- Apple has simply introduced a brand new iOS 26 software program replace for iPhones
- One of many large modifications is a redesign of Apple's Digital camera app
- New streamlined Picture and Movies modes to make it simpler to make use of
The iPhone's Digital camera app has been handled to a beneficiant serving to of recent options over the previous few years, from Photographic Kinds to Apple ProRaw. However one factor Apple has did not do is set up all of those options in a method that makes any actual intuitive sense – till now, because of iOS 26.
Now, as an alternative of getting a complicated row of eight options above the shutter button, which I typically discover myself by chance scrolling although, Apple is slicing that preliminary menu down to 2 issues – Picture and Video.
Apple says it's performed this as a result of they’re, naturally, the 2 mostly used Digital camera modes, and that spring clear has been a very long time coming. When you're in a type of two modes, you simply swipe left or proper to disclose the associated modes inside them.
For instance, in video mode, swiping brings up each Slo-Mo and Cinematic mode – that's useful, as a result of 'Cinematic' may very well be interpreted as a video or stills mode, however really refers to Apple's computational bokeh throughout video.
Even perhaps higher, swiping up reveals a 'Liquid Glass' model menu (above) that's a lot clearer than the present complicated mess of arcane icons. Now, you get names alongside these modes, resembling Kinds (for Photographic Kinds) and Side for the side ratio. All of it appears like a small, however very welcome enchancment.
Lastly, Apple has additionally tidied up the video frame-rates and determination menu. On iOS 18, these sit within the top-right nook of the app, and also you don't get a drop-down menu to see the choices to cycle although. However in iOS 26, a brand new frosted glass pane reveals you the entire frame-rate choices for every decision.
It's an enchancment, however the place is the Professional mode?
This iOS 26 refresh for the Digital camera app implies that some options are a bit extra out of sight than earlier than, however that's wonderful by me. It's been feeling more and more cluttered and messy, with Apple slowly including options to an interface that wasn't designed to accommodate so many choices.
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However there's nonetheless one factor lacking for me. I've been hoping that iPhones would possibly get a Professional photograph mode for a couple of years now, however there's sadly nonetheless no signal of 1 in iOS 26. Apple has proven indicators of shifting in that path with video, however solely with separate apps like Closing Lower Professional for iPad.
To be honest, Apple has added quite a lot of pro-friendly photograph options to iOS, a lot of that are hidden in its Settings menu. I've rounded up quite a lot of these tweaks in my information to the way to arrange your iPhone 16 to take nice pictures in 2025.
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However one different easy answer to hiding the Digital camera app's litter could be to have yet one more toggle that flips it between 'point-and-shoot' and 'Professional' modes. The iOS 26 redesign appears like a stable point-and-shoot expertise, however a Professional mode (maybe mapped to the Motion button) might rapidly flip it into one thing like a Fujifilm X100VI by citing further controls resembling handbook focus or focus peaking.
That will be my very best Digital camera app setup, successfully making the iPhone two cameras in a single. But it surely's attainable that Apple is worried about 'Sherlocking' among the finest digital camera apps like ProCamera, Halide or Digital camera Obscura, which may very well be seen as a fake pas contemplating that many of those have starred in its annual App Retailer Awards.
(Sherlocking is the Apple neighborhood's phrase for when a preferred app is killed by Apple providing the identical performance constructed into its software program, named for a device known as Sherlock that was eclipsed by the Mac's Highlight function.)
Nonetheless, despite the fact that Apple hasn't added a Professional mode to its Digital camera app this time, its iOS 26 makeover remains to be a welcome refresh that ought to make taking pictures on iPhones which are appropriate with the brand new OS a extra enjoyable (and fewer worrying) expertise.
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