Yes, we are attentive to camera and photo editing apps. But there are several utility functions and apps that are useful in visually representing our world.
First - making screenshots. Even the Photos app includes automatically collecting screenshots under the Utilities folder. There is a combination of buttons to press to make screenshots (look it up and practice this life skill) but my favorite way to make screenshots is to add Assistive Touch to Accessibility Shortcuts in the Control Center. Now a floating button hovers over Home Screens. Screenshots become PNG files and are often of high quality, printable even.
The Magnifier app - can be added to the Control Center or your Home Screen, or leave hidden in App Library. As a senior citizen with limited close-focus eyes, this app lets me read the text on product labels. Swipe up to see a drawer of all of the controls available. Use the Capture button to freeze the image. This will not automatically save to the Photos Library, if you want to experiment with macro photography using this app, then hide the drawer and make a screenshot.
The Files app - is not the usual place to find photos. But when you want to post an image, maybe giving it a better name is a before-sharing-step. In Photos, Share to the Files app. Open the Files app and browse to find the exported image. Tap and hold on the photo to bring up a menu and Rename is an option. Confirm the file has been renamed and then tap and hold to see the menu again with Share button. In the Tuesday Digital Camera class, first get into the SmugMug posting area then Share and navigate to the Files app and to your renamed file.
But Files has more image features. On most screens the top right corner has a More button, ( ... ), and this menu pops up the Scan Documents option. Actually More menu is different on the Browse screen compared to any other folder on iCloud or on your device. Find a printed page, an article in a publication or a receipt. Place the page on a flat surface with space around it. Hover your phone parallel to the surface and tap More > Scan Documents. A blue highlight recognizes the shape and grabs the image. You have options now to play with and see how to make them useful. Saving this page creates a PDF file in the Files app. Give this file a meaningful name and note the location where it is saved. Text on the PDF is selectable so it can be copied to the Clipboard.
iPhone 16 Pro included the Camera Control button mentioned in The Hill : Pressing and holding the button while pointing the camera at a restaurant, for example, will pull up ratings and opening hours. If you’re using the camera to look at an event flyer, and you press and hold the button, you’ll have the option to add the event to your calendar. Another example ... point camera at a dog. Pressing and holding the new button showed the dog’s breed and other information. Apple Intelligence, AI, features at work.
