MacRumors

Last year, Google introduced its impressive Night Sight camera mode, a software-based feature that allows users to take detailed pictures in dark environments using Google Pixel smartphones. This year it's Apple's turn, and with the launch of the iPhone 11, ‌iPhone‌ 11 Pro, and iPhone 11 Pro Max, the company unveiled a dramatic new Night Mode photo feature exclusive to its flagship smartphone lineup.

When using the Camera app on any of Apple's 2019 iPhones, the new ‌Night Mode‌ feature comes on automatically when an indoor or outdoor scene is dark enough to warrant brightening, resulting in natural colors and reduced noise. In short, new ‌iPhone‌ users should see an immediate improvement when shooting in low light environments, without having to adjust any exposure settings.

In photography, the amount of light that reaches the camera sensor is measured in the "lux" luminance metric, and Apple's ‌Night Mode‌ is designed to work in environments hovering around 10 lux. For a comparison, the outdoor light level on a clear day will be around 10,000 lux, while a windowed indoor space on the same day might get somewhere between 1,000-2,000 lux. A very dark day may reach about 100 lux, but during twilight and in dimly lit indoor environments you're probably looking at around 10-15 lux, which is when Night mode should present itself as an option in the Camera UI.

When ‌Night Mode‌ is suggested but not engaged, you'll see a ‌Night Mode‌ button appear at the top of the viewfinder that looks like a crescent moon. If you think the scene would benefit from ‌Night Mode‌, simply tap the button – it will turn yellow, and display the number of seconds for exposure. If the lux is below 10, ‌Night Mode‌ will automatically engage.

With ‌Night Mode‌ enabled, you'll see a slider appear under the viewfinder that you can leave at the suggested exposure time, or use to manually select one. Depending on the lux, ‌Night Mode‌ automatically simulates a long exposure of 1, 2, or 3 seconds, but you can adjust this to anything up to 10 seconds, again depending on the environmental light level.

When you're ready to shoot, tap the shutter button, hold the phone as still as you can as the Camera simulates a long exposure, and when it’s done, you should be left with an image that effectively makes the camera seem like it can see in the dark.

If you don't want ‌Night Mode‌ engaged when shooting in extremely low light environments, you can easily turn it off by tapping the yellow ‌Night Mode‌ button when it appears at the top of the viewfinder.

Using Night Mode With a Tripod

By recruiting the help of the gyroscope in your ‌iPhone‌, ‌Night Mode‌ can detect when the device is attached to a tripod and will present longer exposure times than normally offered, enabling you to take more detailed shots in very low light.

When taking ‌Night Mode‌ shots during handheld use, you'll usually see 1-3 second delay and you can manually select up to a 10-second delay, but with a tripod you may see up to 30 seconds available in the Night mode dial.

YouTube Music has launched a new automated playlist called "Discover Mix" to help subscribers to the streaming service find new songs and artists that match their taste.

The playlist can be found in the YouTube Music app, under a recently added "Mixed for you" shelf that also includes the "New Release Mix" and "Liked Songs" playlists. Like those lists, it can be saved to your library for quick access and supports offline playback.

Initial comments on Reddit suggest the Discover Mix includes undiscovered tracks from artists that users are already familiar with, along with a few new artists, some from genres that haven't been explored before by the listener.

The new playlist follows last month's launch of Google's "New Release Mix" to YouTube Music, which features the "hottest 50 songs" and looks designed to compete with Spotify's "New Music Friday," and Apple Music's "New Music Daily" playlist, which also launched in August.

Discover Mix is currently rolling out, although like many of Google's new features, it may take some time to become widely available.

Customers who subscribe to Google Play Music are also automatically signed up to YouTube Music, which is expected to replace the former service soon. For a direct comparison between ‌Apple Music‌ and Google Play/YouTube Music, click here.

Burst Mode refers to when the camera on your iPhone captures a series of photos in rapid succession, at a rate of ten frames per second. It's a great way to shoot an action scene or an unexpected event, since you're always more likely to end up with the picture you were aiming for.

