iOS 26 - Coming Soon!

The current iOS and iPadOS is 18.6.2 and by next week, September 15th,  the label for our mobile devices will jump to 26. Reflecting the 2026 year … ahead. Since the OSs are updated annually, Apple seems to think tracking with the year will be helpful. For all devices … mobile, computer, wearables, tv. 

My personal approach is to wait for a few days after a major update as there will always be a fix or two and iOS 26.1 could save some headaches. Let others jump on the bandwagon and find the bugs. 

Available to devices back to iPhone 11 the OS Overview - Stunning design. Stellar experiences. is Apple’s current web page with details about what to expect. Lots of hype about Liquid Glass visual interface elements. Interesting changes for multitasking on iPad with a “windowing system” where more than one app is on screen. Other items that caught my attention are: 

• Polls in Messages app - looks promising for small groups
• Spotlight Search is now on steroids
• Files app is “supercharged” 
• Preview app is new on iPad and iPhone for marking up PDFs
• Photos interface has updates and changes 

Read Tom’s Guide - I’ve been using the new iOS 26 Camera app — and it finally addresses my biggest annoyance for details on the essential app for this class. Here are a few hints: 

• Controls and preferences are now in the Camera app instead of the Settings app
• Simplified interface for shooting Photo or Video
• Liquid Glass visual interface elements 
• New icons reveal mode controls 
• Swipe horizontally or vertically for additional controls 
• Restoring full iPhone 16 Pro Camera Control side button, Settings > General > Camera Adjustments

The Apple Camera app still lacks manual adjustments to ISO, shutter speed and focus so the third party camera apps we’ve been using are still very much in play. 

Image Utilities

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. 

Touch Every Button

Yes, “touch every button” is the mantra for this class and it always hits me when I rediscover this approach. Just now, after so many years, I’ve changed the VIEW in Safari from the tab view of this page to the multi-page of current tabs. There are familiar buttons here that I’ve ignored. Now, time for a second cup of coffee because I want to touch every button and explore how the many websites I want to reference are here and can be copied at one time or shared through Messages app.  

Megapixels vs Sensor Size and Indigo

Dan Mold writes in Amateur Photographer, July 2025 available through Apple News, that sensor size is more important than megapixels. Bigger sensors improve low light capture and depth of field, and we use the “Portrait” mode with depth controls on iPhone. He also reports that software now includes AI to upscale resolution (megapixels) for larger prints in a time where most images are viewed on small smartphone screens. 

Have you looked at Adobe’s new Project Indigo camera app yet? On installation, the splash screens note: 

• Photo mode captures multiple frames and merges them automatically for higher dynamic range
• AI Denoise for low light capture
• Improved Night mode with Optical Image Stabilization 
• Digital Scaling for 2X and 10X zoom implementing SR, Super Resolution using AI
• Macro mode with multi-image Super Resolution 
• Histogram for current scene 
• Pro controls for manual shooting options 
• Capture is JPEG+DNG; edit JPEG in Photos or edit DNG in Lightroom or Nitro  

Working too hard

I want to make a collage image from an AI source with a screenshot and text. This will require erasing, masking (maybe), scale, watercolor effect and words on a curve. There will be rotation and warping of the screenshot involved. What are the apps to use and what is my workflow on iPad? Anticipate using multiple apps in this image processing.

The erasing part was the first step and no tool seemed to do the job as envisioned. Pixelmator (layers and erase), Graphic (layers and rotation), PicCollage (stylize and words on curve), Leonardo (layers and masking - no easy erase tool), and finally Procreate (layers, erase, rotate, scale) did the job. 

Every project begins and ends with Photos. Final workflow details: ChatGPT (image creation) > Safari (screenshot) > PicCollage (watercolor effect, export image) > Snapseed (Drama effect, export image) > Procreate (assemble pieces, erase, scale, rotate, export image) > PicCollage (import portrait image to landscape shape, add text on curve @ top, add text on curve @ bottom, export image) > Photos (crop) > Mail > (send article text and attach image). 

You might run into a project like this where your designer insists on using copyright-free images. You have to have permission to use art or a meme found on the Internet. Option to use or create your own original art. AI tools can assist and you want to explore your options. If you subscribe to Adobe Creative Cloud you will have FireFly AI built-in and ready for anything anytime. Or sign up for an Adobe Account to use FireFly on the web under monthly limitations. Other AI tools will also create images. Apple’s Image Playground is a beginning but style choices are limited. 

I’ve just confirmed “erase” has been used in this blog before but not in the same context as this workflow. It is finally time to update the Cheatsheet and add these details so it will be my go-to-starting-point for the next image creation project. 

Many of the apps we’ve used in this seminar have an AI stylizing feature before AI was hyped everywhere. It is a journey. I’m glad you all are on this path. Show us what you’ve got … Tell us your workflow story about any image creation workflow. The Cheatsheet awaits your insights.

Procreate app hints

Procreate is one of the apps that Today at Apple sessions introduce to iPad owners. It is digital art on steroids, especially when paired with the Apple Pencil. 

Leaving myself a note here about Art With Flo YouTube Channel or her website. where you will find tutorials building skills from beginner to intermediate to advanced. Some tutorials are free; come with brushes, color palettes and notebook. 

External SSD Video Recording

Ok, just went shopping at Costco and instead of buying a 55-gallon drum of ... anything ... I bought a 1TB Lexar SSD because the packaging said: Supports Apple ProRes Recording. This kit came with MagSafe connection, lanyard USB-C 3 data cable and USB-A adapter. This SSD seems to be formatted at exFAT and therefore ready to rock and roll. 

So much to learn. Now to YouTube for some ideas: 

Do These 4 Things to Record to an External SSD with your iPhone 16 Pro Max! Richard Taylor TV - Did you know that the Files app on iPhone can format an external SSD (or thumb drive)? Wow. 

How to record iPhone video directly to an external hard drive Backlight by Tara Schatz - iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max and the iPhone 16 Pro and Pro Max models can shoot Apple ProRes video. 

Apple ProRes is little like shooting RAW photo format. ProRes records 4K 60fps video in a lossless format that results in large files. Big files. Huge files. External capture and storage are essential. 

Easy and fast to transfer from Photos app to Files > SSD > New Folder ... 

Use this as a backup. Take caution on deleting files from Photos while will delete them from iCloud and all synced devices. 

Stumbling around with iPad and resorted to the Online User Guide to find more frustration. Under the Shutter button are only three options for shooting modes. The text of the guide were not helpful either. As a reminder-to-self the visible options are in a longer list and swiping up or down on the mode labels will reveal the other options! Time-Lapse Video, Slo-Mo, Video, Photo, Portrait,Square and Pano. 

Photo Walk with Newbies

I have invited people on our Studio Waitlist to attend a Photo Walk on week two. I asked for details about their goals ... 

What thoughts do you have about coaching iPhone Photographers?