I need Apple to do these things with the iPhone 17 camera

the iPhone 16 ProA great camera can take some of the best photos you can squeeze out of a phone. With multiple sharp lenses and new photography styles, there’s plenty to impress even the most demanding photographers. She even put up a strong fight against Best camera phones around, including Galaxy S24 Ultrathe Pixel 9 Pro and Xiaomi 14 Ultra.

Read more: iPhone 16 Pro competes with Xiaomi 14 Ultra

But it’s not the ideal camera. As an experienced phone reviewer and professional photographer, I have exceptionally high expectations for high-end phone cameras, and having used the iPhone 16 Pro since its launch, I have some ideas about what needs to change.

Here are the main points I’d like to improve on the iPhone 17 when it launches likely in September 2025.

Larger image sensor

Although the 1/1.28-inch sensor in the iPhone 16 Pro’s main camera is already a good size — and a bit larger than the S24 Ultra’s 1/1.33-inch sensor — I’d like to see Apple go bigger. A larger image sensor can capture more light and provide better dynamic range. This is why professional cameras tend to have at least “full frame” image sensors, while truly high-end cameras, like stunning cameras Hasselblad 907Xhas huge “medium sized” sensors for pristine image quality.

Xiaomi understands this, as it has equipped its 14 Ultra with a 1-inch type sensor. It’s larger than the sensors on almost any phone, allowing the 14 Ultra to do just that Take amazing photos In a variety of circumstances – Including Taylor Swift concerts. I’m keen to see Apple at least match the Xiaomi phone here with a similar 1-inch type sensor. Although if we are talking about wishful thinking, perhaps the iPhone 17 will be the first smartphone with a full-frame image sensor. I wouldn’t hold my breath on this one – the phone and lenses would have to be bulky to accommodate it, so it would probably be more efficient just to let you make calls using the mirrorless camera.

Variable aperture

Speaking of the Xiaomi 14 Ultra, one of the other reasons the phone rocks hard when photographing is the variable aperture on the main camera. The widest aperture is f/1.6 – which is much wider than the f/1.78 on the iPhone 16 Pro. This wider aperture allows more light to enter in dim conditions and achieves a more authentic out-of-focus bokeh effect on a subject.

But the Xiaomi’s aperture can also close down to f/4, and with that narrower aperture, it can create starbursts around points of light. I love achieving this effect in night photos with my phone. It makes the resulting photos look like they were taken with a professional camera and lens, while the same points of light on the iPhone look like rounded dots.

More photography styles

Although Apple has different styles and effects built into the iPhone cameras, the iPhone 16 lineup takes them even further, with more control over the effects and more toning options. Enough for CNET Senior Editor Lisa Edesico She even announced her new photography styles.”My favorite new feature on the latest Apple phones“.

I think they’re great too. Or rather, they are great It starts. Different color tones, like the ones you get with the amber and gold patterns, add some nice warmth to scenes, and the soft effect adds a vintage cinematic fade, but there’s not much to choose from. I’d like to see Apple offer more photography styles with different color toning options, or even with tones that mimic old film stocks from Kodak or Fujifilm.

And sure, there are plenty of third-party apps like VSCO or Snapseed that let you experiment with color filters however you want. But using Apple Styles means you can take your photos with the look already applied, and then change it afterwards if you don’t like it — there’s nothing baked into your photo.

Better ProRaw integration with photography styles

I think Apple has missed some opportunities with their photography modes, as you can only use them when shooting in HEIF (High Efficiency Image Format). Unfortunately, you can’t use them when shooting in ProRaw. I like Apple’s use of ProRaw on previous iPhones, because it takes advantage of all the iPhone’s computational photography — including things like blending HDR images — but still outputs a raw DNG file for easier editing.

The DNG file also provides more freedom to lighten dark areas or tone down highlights in an image, making it extremely versatile. Previously, it was possible to use Apple’s color presets when shooting with ProRaw, and I liked that. I’ve often shot street style photos using the high-contrast black and white mode and then edited the raw file further.

Now, using the same black-and-white look means shooting images in HEIF format only, negating the benefits of using Apple’s ProRaw. Oddly enough, even though the old-style “filters” are no longer available in the Camera app when you take a raw photo, you can still apply these filters to raw photos in the iPhone Gallery app through the Edit menu.

LUTs for ProRes video

And while we’re on the subject of color presets and filters, Apple needs to bring them to video, too. On the iPhone 15 Pro, Apple introduced the ability to Shoot video in ProResresulting in shots that are very low in contrast and have an almost gray appearance. The idea is that video editors will take this raw footage and then apply their adjustments on top, often applying contrast and color presets known as LUTs (look-up tables) that give the footage a special look – think the dark and blue tones of horror films or the warm and light tones of a romantic drama.

But Apple doesn’t offer any kind of LUT for editing ProRes video on the iPhone, other than just increasing contrast, which doesn’t do the job right. Sure, the point of ProRes is that you’ll take this footage from your iPhone, put it into a program like Davinci Resolve, and then colorize the footage properly so it looks neat and professional.

But that still leaves files on your phone, and I’d like to be able to do more with them. My photo gallery is full of unsorted video files which I will only deal with a little bit because they need color grading externally. I would love to share them on Instagram, or with my family via WhatsApp, after turning those files from dull gray to beautiful colours.

With the iPhone 17, or even with the iPhone 16 as a software update, I’d like to see Apple create a set of its own LUTs that can be applied directly to ProRes video files on the iPhone.

If Apple can implement all of these changes – with the exception of perhaps a full-frame sensor which I can even admit is a touch ambitious – it will have an absolute beast of a camera on its hands.