Apple touts iPhone 12 Night Mode selfies in new ad

Apple on Friday published a new ad touting the nighttime picture taking capabilities of iPhone 12, with a particular focus on Night Mode selfies.

The humorous 30-second spot, aptly titled "In the Dark," highlights Night Mode on iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 Pro, a feature that fuses multiple images together to achieve acceptable brightness in low-light environments.

In the ad, a man, obviously excited about the ability to snap selfies in the dark, seeks out a variety of shadowy locations to capture moody photos. He hides behind curtains and in a cardboard box before taking advantage of the ambiance at a dimly-lit restaurant.

The man's partner seems less than enthusiastic about the new hobby that has apparently taken over his life. He is last seen snapping selfies in the grass outside his house in the moonlight.

Apple uses "In The Dark" by YG as a music bed for the commercial.

Apple introduced Night Mode with iPhone 11 and 11 Pro in 2019. The technology captures multiple images in quick succession, then sends the data off to iPhone's A-series chip for processing. Images are aligned to correct for errant movements, while algorithms detect and discard areas with blur. Contrast and color are also adjusted, as a de-noising process removes unwanted artifacts. Apple adds in a few special "enhancements" before spitting out the final image.

Night Mode was applied to the front-facing selfie camera, as well as all rear-facing lensers, with 2020's iPhone 12 series. A new Night Mode time-lapse feature was also introduced, with Night Mode Portrait taking capabilities extended to iPhone 12 Pro and Pro Max.

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