iOS 27 could mark one of the biggest upgrades yet to the Camera app on the iPhone 18 Pro, bringing Apple’s smartphone closer to the experience of using a professional camera.

Code discovered in the Camera app in the latest iOS 27 beta suggests Apple may be preparing a range of professional photography and video features for the iPhone, particularly the upcoming iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max.

If the findings prove accurate, Apple’s default Camera app could be entering an entirely new era.

Apple has long tried to strike a balance between two goals: keeping Camera simple enough for anyone to quickly take a photo while still offering a degree of control for users who take photography more seriously.

However, despite the Camera app becoming increasingly capable, many professional photographers and filmmakers still turn to third-party apps for greater control.

The newly discovered features could change that. According to a developer known as pdfu, code in the iOS 27 beta indicates that Apple is testing four tools commonly found on professional cameras, although none has yet been activated in the beta releases.

Exposure scopes: More precise control over light

One of the most notable additions is a set of exposure scopes, including a histogram and waveform. These tools are familiar to professional camera users but have yet to appear in the iPhone’s default Camera app.

Judging image brightness by eye can sometimes be unreliable, particularly when using an iPhone under strong sunlight.

A histogram provides a visual representation of exposure levels across the entire frame, making it easier for photographers to determine whether an image is too bright or too dark.

A waveform, meanwhile, is more commonly used in video production and editing, offering another way to monitor brightness information across an image.

Adding both tools to Camera would give users far more precise control over exposure rather than leaving them almost entirely dependent on the iPhone’s automatic systems.

Focus peaking: No more guessing what is in focus

The second professional feature discovered in the code is focus peaking, a tool particularly useful when shooting images with a shallow depth of field.

In many situations, only part of a scene will be sharply focused. Determining by eye whether the subject is truly in focus can be difficult on a smartphone screen.

Focus peaking solves this problem by overlaying a visual indicator on areas that are in focus. On many professional cameras, focused areas are highlighted in red, although the interface uncovered in iOS 27 appears to use yellow.

If officially introduced, the feature could be particularly useful for iPhone users shooting video, portraits or scenes with a shallow depth of field.

Highlight clipping: Helping photographers avoid blown highlights

Another notable feature is highlight clipping, which helps users identify areas of an image at risk of becoming overexposed.

In digital photography, underexposed areas can often be recovered in post-production as long as they are not severely underexposed.

Completely blown highlights, by contrast, are often extremely difficult — and sometimes impossible — to recover.

Many professional cameras use a system known as zebra indicators, displaying striped patterns over areas where brightness exceeds a certain threshold.

Some cameras also allow users to set their own warning threshold, such as 90%, helping identify highlights that are approaching overexposure before detail is actually lost.

Based on images described in the report, iOS 27 appears to be testing a similar tool.

Manual focus: Bringing the iPhone camera closer to professional gear

The iPhone camera already allows users to lock focus on a specific point in the frame. However, this is currently tied to exposure through AE/AF Lock, which locks both automatic exposure and autofocus.

More significantly, Apple is reportedly testing true manual focus controlled through a slider. Instead of allowing the system to determine the focus point automatically, users would be able to adjust the focusing distance themselves.

Developer pdfu believes the feature could be limited to one or more upcoming iPhone models. If so, it would represent a significant step forward for professional photography on the iPhone.

iOS 27 could bring several other notable camera upgrades

Beyond the professional tools, iOS 27 code is also said to reveal an option to capture a sequence of photos using the timer. The feature could be particularly useful for group shots.

Users could place the iPhone on a tripod or another fixed surface, activate the timer and have the device automatically capture several images in succession.

They could then choose the shot in which everyone has the best expression and pose.

More notably, the code also suggests Apple is developing a new image-processing method designed to adapt to a variable aperture, a technology rumored to be coming to the iPhone 18 Pro.

None of these features has yet been activated in any iOS 27 beta release, meaning there is no guarantee Apple will ultimately introduce them in the standard Camera app.

It also remains possible that Apple could reserve some of the more advanced tools for its Final Cut Camera app.

Hai Phong