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Gurman: iPhone Ultra Wows Early Testers, Except for Its Camera

teaneedz said:
Your comparison video is likely 16:9 YouTube content, not a film. Movies run 2.39:1 or 1.85:1 — wider than either phone’s screen — so they letterbox on both, and my 17 Pro fills edge to edge with barely or generally zero bar since it’s already close to cinemascope width. The Fold’s boxy 4:3 screen actually eats more bar proportionally on a real film, it just wins on raw size. i expect the ultra will have more bar.
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True for those aspect ratios, but the Ultra still has a slightly wider screen that the Pro Max (see image below), and without the Dynamic Island and the rounded corners potentially cutting off content. However, most people are watching 16:9 content most of the time, and for that the Ultra provides a significantly larger picture. The Ultra isn’t 4:3, it’s between 4:3 and 3:2, at roughly 1.42:1.

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iMac The Knife said:
Honest question, do you make a living from the photos you take from your iPhone?
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Oh no not at all haha. It’s just my favorite hobby by far 🙂 my kids and pets, and skateboarding photo/video (although… one guy DID cashapp me when he found me on instagram and I sent him all the shots I took of him at an event 😅) I’ve really been challenging myself to improve my skills lately and I’m having a blast!

I definitely couldn’t pay outright to upgrade every year nor would I choose to even if I could afford it. But new toys are fun, I get a ton of enjoyment out of my phone, and T-Mobile makes it easy for me to upgrade. I don’t mind being “tied” to T-Mobile year after year 🙂
 
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Need clarification on what testers were disappointed with the camera.

Was the camera quality disappointing on the included cameras? Or were they just disappointed it lacks a telephoto lens?

That’s a big difference. I’m fine without the telephoto but it would be nice if the main and ultrawide were on the same quality as the Pros.
 
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thecautioners said:
Oh no not at all haha. It’s just my favorite hobby by far 🙂 my kids and pets, and skateboarding photo/video (although… one guy DID cashapp me when he found me on instagram and I sent him all the shots I took of him at an event 😅) I’ve really been challenging myself to improve my skills lately and I’m having a blast!

I definitely couldn’t pay outright to upgrade every year nor would I choose to even if I could afford it. But new toys are fun, I get a ton of enjoyment out of my phone, and T-Mobile makes it easy for me to upgrade. I don’t mind being “tied” to T-Mobile year after year 🙂
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Hey, that's great to hear! Hobbies are good 👍🏻 And new toys are always fun! 😁
 
As a city dweller who takes the subway or bus everyday the idea of a smaller pocket form factor yet larger display while sitting factor is a no-brainer of a benefit to me. As for lack of telephoto lens sure it’s a tad annoying but what self-respecting photographer uses a telephoto anyways? Get closer to your subject or use portrait mode (even better) for impactful photos. I do worry about the hinge after watching the usual tear-down reviewers and the thought of crunch crunch opening and closing every time could be a soul crushing sound. Always been a buy up front kind of person but all this leasing and contract nonsense has absolutely destroyed the aftermarket here in town. Like dead. No takers. Nothing. Not even the professional resellers are making even laughable offers anymore so looking more likely time to get something for my needs a new battery 15 Pro Max while the getting is decent. Just sayin’
 
Padre_Pio said:
I just bought a 16 inch M5 MacBook Pro for less money that this will cost. I was hoping there'd be a point where people would say, "this far and no further," but it doesn't look like that's going to happen.
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But they are different products for different purposes.

You can also get a MacBook Neo for less than the price of an iPhone 17 but that doesn't mean the iPhone 17 isn't worth it.
 
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Gregintosh said:
Need clarification on what testers were disappointed with the camera.

Was the camera quality disappointing on the included cameras? Or were they just disappointed it lacks a telephoto lens?

That’s a big difference. I’m fine without the telephoto but it would be nice if the main and ultrawide were on the same quality as the Pros.
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I’m curious about this as well, but I am already VERY disappointed about the lack of the telephoto lens because I use it a lot on my phone now. I’ve been waiting on Apple to make a foldable ever since Samsung released their first one, but I may still hold off on upgrading if I’ll get a telephoto on this in a year or two.
 
klasma said:
True for those aspect ratios, but the Ultra still has a slightly wider screen that the Pro Max (see image below), and without the Dynamic Island and the rounded corners potentially cutting off content. However, most people are watching 16:9 content most of the time, and for that the Ultra provides a significantly larger picture. The Ultra isn’t 4:3, it’s between 4:3 and 3:2, at roughly 1.42:1.