Apple has changed the way Burst Mode works in its redesigned Camera app for ‌iPhone‌ 11 and ‌iPhone‌ 11 Pro devices. On older iPhones and on iPads, you simply tap and hold the shutter button at the bottom of the Camera interface for the duration of the scene that you're trying to capture.

However, on the ‌iPhone‌ 11 series you have to press the shutter button and drag it towards the square displaying the last image you shot. The shutter will stretch elastically under your finger as you do.

Notice that the counter increases in the shutter's original position for as long as you hold it down. This indicates how many shots are being captured in the current burst. Simply take your finger off the shutter when you want to end the burst of shots.

When you take a series of burst photos, they automatically appear in the Photos app under the Album name Bursts. You'll also find them in your main Photo Library. Learn how to view and select the best of your Burst photos in the Photos app.

Apple's Portrait Mode has become a popular way of taking impressive shots using a depth-of-field effect known as bokeh, allowing iPhone users to shoot a photo that keeps the subject sharp with a blurred background.

And now, exclusive to the ‌iPhone‌ 11 Pro and iPhone 11 Pro Max thanks to the triple-lens camera, you can switch between focal lengths in Portrait mode to get the best shot for your chosen scene.

To use Portrait Mode, open the Camera app and swipe to Portrait mode. Portrait Lighting effects will appear at the bottom of the viewfinder.

To change the focal length, tap the circular 1x button in the bottom-left of the viewfinder. 1x corresponds to the wide lens, and 2x switches to the telephoto lens.

You can see the difference between the two modes in the second and third images above, but in general the 2x mode seems to be better for capturing people, while the 1x lens is better for shooting smaller objects.

Apple has widened the aperture of the ‌iPhone‌ 11 Pro's telephoto lens to f/2.0 from f/2.4 in the ‌iPhone‌ X and XS. This allows more light to hit the sensor, which should translate to better Portrait Mode results in lower lighting conditions.

Don't forget, you can now also switch to the front-facing camera and get a selfie in Portrait Mode, too.

Apple has redesigned the native Camera app on the iPhone 11 and ‌iPhone‌ 11 Pro to make space for the various additional shooting options available in its new flagship phones, and one particularly welcome change is the introduction of different aspect ratio shooting modes.

As it exists on earlier iPhones, the Camera app offers only a single 1:1 aspect ratio shooting mode called Square, for taking Instagram-style shots, meaning users can only select different ratios later in the editing mode of the Photos app.

However, on ‌iPhone‌ 11, ‌iPhone‌ 11 Pro, and iPhone 11 Pro Max, users can choose between three aspect ratio options when shooting in the Camera app: 1:1, 4:3, and 16:9. To get to the different shooting modes, follow these steps.

1. Launch the Camera app, then tap the chevron at the top of the viewfinder (or to the side of it, if you're shooting in landscape) to reveal the hidden drawer.
   
   

2. Tap the 4:3 button in the toolset that appears directly below (or to the side of) the viewfinder.
   
   

3. Select your preferred aspect ratio from the expanded 4:3 button menu.
   
   

4. Proceed to take your shot.
   

Note that the 1:1 and 16:9 ratios are non-destructive. In other words, you can re-crop them in the editing window if you later decide you want to return to the typical 4:3 frame.

Apple's massive launch week has come to a close, with the iPhone 11, iPhone 11 Pro, iPhone 11 Pro Max, and Apple Watch Series 5 all debuting on Friday. And as if that wasn't enough, Thursday saw the release of iOS 13, watchOS 6, and Apple Arcade on the software side.

Read on below for a recap of this week's biggest stories about these launches and more!

Hands-On With the New iPhone 11 and iPhone 11 Pro Max

Friday was the big launch day for the iPhone 11, iPhone 11 Pro, and iPhone 11 Pro Max, and we went hands-on with a couple of the new devices to share a few early impressions. Also make sure to check out our roundup of early media reviews.

Customers around the world lined up at Apple retail stores or waited patiently for deliveries to get their hands on Apple's latest devices.

Apple Watch Series 5 Review Roundup: Always-On Display Was Much Awaited, But Little Else Warrants Upgrading From Series 4 Models

In addition to the new iPhones, Apple's latest Apple Watch launched this week, and based on early media reviews, most people are happy with the long-awaited always-on display, but little else is new with the latest models.

