Apple iPhone XS (64GB, Space Grey)

The most advanced iPhone brings some extra sweeteners for the photographer

New dual-camera system with better flash

While the iPhone XS and XS Max appear to use the same camera hardware as the iPhone X, Apple had made a number of changes to the setup to make it more capable.

Once again, we get a 12MP camera with a six-element, wide-angle f/1.8 lens and another with an f/2.4 telephoto optic in front of it, but the former is built around a new, larger sensor, and with it, larger and deeper pixels. 

Whereas the pixels on the iPhone X's equivalent camera sensor measured 1.22µm, Apple has been able to broaden these to 1.4µm here. This should help to capture more light for a better signal-to-noise ratio, which in turn should mean that images captured in sub-optimum conditions end up with less noise than they otherwise would.

The True Tone flash that joins these cameras on the rear has also been revised for better performance, and optical stabilisation is once again on hand on both cameras.

New front camera sensor

The front TrueDepth camera has also been revised, with a fresh 7MP sensor that's twice as fast as before, and an f/2.2 lens in front of it. Once again, this is joined by a dot projector and an IR-sensitive camera, the former emitting IR light towards the user's face and the latter recognising where this hits to get a better idea of the user's face – and this what lies beneath some of that technology discussed below.

New neural engine and ISP

The new A12 Bionic chip inside the iPhone XS and XS Max partners with the image signal processor (ISP) to work all kinds of magic on images, with the ability to power through a trillion operations per photo. Among other things, it helps to detect faces for better segmentation masks – more on that in a second – and can even banish red-eye reduction automatically.

Smart HDR

While previous iPhones were capable of capturing HDR images, the iPhone XS debuts a fresh Smart HDR option.

A feature that's made possible through the combination of the new A12 chip and ISP, this process captures a four-frame buffer when a moving subject is detected, with zero shutter lag to make sure you get the critical moment. This is complemented with subsequent captures for highlight details and a long exposure for shadow detail, before everything is fused together for a single composite file with detail retained in all areas.

HDR images can often suffer from slight blur, a result of the subject (or photographer) moving between the capture of each individual image, but Apple appears confident that the feature will be able to capture even fast-moving subjects – very impressive if this turns out to be the case.