Latest iOS 15 Beta Removes Unwanted Glare

Smartphone photography has improved in leaps and bounds over the years, but if there’s one thing that’s still boring it’s that fucking green dot that pops up randomly in some photos. However, there is good news for iPhone users. It seems that the last iOS 15 beta has quietly added a feature that automatically removes unwanted lens flare from some photos.

The feature was first spotted on Reddit (Going through MacRumors) but also highlighted by the popular photo editing app Halide on Twitter. Redditor Doubleluckstar noted that they initially thought that a photo they took was ‘ruined / had to be changed later due to stray light’, but later noticed that it was automatically deleted of the image. However, the stray light was still in the live photo, implying that it was removed during post-processing. You can view the photos in the original thread or in Halide’s tweet below.

Others have sounded noting that while it looks like the feature works, there are some circumstances where it can’t. For the most part, it doesn’t look like the interior flares or those from the videos are being removed. The same goes for flares that cover a large part of the photo or are intentional. (You can rest easy, JJ Abrams.) Instead, it looks like the feature is trying to recognize unintentional artifacts that have become more common in recent generations of iPhones.

Lens flares occur when a bright light hits a camera’s sensor and then disperses. This is generally considered to be junk, although sometimes they can improve a photo. On iPhones, you usually see the cursed green dot in portraits or night mode photos, and often not before after you took the photo. (You can see an example in our IPhone 12 Pro Max review.) Is this the end of the world? No. But it’s insanely annoying if you’ve shelled out more for a better phone camera.

The good news is that it looks like the functionality isn’t limited to the iPhone 12 lineup. At least one Redditor has noted that it works on an iPhone XS as well. However, it will still be some time before this feature becomes readily available to the public. It will likely be in September, once Apple launches its iPhone 13 lineup. In the meantime, if you’re feeling particularly brave, you can download iOS 15 public beta. And, if you do, there are plenty of other features you can try Waiting for.