Apple clarifies new photo texture and grain tools only work with iPhone 18 Pro shots

Apple has clarified that its new photo styling features — texture and film grain controls — will work in a far more limited way on older iPhones than initial announcements suggested.

The features were unveiled alongside the iPhone 18 and 18 Pro launch. Apple's original press release stated the new tools would be "available" on older devices such as the iPhone 16 and iPhone Air that "support the latest generation of Photographic Styles." It turns out, however, that "available" did not mean full access to the features on those devices.

Texture adjustments, which can enhance or smooth a subject's skin, along with the film grain effect, will only be usable on older iPhones when editing photos that were captured with the newest iPhone models. Apple has since revised its press materials to state that these controls apply only to photos captured on iPhone 18 Pro models, as well as shots from the Ultra Wide, Main, and Center Stage cameras on the iPhone Duo.

The original version of a September 11th press release, issued the day before preorders opened for the new iPhone and Apple Watch models, remains available unchanged on other websites. It includes a footnote stating that texture and grain controls in Photographic Styles would be available on iOS 27 across a wide range of devices, from the iPhone 16 through the iPhone 18 Pro Max and iPhone Duo.

The limited compatibility was confirmed by a Reddit user who managed to adjust texture and grain on an iPhone 16 Pro Max, but only while editing sample photos taken with an iPhone 18 Pro by photographer Austin Mann, which he had posted for download on his website. A reporter from The Verge had a similar experience, gaining access to the new controls only when editing Mann's sample images on an iPhone 16 Pro running iOS 27, not on self-captured photos. Apple has not yet provided an official explanation of how the feature is intended to function on older phones.