bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

articlePageQuery

filter

article

articleBaseAdvertisingInfoArticle

articleListArticle

articleSeoArticle

helpersCheckIsPostiesArticle

hooksArticleAcknowledgementGateOverlayArticle

hooksTrackPageViewArticle

hooksContentInterestArticle

articleLinkingDataContent

articleSchemaContent

liveArticle

advertZone

sentiment

contentLock

topics

types

sections

moreOnThisArticles

urlAlias

commentCount

authorLocations

authors

paywallTypes

corrections

sponsorType

displaySlideShow

multimediaEmbed

printHeadline

seriesContainer

socialHeadline

headline

flag

firstTopic

glossary

flattenTypeIds

publishedDate

additionalInfoBoxes

images

image

relatedLinks

relatedNewsletters

__typename

createdDate

sponsor

factSheets

seriesReverseOrder

series

disableOffPlatformContent

published

updatedDate

summary

subHeadline

body

keywords

readingTime

customTimezone

liveContents

Business Insider

Last month, Apple unveiled the iPhone XS – the latest version of its high-end smartphone.
The phone is beautiful – have you seen that new gold colour? – and packs new features such as Apple’s A12 Bionic chip, more storage, and better battery life than last year’s model.


Also, the new, larger model, the XS Max, has the largest display of any iPhone.
Of course, since it’s a new iPhone, Apple had to include a few camera upgrades.
It’s not a complete overhaul of the camera, since the XS and XS Max share nearly identical specifications to 2017’s iPhone X.
However, Apple made a few improvements to the front and rear cameras, mostly on the artificial intelligence side, which it says will usher in “a new era of photography”.
After the 2018 Apple iPad Pro, what will the 2019 models be like?


We decided to test the new features on the iPhone XS Max – the larger model (it has the exact same camera as the smaller XS) – to see whether they made a major difference for users.
Here’s what we found:
1. Enhanced portrait mode selfies

Apple says it improved portrait mode selfies on the iPhone XS Max, and after taking several selfies, I can tell.
One of the main failings of portrait mode so far – on any smartphone – is it struggles with outlining the object or person you are trying to photograph.
Often the edges of hair are blurred or cut off entirely, rendering the image a lot less believable than if it was shot on a digital single-lens reflex camera.


However, with portrait mode selfies on the XS Max, I noticed an improvement.
While a few strands of my hair were cut off (and those sticking up were eliminated completely), the overall effect is believable.
I would use this photo on social media feeds if I were the selfie-posting type, and it looks nice enough that I’d consider using portrait mode selfies if I needed a professional headshot.
What are the big changes to Apple’s new iPad Pro line-up?
2. Adjustable depth of field

One other improvement to the portrait mode, both on the front and rear camera, is the ability to control the depth of field – or the amount of background blur – after you have taken the photo.
Sometimes, the camera can go a bit overboard on the blur, obscuring bits of the foreground you want kept in focus.
At other times, the background could be so beautiful or visually interesting that you don’t want it totally blurred out – that’s where the new feature comes in handy.


I’ve played with it quite a bit already, and I’ve been impressed. Not only does it actually work, it provides a feeling as if you have more control over your photos.
You can find this feature by clicking on the edit button.
That’s where you’ll also find the ability to add portrait lighting, but I wouldn’t recommend that – Apple added that feature last year and it still doesn’t work very well.
In my tests of adding stage lighting to images, it looked more like someone had coloured over the background with a black marker pen.
3. Better low-light photos

On its own, this photo taken in New York is not anything special – I quickly captured it on my walk home the other night.
What does it take to make a US$74,000 diamond-encrusted Apple watch?
But what impressed me about it was that I captured it at 6.19pm – about 30 minutes after the sun had set. Yes, this photo was captured when it was fully night time outside.
Of course, it never gets fully dark in New York.
There’s light pollution, plus there was a street light not far from the spot where I was standing.
Still, the amount of detail you can make out in this image really surprised me, such as the stone on the buildings in the background.
But the biggest thing for me, though, were the colours.
The leaves on the tree are incredibly vibrant and rich, despite it being dark out.
I usually can’t get that kind of colour with my current phone’s camera, even when it’s brighter outside.  
4. Smart HDR

