Apple Unveils the iPhone 8, 8 Plus, and X with Next-Gen Photo Features

Apple has just officially announced the iPhone 8, iPhone 8 Plus, and iPhone X, a new generation of iPhones that boast, among other features, upgraded cameras for improving the photos captured by the masses. There’s also a brand new Portrait Lighting technology.

iPhone 8 and 8 Plus

The new iPhone 8 and 8 Plus contain a new A11 Bionic chip that’s not only powerful for the phone’s general speed and functions, but also beneficial for photography as well. It allows for faster low-light autofocus, improved pixel processing, and hardware noise reduction.

There’s a new 12-megapixel dual camera system that uses all new sensors with lower noise and a wider dynamic range. One is a f/1.8 camera and the other is a f/2.8. Apple says the new sensor is 83% more light efficient and uses less battery power as well, allowing you to shoot more photos and video on a charge.

Optical image stabilization will be present on not just the iPhone 8 Plus, but the iPhone 8 as well.

On the video front, Apple says the iPhone 8 line has the highest quality video capture ever offered in a smartphone. The phone analyzes 2 million tiles in the scene per second to predict image and movement. In addition to 4K 60fps, you’ll also be able to shoot 1080p slow motion at 240fps — twice the frame rate as the iPhone 7.

The cameras are also specially calibrated for augmented reality technology, capturing low-light at 60fps with accurate motion tracking and a new gyroscope and accelerator.

Portrait Lighting

What’s very new in the new iPhones is a “Portrait Lighting” feature. While Portrait mode in the iPhone 7 helped simulate a shallow depth of field for nicer looking portraits, Portrait Lighting helps simulate professional lighting.

When framing a subject, you’ll have a number of different lighting options to choose from for giving your portrait different looks — things like Contour Light, Natural Light, Studio Light, Stage Light, and Stage Light Mono.

These “aren’t filters,” Apple says. Instead, the phone is actually studying your subject’s face and calculating the look based on light that’s actually in the scene using machine learning.

iPhone X

Apple has also announced its new flagship camera, the iPhone X (the iPhone “ten”). This is the phone that’s designed to pioneer the new age of smartphones, just as the original iPhone revolutionized how we used the phones in our pockets.

The phone features an edge to edge Super Retina display, great for enjoying phones and videos.

The camera system uses dual 12-megapixel cameras with larger and faster sensors. There’s a new color filter and deeper pixels. The cameras feature f/1.8 and f/2.4 apertures, faster than what’s found in the iPhone 8.

Both cameras feature optical image stabilization that enables better low-light zoom and improved video stabilization. In between the camera modules is a Quad-LED True Tone flash with 2x better uniformity of light.

The front-facing cameras can do both Portrait Mode and the new Portrait Lighting feature.

Here’s a look at what the front and rear cameras now offer in terms of hardware:

Pricing

The iPhone 8 and iPhone X will join the iPhone SE, 6S, and 7 in Apple’s smartphone lineup this season. The 8 and X will have starting prices of $699 and $999, respectively.

This is a developing story and more details are being added as they’re revealed.