- Apple has just announced a new iOS 26 software update for iPhones
- One of the big changes is a redesign of the apple camera application
- New photo modes and rationalized videos to make it easier to use
The iPhone camera application has been entitled to a generous help of new features in recent years, from photographic styles to Apple Proraw. But one thing that Apple has not managed to do is organize all these features in a way that has a real intuitive meaning – so far, thanks to iOS 26.
Now, instead of having a confusing row of eight features above the shutter button, which I often find myself scrolling accidentally, Apple cuts this initial menu for two things – photo and video.
Apple says it is done because they are, of course, the two most commonly used camera modes, and that Spring Clean was long to come. Once you are in one of these two modes, you simply slide on the left or right to reveal the related modes in them.
For example, in video mode, the scanning reveals both the SLO -MO mode and the cinematographic mode – it is practical, because “cinematographic” could be interpreted as a video mode or fixed images, but actually refers to the Apple calculation bokeh during the video.
Perhaps even better, slide reveals a “liquid glass” style menu (above) which is much clearer than the current confused disorder of arcanic icons. Now you get names alongside these modes, such as styles (for photographic styles) and the appearance for the aspect ratio. All this looks like a small improvement, but very welcome.
Finally, Apple also stored the menu of video image dates and resolution. On iOS 18, these are seated in the upper right corner of the application, and you do not get a drop-down menu to see the bicycle options. But in iOS 26, a new frosted glass shutter shows you all the image frequency options for each resolution.
This is an improvement, but where is the pro mode?
This iOS 26 refreshment for the application of the camera means that certain features are a little more out of sight than before, but it is for me. He felt more and more crowded and disorderly, Apple slowly adding features to an interface that has not been designed to house so many options.
But I still miss one thing. I hope that iPhones could obtain a pro photo mode for a few years now, but there is unfortunately no sign of one in iOS 26. Apple has shown signs of moving in this direction with video, but only with separate applications like Final Cut Pro for iPad.
To be fair, Apple has added a lot of photo features favorable to iOS, many of which are hidden in its settings menu. I gathered many of these adjustments in my guide on how to configure your iPhone 16 to take superb photos in 2025.
@Techradar ♬ Sound Original – Techradar
But another simple solution to hide the congestion of the camera application would be to have a more drop which rocks it between the “point-end-shop” and “pro” modes. The iOS 26 redesign looks like a solid experience of points and shots, but a pro mode (perhaps mapped the action button) could quickly transform it into something like a Fujifilm X100Vi by providing additional checks such as manual focus or focus.
It would be my ideal camera application configuration, which effectively makes the two iPhone cameras. But it is possible that Apple is concerned about the “ sherlocking ” some of the best applications of cameras like Procamera, Halogs or Camera obscura, which could be considered a misstep considering that many of them have played in its annual App Store prices.
(Sherlocking is the word of the Apple community for when a popular app is killed by Apple offering the same features integrated into its software, named after a tool called Sherlock which was overshadowed by the Mac Spotlight function.)
However, even if Apple has not added a pro mode to its camera application this time, its makeover iOS 26 is always a welcome updating which should take photos on iPhones which are compatible with the new operating system a more fun (and less stressful) experience.