Apple added a new feature to the iPhone XS known as Smart HDR (high dynamic range), which automatically blends together the best parts of separate exposures into one photo.
The feature is intended to provide more detailed shadows and highlights in your images.
To be totally honest, I didn’t notice a major difference with Smart HDR switched on (you can toggle it on and off in your settings).
When Smart HDR is switched on, your phone will automatically use the feature when it thinks it is needed, so perhaps none of my photos really warranted it.
Apple launches red iPhone 8 and 8 Plus to help combat Aids
However, I did notice an improvement when it came to highlights, and whether that’s from Smart HDR or other camera improvements, I’m not sure.
In the image above, the sky has more detail than I would have expected on an extremely overcast day in New York, without sacrificing brightness in the rest of the image.
Not only is it easy to make out the clouds, despite how grey the sky was, but the shadowy areas of the photo are detailed, too.
5. Better bokeh

Apple says the iPhone XS Max provides better bokeh – the visual quality of the out-of-focus areas of a photographic image – on portrait mode photos.
It means the background blur will be improved and look better than before.
I couldn’t see a noticeable improvement in the portrait mode images I captured.
Yet I do think portrait mode in general is better than on previous phones.
In the two images above, the XS Max did a really nice job of not only creating clean edges around the flowers, but artfully blurring the background.
Rather than just creating a uniform blur, the camera kept more of the foreground in focus.
I do think portrait mode photos look more natural and realistic than in the past, but I’m not sure if the “beautiful bokeh” is the reason.
6 reasons why it makes more sense to buy Apple’s iPhone 8 rather than an iPhone Xs
Portrait mode works better on humans, not objects
However, I do have one caveat to the improvements to portrait mode.
I found that the XS Max seemed to have a hard time capturing portrait mode images of objects.
And I tried on a few different subjects (a rubber duck, a box of raisins) and had a really difficult time.
It was harder for the camera to find the sweet spot – it kept telling me to back up, and when I did, it immediately went out of focus – and the photos it was able to capture were not sharp, and often had missing edges or strange cut-outs.
This makes sense, up to a point, since portrait mode is intended for human faces, not inanimate objects.
While Apple hasn’t specifically said anything about portrait mode on the XS, it has said that portrait mode will work only on the iPhone XR when you’re taking a photo of a face.
Seriously – the feature won’t even be enabled until the phone senses a face.
And while the photos of the flowers turned out really well, I seem to remember portrait mode working a bit better on objects on phones such as the iPhone 8 Plus than it does now.
How ‘hot’ Apple Watch Series 4 features a real fire on its watch face
One more thing ...

There is one more new feature that I wasn’t able to test, and that’s action shots.
Apple says action shots on the iPhone XS are better than they were on past phones, thanks to faster sensors, Smart HDR and zero shutter lag.
Now, action photos should be sharper and have better shadow and highlight detail.
Want more stories like this? Sign up here. Follow STYLE on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter
This article originally appeared on  Business Insider .


Farewell, Post Magazine … and welcome to the new-look PostMag

After 25 years writing for the South China Morning Post, Jason Wordie tackles the editorial elephant in the room

Comedian Paul Ogata in his own words: why Robin Williams and Andy Bumatai were early role models, and I was named after Paul McCartney – not Richard Nixon

‘What I’m doing now is very related to Klimt’: how this Hong Kong home furnisher is channelling the Austrian painter’s charged symbolism

First Person

What camera tricks are hidden inside the new iPhone XS?

Apple has made a few improvements to the front and rear cameras of the iPhone XS and XS Max, including faster sensors and zero shutter lag. Photo: Edgar Su/Reuter

Avery Hartmans/Business Insider

This action shot was captured by Apple. Photo: Apple

Designer Virgil Abloh tests new Apple iPhone XS Max – so what does he think?

Designer Virgil Abloh, founder of Off White and artistic director of menswear at Louis Vuitton, with his Apple iPhone XS Max, which he was allowed to test. Photo: Hypebeast

IMAGE CREDIT @VIRGILABLOH

Magazines

Style

Tech & Design

Apple says the improvements to the front and rear cameras on the XS and XS Max will usher in ‘a new era of photography’ – so we put them to the test


Apple

Smartphones

Technology

Future tech