Gadgetory

the iPhone 10s is here but is the camera that much better than last year's iPhone 10 on paper the hardware actually looks pretty similar between the two phones both have 12 megapixel cameras with the wide-angle lens at f1 point 8 and the telephoto at F 2.4 but here's a trick on how to tell them apart without tearing them apart if you download the highlight app you'll see that the 10s actually has a 26 millimeter wide-angle lens while the 10 has a 28 millimeter wide ergo lens if you want to see the full technical breakdown I'll put the chart on the article on CNET apples said there are plenty of software and performance tweaks to improve HDR images video and portraits on the iPhone 10s so let's test it out all photos in this comparison were taken on the default camera app and HDR was turned on unless otherwise stated while both phones have portrait mode only the 10s has the option to adjust the blur or bokeh after the photo has been taken the depth control slider shows you just how much you're simulating stopping down the lens the wider the aperture or lower the F number the greater the blur you can do this on photos from the front and rear cameras but don't expect this to have the same qualities as bokeh from a DSLR lens it just increases the blur effect around your subject if you virtually stop down all the way to F 1.4 it's almost like a blurry halo effect around your subject for some photos when your subject is far enough away from the background it looks great but on others it can be a little too over-the-top if you don't make any adjustments to the f-stop both phones render the blur in a similar way photos from the iPhone 10 do have a bit more contrast the 10 s does tend to capture a little more detail in portrait mode overall as you can see in this image on her hair but the biggest difference is how each phone deals with HDR there's a new setting on the 10 s called smart HDR and apples the combination of sensors and image signal processing helps keep more shadow and highlight detail in shots compared to the iPhone 10 having smart HDR on does make a big difference in this photo you can see much more detail in the window and here on the portrait the 10 s gives a much more pleasing effect on the face without the glowing highlights from the 10 here's an identical shot from the 10 s with smart HDR on and off there's more detail retained in highlights with HDR turned on and here with the light coming in from the window but even without smart HDR the 10 s still appears to capture slightly more dynamic range and usable detail than the iPhone 10 with its regular HDR mode active for selfies both have the same true depth camera on the front but each phone processes photos in a different way photos from the 10s are more even with smart HDR turned on the 10 on the other hand blows out the background completely for general photos in good outdoor lighting conditions you won't notice a huge difference between the two colors are nicely saturated on both but to my eye they are slightly more saturated on the iPhone 10 overall I found when looking at photos on the phone screens with true tone turned on images do look a little more true to life on the 10s than they do on the 10 of course the screen you're viewing this video on will also make a difference to how these shots look when you're taking photos indoors smart HDR on the 10s helps keep highlights and shadows more balanced according to Apple the 10 s has an extended dynamic range in videos up to 30 frames a second on this 4k clip keep an eye on the light sources from the windows to the lights and you can see the detail retained in the highlights on the same video from the iPhone 10 highlights do blow out a bit more when it comes to audio the 10s can record stereo sound and with headphones on audio definitely sounds richer and more spatial compared to the same mono clip on the iPhone 10 the larger pixel sights on the iPhone 10 s means it also has an advantage in low-light at least on paper in real-world situations the 10 s does produce more even shots with less blown out highlights but you might prefer the more contrast II saturated look from the iPhone 10 overall there's slightly less noise on images from the 10s but me the biggest change in the camera on the iPhone 10 s is the improved dynamic range whether or not you turn on smart HDR that being said while smart HDR does look great most of the time some people I showed images to prefer the photos from the iPhone 10 because they had more contrast so image processing has definitely improved on the 10s but if you already have an iPhone 10 it's unlikely you'll want to upgrade for that alone so there you have it the iPhone 10 s and iPhone 10 both capable cameras but the 10 s definitely has a big advantage when it comes to HDR shots but let me know which one you prefer and of course stay tuned to seen it we'll have plenty more camera comparisons coming real soon