When I talked my daughter into the new version of iOS 16, she asked me what was new inside. So we looked through all the features and found something I didn't know myself.
The function is pretty easy to use and basically works like this:
Open Photos app
call up a photo in detail view
Tap on the object in the photo that you want to cut out and hold your finger down for a second
if a white stripe ran across the image, iOS captured and cropped the object
now you can choose between "copy" and "share" and insert the photo into a message, for example
Tip: With "Share" → "Save image" the cropped image ends up directly in the photo library and can be used later.
To crop photos, go to the Photos app on iPhone and tap and hold the object in the image that you want to crop.
Transparencies are also built into the process of cropping, which are ok if the photo is placed on a white background, but with other colors you can see the color showing through, for example, the arm and nose.
Here you can see the cropped photo on a black background and you can see the problem areas.
Crop also works with imported photos
At first I thought that this function only works for photos that were also taken with the iPhone, since these photos have integrated depth information from the lidar scanner.
In fact, this works with all photos - even those that you have manually placed in the photo library and that contain no further information than the image data.
Here is an example of how well cropping can work. Even the hair on the arm was cut out to match.
The fact that the dark chicken (our Regina) was cropped so well despite the shadowy background makes me wonder whether iOS is evaluating the depth data of the photos if they are available (photos: Sir Apfelot).
The quality of the clipping is more for hobby use
Anyone who thinks they can use tools like Mask AI or the online exemption services such as remove. bg will probably be disappointed, because the quality of the exemption is rather mediocre. It works quite well with some motifs, but only to a very limited extent with others. But overall, the results are quite impressive for such a side feature.
My current recommendation for reasonable results is the above-mentioned Mask AI tool, which I am currently planning a post on, as it combines a bit of manual work with artificial intelligence and delivers surprisingly good results. But more on that in a future report.
I also quickly tried Remove.bg with the photo of the woman and here all the problem areas have been properly processed. In an emergency, you can also use this online tool.
This is what the result looks like with the remove.bg tool. Disadvantage of this solution: You have to pay something per picture - even if it's only a little.
Jens has been running the blog since 2012. He appears as Sir Apfelot for his readers and helps them with problems of a technical nature. In his free time he drives electric unicycles, takes photos (preferably with his iPhone, of course), climbs around in the Hessian mountains or hikes with the family. His articles deal with Apple products, news from the world of drones or solutions for current bugs.
Did you like the article and did the instructions on the blog help you? Then I would be happy if you the blog via a Steady Membership would support.
2 thoughts on “Auto crop photos with iPhone (iOS 16)”
only me
Hello, amazing......EVERY article on the www talks about cropping, but NOT how I put it into another photo! Also here.....why???
Maybe because there's no way through the Photos app, as far as I know. You can of course process the image further in other programs and combine it with another image, but that's another matter.
Lock iPhone / iPad when opening or closing certain apps (from iOS 16.4)
Hello, amazing......EVERY article on the www talks about cropping, but NOT how I put it into another photo! Also here.....why???
Maybe because there's no way through the Photos app, as far as I know. You can of course process the image further in other programs and combine it with another image, but that's another matter.