Apple Shares New Ad Showcasing Portrait Lighting Mode on the iPhone 8 Plus
Apple has released a new ad showcasing the Portrait Lighting feature on the iPhone 8 Plus that lets users create dramatic studio lighting effects when shooting in Portrait mode.
Titled "Portraits of Her", the ad features Shannon Wise of music group The Shacks walking along a sidewalk and singing the band's 2016 single "This Strange Effect" as the camera transitions through the Portrait Lighting mode's range of effects, such as Natural Light, Studio Light, Contour Light, and Stage Light.
The short ad concludes with the iPhone 8 Plus operator showing Wise her portrait photo as he taps through the various effects in the Camera app interface before choosing a favorite.
The Portrait Lighting feature on the iPhone 8 Plus and iPhone X uses sophisticated algorithms to calculate how facial features interact with ambient light. While developing the new camera feature, Apple reportedly studied the work of professional portrait photographers as well as famous painters to see how lighting has been used in the visual arts throughout history.
Popular Stories
Last year, Apple launched CarPlay Ultra, the long-awaited next-generation version of its CarPlay software system for vehicles. Nearly nine months later, CarPlay Ultra is still limited to Aston Martin's latest luxury vehicles, but that should change fairly soon.
In May 2025, Apple said many other vehicle brands planned to offer CarPlay Ultra, including Hyundai, Kia, and Genesis.
In his Powe...
The calendar has turned to February, and a new report indicates that Apple's next product launch is "imminent," in the form of new MacBook Pro models.
"All signs point to an imminent launch of next-generation MacBook Pros that retain the current form factor but deliver faster chips," Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said on Sunday. "I'm told the new models — code-named J714 and J716 — are slated...
Apple is planning to launch new MacBook Pro models with M5 Pro and M5 Max chips alongside macOS 26.3, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman.
"Apple's faster MacBook Pros are planned for the macOS 26.3 release cycle," wrote Gurman, in his Power On newsletter today.
"I'm told the new models — code-named J714 and J716 — are slated for the macOS 26.3 software cycle, which runs from...
We are still waiting for the iOS 26.3 Release Candidate to come out, so the first iOS 26.4 beta is likely still at least a week or two away. Following beta testing, iOS 26.4 will likely be released to the general public in March or April.
Below, we have recapped known or rumored iOS 26.3 and iOS 26.4 features so far.
iOS 26.3
iPhone to Android Transfer Tool
iOS 26.3 makes it easier...
Apple recently updated its online store with a new ordering process for Macs, including the MacBook Air, MacBook Pro, iMac, Mac mini, Mac Studio, and Mac Pro.
There used to be a handful of standard configurations available for each Mac, but now you must configure a Mac entirely from scratch on a feature-by-feature basis. In other words, ordering a new Mac now works much like ordering an...
