Although iPhone cameras tend to get incrementally better with each new model, Apple’s camera evolution can be highlighted by a few major milestones that really took iPhone photography to the next level: Portrait mode<\/strong>, Smart HDR<\/strong>, Deep Fusion<\/strong>, and Night Mode<\/strong>. Below we’ll talk about these newer camera features, how they work, and which specific which iPhone models are compatible. This should give you a good idea on which iPhones have the best camera, while still being able to fit into your budget.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Portrait mode was one of those iconic features that forever changed cell phone photography. It’s a must-have feature, and it simulates a full-sized camera and lens setup by creating a virtual depth-of-field effect by using the iPhones standard camera in combination with the telephoto lens. The iPhone’s hardware — dual lenses — work in tandem with software to figure out what’s the subject and what’s the background, in order to create a shallow depth of field. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Over the years, Portrait mode has evolved, adding more customization options<\/strong>, like Apple’s Depth Control<\/strong> feature that allows users to adjust the intensity of background blur to their liking, and Portrait Lighting<\/strong> that applies “studio-quality lighting effects” to your photos (only on iPhone 8 Plus, iPhone X, and later).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Initially only available on dual-lens iPhones, Portrait mode eventually made its way to single-lens iPhones like the iPhone XR and iPhone SE (2020). While both of these phones do a fine job at it, the effect doesn’t work quite as well as their dual camera siblings. In 2017, Apple added Portrait mode selfies that can be snapped using the front-facing camera<\/strong>, a feature that’s only available on the iPhone X and later. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Note: iPhone 7 Plus and iPhone 8 Plus only support Portrait Mode when using the rear camera.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Apple’s standard HDR (high dynamic range) feature has been around since 2010 when it debuted on the iPhone 4 with iOS 4.1. The way it worked was that when enabled, the user would press the shutter button and the camera would capture 3 or more photos at varying exposures: one underexposed, one normal, and one overexposed, then combine them into a single image that had much higher dynamic range than without. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Old-school standard HDR on the iPhone<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Although slower than snapping a normal photo, HDR was great for still subjects or landscape photography, and did a great job at darkening “blown out” portions of the image (like the sky with brightly lit clouds), while still allowing you see details in darker areas (like shadows). Over the years, HDR on the iPhone became faster and more advanced thanks to more powerful processors, and evolved into what Apple now calls Smart HDR<\/strong>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Smart HDR was first introduced on the iPhone XS, XS Max, and iPhone XR. It works by snapping photos the moment you open the camera (before the shutter button is ever pressed), creating a buffer of images. The crazy part is that the camera is also shooting “interframes” in between those frames at different exposures. And like traditional HDR, these interframes are used to help bring out highlight and shadow details. <\/p>\n\n\n\n As soon as you press the shutter button, the processor goes to work. But instead of simply combining all the images, it intelligently analyzes them, picking out the best parts to produce a single, superior “smart” photo. This is what makes Smart HDR so smart and why Apple calls it “computational photography.” So you can see why Smart HDR requires much more processing power, a big reason why it’s only available on newer iPhones featuring the A12 chip. <\/p>\n\n\n\n One of the best parts about Smart HDR is that it works on Portrait mode, panorama photos, burst shots, individual frames inside Live Photos. And while it’s not quite Smart HDR, the A12 processor also allows you to shoot “extended dynamic range” for video, something that wasn’t possible in previous-gen models. <\/p>\n\n\n\n As you can see, we’re getting into some pretty deep<\/em> territory here when it comes to the newest iPhone camera updates (and we’re not even discussing the physical camera hardware). This leads us to Apple’s next biggest evolution in computational photography: Deep Fusion<\/strong>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Apple showed off Deep Fusion at their 2019 iPhone 11 launch event, a new camera feature made possible by their A13 processor (yet oddly missing from the iPhone SE 2020). Whereas Smart HDR is great for handling brightly lit environments (like outdoors), Deep Fusion tackles the problem of poor image quality in medium-to-low lighting situations, like when shooting indoors or at night. