Inside Apple’s iPhone XS Camera Technology
Apple’s latest imaging system takes hardware, software, a neural engine, and trillions of computations to produce images that rival DSLR quality
Spotting celebrated photographer Pete Souza outside the Apple Park Visitors Center just minutes after Apple unveiled a stack of new iPhones and impressive photographic capabilities was, if nothing else, serendipitous.
I couldn’t fathom how he wasn’t surrounded by fans, people like me who appreciate Souza’s surfeit photographic skills and wit (currently most evident on his Instagram feed), and tentatively approached the man who famously photographed two sitting presidents: Ronald Reagan and Barack Obama.
“I’m sorry, Pete? Pete Souza?” I said as Souza stared at his iPhone, trying to figure out where to grab his Lyft ride. He looked up, squinting in the bright early afternoon sun, and said, “Yes.”
Souza later told me in a phone call that he’d been invited by Apple to the iPhone XS launch event but had no idea what to expect. “I figured, what the hell, I’ll go,” he said.
Outside the visitors center, Souza and I started comparing notes about the new photographic capabilities Apple introduced with the iPhone XS, XS Max and XR.
