I’ve been using Apple’s new iPhone 11 Pro since the first day it was released and honestly, I don’t know what to make of it. On paper, it’s really not a big upgrade at all. In fact, it’s pretty much an “iPhone XSS.” It has the same design as Apple’s iPhone models from the last two years, but with a new square camera array and frosted glass on the back instead of clear glass. There are power and performance upgrades to be found, which should come as much of a surprise since Apple’s iPhones get more powerful each year. This year, however, the iPhone 11 and iPhone 11 Pro phones are held back by iOS 13, in much the same way as Apple’s 2017 iPhones were held back by iOS 11. Things aren’t quite as bad as they were back then since iOS 11 was an absolute disaster from the start, but iOS 13 does indeed have similar RAM management issues that are clearly hindering the iPhone 11 series’ performance.
With all that in mind, the iPhone 11 Pro shouldn’t really feel like much of an upgrade over the iPhone XS I used last year… but it does. It really, really does. And even more surprising is the fact that it feels like such a massive upgrade for two reasons alone. First, the battery life improvements on the iPhone 11 Pro and iPhone 11 Pro Max are incredible. I can’t even remember the last time a smartphone series saw this kind of boost in battery life from one generation to the next. Apple says the iPhone 11 Pro adds an additional 4 hours and the Pro Max adds 5 hours of usage. Remarkably, that’s not an exaggeration.
The second reason Apple’s iPhone 11 Pro feels like such a big upgrade to me is the camera. Apple’s iPhones have never had bad cameras, per se, but there is no question whatsoever that rival smartphone makers had lapped the iPhone where camera performance is concerned. Huawei and Google in particular dumped tons of resourcing into improving the cameras and camera software in recent years, and those investments paid off big time.
Now, in 2019, Apple is back on top in a big way. The triple-lens rear camera on the iPhone 11 Pro offers mind-blowing color reproduction and clarity, especially while it’s running iOS 13.2, which enables Apple’s new “Deep Fusion” feature that improves clarity in medium lighting. But the star of the show on Apple’s new camera is obviously Night mode, which takes what Google has done with the Pixel lineup’s Night Sight and turbocharges it. Night mode on the iPhone is better in literally every way, and all you need to do is search Google or any social media sites to check out samples that will blow you away.
As great as Night mode is on Apple’s iPhone 11 and iPhone 11 Pro, there is one complaint that I and other iPhone 11 Pro owners share: Night mode isn’t available when you use the phone’s ultra-wide-angle lens. Wide-angle shots of cities and landscapes are awesome with Apple’s Night mode, but ultra-wide-angle shots would be even better.
So, why doesn’t the third lens on Apple’s iPhone 11 Pro support Night mode? Apple hasn’t officially explained it, but logic suggests that it’s the lack of optical image stabilization on the ultra-wide-angle lens. Night mode accounts for some movement while capturing multiple exposures in rapid succession, but OIS undoubtedly helps minimize the negative impact. Since the ultra-wide-angle lens doesn’t have OIS, Night mode shots wouldn’t yield the same impressive results.
It’s a bummer, but now there is at least a way that iPhone 11 Pro and iPhone 11 Pro Max users can achieve something similar to Night mode on ultra-wide-angle shots.
The NeuralCam app by Halcyon Products isn’t exactly new, but it did recently add a feature that allows you to take Night mode-style shots using the ultra-wide-angle lens on Apple’s iPhone 11 Pro and iPhone 11 Pro Max. The results are nowhere near as impressive as Apple’s sophisticated Night mode feature, but they’re far better than snapping a normal nighttime photo with the ultra-wide lens on the iPhone 11 Pro. And if you use a tripod, you’ll be surprised at how good the resulting photos can be.
NueralCam costs $4.99 in the App Store, and you’ll find the app’s full description below.
Best night photos on your iPhone, powered by AI. Now supporting the iPhone 11 Ultra-Wide camera as well.
