iPhone 12 Why not automatically improve pictures?

[Ketsjap]

When you click the edit-button while looking at a picture you took on an iPhone, there is this button with the magical wand. Clicking it automatically 'improves' the image. Like the images attached: the left one is improved, the right one isn't. The picture was taken with an iPhone 12. The improved picture has (slightly) better lighting and better contrast.

Why doesn't the iPhone always apply this improvement? Reviewers are always saying how good the camera's are, how the contrast & lighting are so fine executed. But even then, clicking the magical wand improves on that even more.

Why doesn't this happen automatically? And do you use this function, or not?

 

[PeteBurgh]

I suppose the answer is that the iPhone already does a whole lot of automatic improvement with any image - the whole computational photography thing is a huge part of how they work. The magic wand is an extra step on top of that. I find the magic wand usually makes an improvement according to my taste, but by no means always. I generally find it makes colours look a bit bolder and more contrast-y - which is often what I'm looking for if I'm posting to Insta, but often prefer other shots (especially landscapes) to be a bit flatter, without that HDR 'pop'.

In short, the magic wand is great, but I'm glad it's not on by default.

 

[Madtiger27]

The wand makes your pic into a Samsung picture....

 

[contacos]

I cant answer your question but I am glad you posted this because I did not know that magic wand was even a thing after owning almost every iPhone generation

 

[dk001]

When you click the edit-button while looking at a picture you took on an iPhone, there is this button with the magical wand. Clicking it automatically 'improves' the image. Like the images attached: the left one is improved, the right one isn't. The picture was taken with an iPhone 12. The improved picture has (slightly) better lighting and better contrast.

Why doesn't the iPhone always apply this improvement? Reviewers are always saying how good the camera's are, how the contrast & lighting are so fine executed. But even then, clicking the magical wand improves on that even more.

Why doesn't this happen automatically? And do you use this function, or not?

Never use. iOS over-processes as it is (personal opinion).
I allow iOS to process in the background if it's a pic I'm going to immediately share or just for general use.
Aside from those I prefer something a bit more robust - RAW.

 

[russell_314]

The wand makes your pic into a Samsung picture....

I'm sure you meant this as a joke but it's probably true. In blind tests people will pick the more colorful picture even if it's actually worse. Just because it looks better to you doesn't mean it's actually better in the sense of more accurate.

 

[SisterBlue22]

I hate what that magic wand does to my photos 95% of the time. It's there for people to use if they want it, but I'd venture to say that anyone with any sort of photography knowledge wouldn't want the raw image manipulated in any way without their input.