoretical pillow once I acquired house 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 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. Principally, it makes use of scene understanding to regulate specific colours in several elements of your images. Folks 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 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 completely different Types. 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 acquired to enjoying round with the depth of the tone and colour. Like all Apple options, it was extremely intuitive — so long as you have used any type of fundamental picture editor ever in your life.

You may return and edit this setting any time, however from there on out, the photographs you are taking will mechanically be edited in that type. I prefer it as a result of it is extremely refined — 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’d often edit them anyway.

Digicam 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 must acknowledge it, because it’s the latest piece of {hardware} on the iPhone because the Motion Button, and I’m neck-deep into the images division right here. In trying to find 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 Digicam 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 vary this:

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

And there you’ve got it — now you’ll be able to deal with your iPhone just like the point-and-shoot Apple desires you to. Tremendous-computer capabilities tagged on, in fact.