Apple Releasing New iOS 13 Developer Beta Today With Deep Fusion for New iPhones [Update: Delayed]

Apple will today release the first beta of an upcoming iOS 13 update, presumably iOS 13.2, which will introduce a feature that Apple promised at its iPhone 11 and ‌iPhone‌ 11 Pro event: Deep Fusion.

According to The Verge, today's update is aimed at adding Deep Fusion to Apple's newest iPhones.

deepfusion
Deep Fusion is a new image processing system that uses the A13 Bionic and the Neural Engine. Deep Fusion takes advantage of machine learning techniques to do pixel-by-pixel processing of photos, optimizing for texture, details, and noise in each part of the image.

The feature is aimed at improving indoor photos and photos taken in medium lighting, and it's a feature that will automatically activate based on the lens being used and the light level in the room. The wide-angle lens will use Smart HDR by default for bright scenes, with Deep Fusion activating in medium or low light and Night mode activating for darker scenes.

The telephoto lens will use Deep Fusion primarily, but Smart HDR will activate instead when the lighting is very bright. Dark Mode activates when the lighting is dark. The ultra wide-angle lens uses Smart HDR only and does not support Deep Fusion (or Night mode).

The Verge has a rundown on how Deep Fusion works, with info sourced from Apple. Deep Fusion runs entirely in the background, and unlike Night mode, there's no option to toggle it on or off.

Deep Fusion is a complex process, with the hardware in the ‌iPhone‌ performing several actions when a photo is taken. Prior to when the shutter button is pressed, the camera captures three frames at a fast shutter speed to freeze motion. When the shutter press happens, an additional three photos are captured, and then one longer photo is taken to preserve detail.

The three regular photos and the long-exposure shot are merged into what Apple is calling a "synthetic long," which is different from Smart HDR. Deep Fusion chooses the short exposure image that has the most detail, and then merges it with the synthetic long exposure (it's just two frames that are merged).

The images are then run through a four-step processing procedure, pixel by pixel, aimed at increasing detail and providing instructions to the A13 chip on how the two images (detail, tone, color, luminance and more) should be blended together.

Taking a Deep Fusion shot takes just a bit longer than taking a normal Smart HDR image, right around a second, so Apple will initially show a proxy image if you tap over into Photos right after taking a Deep Fusion shot, though it will quickly be replaced with the full Deep Fusion image.

Update: According to TechCrunch's Matthew Panzarino, the developer beta that features the Deep Fusion update has been delayed and it will not be available today. There is no official word on when it will launch, but John Gruber of Daring Fireball says that it's set to come tomorrow.

Related Forums: iOS 13, iPhone

Popular Stories

iPhone 17 Pro Blue Feature Tighter Crop

iPhone 17 Pro Launching in Three Months With These 12 New Features

Saturday June 14, 2025 5:45 pm PDT by
The iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are three months away, and there are plenty of rumors about the devices. Below, we recap key changes rumored for the iPhone 17 Pro models as of June 2025:Aluminum frame: iPhone 17 Pro models are rumored to have an aluminum frame, whereas the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro models have a titanium frame, and the iPhone X through iPhone 14 Pro have a...
apple watch ultra 2 new black

Apple Watch Ultra 3 Finally Coming After Two-Year Hiatus

Monday June 16, 2025 8:45 am PDT by
Apple will finally deliver the Apple Watch Ultra 3 sometime this year, according to analyst Jeff Pu of GF Securities Hong Kong (via @jukanlosreve). The analyst expects both the Apple Watch Series 11 and Apple Watch Ultra 3 to arrive this year (likely alongside the new iPhone 17 lineup, if previous launches are anything to go by), according to his latest product roadmap shared with...
apple watch ultra snow

6 Features Coming to the Apple Watch Ultra 3

Tuesday February 25, 2025 9:00 am PST by
The Apple Watch Ultra 3 is expected to launch later this year, arriving two years after the previous model with a series of improvements. While no noticeable design changes are expected for the third generation since the company tends to stick with the same Apple Watch design through three generations before changing it, there are a series of internal upgrades on the way. By the time the ...
terminal macos tahoe

Apple's Terminal App Gets Colorful Redesign in macOS Tahoe

Monday June 16, 2025 4:12 am PDT by
Apple's Terminal app is getting a visual refresh in macOS Tahoe, and it's the first notable design update since the command-line tool debuted. The updated Terminal will support 24-bit color and Powerline fonts, according to Apple's State of the Platforms presentation at WWDC25. The app will also adopt the new Liquid Glass aesthetic with redesigned themes that align with macOS 26's broader...
Logitech Logo Feature

Logitech Announces Two New Accessories for WWDC

Friday June 13, 2025 7:22 am PDT by
Alongside WWDC this week, Logitech announced notable new accessories for the iPad and Apple Vision Pro. The Logitech Muse is a spatially-tracked stylus developed for use with the Apple Vision Pro. Introduced during the WWDC 2025 keynote address, Muse is intended to support the next generation of spatial computing workflows enabled by visionOS 26. The device incorporates six degrees of...
iPadOS 26 App Windowing

Apple Explains Why iPads Don't Just Run macOS

Friday June 13, 2025 7:46 am PDT by
iPadOS 26 allows iPads to function much more like Macs, with a new app windowing system, a swipe-down menu bar at the top of the screen, and more. However, Apple has stopped short of allowing iPads to run macOS, and it has now explained why. In an interview this week with Swiss tech journalist Rafael Zeier, Apple's software engineering chief Craig Federighi said that iPadOS 26's new Mac-like ...
iphone 16 pro models 1

17 Reasons to Wait for the iPhone 17

Thursday June 12, 2025 8:58 am PDT by
Apple's iPhone development roadmap runs several years into the future and the company is continually working with suppliers on several successive iPhone models simultaneously, which is why we often get rumored features months ahead of launch. The iPhone 17 series is no different, and we already have a good idea of what to expect from Apple's 2025 smartphone lineup. If you skipped the iPhone...

Top Rated Comments

bigjnyc Avatar
75 months ago

Really wish this could be turned off. The Smart HDR has pretty terrible skintones, especially for video, turning everyone into a "Trump-orange" color in many situations. I wouldn't trust the new version.
You haven't even seen it in action yet and you already wish it could be turned off? :oops:
Score: 43 Votes (Like | Disagree)
hubieonekanubie Avatar
75 months ago

You haven't even seen it in action yet and you already wish it could be turned off? :oops:
Isn’t that how it goes here? Complain about features before they’re even released??
Score: 36 Votes (Like | Disagree)
sniffies Avatar
75 months ago
Finally Deep Fusion will make me a professional photographer
Score: 26 Votes (Like | Disagree)
TimWillz Avatar
75 months ago
Very nice indeed! I’m loving the camera on the iPhone 11 Pro already.
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)
4jasontv Avatar
75 months ago

You haven't even seen it in action yet and you already wish it could be turned off? :oops:
I wish it could be turned off so someone would post a with and a without photo. For all we know this update simply adds sweaters to everyone in the frame.
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Antes Avatar
75 months ago
A lot of jargon. How about they show us before and after comparisons Instead of just a photo of some guy wearing a quilt
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)