Other features include a new built-in compass, an expanded 32GB of internal storage, international emergency calling on cellular models, and new ceramic and lighter-weight titanium finishes.

Be aware that Apple Watch bands with magnets like the Milanese Loop may cause interference with the new compass.

iOS 13 Released: Here Are the Best New Features

Apple this week widely released iOS 13 for all compatible iPhone and iPod touch devices. Update now by going to Settings > General > Software Update and then be sure to watch our video walkthrough of all the best new features and improvements now available. And if you want to cut right to the chase, check out our video sharing eight tips on what to try out and set up first after you upgrade.

watchOS 6 has also been widely released, bringing a dedicated App Store and more to the Apple Watch Series 3 and newer. The update will be available for Series 1 and Series 2 models later this fall.

Looking ahead, Apple has revised the release date of iOS 13.1 and iPadOS to Tuesday, September 24. In the meantime, Apple has seeded the fourth beta of iOS 13.1 to developers for testing, including builds for the new iPhone 11, iPhone 11 Pro, and iPhone 11 Pro Max.

Apple Arcade Now Widely Available With 1-Month Free Trial

Coinciding with the release of iOS 13, Apple's subscription-based gaming service Apple Arcade is also now widely available in over 150 countries.

In the United States, pricing is set at $4.99 per month, with a one-month free trial available. With Family Sharing, a family of up to six members can access Apple Arcade with a single subscription.

Apple Arcade launched with access to dozens of games and more being added nearly every day, with no ads or in-app purchases. In addition to iOS, the service will be made available on macOS and tvOS within the coming weeks. Read our Apple Arcade guide for more details.

iPad Pro With Triple-Lens Camera System's 'Final Design' Possibly Revealed

In line with the iPhone 11 Pro models, rumors suggest Apple may extend a triple-lens rear camera system to the iPad Pro soon.

This week, we got our first look at what is said to be the "final design" of the triple-lens camera system coming to the iPad Pro, courtesy of a dummy model shared on leaker Sonny Dickson's website.

The triple-lens iPad Pro is rumored to launch in October, but a separate report claims that an iPad Pro with a 3D sensing rear camera will be released in March 2020, so there is some confusion right now surrounding timing.

MacRumors Newsletter

Each week, we publish an email newsletter like this highlighting the top Apple stories, making it a great way to get a bite-sized recap of the week hitting all of the major topics we've covered and tying together related stories for a big-picture view.

So if you want to have top stories like the above recap delivered to your email inbox each week, subscribe to our newsletter!

With the arrival of the iPhone 11, ‌iPhone‌ 11 Pro and iPhone 11 Pro Max, Apple has introduced an optional new camera feature in iOS 13 that's designed to allow you to correct the alignment of photos and videos without having to resort to cropping.

Basically, when you take pictures or video using either the wide lens or (on the 11 Pro series) the telephoto lens, the camera will simultaneously shoot or record using the next widest sensor. So the wide lens is active when you shoot with the telephoto lens, and the ultra-wide is active when you shoot with the wide.

With the feature enabled, you can take your shot, tap Edit in the preview window, tap the Crop tool, then select Straighten, and you'll be able to use the area captured outside the frame of the photo or video to fix the horizon and improve the composition of the shot without needing to crop it.

The toggle switches that control this behavior can be found in the Settings app, under Camera -> Photos Capture Outside the Frame and Camera -> Videos Capture Outside the Frame.

Apple has disabled it by default for photos, so you'll need to turn it on to take advantage of it. Note that it is enabled by default for video, so you may want to disable it if ‌iPhone‌ or iCloud storage space is a concern. That said, if the area around the frame isn't used to make corrections, it will be automatically deleted after 30 days.

For this week's giveaway, we've teamed up with AnyTrans to offer MacRumors readers a chance to win one of Apple's new iPhone 11 Pro Max devices and a lifetime AnyTrans license.

For those unfamiliar with AnyTrans, it's an iPhone manager that's an alternative to iTunes, allowing you to access and manage content that's on your ‌iPhone‌, as well as transfer files and back up data.

