Camera Feature Restrictions
Apple’s new texture and grain controls for stylizing photos will be more limited on older phones than initially expected.
Apple clarifies that Texture and Grain controls are exclusive to the latest iPhones’ cameras
The new camera features are only accessible when editing photos captured on Apple’s new iPhones.
Press Release Confusion
A confusingly worded press release from Apple indicated that the new features, announced alongside the iPhone 18 and 18 Pro earlier this month, would be available on older devices like the iPhone 16 and iPhone Air that support the latest generation of Photographic Styles.
But it turns out that available didn’t mean that older iPhone models would have full access to those new features.
Making texture adjustments to enhance or smooth a subject’s skin and adding film grain will only be an option when those phones are being used to edit shots taken with the latest iPhone models. Apple has since updated recent press releases to state that those controls will only be available for photos captured on iPhone 18 Pro models and the Ultra Wide, Main, and Center Stage cameras on iPhone Duo.
Compatibility Details
The original version of a September 11th release included a footnote specifying that the new texture and grain controls in Photographic Styles would be available on iOS 27 on iPhone 16, iPhone 16 Plus, iPhone 16 Pro, iPhone 16 Pro Max, iPhone 17, iPhone Air, iPhone 17 Pro, iPhone 17 Pro Max, iPhone 18 Pro, iPhone 18 Pro Max, and iPhone Duo.
This limited compatibility was corroborated by a user who was able to make adjustments to texture and grain on an iPhone 16 Pro Max, but only while editing sample photos taken on an iPhone 18 Pro. Access to those new Photographic Styles controls was similarly possible when editing those specific sample photos on an iPhone 16 Pro running iOS 27, but they were not available on photos captured locally.
Apple did not immediately respond to requests for clarification on how the feature is supposed to work on older phones.
