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the iPhone 17 Pro He has a great camera system, having kept his own Against Galaxy S25 Ultra And he fought his corner admirably Shoot video against a professional movie camera. The three rear lenses can take beautiful photos in original quality, and although I like the modern features like Photography styles and Apple’s ProRaw photo format, I think there’s more Apple needs to do to help its phones attract more professional and amateur photographers alike.
I’ve spent over 14 years reviewing iPhone and Android phones From all CNET brands, and As a professional photographerI’ve always looked forward to testing top-end cameras like new Xiaomi Leica Let’s Phonewhich earned our Editors’ Choice award for being the best camera phone I’ve ever used. Competition is still fierce, and Apple needs to push the boat out more than ever. These are a variety of features that I would like to see Apple incorporate into upcoming features iPhone 18 Pro.
Most Xiaomi Leica Leitzphone cameras
in My review of Leitzphone – It was made in collaboration between Xiaomi and the famous camera manufacturer Leica – and described it as “the best and most exciting”. Camera phone I hope never “user.” And I meant it. This phone has taken some of me away Favorite photos you’ve taken on your phoneApple would do well to see this as a standard for photo prowess. There are several key elements that I think Apple should steal.
Firstly, the main image sensor of the camera. It’s much larger than the sensors on most other phones — including the iPhone — which allows it to capture more light and thus provide better dynamic range. But it also uses what is called LOFIC technology. Standing for “lateral flow integration condenser,” those nonsense words mean that it’s able to capture better dynamic range in a single image, rather than combining multiple exposures into one final image — as Apple currently does with its Deep Fusion processing software. Xiaomi’s main sensor is excellent, delivering crisp images with beautiful exposures. Apple is rumored to be experimenting with LOFIC image sensors, although it’s unknown if we’ll see one in the next model.
But that’s not all; The Leitzphone is also among the first camera phones to feature a continuous telephoto zoom that uses actual moving elements, just like a real camera zoom lens. It allows for better quality close-up photos because it relies less on digital cropping to zoom in further. Again, Apple has been rumored to be working on similar technology for at least the last two generations, so perhaps the iPhone 18 is where we’ll finally see it deployed.
There’s a lot I like about the Leitzphone’s camera experience, but the sensor and zoom are the main points I’d love to see Apple steal. What’s more, I absolutely adore Leica’s built-in color profiles — especially Leica Chrome — and while I’d love to see them built into Apple’s camera, these Leica-specific presets wouldn’t be available on anything without the nearby red-dot Leica logo. If you want it on your iPhone, you’ll need to pay separately to use the Leica Lux app on your iPhone.
Clone My Filters color filter from Samsung
Leica filters aside, Samsung My filters It’s a tool hidden inside Galaxy phones with modern cameras that lets you steal tones from one photo and apply them to another. Let’s say you found a beautiful image online with dreamy pastels and warm colors. You can save that photo to your phone (even a screenshot will do), load it into the filter builder within the camera app, and it will then create a new filter meant to replicate the tones of that photo. This filter will then be saved to your phone so you can apply it to all of your photos later.
The original image (left) and the version edited using the custom filter (right). I love the warmer tones, blue skies and film grain. It gave it a very vintage look and I really like it.
Although the filters that are created are not always particularly accurate to the source image (sometimes the effects can be very subtle), I like the results you can get from them. I was able to create some cool film looks that I customized to try and give the impression of old Kodak film stocks.
Apple’s photography modes are the closest thing the iPhone has, and while some of the looks are nice enough, there’s not a lot of room to really get creative with colors, film grain, and other effects. I’d like to see Apple expand on its Photographic Styles tool to give the kind of cinematic look that Fujifilm has done so well with its customizable “recipes” to its system. Always popular cameras like the X100VI.
The Nothing Phone 3 has a great macro mode.
Nothing in the phone’s macro mode 3
I wasn’t a huge fan of the Nothing Phone 3 My full reviewA large part of that is due to the generally disappointing camera performance. But she has one saving grace in her overall situation. As someone who manages a Photography channel on YouTube Being a macro photographer, I feel like I have a high standard for what looks good when it comes to close-ups of small things like insects or flowers. But even I have to admit that this phone takes great close-up photos.
The iPhone 17 Pro also has a macro function that uses the ultra-wide lens to achieve close-up focus. And while he certainly succeeds in getting up close and personal with any insect he finds, photos don’t always turn out great from him. I found the colors to look a bit washed out. Although it can focus close to the lens, it results in a wide-angle view. This means you’ll need to place your phone close to an insect, which could scare it away.