The newest version of AnyTrans, AnyTrans 8, recently launched with an overhauled user interface, a slew of new features, and improvements to data transfers and loading speeds, making ‌iPhone‌ content management easier than ever.

There's a new Phone Switcher feature in AnyTrans 8 that's ideal for transferring over to a new device, letting users transition to ‌iPhone‌ 11 from an older ‌iPhone‌ or an Android phone with a few simple steps.

Other new AnyTrans 8 features include a ringtone maker, an app downloader for managing your iOS apps on your computer (a feature no longer available in iTunes or in macOS Catalina) and a screen mirroring feature for mirroring and recording your ‌iPhone‌ screen with your computer.

AnyTrans is priced at $30 for a single license, but there is a free trial available for those who would like to try it out.

AnyTrans is providing one MacRumors reader with a 64GB ‌iPhone 11 Pro Max‌ in the color of the reader's choice plus a lifetime license for the AnyTrans ‌iPhone‌ manager software.

Apple's ‌iPhone 11 Pro Max‌ just came out today, and it features a triple-lens camera with telephoto, wide, and ultra wide angle lenses, a super fast A13 chip, much longer battery life, and more.

To enter to win the giveaway, use the Gleam.io widget below and enter an email address. Email addresses will be used solely for contact purposes to reach the winners and send the prizes. You can earn additional entries by subscribing to our weekly newsletter, subscribing to our YouTube channel, following us on Twitter, following us on Instagram, or visiting the MacRumors Facebook page.

Due to the complexities of international laws regarding giveaways, only U.S. residents who are 18 years or older and Canadian residents (excluding Quebec) who have reached the age of majority in their province or territory are eligible to enter. To offer feedback or get more information on the giveaway restrictions, please refer to our Site Feedback section, as that is where discussion of the rules will be redirected.

Due to Apple seeding the iOS 13.1 beta prior to the public release of iOS 13, upgrading to a new iPhone may be a bit trickier this year.

In a support document, Apple has provided instructions for migrating data from an older iPhone running the iOS 13.1 beta to an iPhone 11, iPhone 11 Pro, or iPhone 11 Pro Max, which run iOS 13.0 out of the box.

The instant option is to set up the iPhone 11 as new, update the device to the iOS 13.1 beta, and then restore from an iCloud or iTunes backup:

1. Back up the older iPhone via iCloud or iTunes.
   

2. Power on the new iPhone, select "Set Up as New iPhone" during the set up process, and follow the steps as prompted.
   

3. On the new iPhone, install the iOS 13 beta profile from either the Apple Beta Software Program or the iOS Developer Program, depending on whether you had the developer or public beta installed on the older iPhone.
   

4. Upgrade the new iPhone to the iOS 13.1 beta.
   

5. After the upgrade is complete, go to Settings > General > Reset > Erase All Content and Settings on the new iPhone. This will bring the iPhone back to the "Hello" set up screen.
   

6. Set up the new iPhone via "Restore from iCloud Backup" or "Restore from iTunes Backup" during the set up process.

The second option is to set up the iPhone 11 as new and sign in to iCloud on the device. When iOS 13.1 is publicly released on September 24, install the update, then restore from your older iPhone's backup:

1. Back up the older iPhone via iCloud or iTunes.
   

2. Power on the new iPhone, select "Set Up as New iPhone" during the set up process, and follow the steps as prompted.
   

3. Wait until September 24 and install the publicly released version of iOS 13.1 via Settings > General > Software Update.
   

4. After the upgrade is complete, go to Settings > General > Reset > Erase All Content and Settings on the new iPhone. This will bring the iPhone back to the "Hello" set up screen.
   

5. Set up the new iPhone via "Restore from iCloud Backup" or "Restore from iTunes Backup" during the set up process.

These steps are required because Apple does not allow an iPhone to be restored from a backup of a newer iOS version. Since the iPhone 11 models come preinstalled with iOS 13, they cannot be set up based on an iOS 13.1 backup.

If your older iPhone is running a version below iOS 13.1, these steps are not necessary.

