Photo Styles 3.0
Photo Styles were first launched with the iPhone 13 series as a kind of advanced filters, allowing you to modify the tone and warmth of some preset vibes. With the iPhone 16 line, Apple revamped the feature to include deeper controls, allowing users to extensively adjust highlights, shadows, tones, and other aspects in real time. The iPhone 18 Pro updates the feature once again.
The third generation of Photo Styles, which will also come to the iPhone Duo, maintains the core look of its predecessor but adds texture controls to the mix. You can now choose between smooth skin, gloss and film textures, along with an optional grain effect. The nice thing about Photographic Styles 3 is that the presets look great, allowing casual users to completely transform their photos without spending too much time or effort editing them.
Pros who prefer to fine-tune their shots can go deeper by adjusting the various sliders included with each option to match the exact vision they have in mind. Like the previous version, Photographic Styles 3 can be added, changed or removed using Apple’s Photos app at any time, leaving your captures unchanged.
To use the new photo styles, you’ll need to take your photo with an iPhone 18 Pro.
Foundry
Variable aperture
Variable aperture is a standard feature on a professional camera that allows photographers to control how much external light reaches the sensor. The Phone 18 Pro’s main lens takes this advantage by adding six ultra-thin blades that you can adjust mechanically. A wider aperture lets in more light and helps isolate your subjects by adding a bokeh effect to the background. On the other hand, a narrower one maintains sharp details throughout the frame, making it ideal for landscape photos or group photos.
The iPhone 18 Pro offers four aperture options: f/1.48, f/1.8, f/2.8 and f/4.0. The former would work well for solo portraits or when lighting is too dim, while the latter can produce a prominent starburst effect when pointing the camera towards a light source. Coupled with the film texture and grain effect in Photographic Styles 3, you can generate some pretty dramatic shots. Users of third-party applications will be able to select any opening point within the range.
Of course, you can also opt for the two medium aperture options for something more balanced. If all this sounds too confusing, the automatic mode will reliably handle the task and select the appropriate aperture based on your settings.