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Image credit: Shevon Salmon<\/a> <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Deep Fusion does this by utilizing the A13’s neural engine to perform pixel-by-pixel processing of an image to dramatically enhance detail, colors, and remove noise. It works similar to Smart HDR in that it uses multiple images captured at various exposures to produce a single superior photo. This happens before you even press the shutter button, with 4 standard exposure shots, taken along with 4 shorter exposure shots captured the moment you open the camera. It’s when you press the shutter button, the camera then takes a long exposure shot to capture the available light. <\/p>\n\n\n\n From there, Deep Fusion goes to work, blending the short exposure shots into a reference frame. From there it blends the standard exposure shots with the long exposure to create a synthetic “long frame.” Once that’s completed (we’re talking milliseconds here), the reference frame and synthetic long frame are combined and Deep Fusion is able to identify parts of the image — like the sky, hair, or clothing — and adjusts the image accordingly, pixel by pixel. <\/p>\n\n\n\n While Deep Fusion, understandably, has a huge impact on medium lighting conditions (like photos shot indoors), Apple’s computational photography really shines is in otherwise impossible lighting conditions, like those shot in near darkness. It’s there that Night Mode<\/strong> kicks in. But unlike Deep Fusion, which works quickly and in the background, Night Mode uses a really<\/em> long exposure frame, forcing the user to remain perfectly still for 1-3 seconds, or all the way up to 30 seconds if they choose (this can be adjusted manually by the user).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Image credit: Max Tech<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n You may have noticed that we haven’t talked about the physical camera hardware, the sensor, or megapixel count because in recent years, it really has taken a backseat to computational photography “mad science” Apple has developed with their software. The results really speak for themselves, with the iPhone 11 series producing more crisp, clear, and vibrant photos in almost any situation, no matter the lighting, far better than any previous generation iPhone to date. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Deep Fusion and Night Mode are the iPhone 11’s killer feature. If you want to know which iPhone has the best camera, without a doubt it’s the iPhone 11, 11 Pro, and 11 Pro Max. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The iPhone SE 2nd Gen<\/strong> is the cheapest iPhone you can find with Smart HDR, Apple’s specialty software that dramatically increases dynamic range. Unlike standard HDR, as found on the iPhone X, iPhone 8 and older models, Smart HDR features zero shutter lag where dynamic range is increased across the board (panoramas, Portrait mode photos, etc.) — even in videos. Harder, better, faster, stronger. This is perfect for outdoor shots where Smart HDR can handle direct sunlight and dark shadows simultaneously. <\/p>\n\n\n\nBest iPhone cameras for the price<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Portrait mode <\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/swappa.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/apple-iphone-portrait-mode-1024x683.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\niPhones that have Portrait mode:<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
![\"Apple](\"https:\/\/static.swappa.com\/images\/cache\/75\/84\/75849fbd91a646748c147752daea5e94.png\")
<\/a>Apple iPhone 7 Plus<\/a>![\"Apple](\"https:\/\/static.swappa.com\/images\/cache\/ee\/25\/ee25ac6c7a6343c7420fac7a987fea0b.png\")
<\/a>Apple iPhone 8 Plus<\/a>![\"Apple](\"https:\/\/static.swappa.com\/images\/cache\/91\/de\/91dec1893845dad70aa430166070fdf4.png\")
<\/a>Apple iPhone X<\/a>![\"Apple](\"https:\/\/static.swappa.com\/images\/cache\/62\/9f\/629f463797d15cedc41504a2e861007c.png\")
<\/a>Apple iPhone Xs<\/a>![\"Apple](\"https:\/\/static.swappa.com\/images\/cache\/19\/9a\/199a8276af100c1edbea104d4b6348ad.png\")
<\/a>Apple iPhone Xs Max<\/a>![\"Apple](\"https:\/\/static.swappa.com\/images\/cache\/26\/1e\/261ed909a926f03875f4be3b2c5f3ddb.png\")
<\/a>Apple iPhone Xr<\/a>![\"Apple](\"https:\/\/static.swappa.com\/images\/cache\/a2\/e0\/a2e0a0e3cae64c4d6b198eb9a2c46c8a.png\")
<\/a>Apple iPhone 11<\/a>![\"Apple](\"https:\/\/static.swappa.com\/images\/cache\/cb\/d8\/cbd819566cb0be988082a31193e10779.png\")
<\/a>Apple iPhone 11 Pro<\/a>![\"Apple](\"https:\/\/static.swappa.com\/images\/cache\/c5\/19\/c519b238b3cf3151f2ade3422d46703f.png\")
<\/a>Apple iPhone 11 Pro Max<\/a>![\"Apple](\"https:\/\/static.swappa.com\/images\/cache\/7a\/92\/7a925e338d652b415990dd6bf3f4d57b.png\")
<\/a>Apple iPhone SE 2nd Gen<\/a>Smart HDR <\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/swappa.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/iphone-4-ios-4.1-hdr-1024x676.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/swappa.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/smart-hdr-iphone-xs-event.png\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\niPhones that have Smart HDR:<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
<\/a>Apple iPhone Xr<\/a><\/a>Apple iPhone Xs<\/a><\/a>Apple iPhone Xs Max<\/a><\/a>Apple iPhone 11<\/a><\/a>Apple iPhone 11 Pro<\/a><\/a>Apple iPhone 11 Pro Max<\/a><\/a>Apple iPhone SE 2nd Gen<\/a>Deep Fusion \/ Night Mode <\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/swappa.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/deep-fusion-vs-smart-hdr-1-1024x572.jpg\")
<\/figure><\/li>![\"\"](\"https:\/\/swappa.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/deep-fusion-vs-smart-hdr-2-1024x574.jpg\")
<\/figure><\/li><\/ul><\/figure>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/swappa.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/iphone-11-night-mode-1.jpg\")
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/swappa.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/apple-iphone-night-mode-deep-fusion-1-1024x571.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\niPhones that have Night Mode \/ Deep Fusion: <\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
<\/a>Apple iPhone 11<\/a><\/a>Apple iPhone 11 Pro<\/a><\/a>Apple iPhone 11 Pro Max<\/a>
\n\n\n\nBest iPhone camera for daytime photography: <\/a>iPhone SE 2nd Gen<\/a><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
![\"Product](\"https:\/\/static.swappa.com\/images\/cache\/7a\/92\/7a925e338d652b415990dd6bf3f4d57b.png\"\/)
<\/div>![\"\u25bc\"](\"https:\/\/static.swappa.com\/static\/widget\/caret-down.svg\"\/)
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