Apple today the golden master version of an upcoming tvOS 13 update to developers, one week after seeding the eleventh beta and more than three months after unveiling the tvOS 13 software at the Worldwide Developers Conference. The golden master represents the final version of tvOS 13 that's going to be released to the public.

Designed for the fourth and fifth-generation Apple TV models, the new tvOS 13 developer beta can be downloaded onto the ‌Apple TV‌ via a profile that's installed using Xcode.

tvOS 13 introduces an updated Home screen aimed at making it easier to discover new content. Apps are now able to play full-screen video previews on the Home screen, similar to Netflix.

Multi-user support is available for the first time, letting more than one profile exist on the ‌Apple TV‌ so each family member can have their own customized ‌Apple TV‌ interface with separate recommendations, music playlists, and Watch Now lists.

Switching between profiles can be done with the new Control Center, which offers up profiles, the time and date, search, a Now Playing widget, AirPlay controls, and a sleep option.

tvOS 13 gets the ‌Apple TV‌ ready for Apple Arcade, Apple's new gaming service that's coming to the ‌Apple TV‌, iOS, iPadOS, and macOS later this year. ‌Apple Arcade‌ will offer unlimited access to more than 100 new and exclusive games, for one subscription fee.

As part of the ‌Apple Arcade‌ preparations, Apple has implemented support for the Xbox Wireless Bluetooth Controller and the PlayStation DualShock 4 Controller, both of which can be connected to an ‌Apple TV‌ over Bluetooth.

There are new under the sea themed screensavers created in partnership with the BBC Natural History Unit, which also created "Blue Planet." There's also a new Picture-in-Picture feature. Picture-in-Picture lets you continue to watch TV shows or movies while using a different app, adjusting settings, or otherwise navigating through the tvOS 13 operating system.

Apple hasn't shared details on when tvOS 13 will be coming out, but with a GM available, it's likely going to be released on Tuesday, September 24 alongside iOS 13.1 and iPadOS.

Netflix CEO Reed Hastings recently discussed what he thinks about the upcoming launch of new rivals Apple TV+ and Disney+, as well as Netflix's plans to retain subscriber interest after their launches (via Variety). According to Hastings, "it's a whole new world starting in November," referring to the November 1 launch of ‌Apple TV+‌ and November 12 launch of Disney+.

The CEO said that it will be "tough competition" for Netflix, but the company will continue on course with its core strategy of offering bingeable TV shows and movies. This means that Netflix isn't planning on trialing drastically different content types, like Amazon Prime Video is with live sports, or experimenting with different release models.

“While we’ve been competing with many people in the last decade, it’s a whole new world starting in November…between Apple launching and Disney launching, and of course Amazon’s ramping up,” said Hastings, who also cited NBCUniversal’s coming Peacock service. “It’ll be tough competition. Direct-to-consumer [customers] will have a lot of choice.”

There are now numerous standalone streaming services that vie for customer attention, including Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime Video, HBO Now, the upcoming HBO Max, CBS All Access, the upcoming NBC Peacock, Shudder, and many more.

‌Apple TV+‌ will launch November 1 with a handful of exclusive TV shows, including "The Morning Show," "Dickinson," "See," and "For All Mankind." Apple is making the service free for a full year for anyone who purchases an iPhone, iPad, Apple TV, iPod Touch, or Mac. ‌Apple TV+‌ will cost $4.99/month otherwise.

Disney+ will launch November 12 with a huge back catalog of Disney films and tv shows, divided among the company's major brands: Disney, Pixar, Marvel, Star Wars, and National Geographic. To entice early adopters, Disney even offered a sign-up deal that got you three years of the streaming service for the price of two. This brought the price of the service to just under $4/month, compared to its $6.99/month regular price tag.

Amid the emergence of so many new streaming services, Hastings pointed out that production costs for streaming-based TV shows would rise, thanks to companies like Apple and Disney now also purchasing valuable production space in highly sought after areas. According to Hastings, "Someday 'The Crown' will look like a bargain," referring to its popular historical drama series that might not be the most expensive show ever made, but is among the most expensive to be produced by Netflix.