Apple Releases New 'Barbers' iPhone 7 Plus Ad Promoting Portrait Mode

Apple today shared a new iPhone 7 Plus ad on its YouTube channel, once again promoting the Portrait Mode feature of its flagship device.

The spot takes place in a barbershop, with photos from the iPhone 7 Plus used to advertise the shop's skills. Images captured with the iPhone are added to the storefront, drawing in more and more customers until there's a long line out the door. "In Portrait mode on the iPhone 7 Plus, you don't just look good. You look fantastic," reads the ad's description.


Apple has been heavily promoting the iPhone 7 Plus Portrait Mode feature, which Tim Cook recently said is one of the reasons why the iPhone 7 Plus has been the most popular "Plus" model the company has released yet.

Interest in the iPhone 7 Plus led to constrained supplies for months, with Apple having just reached supply/demand balance early in the second quarter of 2017.

Apple has released several ads focusing on the iPhone 7 Plus and its dual lens camera, including "Take Mine" about a girl in a greek village who captures her town using Portrait Mode, and "The City," featuring two people who document a series of adventures using the iPhone 7 Plus.

Apple also recently shared a new website and a series of tutorial videos that cover how to take better photos using the iPhone 7 and the iPhone 7 Plus.

Top Rated Comments

iModFrenzy Avatar
77 months ago
I love MacRumors but I don't see the point in posting news articles over advertisements? Seems more like a side news article then a front page one, unless I'm missing something
Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)
macduke Avatar
77 months ago
I guess this commercial is lost on me. I thought portrait mode primarily blurred out features in the background, but I'm not seeing the benefit here. Maybe a professional photographer can readily see the difference, but the commercial transitions from the live action to the picture so quickly I can't see where the background blur does anything and the photos are so closely cropped as to make any blur effect minimal anyway.

Don't get me wrong, the pictures are quite good, but this doesn't highlight portrait mode very well.
Professional photographer here. The background blur effect on the iPhone 7 Plus happens in real-time, so you can't really see the effect in the advertisement, as there is nothing to compare it to. To compound the issue, they're using expensive cinema lenses that have wide apertures, blurring the background already of the person and the background around the iPhone before taking the shot. But once you consider that, the effect is quite impressive, because it gives a similar effect to more expensive cameras and lenses, just at a lower resolution and with poorer low-light performance. Also, sometimes, the algorithm messes up. Apple will continue to improve it, and future advancements such as 3D depth sensors should help improve the effect.
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Moorepheus Avatar
77 months ago
Release all the ads they want, Portrait mode is a gimmick at best. In a well lit room, still get the message that I need more light. The Photos are grainy and half the time it doesn't take the depth of field picture at all.
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
NachoGrande Avatar
77 months ago
Oh I though this was a feature that would turn the phone to landscape instead of portrait mode when taking videos. :( one day....
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Zaft Avatar
77 months ago
Nice ad, I use portrait mode a lot ,its a nice feature.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
JohnnyApple$eed Avatar
77 months ago
Every add I see from Apple now I ask myself "Is it worth $1,000.00"? And I kept answering myself with "NOPE"! I really hope the iPhone does something magical like print money.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Popular Stories

iOS 16

iOS 16.4 for iPhone Nearing Launch With These 5 New Features

Monday March 20, 2023 11:50 am PDT by
Apple says iOS 16.4 is coming in the spring, which began this week. In his Sunday newsletter, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said the update should be released "in the next three weeks or so," meaning a public release is likely in late March or early April. iOS 16.4 remains in beta testing and introduces a handful of new features and changes for the iPhone. Below, we have recapped five new features ...
apple park at night 1

Apple 'Tracking Employee Attendance' in Crackdown on Remote Working

Thursday March 23, 2023 3:41 am PDT by
Apple is tracking the attendance of its employees at offices using badge records in order to ensure they are coming in at least three times a week, according to Platformer's Zoë Schiffer. Since April 2022, Apple employees have been operating on a hybrid home/office work policy as part of a gradual return strategy following the pandemic, with staff required to work from the office at least...
iphone 14 pro max deep purple feature purple

iPhone 15 Pro Rumor Recap: 10 New Features and Changes to Expect

Thursday March 23, 2023 6:42 am PDT by
While the iPhone 15 series is still around six months away from launching, there have already been plenty of rumors about the devices. Many new features and changes have been rumored for the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max in particular. Below, we have recapped 10 changes rumored for iPhone 15 Pro models that are not expected to be available on the standard iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Plus:A1...
dynamic island

iPhone 15 Dynamic Island to Include New Integrated Proximity Sensor

Friday March 24, 2023 12:27 am PDT by
This year, all iPhone 15 models will include Apple's Dynamic Island that unifies the pill and hole cutouts at the top of the display, but there will also be a material change to the feature that wasn't included in the iPhone 14 Pro models. According to a new tweet by Apple industry analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, the proximity sensor on the iPhone 15 series will be integrated inside the Dynamic Island ...
maxresdefault

Nothing Launches $149 Ear (2) Wireless Earbuds to Compete With AirPods Pro 2

Wednesday March 22, 2023 9:48 am PDT by
Nothing today announced the launch of its second-generation wireless earbuds, the Nothing Ear (2), which offer many of the same features as Apple's AirPods Pro 2 at a lower price point. We went hands-on with the Ear (2) earbuds to see whether they're a viable alternative to the AirPods Pro 2 for those who want to save some cash. The Ear (2) earbuds are the successor to the Nothing Ear (1),...
voice isolation

iOS 16.4 Adds Voice Isolation for Cellular Phone Calls

Tuesday March 21, 2023 11:01 am PDT by
The iOS 16.4 update that is set to be released to the public in the near future includes voice isolation for cellular calls, according to notes that Apple shared today. Apple says that Voice Isolation will prioritize your voice and block out the ambient noise around you, making for clearer phone calls where you can better hear the person you're chatting with and vice versa. Voice...
TMobile Sprint

Apple Stops Allowing Sprint iPhone Activations, Removes Sprint References From Online Store

Thursday March 23, 2023 12:06 pm PDT by
Apple is no longer allowing customers who purchase an iPhone, cellular iPad, or Apple Watch to activate a device with now-defunct mobile carrier Sprint. Apple has also removed remaining references to Sprint from its online store. When checking out with a new purchase, Sprint is no longer an option for connectivity, a change that Apple appears to have implemented today. Prior to now, Sprint...
airpodsd 3 purple 4

iOS 16.4 Seemingly References New AirPods and AirPods Case

Tuesday March 21, 2023 11:43 am PDT by
The iOS 16.4 release candidate version that was provided to developers today appears to hint at a new set of AirPods that could be coming in the near future. According to @aaronp613, the beta features references to AirPods that have a model number of A3048 and an AirPods case with a model number of A2968. There have been no rumors that new AirPods are on the horizon, and it is early for...