Apple has a knack for keeping its users in its ecosystem. As a creative I love editing my photos and video on a MacBook, taking an iPad with me on the go and always having my iPhone to hand – the beauty of the Apple system is that iCloud syncs everything across all of your devices – it’s also the reason that makes it difficult to break away from Apple.
There could be an Android camera phone with a camera an order of magnitude better than my iPhone, but without the seamless integration with iCloud and other Apple devices, it wouldn’t be my top pick.
I have however been testing out some recent Android phones against iPhone recently and it became even clearer how easy it is to sync images, videos, contacts, emails and so on across Apple devices using the same iCloud. Even transferring images and files over AirDrop is so convenient – but Android users will find themselves severely hamstrung here and need to download an app like MacDroid, or just use Windows instead if they don’t want the hassle. I’m not really a huge fan of this division in the two camps and would love a more seamless integration between Apple, Android and Windows – can’t we all just get along?
While being able to sync images, contacts, videos, emails and so forth effortlessly across Apple devices is extremely convenient, this isn’t actually the main reason that I prefer to shoot on the iPhone for photography. On my iPhone 14 Pro I’ve been absolutely blown away by its macro capabilities which are seriously impressive without the need for an additional macro lens adapter which would take up extra space.
Using the standard Photo mode all I have to do is simply bring my iPhone close to my subject and it is able to focus as close as 1cm away which absolutely blew my mind.
The iPhone automatically switches over to Macro Mode shown by a yellow flower icon in the bottom left corner. The best news – it’s really good! Images are sharp and look natural, undistorted and are perfectly usable for close-ups details.
As somebody who loves to get creative with different lens effects, with the iPhone packing an impressive wide angle, telephoto as well as macro capabilities make it a super versatile smartphone that I love to shoot and experiment with.
I’m not saying there aren’t Android phones with brilliant macro capabilities built-in, but I was sorely disappointed when I realised the Samsung Galaxy S23 I compared it to lacked this feature.
Related reading:
- Best smartphones for macro photography – capture close-up detail
- iPhone 16 Pro review: small screen, maximum zoom
- iPhone 16 Pro Max Review: Gonna need a bigger pocket
The views expressed in this column are not necessarily those of Amateur Photographer magazine or Kelsey Media Limited. If you have an opinion you’d like to share on this topic, or any other photography related subject, email: ap.ed@kelsey.co.uk
