Cameras
If you’ve read my iPhone reviews before, you may recall I am not a photography geek. This is not the review to read if you want a deep dive on optics or how well this thing will work in a professional photo shoot scenario. (I’ll leave it to more skilled and knowledgeable people to assess the phone from that perspective, as there are already many such reviews out there.)
I’m a point-and-shooter. Thanks to both new hardware features and developments in computational photography, that’s actually where some of the more interesting and fastest-moving developments have been happening in the iPhone and its Android competitors over the past few years.
Sure, the iPhone 18 Pro is “pro” in the sense that it will be used by content creators and others who approach snapping photos or capturing videos far more seriously and creatively than I do. But really, it’s the phone that sometimes lets non-pros like me produce quasi-pro-looking images despite ourselves.
Take the new variable aperture feature, which got the most fanfare when this handset was announced. The ability to tweak this setting manually is a niche proposal, really; many people will rarely, if ever, touch it. That said, it adjusts automatically based on what’s in the scene by default, so in many cases, even folks like me will get slightly better photos.
Samuel Axon
Taken with the iPhone 18 Pro at f/1.48.
Samuel Axon
Samuel Axon
Taken with the iPhone 18 Pro at f/1.8.
Samuel Axon
Taken with the iPhone 18 Pro at f/1.48.
Samuel Axon
Taken with the iPhone 18 Pro at f/1.8.
Samuel Axon
Samuel Axon
Taken with the iPhone 18 Pro at f/2.8.
Samuel Axon
Samuel Axon
Taken with the iPhone 18 Pro at f/4.
Samuel Axon
Taken with the iPhone 18 Pro at f/2.8.
Samuel Axon
Taken with the iPhone 18 Pro at f/4.
Samuel Axon
There’s also Photographic Styles 3, the latest generation of Apple’s set of non-destructive presets for the general appearance and vibe of the photos you’re taking. Think Instagram filters, but less blunt-force. Previously, Photographic Styles were basically just color balance settings, but Photographic Styles 3 allows for texture tweaks, too.
This includes four texture options: film, glow, soft skin, and standard. These options—especially the film one—allow the iPhone’s built-in Camera app to compete with some third-party apps that tried to give photos warmer, more film-like looks. I won’t say it’s enough to make everyone drop those alternatives, but it’s good to have more options for those who are loyal to the main app.
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