Unveiling the iPhone 13 Pro Series: Will its macro shooting capability and remarkable Cinematic mode introduce a fresh wave of innovation in the tech realm for 2022?

Apple: Leading the Way in Innovation

Apple's flagship products like the iPhone always bring forth groundbreaking technologies, setting trends for the years to come. This year, the iPhone 13 Pro Series debuts with remarkably impressive close-up photography technology, thanks to its upgraded ultra-wide-angle camera.

Will this pave the way for a trend in 'photography' technology in 2022? Let's explore together in the article below!

New iPhones often set new trends in the technology arena

Most iOS enthusiasts believe that Apple typically doesn't apply the latest technologies to their iPhones. A prime example is the 120Hz refresh rate display, which has been implemented in Android smartphones for a long time, but only made its way to the new iPhone 13 series. But is that really the case?

It's undeniable that each time a new iPhone product is launched, it brings a new technological wave to smartphones from other brands in the following year. A prime example is the fingerprint sensor that has become ubiquitous across all smartphone brands in the market, from high-end products to budget devices.

Few know that Apple is the brand that has propelled fingerprint recognition technology on phones to become widespread and reach the optimal level of refinement as it is today, introducing Touch ID for the first time on the iPhone 5s and maintaining it on subsequent iPhone generations.

In 2017, the Face ID feature was introduced for the first time on the iPhone X. At that time, while many Android phones still had fingerprint sensors, it seemed that many people still preferred using this unlocking method.

The move to equip Face ID on the iPhone X forced Android manufacturers to reveal their 'cards' in facial unlocking to compete. At that time, they loudly advertised the facial recognition features on their smartphones.

In reality, facial unlocking feature had existed on Android before but went largely unnoticed. It wasn't until the iPhone introduced this technology that it became widely popular.

In recent years, the Face ID security feature has become a trend and appeared on smartphones from major players such as Samsung, Xiaomi, OPPO, and more.

From a few observations, it can be seen that the technologies on iPhones will contribute to shaping new technology trends in the coming years!

Returning to our topic today: The iPhone 13 Pro Series debuts with impressive macro photography technology, could this breathe new life into macro photography features on iPhones as well as on Android phones in 2022?

iPhone 13 Pro Series and the seemingly new but not so new macro photography feature

The iPhone 13 Pro series can capture impressive close-ups thanks to the upgraded ultra-wide camera. Reviewer AC's Harish Jonnalagadda shared his thoughts on this feature in his article on androidcentral.

According to the author's account, he has used macro lenses on over a hundred different Android smartphones. Among them, the Mi 11 Ultra with its 50 MP wide-angle lens can capture macro photos very well when brought close to the subject.

With the iPhone 13 Pro Max, the device employs a similar technology, as the wide-angle lens has autofocus capability, so it switches to macro mode when you're close to an object, allowing you to take photos at a distance of just 2 cm.

You cannot manually turn on or off this macro feature; currently, it is done automatically when the device detects you bringing it close to an object. Some may find it inconvenient, but personally, I think it simplifies user interaction to the maximum and is a plus point.

Apple isn't the first company to implement this technology; Huawei's P20 Pro applied similar photography technology back in 2018.

Android manufacturers have a lot of experience with macro cameras, but most of them stop at cameras with resolutions of 2 MP or 5 MP, which are common in mid-range to budget product lines.

However, the macro photography capabilities on the iPhone have also seen many new improvements

Apple has stuck with the 12 MP mark since 2015 (the time of iPhone 6s/6s Plus) up until now with the iPhone 13 Series. Although the resolution of the iPhone 13 Pro Series hasn't increased, the size of the device's sensor has.

At the current moment, the pixels on the iPhone 13 Pro are sized at 1.9 µm, considered the largest on a smartphone and accompanied by an f/1.5 aperture lens.

According to the review by Dieter Bohn - from the tech site The Verge. Besides the upgrades to the main lens, the ultra-wide camera of the iPhone 13 Pro Max also has many improvements and has the ability to capture more light.

Notably, this wide-angle camera can now autofocus, enabling the macro shooting feature. Specifically, when the author brings the iPhone 13 Pro Max close to the subject about 10 cm away, the camera app will automatically switch to macro mode.

This mechanism will attempt to maintain the same frame even if it's cropped, and the author has even narrowed the distance between the phone and the subject to just 2 cm, yet the iPhone 13 Pro Max still produces a fairly good-quality photo, better than some dedicated macro cameras on Android phones today.

Additionally, this year's iPhone 13 series introduces several exciting features such as Cinematic, ProRes, Photographic Styles, optimized for professional photographers.

Our technology news section on 24h has articles discussing these technologies, readers can refer to them below!

• What is Cinematic Mode? What's new with iPhone 13 camera feature?
• What is ProRes? A unique feature on iPhone 13 Pro yet very familiar.
• What is the new camera feature on iPhone 13 Series Photographic Styles?

It's evident that this year's iPhone 13 lineup has Apple placing a significant emphasis on the camera, especially with the Pro and Pro Max models featuring specific features tailored for professional users.

Will manufacturers focus more on camera quality in 2022?

Macro photography mode has always intrigued users in 2021 and may continue to do so in the coming years as it offers entirely new perspectives on familiar subjects such as flowers, grass, insects, etc.

Therefore, in line with current trends, many smartphones from mid-range to high-end have been equipped with dedicated macro cameras for photography, such as the Xiaomi Redmi 10, Samsung Galaxy A52s 5G, OPPO Reno6 Z 5G, which have recently been introduced.

There's a high likelihood that the macro photography feature on the iPhone 13 Pro Series will accelerate the adoption of higher-quality macro shooting capabilities in upcoming Android devices.

In 2022, we may encounter many smartphones with wide-angle lenses capable of adjusting focal lengths to capture better macro photos.

For example, Samsung has implemented this to some extent with the 'enhanced focusing' mode on the Galaxy S21 Ultra, which automatically switches to the ultra-wide camera when the camera's subject is a few centimeters closer.

Who knows, the rumored S22 Ultra soon to be launched by the tech community might offer us stunning macro photos like those on the iPhone 13 Pro Series?

Another trend is the application of AI algorithms for image processing, enabling professional-level focusing like Cinematic. Some companies are starting to explore similar ideas, such as Xiaomi with Cinemagic on the newly launched Xiaomi 11T Series.

Conclusion

The annual release of the iPhone seems to be a catalyst for new technology trends, thereby also posing challenges for upcoming smartphones to improve if they want to compete in the market.

Focusing on macro photography specifically and image processing algorithms on cameras in general, along with a slew of exciting new features, will be a good sign for users in 2022!

Do you find the macro photography feature of the iPhone 13 series impressive? Are you looking forward to seeing this feature improve on upcoming smartphones in 2022? Leave your comments below and let me know!

See more:

• iPhone 13 Pro Review: Pro-grade camera, powerful Apple A15 chip.
• iPhone 13 Pro Max Review: Reaching the pinnacle of perfection!
• iPhone 13 Pro Max captures stunningly surreal galaxy shots, is it believable?
• iPhone 13 Pro Max camera review: Photography quality still ranks TOP!