There are many generations of Apple iPhone for photography (opens in new tab) on the market, and while they’re all decent camera phone (opens in new tab)s in their own right, they also all offer different features and levels of advanced photo tools.
When the iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max (opens in new tab) launched in 2022, Apple ProRes video – a high-quality lossy video compression format – was a major selling point for the two devices. But many might not have been aware that Apple ProRAW, the RAW image format, was already available on the iPhone 12 Pro (opens in new tab) and 13 Pro (opens in new tab).
• ProRes vs ProRes RAW: what’s the difference? (opens in new tab)
Here, we’ll look at what Apple’s ProRAW feature actually is, what iPhones have the feature, and how to turn it on and use it to capture better image quality.
What is Apple ProRaw?
Apple ProRAW is a feature that photographers should be particularly interested in, as it captures images in the same way as the RAW format on a standard digital camera, giving you greater creative control when editing photos – especially when it comes to the exposure, color and white balance.
Although ProRAW isn’t available for Live Photos or in Portrait mode, compatible iPhones can capture images in ProRAW format using any of its cameras, and when in modes like Smart HDR, Deep Fusion or Night mode features.
Which iPhones can shoot ProRAW photos?
ProRAW isn’t a feature available on all iPhones, even if you’ve got the latest iOS installed. Currently, you use the Camera app to take photos in the Apple ProRAW format on these iPhones, with iOS 14.3 or later:
• iPhone 12 Pro (opens in new tab)
• iPhone 12 Pro Max (opens in new tab)
• iPhone 13 Pro (opens in new tab)
• iPhone 13 Pro Max (opens in new tab)
• iPhone 14 Pro (opens in new tab)
• iPhone 14 Pro Max (opens in new tab)
Check out our guide to all the iPhone generations (opens in new tab) if you’re not sure which model is right for you.
How to take Raw photos on your iPhone
It’s incredibly simple to shoot Apple ProRAW images on a compatible iPhone. To take ProRAW photos on your iPhone, you’ll first need to turn on ProRAW.
Turn on ProRAW
Go to Settings > Camera > Formats, then turn on Apple ProRAW under Photo Capture. To take a raw image, you can then tap RAW in the Camera app, then take the shot.
Choose the resolution
On the iPhone 14 Pro, you can capture Apple ProRAW images at either 12MP or 48MP. To change the resolution go to Settings > Camera > Formats and turn on Apple ProRAW to reveal the resolution options.
The best resolution to choose depends on how much storage space you have, and what you want to do with your image. For example, the file size of a 12MP ProRAW image is around 25 MB, and the file size at 48MP is around 75 MB. You can only capture 48MP photos with the main camera at 1x zoom.
Turn off ProRAW
If you turn off RAW in the Camera app, the format of the photo will default to the format you’ve set under Camera Capture in Settings > Camera > Formats: either High Efficiency (HEIF format (opens in new tab)) or Most Compatible (JPEG).