View attachment 2655123
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Good catch, 1.41:1 not 4:3, that’s on me. And for straight 16:9 content you’re right, close enough that the Ultra’s size wins. But most theatrical films run 2.39:1 scope, not 16:9, that’s actually closer to the 17 Pro / Pro Max’s own 2.17:1 shape than the Ultra’s 1.41:1. On those the Pro line only loses about 9% of screen to bars vs roughly 44% on the Ultra. So if you’re watching movies rather than YouTube or TV, the Pro’s screen is the better shape for it, the Ultra just has more real estate to spare.

of course Apple could do auto-cropping 🤦🏽‍♂️
 
BatCat said:
As a city dweller who takes the subway or bus everyday the idea of a smaller pocket form factor yet larger display while sitting factor is a no-brainer of a benefit to me. As for lack of telephoto lens sure it’s a tad annoying but what self-respecting photographer uses a telephoto anyways? Get closer to your subject or use portrait mode (even better) for impactful photos. I do worry about the hinge after watching the usual tear-down reviewers and the thought of crunch crunch opening and closing every time could be a soul crushing sound. Always been a buy up front kind of person but all this leasing and contract nonsense has absolutely destroyed the aftermarket here in town. Like dead. No takers. Nothing. Not even the professional resellers are making even laughable offers anymore so looking more likely time to get something for my needs a new battery 15 Pro Max while the getting is decent. Just sayin’
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I use a telephoto lens all the time lol. Professional photographers use telephotos constantly. Is this a joke comment?? I can’t walk up to a deer. I can’t get cute photos of my kids when they are together in their own little world by walking right up to them. 85mm is so much better for portraits than a 35mm.
 
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I'm curious as to what the screen will "feel" like? does it feel and look like the galaxy z fold? the screen just isn't "it" in terms of feel compared to the glass of the pro max.
 
teaneedz said:
Good catch, 1.41:1 not 4:3, that’s on me. And for straight 16:9 content you’re right, close enough that the Ultra’s size wins. But most theatrical films run 2.39:1 scope, not 16:9, that’s actually closer to the 17 Pro / Pro Max’s own 2.17:1 shape than the Ultra’s 1.41:1. On those the Pro line only loses about 9% of screen to bars vs roughly 44% on the Ultra. So if you’re watching movies rather than YouTube or TV, the Pro’s screen is the better shape for it, the Ultra just has more real estate to spare.
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You are right that for CinemaScope, you don’t gain much with the Ultra screen over the Pro Max, but you do still gain a tiny bit, and you evade the Dynamic Island cutout covering part of the image. For the less narrow aspect ratios, you gain more. And for mixed-aspect-ratio movies, you have the benefit that you don’t have to zoom in/out.

So I’d say that it’s strictly better regarding image size. Of course, if all you do is watch CinemaScope movies, it’s probably not the right device.

A better argument regarding movie watching might be the speaker situation, which I expect to be compromised in comparison due to the thinness of the body, and possibly the speaker placement.
 
I know this wont be ideal for everyone, but I've removed the inner display screen protectors from my my Samsung (6 total) and Google folds (2 total) on day one and I never had so much as a hairline scratch on any of them. I like the feel of them without the plastic screen protector. I think a far number of people could do the same and be fine, if the feel of the plastic screen protector bothers you. Conversely, pretty much everyone uses a screen protector on their screens anymore so you're going to be feeling plastic or tempered glass no matter what in these situations.
 
I assume the Vision Pro wowed early testers too...

Although I am interested in this to combine my iPhone and iPad Mini into a single device. It's to be seen if the trade offs will be worth it.
 
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H.E. Pennypacker said:
I tried the new Samsung foldable that’s the same size as the iPhone ultra and it’s incredible. All the doubters will be eating crow very soon. It’ll be a game changer for Apple.
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You and I have been saying the same thing for a while now. Just wait, Apple is going to sell 20+ million of these easily in the first year. Foldables are going to officially be on the map after Apple's launch.
 
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Like many others, I'm disappointed at the lack of optical telephoto but Apple will probably resort to sensor crop and digital zoom to simulate telephoto (similar to the Fold8). Will have to wait to see how well it works.
 
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iMac The Knife said:
I know this wont be ideal for everyone, but I've removed the inner display screen protectors from my my Samsung (6 total) and Google folds (2 total) on day one and I never had so much as a hairline scratch on any of them. I like the feel of them without the plastic screen protector. I think a far number of people could do the same and be fine, if the feel of the plastic screen protector bothers you. Conversely, pretty much everyone uses a screen protector on their screens anymore so you're going to be feeling plastic or tempered glass no matter what in these situations.
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Interesting!! I'm using a Fold 8 and didn't realize that there was a screen protector until I read your post.

You've been in the folding space for a while, why do you think they include a protector? Is it in case dust or something gets trapped when folding?
 
Ry L said:
I can see that. But for someone on an iPhone 12 mini like me, I don’t care about telephoto at all. Never had it, and rarely feel the need to zoom more than what digital provides. What does everyone take pictures of?
No faceID hurts though. Unlike telephoto, I use/need that every single use
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I’m probably in the minority but the camera on my 17 Pro Max is probably the feature I care the least about. I hardly ever use my camera. My wife takes all the fancy pictures
 
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Think I'll pass on this for now. I recently picked up a 13" iPad Pro (M5) and do like what iPadOS 27 has done with multitasking. I use Stage Manager all the time now.

If Ultra only allows side-by-side apps, that's a bit of a letdown. Though Apple clearly doesn't want to cannibalize iPad sales with iPhone Ultra, some crossover is expected. Apple Pencil will likely remain an iPad exclusive, but I wouldn't mind seeing a different type of stylus support for Ultra. Something that supports in-body storage via a cavity (away from the hinge, of course). Maybe that can be a target for future generations of Ultra. I've found Pencil surprisingly pleasant to use on iPad. Seems like a natural extension to offer Apple Pen on Ultra 😁
 
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