It’s that time of year when Apple brings out the new tech. In a live-streamed special press event that was held on September 10th, they announced a whole range of new things. The highlight of the bunch was the new iPhones though. The iPhone 11 series is set to be their latest and greatest and we take a look at the iPhone 11, and in particular its cameras.

Lenses

That’s right the ‘s’ is important. For the first time, Apple is now featuring dual lens on the iPhone 11. This is a serious improvement over the iPhone XR which this phone replaced. There is now a pair of lenses on the rear. These are a 12MP ultra-wide f/2.4 lens with 120-degree field of vision and a 12MP wide f/1.8 lens. These sit in the top left of the rear alongside an LED flash, and these should give you much better performance when it comes to taking photos. The front hasn’t been forgotten either with a jump from 7MP to 12MP in the selfie camera.

Design

The housing of the lenses is probably the most distinctive thing about the new iPhone 11, and indeed the whole range. Apple has gone for a raised moulding in the top left of the rear. This stands out more than the rest of the phone and enables the phone itself to be thinner whilst still having the new lenses on board. It is a design decision that is still being talked about, but the moulding is at least the same colour as the rear of the phone.

Software Features

Along with the hardware Apple has invested in improving the software that powers the cameras. There are several new features on this phone. There is finally the addition of a night mode. This should ensure that your photos taken in low-light conditions look better than ever without the need to resorting to the flash.

This is something that has been around a while in other handsets, so it is good to see it make its way to the iPhone 11. The portrait mode has also been enhanced. This is the background defocusing effect you see in a lot of pictures these days. It has been enhanced with a high-exposure mode which gives your pictures a sharper more studio-looking quality. It has also improved its ability to detect pets so your furry friend’s portraits should now look good too.

New Chips

The software improvements are because of the new A13 Bionic chip that Apple has developed to power the iPhone 11. This chipset features something called ‘Deep fusion’ to help your photos. This means that the camera takes up to 8 pictures before you even press the shutter button. It then scans through these pictures’ pixel-by-pixel to determine what changes it needs to make to lighting and other effects before you take your photo. This should mean that you get the best shot that you possibly can when you finally hit the button.

Results

The photo output is really good. Images are sharper and crisper and just generally feel better. So, the upgrade to the iPhone 11 is worth it.