October 2019 • Macworld 31APPLE SPECIAL EVENTsmartphone‑market watchers is that Apple’s
photography game had fallen behind competitors
such as Google, Samsung, and Huawei.
After the event I got to spend some time with an
iPhone 11 Pro and its Camera and Photos apps, both
of which have been modified to support the new
features of the iPhone 11 line. Here’s a look at what’s
new and how it all fits together.Adding the ‘ultra wide’ camera
All iPhone models gained a camera in this update,
which Apple is calling the “ultra wide”. It’s a 12Mp
lens with a 120‑degree field of view. In iPhone
camera terms, it’s the ‘0.5x’ camera, versus the 1x
‘wide’ camera and the 2x ‘telephoto’ camera. You
can toggle between the lenses by tapping buttons
right on the Camera app – and yes, that means
that the iPhone 11 Pro’s Camera app now has three
different buttons as shown in the photo on page
32. You can also slide your finger over the buttons
to bring up a zoom dial, which prominently displays
the ‘home’ zooms of the available lenses, and
subtly snaps to them when you get close.
While you’re taking video, you can also zoom
in and out using that swiping gesture. The iPhone
software will translate that into a smooth zooming
effect, and hand off between one camera and the
other imperceptibly (a nice trick that requires a lot
of calculations and image manipulation).
Yes, the ultra wide camera is there to help you
take broader shots – especially in scenarios where
you can’t just take ten steps back to get thatOctober 2019 • Macworld 31APPLE SPECIAL EVENTsmartphone‑market watchers is that Apple’s
photography game had fallen behind competitors
such as Google, Samsung, and Huawei.
After the event I got to spend some time with an
iPhone 11 Pro and its Camera and Photos apps, both
of which have been modified to support the new
features of the iPhone 11 line. Here’s a look at what’s
new and how it all fits together.
Adding the ‘ultra wide’ camera
All iPhone models gained a camera in this update,
whichAppleiscallingthe“ultrawide”.It’sa 12Mp
lenswitha 120‑degree field of view. In iPhone
camera terms, it’s the ‘0.5x’ camera, versus the 1x
‘wide’ camera and the 2x ‘telephoto’ camera. You
can toggle between the lenses by tapping buttons
right on the Camera app – and yes, that means
that the iPhone 11 Pro’s Camera app now has three
different buttons as shown in the photo on page
32. You can also slide your finger over the buttons
to bring up a zoom dial, which prominently displays
the ‘home’ zooms of the available lenses, and
subtly snaps to them when you get close.
While you’re taking video, you can also zoom
in and out using that swiping gesture. The iPhone
software will translate that into a smooth zooming
effect, and hand off between one camera and the
other imperceptibly (a nice trick that requires a lot
of calculations and image manipulation).
Yes, the ultra wide camera is there to help you
take broader shots – especially in scenarios where
you can’t just take ten steps back to get that