Latest iOS 15 Beta Appears to Automatically Remove Lens Flare From Photos in Certain Conditions

As Apple prepares to launch its upcoming iOS 15 operating system to millions of iPhone users this fall, the latest beta for the update has seemingly improved how users' iPhones take and process photos in certain lighting conditions.

ios 15 lens flare

Image Credit: Reddit

The camera hardware inside iPhones plays a significant role in the quality of photos that users can take with their devices, but another factor affecting image quality is the ‌iPhone‌'s on-device processing done by the Image Signal Processor, or ISP.

In the latest iOS 15 beta, Apple has possibly improved ‌iPhone‌ processing when users take photos in conditions where lens flare is sometimes an unwanted artifact. The change was first brought to light on Reddit and further publicized by the popular ‌iPhone‌ camera app Halide on Twitter.

Two side-by-side photos appear to show that Apple removes lens flare from photos during post-photo processing on the newest beta. The photo below shows the final still shot from a Live Photo without lens flare.

ios 15 no lens flare

Same image as above, after ‌iPhone‌ processing

This is not a change Apple has promoted or commented on, so it's not clear what exactly is going on. However, the latest beta could be improving the system that the ‌iPhone‌ uses to detect different indoor and outdoor scenes, and using that information to compensate and remove unwanted lens flare.

One Reddit user points out that they could see noticeable lens flare after taking a photo on their ‌iPhone‌ 12 Pro. When revisiting the image later on in the day, though, they noticed it had automatically been removed from the photo.

So I've noticed something that I haven't seen reported elsewhere; whilst out and about I took this photo and thought it was ruined/needing to be edited later due to the lens flare (as I've done numerous times in previous photos with the iPhone 12 Pro as it's so prone to lens flares). However, I got home and noticed the lens flare has automatically gone in the original photo despite it being obviously there still in the live photo, meaning the automatic post processing has gotten smart enough to remove lens flares now!

iOS 15 is still in beta testing with developers and public beta testers and won't be available to all ‌iPhone‌ users until later this fall. Apple is also testing iPadOS 15, macOS Monterey, watchOS 8, and tvOS 15.

Related Forum: iOS 15

Popular Stories

iOS 18

iOS 18.4 Will Include These New Features for Your iPhone

Wednesday February 5, 2025 7:15 am PST by
iOS 18.3 was released last month, so the first iOS 18.4 beta should be coming soon. iOS 18.4 is expected to be a more substantial update for the iPhone, with several new features and changes related to Apple Intelligence and beyond. Apple's website suggests that iOS 18.4 will be released in April, following beta testing. Below, we outline what to expect from the update so far. Apple...
General Apple Invites Feature

Apple Launches New 'Invites' App

Tuesday February 4, 2025 8:00 am PST by
Apple today announced the launch of a new app called "Invites," which is designed to allow users to plan events like birthday parties, graduations, vacations, baby showers, and more. "With Apple Invites, an event comes to life from the moment the invitation is created, and users can share lasting memories even after they get together," said Brent Chiu-Watson, Apple's senior director of...
App Store vs EU Feature 2

Apple Says It Doesn't Approve of EU Porn App

Monday February 3, 2025 1:15 pm PST by
Apple does not approve of the "Hot Tub" pornography app that was released for the iPhone in the EU using alternative app distribution, Apple said in a statement to MacRumors. Further, Apple is concerned about the potential user safety risks with a pornography app, and says that it undermines consumer trust in the Apple ecosystem. We are deeply concerned about the safety risks that hardcore...
maxresdefault

An Apple TV Refresh is Coming in 2025 - Here's What You Should Know

Wednesday February 5, 2025 10:17 am PST by
Apple hasn't refreshed the Apple TV since 2022, but rumors suggest that we're finally going to get an update in 2025. We don't have a full picture of what to expect yet, but we have some hints on what's coming. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. Updated A-Series Chip The current Apple TV 4K uses the A15 Bionic chip that was in the iPhone 13 lineup, and it's time for...
applecare apple care banner

Apple Raises Monthly AppleCare+ Subscription Price for All iPhones

Tuesday February 4, 2025 9:35 am PST by
Apple this week increased the prices for its monthly AppleCare+ subscription prices for the iPhone, raising the cost by 50 cents for all models in the United States. Standard AppleCare+ for the iPhone 16 models is now priced at $10.49 per month, for example, up from the prior $9.99 per month price. The 50 cent price increase applies to all available AppleCare+ plans for Apple's current...
iOS 18

iOS 18.3.1 Update Coming Soon for iPhones

Thursday February 6, 2025 7:31 am PST by
Apple is internally testing iOS 18.3.1 for iPhones, according to our website's analytics logs, which have been a consistently reliable indicator of upcoming iOS versions. The software update should be released within the next few weeks. iOS 18.3.1 should be a minor update that addresses software bugs and/or security vulnerabilities. Apple Intelligence notification summaries for news and...
iCloud General Feature Redux

'Apple Invites' Leaked on iCloud Website

Tuesday February 4, 2025 7:11 am PST by
Update: The new Apple Invites app has officially been announced. The main iCloud.com page has seemingly confirmed Apple's rumored invites tool, which has yet to be officially announced by the company. The page says "Apple Invites" will be an iCloud+ feature:Upgrade to iCloud+ to get more storage, plan events with Apple Invites, and have peace of mind with privacy features like iCloud...
disney

Disney+ Loses 700,000 Subscribers Following Price Increase

Wednesday February 5, 2025 3:34 pm PST by
Disney+ lost 700,000 subscribers worldwide in recent months, according to Disney's earnings results for the first quarter of 2025. Disney said it now has 124.6 million Disney+ subscribers, a decrease of 0.7 million compared to its subscriber numbers in the fourth quarter of 2024. The drop in subscribers comes after Disney+ prices increased in the fall. Disney+ with Ads went from $7.99 to...

Top Rated Comments

contacos Avatar
46 months ago
JJ Abrams will be offended. What annoys me more are those green dots in darker settings
Score: 23 Votes (Like | Disagree)
scrm Avatar
46 months ago
Lens flare isn’t always a bad thing. ?

Attachment Image
Score: 21 Votes (Like | Disagree)
TVreporter Avatar
46 months ago
But what if you were going for a lens flare effect photo?
Score: 18 Votes (Like | Disagree)
jlc1978 Avatar
46 months ago

But what if you were going for a lens flare effect photo?
Apple knows best. Can't have some photographer using their own talent and skill when composing and taking a shot.

EDIT: Somebody's reader has clearly misconfigured the [sarcasm] [/sarcasm] tags.
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Apple Knowledge Navigator Avatar
46 months ago
If true, then that’s flair enough!

?‍♂️
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)
adeadpixel Avatar
46 months ago
J.J. Abrams is gonna be pissed
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)