Apple has long had a strong point in its advanced automatic processing, which allows users to take beautiful photos with the push of a button. However, the beta version internal code of iOS27 has revealed a shift in policy and a move to introduce a full-fledged camera equipment UI into the standard camera app. The iOS27 code also found a feature that allows you to use the same number on two iPhones.
Unlike the previous UI changes and new features like Siri mode, these features are not enabled even in the beta version.
5 new features expected in iPhone 18 Pro
“Scope function” for stricter exposure confirmation
This is a tool that visualizes the brightness difference in photos and videos using numerical values and graphs.
- Histogram: Graphs the proportion of blacks and whites on the entire screen.
- Waveform: Displays the brightness at each screen position as a luminance signal. You can intuitively understand exposure bias.
Accurate focus and overexposure warning display
- Focus peaking: Displays colored edges around the outlines that are in focus to support manual focusing.
- Highlight warning: Overlays patterns such as diagonal lines on overexposed areas to warn you.
“Continuous self-timer” shortens the shooting interval
Previous self-timers required image saving processing after each photo was taken. With the new specifications, the next countdown starts immediately without waiting for the save to complete, making group photos and continuous shooting while changing poses much smoother.
“Manual focus” achieves the desired focus
Manual focus adjustment, which was previously limited to external apps, will be integrated into the standard camera app. The focus fixing process remains in the code, but this feature is unique in that it is controlled only for the latest devices shipped with iOS 27 or later installed.
Optical correction processing compatible with variable aperture lenses
iOS27 includes a process that dynamically changes the optical correction of images according to the aperture value (F value) of the lens. This is an essential system for controlling camera lenses that have a physical “variable aperture mechanism,” and it can be said to be a strong support for the iPhone 18 Pro’s main camera to be equipped with a variable aperture lens.
“De-black boxing” the camera app
Disappearance of boundaries with external camera apps
Previously, users who wanted to use histogram and focus peaking had to purchase a paid third-party app. By integrating these into the standard camera app, creators will be able to take advantage of 100% of Apple’s unique color science and Apple ProRAW performance without using an external app.
Realism in smartphone photography brought about by physically variable aperture
Even with previous iPhones, if you moved extremely close to the subject, you could get a true optical bokeh, but because the aperture was fixed, there were some inconveniences, such as the blurring being too blurry and the text on documents blurring. Also, the strong background blur in portraits relied on software cropping.
If physical variable aperture is realized on iPhone18 Pro,
- Larger aperture in the dark (opening the F value): Physically captures more light and suppresses noise.
- Stopping down the aperture (reducing the F value) in landscape photography: Focuses on the entire image, achieving optically natural and high resolution.
This frees you from the “unnatural contour boundaries” that are typical of software, and enables a real camera experience where you can freely control the depth of field (depth of focus).
Impact on light users and changes in SNS/Vlog
The addition of full-fledged functions is good news for professionals, but for general users there is a concern that the increased number of setting items will make operations difficult. Apple is expected to clearly separate the UI between automatic and manual modes.
With this full-scale launch, it will be possible to shoot high-quality ProRAW photos and Vlog videos without using third-party camera apps, which should lead to an increase in the quality of content posted to Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok.
Points to note for the iPhone 18 Pro announcement
The functions discovered this time will not necessarily be released all at once in the initial release (iOS 27.0), but may be introduced gradually in conjunction with future updates or the release of the iPhone 18 Pro, or may be postponed in some cases.
From simple “automatic shooting using AI” to “manual control where the photographer creates images according to his/her intention.” The combination of iOS27 and iPhone18 Pro is expected to be a major milestone in mobile photography.
Source: iPhone Mania