Deemed as the best iPhone camera app for night photos by 9to5Mac.
Featured on 9to5mac / VentureBeat / TheNextWeb / BGR / PetaPixel / DPReview / SlashGear / LAUNCH Ticker / Product Hunt “#1 Product of The Day”
VentureBeat:
“There’s no question that low-light images captured with NeuralCam look markedly better overall than ones taken with the iPhone’s integrated camera app, if not perfect.”9to5mac:
“NeuralCam is not just the best iPhone camera app for night shots, but it is head-and-shoulders above the other apps.”The Next Web:
“The good thing is you can run it even if you have a model as old as an iPhone 6. (..) Pretty useful in extremely dark conditions.”NeuralCam is the Night Mode camera app for your iPhone. Shoot vivid, brighter and clearer images in low light conditions, with no tripod or other equipment needed.
NeuralCam blends computational photography and machine learning to bring the most out of your low-light shots.
How it works:
– Open the app and hold your camera steady for a few seconds as you take the photo.
– NeuralCam captures a varying number of frames and uses advanced image processing algorithms and machine learning to intelligently merge the frames and brighten the colours to obtain a single high-quality image.
– Image processing completes in a few seconds (this might vary depending on your device type).
– The result: a clearer, brighter, sharper, more defined, and colourful image.
– Swipe down on the photo to go back to camera viewNeuralCam – Night Camera helps you shoot:
– Beautiful photos in the dark
– Night selfies without using flash
– Macros in low light settings
– Ultra-Wide landscapes at nightTag your photos with the #neuralcam hashtag or send us your best shots at hello@neural.cam to get featured on our social channels. You can also send us your feedback at support@neural.cam, we’d love to hear from you.
User Testimonials:
– The handheld results have blown me away. Absolutely worth the price.
– Blows the regular camera out of the park for night shots, I have had nothing but awesome results. Genuinely impressed, no brainer.
– Excellent algorithm! Undoubtedly the best app for low light photos!
– Really amazed at how well it brightens the picture. Colours and clarity are surprisingly great.
– The one camera app to rule them all, amazing night shots.
– On my iPhone XS, comparing the default camera with NeuralCam is like comparing chalk & cheese. Well done NeuralCam
– True NightSight competitor.
– Without a doubt the best app to take photos in low light, and I bought and tried them all!
– Gives new life to an already accomplished iPhone XS camera. This really is like magic.
– This app is hands-down the best low light app I’ve ever used on iOS, and the most similar to Google’s NightSight.Technical details:
– The app works on iPhone 6 and newer devices, running iOS 12 or newer. It doesn’t work on iPhone 5s
– Speed, performance and photo resolution varies across different devices
– The app is compatible with all iPhone cameras. We’re supporting Ultra-Wide, Wide, Front-Facing and Telephoto cameras, based on the device model you’re using. For iPhone 6s and 6s Plus, the front-facing camera isn’t supported at the moment
– All image processing happens on the device, ensuring the privacy of your images
– GPS Data Support
– EXIF Data Support
– Telephoto Lens (2X) Support
– Ultra-Wide Lens (0.5X) Support
– Grid on/off toggleList of supported devices and photo output resolutions:
1280 x 960 – iPhone 6
1280 x 960 – iPhone 6 Plus
1920 x 1440 – iPhone 6s
1920 x 1440 – iPhone 6s Plus
1920 x 1440 – iPhone SE
1920 x 1440 – iPhone 7
2576 x 1932 – iPhone 7 Plus
1920 x 1440 – iPhone 8
2576 x 1932 – iPhone 8 Plus
2576 x 1932 – iPhone X
3088 x 2320 – iPhone XR
4032 x 3024 – iPhone XS
4032 x 3024 – iPhone XS Max
4032 x 3024 – iPhone 11
4032 x 3024 – iPhone 11 Pro
4032 x 3024 – iPhone 11 Pro Max
