iOS 7 has been getting plenty of love (and hate) for new features like Control Center and AirDrop, improvements to multitasking and notifications, and a general design overhaul that makes it the most drastic change to Apple’s mobile platform to date. What seems to be getting overlooked in the shuffle is the new camera interface introduced as part of the latest version of iOS.
Not only does iOS 7’s camera get a completely new look, but it also introduces several new features that transform the iPhone’s camera into something better than it already was. Let’s start with the look and feel of it.
Contrary to the general aims of iOS 7, the interface gets a bit busier than its predecessors. There are more modes, new filters, and all the toggles that go with them. But it never feels like a complicated camera to operate. Swipe left and right to switch modes, tap to focus, choose a real-time photo filter from the library. It’s a slightly different experience than what users are used to, but it takes no time to figure out.
But the camera gets more than a facelift in iOS 7. There’s video and panorama in addition to standard photos, but you will also notice a new photo mode: square. If it isn’t obvious up front, square mode emulates the shape and size of the images you would find posted to Instagram and other sharing services. Not only does it give you a new way to frame your shots, but it also creates images prepared for upload to those social networks. No need to crop later.
Going one step further, Apple has included a selection of photo filters, once again in the style of Instagram and its cohorts. It’s no wonder they haven’t built in the ability to share these pics direct to the Facebook-owned photo sharing network.
All things considered, the camera app in iOS 7 is a major improvement over its predecessors, even without the addition of the slightly gimmicky square mode and vintage photo filters. But it lacks the sort of deeper control over photos offered by third-party photo apps (or even found in the camera software of competing platforms like Android). Apple still doesn’t offer users a way to control elements like exposure and white balance, a feature long missing from the iPhone camera.
The saving grace of the iPhone camera, of course, is the quality of the pictures it produces, regardless of the interface involved. And nothing in iOS 7 changes that. What we’re really looking forward to? The enhanced software coupled with the potential for an upgraded camera sensor in the iPhone 5S. It should once again solidify the iPhone as one of the best mobile cameras on the market.
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