The iPhone X ($1,000) is here. We just saw it as part of the听keynote speech in the Steve Jobs Theater at the Apple headquarters, and it has all the specs you鈥檝e been reading about in the leaks: a more vivid and encompassing screen, facial recognition, animated emojis, and wireless charging. Those features are cool, but to be honest, we鈥檙e听most excited about Portrait Lighting, a piece of software that will work in conjunction with the phone鈥檚 12mp lenses to create more inventive, DSLR-like portraits.
Portrait Lighting, which will ship in beta on the X, as well the new iPhone 8 Plus (also announced today),听piggybacks on the low-depth-of-field portrait feature in the previous iPhone. It uses the cameras and听machine learning to听enhance portraits by offering several different and听stunning effects. Apple showed off a feature that听takes听away the background and makes your subject look like they're sitting against a black backdrop with professional studio lighting. Portrait lighting can also听analyze the natural light and enhance it in ways that make your subject pop.听
Friends and family will be the most common subjects, but we couldn鈥檛 help but see the upgrade as the ultimate travel feature. Think about it: most people on vacation like to take selfies听and听photograph landscapes, signs, buildings, food, and random moments, but often forget to photograph the people they come across.听Sure, you might shoot a quick picture听of a friend you make, but when was the last time you took a real, composed portrait? With Portrait Lighting, making these types of thoughtful images is going to be a lot easier, and it鈥檚 going to enhance your experience on the road.
We should know because 国产吃瓜黑料 is filled with portraits of people we come across during our adventures. These portraits help tell our stories and introduce you, the reader, to characters you should know. Your portraits can do the same, but instead of hauling a DSLR and heavy lenses halfway around the world鈥攍ike our photographers usually do鈥攁ll you鈥檒l have to do is pull your iPhone out of your pocket.
To be sure, it鈥檚 not likely听国产吃瓜黑料's covers听will be regularly photographed with听the X鈥擠SLRs and mirrorless cameras are still better for high-resolution photos.听But the phone and Portrait Lighting should motivate you to be more creative and engaged whether you鈥檙e just out for the weekend or going all in on #vanlife. We look forward to seeing the results.
Other features you should know about also include:
- The X will come with portrait mode and Portrait Lighting on the front camera as well for more dramatic selfies. (The 8 Plus only has Portrait Lighting on the back cameras.)
- Both rear lenses come with image stabilization for better low-light photos.
- The X's听portrait lens gets a faster f2.4 aperture for better low-light photos.
- For video, the X shoots 4K up to 60 fps and and Slo-Mo in 1080p听up to 240 fps.
- The X's better battery life is good news for the traveler because it means less time tracking down an outlet and more power for taking photos.
- The X also starts with more storage. The smallest phone will come with 64GB of space, which should be plenty to hold a vacation-worth鈥檚 of photos without running out of room.