Smartphone cameras might have been pushed apart by AI hype up to now two years, however they’re nonetheless one of many greatest causes to improve – and as TechRadar’s former cameras editor, I’m notably excited concerning the iPhone 16 Professional.
Granted, a few of that enthusiasm could also be as a result of my day by day driver is a creaking iPhone 11 Professional, which has now reached basic automotive standing in smartphone phrases. However recently, I’ve felt the attract of capturing with one thing extra discrete and pocketable than my Fujifilm X-T5 – and reasonably than a Ricoh GR IIIx, it’s the iPhone 16 Professional that’s caught my eye.
We’re nonetheless very a lot in rumors territory for Apple‘s subsequent flagship telephone forward of its launch on September 9. However after intently following the hypothesis this yr, it seems to be to me just like the iPhone 16 Professional might be the perfect pocket digital camera to enrich my beefier Fujifilm X-series physique and lenses.
So why am I considering of lastly upgrading this yr, reasonably than ready for the iPhone 17 Professional or the rumored iPhone 17 Air subsequent yr? Listed here are the highest 5 photographic explanation why I’m making ready to make the leap on the smaller Professional mannequin, primarily based on the newest rumors…
1. Apple’s greatest ever ultra-wide digital camera
- The rumor: iPhone 16 Professional and Professional Max tipped to get 48MP ultra-wide digital camera
This might be essentially the most helpful iPhone 16 Professional digital camera improve for me, if the rumors are true. In keeping with revered tech analyst Jeff Pu, Apple is planning so as to add a brand new 48MP ultra-wide digital camera onto each of its iPhone 16 Professional fashions – and gained’t be holding it unique to the Professional Max.
That might be a reasonably large deal. The iPhone’s ultra-wide digital camera has historically been its weakest hyperlink. My iPhone 11 Professional got here with Apple’s first ultra-wide and it’s distinctly common, due to its sluggish f/2.4 aperture and fixed-focus lens. It’s actually improved over current generations, however the iPhone 15 Professional nonetheless solely has a 12MP sensor and an f/2.2 aperture.
The good thing about a brand new 48MP sensor could be that the iPhone 16 Professional’s ultra-wide may use the identical pixel-binning approach as its important digital camera to spice up picture high quality in difficult mild. If it might probably produce 24MP recordsdata (produced from a combo of a 12MP and 48Mp picture) with a number of the high quality I’ve seen from the iPhone 15 Professional’s important digital camera, the ultra-wide would grow to be a much more usable possibility.
2. A mature 5x telephoto digital camera
- The rumor: iPhone 16 Professional to inherit the 5x telephoto digital camera from the 15 Professional Max
Final yr, I made a decision to resist the temptation of the iPhone 15 Professional Max’s new 5x telephoto lens with the intention to keep on with my golden Apple rule – at all times await any new characteristic to achieve second-generation maturity.
Okay, it was additionally as a result of I didn’t notably wish to lug round a 6.7-inch smartphone, which was my solely possibility as a result of Apple made its tetraprism know-how unique to the Max mannequin. Not so this yr, in keeping with the newest iPhone 16 Professional digital camera rumors – the 6.3-inch iPhone 16 Professional is extremely prone to get the identical 120mm equal digital camera as its greater brother.
I don’t suppose having a 120mm digital camera is essentially higher than a 72mm equal, which is what the iPhone 15 Professional provides. In actual fact, leafing by way of my Lightroom catalogue, I principally shoot within the 35mm-70mm vary on my Fujifilm X-T5. However then once more, I exploit my telephone for various sorts of photographs – and the flexibleness of having the ability swap from 14mm to a refined 120mm telephoto, all on my telephone, could be very alluring.
Apple’s spectacular stabilization and picture processing managed to eke out some stable, sharp outcomes from the iPhone 15 Professional Max’s 5x telephoto digital camera – after a yr of software program refinements, I’m anticipating that to have improved once more this yr.
3. The rumored Seize button
- The rumor: Apple to introduce a brand new ‘Capture’ button throughout the entire iPhone 16 collection
One among my greatest points with smartphone cameras is their ergonomics – they merely aren’t as enjoyable to shoot with because the greatest mirrorless cameras. Whilst you can enhance this to an extent with instances just like the Shiftcam ProGrip, current rumors counsel Apple can be planning to introduce a extra camera-like expertise to your entire iPhone 16 collection with a brand new Seize button.
