#camera

The iPhone Duo's inner display hides Apple's first under-display camera on an iPhone, and early reviews suggest it is better at video than at photos, MacRumors reports.

According to MacRumors, Apple advertises 1080p video recording for the camera but has not said much about still-photo quality. Gizmodo reported that the sensor is 4 megapixels, and described its photos as low-resolution, washed out and soft. The outlet also said video calls look muddy.

Marques Brownlee called the camera "very first gen" and rated its photo quality poorly, noting that Samsung used under-display cameras on its own foldables before moving away from them over image quality. He wondered whether Apple might eventually make the same choice.

The original iPhone of 2007 had a 2-megapixel rear camera with fixed focus, no flash and no video recording. It was serviceable for casual snaps and little more.

Progress came in steps. The iPhone 3GS added autofocus and video in 2009. The iPhone 4 in 2010 brought a 5-megapixel sensor, an LED flash and a front camera for FaceTime. The iPhone 5s introduced a two-tone flash in 2013, and the iPhone 6 Plus offered optical image stabilization in 2014.

In 2016 the iPhone 7 Plus added a second, telephoto lens, which allowed optical zoom and a software-driven Portrait mode that blurred backgrounds. The iPhone X in 2017 added Portrait Lighting effects, and the TrueDepth camera brought portrait shots to the front.