Apple's 'shot on iPhone' ads don't reflect the truth

If you've ever seen one of Apple's flashy "Shot on iPhone" ads and thought, "Oh my gosh, I didn't know my iPhone could do that," then unfortunately it can't. This article will explain why.

Apple adds a bunch of devices you don't have access to

Apple's 'shot on iPhone' ads don't reflect the truth Picture 1

Hollywood film crews are using a lot of equipment to enhance an iPhone that most of us can't afford. They've likely attached an expensive lens ($10,000-$20,000) to the stock lenses, an expensive booster with its own operator, and all sorts of add-ons that most of us don't even think about.

Filming with an iPhone isn't as simple as pointing the camera at someone and pressing record.

The iPhone camera sensor is only so good.

This part is a bit confusing, but stick with it. If you look closely at a video you shoot with your phone and then watch a Hollywood movie, you will see a noticeable difference in the sharpness or clarity of the image. A lot of this has to do with the sensor size.

What is a camera sensor? It's the part of the camera that actually captures the light that makes up the image, which is what film used to do before digital cameras became the industry standard. The sensor is made up of individual pixels that capture light, and the number of those pixels determines the number of megapixels in the image.

The size of the iPhone requires a very small sensor (less than 1cm wide). Professional film camera sensors are at least 35mm wide, which is 3.5 times larger than the iPhone sensor (some are even larger). So even if your iPhone has a high megapixel count (the new iPhone 16 has 48MP), Apple is still cramming all those pixels into a small space. A larger sensor with the same megapixel count will have a sharper image simply because the pixels are larger and can capture more detail.

Hollywood cameras always take better shots than iPhones.

This is just an ad that makes you want to buy an iPhone

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The harsh truth is that while you could theoretically make a movie that looks like the commercial you saw (after all, they shot it on an iPhone), it's just a really clever commercial. If it makes you want a new iPhone, then the commercial has done its job. If it makes you want to be a filmmaker, then… the commercial has done more than it was designed to do.

Still, the iPhone is a versatile tool for video conferencing, simple video recording, or live streaming. It's the go-to tool for YouTubers and TikTok influencers, but not serious filmmakers. The "Shot on iPhone" ad is clever, but that's about it.

Jessica Tanner

Update 20 December 2024