I found Nothing’s macro mode seemed more natural in image processing, with vibrant colors. Since it doesn’t appear to rely on the ultra-wide lens, it provides a closer view of your subject without wide-angle distortion. Macro photography may be a niche use, but it’s also something anyone with a phone can do (versus having dedicated macro equipment). I’d still love to see Apple improve its craft closely.
With the included handle, you can hold and use the Xiaomi 15 Ultra just like a regular compact camera.
Xiaomi 15 Ultra camera grip
I loved Xiaomi 14 Ultra and 15 ultra phones (not to mention the new Leitzphone), and finding them able to afford it Some of the best photos I’ve ever seen from phone cameras. There are a lot of reasons why these phones are great for photographers, but one of my favorite things about shooting with them are the accessories made by Xiaomi, including the camera grip and filter holder.
The grip in particular is very useful as it allows you to hold the phone just like a regular compact camera, while the built-in shutter button makes it easy to take a photo without having to tap the screen. Meanwhile, the filter holder allows me to use the same professional mounted filters (such as professional mist, circular polarizers, or neutral density filters) that I use with my professional camera kit. While Xiaomi made one for its new device 17 ultraAnd, oddly enough, it’s not natively compatible with the more photography-focused Leitzphone. So I think Xiaomi needs to learn this lesson as well.
Apple doesn’t make a camera grip for the iPhone, and while there are many third-party tools out there, I haven’t found many that I really like using. the Leica Lux grip It’s as well-designed as you’d expect from the popular photography brand, but it relies on MagSafe, which feels risky when trusting your phone to only be held in place with magnets, and it will only work with the Leica app, not the default iPhone camera app. (Oh, and it’s an almost $400 accessory.)
Leica’s Lux grip only attaches to MagSafe and I wouldn’t want to trust it to hold my phone in place while walking quickly around town.
The Xiaomi kit, which is made by the same company for the specific phone, works smoothly, attaches securely to the phone and works as expected with the default camera app. The iPhone is great as an everyday camera, but its performance could be elevated even further if Apple created hardware accessories specifically for photographers.
The variable aperture of the Xiaomi 14 Ultra
Yes, I keep going back to Xiaomi, but the company’s 14 Ultra is definitely worth stealing from. In particular, the variable aperture on the main camera that can range from wide open at f/1.7 and closed to f/4. Most phones have a fixed aperture, and although you’ll rarely notice the difference, when it comes to night photography, the Xiaomi 14 Ultra was great.
By closing the aperture, I was able to create realistic starburst effects around points of light such as street lamps in exactly the same way you would using a narrow aperture with a mirrorless camera and a lens on a tripod. I liked the photos I took with the phone, as they looked more professional than the weird, amorphous blobs that appear around light sources in night photos from other phones.
The starburst on the streetlight makes this image what it is.
I wouldn’t hold my breath on this one, as even Xiaomi hasn’t stuck with the technology for long. While the company made a lot about this on the 14 Ultra, when it launched the 15 Ultra a year later, the variable aperture was nowhere to be seen, and it’s not present on the 17 Ultra or the newer Leitzphone. Maybe the mechanics made the phone too expensive to produce, or maybe there wasn’t enough interest – or demand – for starbursts in nighttime photos.
Either way, it was a highlight for me, and something I’d like to see Apple implement in the iPhone 18’s camera.
External lens cameras from Xiaomi and Sony
No, I’m not done talking about Xiaomi yet. But I’m also talking about Sony, so calm down. in MWC last yearXiaomi showed off a concept for a camera and lens module that attaches to your phone but contains its own large image sensor and larger, higher-quality optics. It harnesses the computing power, image processing, and larger screen of your phone, but delivers much better overall image quality than the smaller cameras in your phone can achieve.
Unlike most phone camera lenses, this one has actual iris blades to open and close the aperture.
In fact, Sony has had a similar idea since 2013, packaging its products QX100 and QX10 cameras With a large image sensor and full zoom lens, but no screen. Like the Xiaomi concept, it is attached to a phone that then acts as a display. Although Sony’s product went on sale, it never really took off, and the company never returned to the format. Xiaomi has been launching aggressively into ‘concept’ territory, and unfortunately, I didn’t see any sign of that during this year’s MWC.
I certainly won’t be alone in dreaming about what an actual Apple camera would be like. Pairing the sophisticated image processing that Apple is able to achieve with its iPhones with a much larger image sensor and standards-compliant optical lenses can result in an absolute imaging powerhouse for both casual and professional photographers alike.
Although I would never expect the company to launch a standalone camera – still Some patents It might be suggested – I would like to see the creation of a camera module like Sony and Xiaomi designed to work alongside the iPhone. Do I expect to see this in iPhone 18 divorce? Absolutely not. Would I dream about it anyway? Damn right.