You'll be able to record more realistic looking Cinematic videos from iPhone 13 in iOS 16. Photo: Apple
iOS 16 will improve photos and videos shot with iPhone 13 and iPhone 13 Pro via computational photography tweaks.
The software update will add foreground blur in Portrait photos and improve videos shot in Cinematic mode. However, these enhancements will be exclusive to Apple’s 2021 iPhone lineup due to hardware limitations.
Dead warriors like this one are fierce and playful in Park Chan-wook's short. Photo: Apple
Most people use the awesome filmmaking potential of iPhone 13’s Cinematic Mode to shoot vids of their cats. But not South Korean director Park Chan-wook. In the latest in Apple’s “Shot on iPhone” series, he takes you into afterlife in a short film packed with martial arts wizardry and dream-like sequences. It’s called Life is But a Dream, and it’s shot entirely on an iPhone 13 Pro.
Even if you and your cat had a famous director’s resources — the cast, the sets, the costumes, the rich folklore — you still probably couldn’t come up with anything like this. But thanks to the technology in your iPhone, you can try.
Behold the iPhone 13 Pro, a true Goldilocks smartphone. Photo: Leander Kahney/Cult of Mac
Is there such a thing as the fabled Goldilocks phone? You know, a phone that is just right? Not too big. Not too small. Great camera and screen. Amazing battery life.
Well, the new iPhone 13 Pro is that “just right” phone.
Still carrying an iPhone XS or even an iPhone 8? The iPhone 13 is better in virtually every way. Photo: Ed Hardy/Cult of Mac
Those looking for an upgrade for the iPhone 11, XS or 8 need search no further than the 6.1-inch iPhone 13. Apple’s latest midsize handset offers far better performance than those older models, a noticeably longer battery life and a better camera. Plus there are some other nice additions, like a smaller notch.
If you still can’t decide whether you want to upgrade to iPhone 13 or 13 Pro, perhaps some early feedback from reviewers will help. Unsurprisingly, they all have good things to say about Apple’s newest handsets, which pack big camera upgrades, better battery life, even faster A15 Bionic chips, and wonderfully smooth ProMotion displays (if you buy a Pro model).
But most agree that the changes don’t break new ground for iPhone, so you might be happy to stick with what you already have. But are the 2021 iPhones really “the most incremental update ever,” as The New York Times writes? Here’s our iPhone 13 review roundup.
Cinematic Mode represents a new era in Computational Photography. Photo: Apple
Of all the things Apple revealed Tuesday, to me the most impressive was the iPhone 13’s new Cinematic mode. The depth-of-field effect creates amazing focus transitions between subjects.
Apple basically built an AI cinematographer into the iPhone 13.