Portrait Mode wowed us when it debuted with the iPhone 7 Plus, all the way back in 2016. With its two lenses (remember when iPhones had one camera?), the 7 Plus could detect nine levels of depth, then apply blur to some of the layers to create an image that looks like it was taken with a DSLR. Eight whole iPhone generations later, Portrait Mode is getting a face-lift.
On the iPhone 15, your camera app can use machine learning to determine when there’s a person in the frame, then automatically switch to portrait mode. This feature also recognizes pets, and we know people love to take way too many photos of their pets.
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After you take a photo in portrait mode, you can toggle which person or pet is the focus of the image. This is new on the iPhone 15, but since portrait mode’s early days, you’ve been able to turn portrait mode off after taking a photo, turning it back to its original form.
Apple also announced updates to Night Mode, which helps users take pictures in low-light environments.
The new iPhone 15 sports a f/1.6 aperture lens, 2x telephoto option, and 24 megapixel capability. We’ll have more on the nitty-gritty of these camera specs soon.
