'iPhone 13' adding ProRes video recording, doubling down on pro camera features

The "iPhone 13" cameras will offer a new video version of Portrait mode, as part of a number of changes to improve the imaging capabilities of the 2021 models.

The iPhone camera has always been a major selling point of the smartphone, with Apple leaning on it to market the range via its Shot on iPhone initiative. A Tuesday report claims that the camera's capabilities will be further enhanced in 2021, with new features arriving with the "iPhone 13" range.

The biggest enhancement to the camera will be a modified Portrait mode, according to Bloomberg, which will give users the chance to record video with the same bokeh, lighting, and background effects as the current still image version.

A new filter-like system will be introduced, to help users improve the colors and appearance of photographs they take. This includes making images warmer or cooler, and altering contrast for a more dramatic look.

Of note is that it will apparently use AI to apply the wanted changes to objects and subjects within a photograph, rather than across the entire image.

Meanwhile, the addition of ProRes video recording will allow for higher-quality footage to be captured from the iPhone. ProRes is a format used by professional filmmakers, which could lend the iPhone to movie and TV show productions even more than it already can.

ProRes consumes more storage capacity than standard video, but still manages to preserve image quality while shrinking the size compared to raw video. The algorithm design for the codec allows for fast encoding and decoding, which has helped Apple win an Engineering Emmy in 2020.

In 2020, for the iPhone 12 Pro, Apple introduced ProRAW, an image format that combined the benefits of shooting images in RAW format with computational photography features.

Apple is anticipated to introduce the "iPhone 13" range in the fall, as part of its annual refresh of the product line. Rumors have claimed various camera changes, including an increase in sensor resolution, bigger lenses, and the addition of autofocus on the Pro models.

There has also been some debate over whether Apple will stick to the existing 3-cameras and 2-cameras on the Pro and Standard models respectively, or will move to a 4-camera setup. Meanwhile, LiDAR is said to be staying only on the Pro models for another year.

According to analyst Ming-Chi Kuo in June, the "iPhone 13 Pro" models will add a new ultra-wide camera lens with autofocus, a feature that will apparently spread to the non-Pro models released in 2022.

Latest Exclusives

Latest comparisons

17 Comments

ravnorodom 720 comments · 8 Years

About 3 years ago

Cool. Next: iPhone with 4TB storage would be nice.

CheeseFreeze 1334 comments · 7 Years

I have no desire to buy a traditional camera anymore, even if it is optically superior to a small sensor phone. With so much processing power and improvements, and with so much ease of use to share content instantly, I only take my DSLR when I really need the larger sensor and the focal lengths a phone cannot provide.

goodbyeranch 249 comments · 9 Years

CheeseFreeze said:

I have no desire to buy a traditional camera anymore, even if it is optically superior to a small sensor phone. With so much processing power and improvements, and with so much ease of use to share content instantly, I only take my DSLR when I really need the larger sensor and the focal lengths a phone cannot provide.

The stock camera app and stock phtoos app are are frustratingly simplistic and don't do it for me. No, I do not want to see a "curated" feed of my photos. If I could permanently set the camera app to shoot all photos one stop down, AND use a very fast, very specific focusing point AND if using a tripod with a phone wasnt such a kludge, I might be able to say the same. And video? don't even get me started. I just LOVE waiting for videos to "process" - and getting stuck at 25% every time - even when using the newest, fastest phone with a very brief video clip.... etc etc. Ugh Shall I go on? "Pro" for phones I guess. Not "Pro" for pros.

netrox 1501 comments · 12 Years

CheeseFreeze said:

I have no desire to buy a traditional camera anymore, even if it is optically superior to a small sensor phone. With so much processing power and improvements, and with so much ease of use to share content instantly, I only take my DSLR when I really need the larger sensor and the focal lengths a phone cannot provide.

There is a huge difference between a DSLR full-frame camera and a camera from a smartphone. The image quality from a FF camera is far better, detailed, and cleaner. However, the images from current iPhone cameras are extremely good that I no longer need digital "consumer" cameras. I used to have a few digital consumer cameras and now I don't.

I still use FF DSLR for serious photography since it allows a lot more dynamic range and I have the flexibility to choose settings. Given its bigger sensor, it's able to collect more light and be able to get more signal out of noise which in turn makes the image look clean. That's something you just cannot do that with a camera with tiny sensors.

charlesn 1153 comments · 11 Years

goodbyeranch said:

Ugh Shall I go on? "Pro" for phones I guess. Not "Pro" for pros.

Oh, really? You may want to mention that to Steven Soderbergh. Name ring a bell? Lemme help... Oscar-winning, Emmy-winning and Palme D'Or-winning director who also serves as the award-winning cinematographer on all his films under the pseudonym Peter Andrews. He has shot a few feature films entirely on iPhone because... "Soderbergh felt the advantages of the iPhone outweighed the image fidelity of an ARRI or RED cameras that cost a hundred times more." So yeah, definitely not for "pros" like you... only the tyro filmmakers like Soderbergh.

Pro tip: if you want "pro" results, try ditching the stock camera and photo apps and train yourself on the iPhone apps used by... wait for it... pros.