There are blended reviews on whether or not this new button shall be capacitive or mechanical, however all of them agree that it’ll be centered on capturing images and movies with a two-step motion that allows you to first lock focus and publicity, then take a shot. A report from The Data in January steered that you simply’ll additionally be capable to swipe throughout the floor of this button to zoom out and in of your scene.
In different phrases, Apple may make the iPhone 16 collection really feel extra just like the greatest compact cameras, solely with much more computational energy. As we’ve seen with the Motion button, which might additionally grow to be your digital camera shutter, this may make a actual distinction for genres like road images that depend on velocity.
Bodily shutter buttons, the return of horizontal snapping – signal me up.
4. AI images future-proofing
- The rumor: iPhone 16 Professional and Professional Max to get new A18 Professional chip for Apple Intelligence options and graphically-intense apps
I principally edit images utilizing Lightroom Traditional or the Lightroom app on iOS, and the latter received its equal of Google‘s ‘Magic Eraser’ instrument again in Could. However now Apple is coming into the AI-powered photograph modifying recreation with instruments like Clear Up, I wish to be sure my subsequent iPhone is future-proofed (to an extent) for comparable iOS improvements – and it appears like that’ll be the case with the iPhone 16 Professional.
The most recent iPhone 16 spec predictions counsel that, whereas each mannequin within the collection will get 8GB RAM, the Professional fashions will get a brand new A18 Professional chip (in comparison with the usual A18 chip on the iPhone 16). Precisely what that’ll be able to stays unclear, however the newest rumors level to it having a extra highly effective graphics processor – which might be notably helpful for gaming and, sure, computational images.
The explanation this issues for Apple’s personal Apple Intelligence instruments, like Clear Up, is as a result of it prefers to run them on-device reasonably than, like Adobe, through the cloud. I should still largely stick to Lightroom for modifying, but when I’m offline then Apple Intelligence options may grow to be useful photographic backups for fast edits.
There’s already speak that subsequent yr’s iPhone 17 Professional Max may get unique Apple Intelligence upgrades, so I’m beneath no phantasm that the 16 Professional will in a position to deal with all of Apple’s greatest AI options sooner or later. Nevertheless it’s actually extra future-proofed than the poor iPhone 15, which is already locked out of the AI celebration as a consequence of its 6GB of reminiscence.
That further processing energy may additionally assist enhance non-AI options like Apple’s Cinematic Mode for video, which has slowly been bettering through the years (regardless of its depth-map errors).
5. New digital camera lens coating
- The rumor: iPhone 16 Professional collection to get new lens coating to scale back artifacts
A truism for conventional cameras is that lenses will make an even bigger distinction to your images than new digital camera our bodies – in order that’s why I’m additionally happy to listen to rumors that Apple might be addressing a long-standing lens situation on the iPhone 16 Professional collection.
In keeping with a well-known Apple tipster, a brand new digital camera lens coating (utilizing a way referred to as atomic layer deposition, or ALD) is getting used on iPhone 16 Professional fashions to assist cut back artifacts like flares and halos, that are fairly widespread in iPhone images.
I don’t fake to grasp the specifics of that specific manufacturing course of, but when that’s true it could be a useful quality-of-life improve for the iPhone 16 Professional’s cameras. In principle, it must also assist cut back ghosting in fast-moving objects.
Remaining ideas
If the iPhone 16 Professional will get most of those rumored options, I’ll nearly actually be upgrading and hitting these iPhone 16 preorders on September 13 (after they’re rumored to be beginning).
Even when its important digital camera stays the identical with a 48MP Quad Bayer sensor and f/1.8 aperture, a brand new 48MP ultra-wide and 5x telephoto could be enormous {hardware} upgrades – and I additionally just like the sound of the Seize button. Mix that with the facility and future-proofing of the rumored A18 Professional chip, and the iPhone 16 Professional is shaping as much as be fairly a pocket digital camera.
Apple could also be lagging behind Google on the subject of AI-powered options like Add Me and Reimagine, however as one thing of a images traditionalist that doesn’t trouble me an excessive amount of. iOS has at all times had the greatest digital camera apps, so most gaps might be full of third-party software program – and there’s additionally the prospect of dabbling with spatial images and video, which I’d argue is extra thrilling than AI-generated images.
