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These are the most underrated iPhone camera features

Updated Jan 6th, 2023 4:45PM EST
Apple iPhone 14 Pro Camera
Image: Christian de Looper for BGR

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The iPhone has one of the best cameras available on the smartphone market. Not only does BGR praise a new generation of iPhones year after year, but other media vehicles and influencers share the same opinion. For example, the iPhone has won for the fourth year in a row MKBHD’s Best Camera Awards.

But more than just taking a photo or recording a video, the iPhone has evolved to offer several new features that users sometimes forget about. Here are the most underrated iPhone camera functions.

Take a Slofie

Underrated camera feature: SlofieImage source: Apple Inc.

The year was 2019. After the enormous success of Memoji and all the karaoke videos surrounding it, Apple thought it could introduce another hit. During the iPhone 11 keynote, the company unveiled the one and only Slofie feature.

What’s a Slofie, you might ask? Slofie means a slow-motion video selfie. On your Camera app, choose the “Slow-motion” option on the front-facing camera and enjoy. Can a feature be more underrated than this one?

Cinematic Mode, now in 4K

A more recent feature is Cinematic Mode. Apple made a big deal of this iPhone camera feature with the announcement of the iPhone 13. Limited to 1080p, the Cupertino firm upgraded the experience of Cinematic Mode by finally making it more similar to cinematic shooting.

The iPhone 14 series can shoot 4K in 24 fps or 30 fps. Although Apple made this upgrade, the company didn’t advertise this feature as much as it did a year ago. Cinematic Mode is available when you swipe left from your Camera app using your iPhone 13 or iPhone 14.

Photographic Style is for sure an underrated iPhone camera feature

iPhone 13 Pro Photographic Styles
iPhone 13 Pro Photographic Styles Image source: Christian de Looper for BGR

Another feature introduced with the iPhone 13 was the Photographic Style. This function personalizes the look of images in the Camera app. Users can select Standard, Rich Contrast, Vibrant, Rich Warm, and Cool.

Since you need to swipe up on the Camera app and select the Photographic Style toggle, many users forget that this feature actually exists. Here’s how BGR described this feature in our review:

The system works pretty well, and it makes the iPhone camera more versatile than ever. The likes of Google and Samsung have long had their own “look” on their smartphone cameras. Now, your iPhone can recreate those looks. That said, in personal use, I stuck to the default setting. I like how the iPhone’s camera looks.

Can we call Action Mode an underrated iPhone camera feature already?

Introduced with the iPhone 14, Action Mode brings a smooth-looking video that adjusts to significant shakes, motion, and vibrations, even when the video is captured in the middle of the action.

When you swipe left to the Video mode, there’s a new toggle in the upper left corner with someone running. Tap this icon to activate Action Mode. It’s important to note that you actually need to be in action for this feature to work properly. If you’re doing a breeze walk, it’s better to use the regular video camera mode.

Wrap up

These are some of the most underrated iPhone camera features available. Apart from that, Apple also saves a few other functions for pro users, such as ProRAW and ProRES. The iPhone 14 Pro also can shoot in 48MP, creating photos with more than 500MB – since they’re taken as ProRAW.

José Adorno Tech News Reporter

José is a Tech News Reporter at BGR. He has previously covered Apple and iPhone news for 9to5Mac, and was a producer and web editor for Latin America broadcaster TV Globo. He is based out of Brazil.