Apple iPhone 16 Professional First Impressions: It Might Be the Greatest Smartphone for Photographers

The PetaPixel crew flew right down to Cupertino to witness the 2024 Apple Keynote occasion and get our first glimpse on the new iPhone 16 Professional. With all of the current push these days so as to add AI options to the pictures elements of the cellphone it’s good to see Apple engaged on up to date digicam {hardware} as a substitute. I need to relay my first impressions in regards to the new Professional collection telephones and construct a listing of an important options to check additional.

Apple iPhone 16 Professional: Upgraded {Hardware} Takes Middle Stage

Apple has determined to eschew final 12 months’s determination of placing completely different cameras on completely different Professional fashions leaving the one differing issue as display dimension. The Professional mannequin encompasses a 6.3-inch display and the 6.9-inch is on the Max mannequin. Surprisingly we didn’t see something new with the display specs and peak brightness remains to be 2,000 nits.

Battery life is definitively improved with roughly 4 hours extra of video playback than the earlier iPhone 15 Professional telephones. Wired USB-C charging instances are about the identical as earlier than however the wi-fi MagSafe Charging is now nearly as much as par with the wired speeds.

The cameras at the moment are improved nearly throughout the board with the usual Professional mannequin, with a brand new and thrilling essential digicam that options the identical 48-megapixel decision and f/1.78 aperture however is roughly twice as quick with regards to readout speeds. Not solely does this unlock 4K at 120 frames per second recording nevertheless it may additionally probably permit for extra photographs to be compiled with a single shutter press. That is one thing we undoubtedly need to take a look at additional.

The ultra-wide digicam has additionally been improved to a brand new 48-megapixel sensor with autofocus that may ship first rate macro capabilities with extra element than earlier than. The aperture appears to be the identical as earlier than at f/2.2.

The one digicam module that appears to be reused from the iPhone 15 Professional Max is the 5X telephoto f/2.8 lens which is now current on each the Professional and Professional Max. I’d have favored to have seen an enchancment right here as a result of this digicam does have limitations and a few customers will most likely miss the 3x digicam that was on the 15 Professional.

Apple iPhone 16 Professional: A New Button Geared In direction of Photographers

One factor that I discovered notably fascinating was the brand new Digicam Management button. This gives haptic suggestions and has a satisfying click on if you press it absolutely. The thought is which you could press the button to activate the digicam app, after which double-press it to carry up a collection of handbook controls. By sliding your finger on the button you may change between controls after which regulate them shortly. In observe I discovered the operation to be somewhat fiddly and sluggish so I need to take a look at it a lot additional and see if it’s a fast and sensible manner of creating changes.

I additionally need to additional take a look at the brand new inventive filters that Apple has launched. They now have what are known as undertones that give a pleasant shift of colour with out harming pores and skin tones. Additionally they have extra traditional-looking filters like vibrant and black and white, or extra surreal settings like ethereal and luminous. Regardless, all of those filters could be custom-made absolutely and might have the opacity toggled in addition to revert any of those to a unique one at a later date.

The aforementioned 4Kp120 mode is now current however can solely be used with the brand new essential digicam module. It nonetheless wants an exterior recorder if you wish to shoot the Log format, nonetheless. The brand new sluggish movement function could be re-timed after making the recording and you’ll even use the cinematic shallow depth of area mode with 4Kp120 as nicely. Sadly, we nonetheless don’t appear to get a compressed Log format that may be recorded on digicam right now.

Apple iPhone 16 Professional: Apple Takes a Completely different Stance on AI

Lastly, what I observed in regards to the keynote was much less emphasis on generative AI for photographs and even pretty conservative use of AI for issues like summarizing data from emails or messages or utilizing Siri as a extra highly effective private assistant. It’s value noting that as of the writing of this text, the vast majority of these new AI-based instruments haven’t but been launched and shall be given with future updates.

The one actual use of generative AI in pictures appears to be for making customized emojis and stickers or for erasing undesirable topics within the backgrounds of photographs. On this regard, Apple appears to be taking a extra measured method than the what competitors is pushing for. Maybe it is a safer transfer given how polarized customers are with regards to using generative AI.

There shall be a full evaluate after we can take a look at manufacturing smartphones nevertheless it’s protected to say that there are many new modifications that pique my curiosity and I’m excited to check the iPhone 16 Professional and Professional Max additional.