Apple released iOS 10.1 beta last week with a new "Portrait" mode on iPhone 7 Plus. The depth-of-field feature uses the smartphone's dual cameras and advanced machine learning to make the subject in the foreground sharp while creating an out-of-focus blur in the background, known as the bokeh effect.
Since then, several MacRumors readers have shared beautiful shallow depth of field photos shot with iPhone 7 Plus. Many of the photos look like they were captured with a higher-end DSLR camera, which is impressive given how small the iPhone's cameras are. In many ways, the best camera truly is becoming the one you carry in your pocket.
MacRumors reader Bryan, for example, shared some photos he shot at the ArtPrize international art competition in Grand Rapids, Michigan this week. Each photo beautifully demonstrates Apple's artificial bokeh effect, achieved by combining two images from the wide-angle and telephoto lenses to create a depth map.
The crowdsourced iPhone 7 Plus Photography topic in the MacRumors discussion forums has dozens of other great examples of both regular and shallow depth of field photos, including this swimming pool portrait shared by reader erwheezy. Make sure to click the link ahead to read the full article with more examples.
The depth-of-field effect requires iOS 10.1, currently in beta for developers and public testers. The update should be officially released in October.
Monday September 15, 2025 12:00 am PDT by Eric Slivka
Update 10:06 a.m.: iOS 26 is rolling out now, though it may take a bit for all users to see it, so keep checking!
Today's the day! Apple is about to release iOS 26, which will deliver the biggest redesign since iOS 7 and bring a range of new features and improvements to iPhones worldwide. It's Apple's biggest software update of the year, and Apple announced at last week's iPhone event that...
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Apple's annual September event is now in the rearview mirror, with the iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Pro, iPhone 17 Pro Max, iPhone Air, Apple Watch Series 11, Apple Watch Ultra 3, Apple Watch SE 3, and AirPods Pro 3 set to launch this Friday, September 19.
As always, there is more to come. In his Power On newsletter today, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said Apple plans to release many products in the...
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Friday September 12, 2025 7:58 am PDT by Tim Hardwick
Apple will launch its new iPhone 17 lineup and ultra-thin iPhone Air in stores on Friday, September 19, and the company has already shown off the new devices at its fall event, which ran with the the tagline "Awe dropping."
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iPhone 17
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The iPhone...
Monday September 15, 2025 10:56 am PDT by Juli Clover
In the iOS 26 release notes, Apple is warning iPhone users that installing the new software might have a temporary impact on battery life, which is normal.
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Further, Apple says that new features could require more resources,...
Saturday September 13, 2025 11:43 am PDT by Joe Rossignol
iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Pro, iPhone 17 Pro Max, and iPhone Air pre-orders began on Friday in the U.S. and many other countries. iPhone 17 Pro Max delivery estimates quickly slipped beyond the Friday, September 19 launch day for those who had yet to place an order, and now the rest of the new models have started to follow suit.
As of shortly after 11:30 a.m. Pacific Time today, select iPhone 17, ...
Sunday September 14, 2025 1:36 pm PDT by Joe Rossignol
T-Mobile President Jon Freier today shared real-world photos of Apple's boxes for the iPhone Air, iPhone 17 Pro, and iPhone 17 models, which launch on Friday.
Image Credit: Jon Freier
Apple has typically included iPhone box renders in its product environmental reports, but it did not do so for the latest models. However, Apple's iPhone Upgrade Program page does offer some images of the boxes, ...
Friday September 12, 2025 6:11 am PDT by Joe Rossignol
iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Pro, iPhone 17 Pro Max, and iPhone Air pre-orders began at 5 a.m. Pacific Time in the U.S. and many other countries today. If you have yet to place a pre-order, you might face a longer wait now, depending on your desired configuration.
As of shortly after 6 a.m. Pacific Time today, nearly all iPhone 17 Pro Max configurations on Apple's online store in the U.S. are facing ...
Hooray, now we'll have a thread full of photography snobs talking about how their DSLR is sooooo much better and how these photos look terrible by comparison. :rolleyes:
I agree, these shots are excellent for an iPhone,...and that's what we should be judging by...I used to be a professional photographer,...I still have my full frame 5DmkII along with my trusted 50mm portrait lens,...I pull it out about 10-12 times per year to take pictures of my kids....now would I confuse photos from the two cameras? Probably not...am I impressed by these sample images from average users? Very much so...not because they are well framed, or not because they provide perfect professional style portrait shots, but because they are coming from the phone in my pocket...because with time, with the right light, we now can get the types of pictures we always felt we needed a big DSLR for...my photo library of my family is about 30,000 strong...I would say about 10% came from a DSLR...so if the 90% could start to get better from generation to generation of mobile phone,...then that makes me happy...
You carry an iPhone and a high end camera everywhere? I'd say most people don't have/carry both, but personally I think the possibilities of this bokeh effect are nothing but a good thing. Also, it's in beta, it won't get worse
No - not most places. But I personally don't think I would use this effect on my phone given the results. I would rather shoot it normally and do my own blur effects when/if I wanted to. Did you see the odd borders on the images in the thread mentioned. Maybe when reduced down to a mobile screen they look perfect - but not full size/desktop size. Also I'm not really sure you can call the effect in the photos I've seen bokeh. They simply look DoF blur.
Here's an example of bokeh - it's not just about blur.
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This is good! The photos are lovely, the feature itself needs work.. I mean this is a great first step, but look at that roof in the first pic.. Ooouuuch. That's not the effect Apple are trying to emulate at all. That's not even remotely what it comes out like in real "out of focus".. Once they've figured out things like that though it's nice.. Seems to work best when there's lots of detail at all distances.
Biggest design overhaul since iOS 7 with Liquid Glass, plus new Apple Intelligence features and improvements to Messages, Phone, Safari, Shortcuts, and more.
