'ZDNET Recommends': What exactly does it mean?
ZDNET's recommendations are based on many hours of testing, research, and comparison shopping. We gather data from the best available sources, including vendor and retailer listings as well as other relevant and independent reviews sites. And we pore over customer reviews to find out what matters to real people who already own and use the products and services we’re assessing.
When you click through from our site to a retailer and buy a product or service, we may earn affiliate commissions. This helps support our work, but does not affect what we cover or how, and it does not affect the price you pay. Neither ZDNET nor the author are compensated for these independent reviews. Indeed, we follow strict guidelines that ensure our editorial content is never influenced by advertisers.
ZDNET's editorial team writes on behalf of you, our reader. Our goal is to deliver the most accurate information and the most knowledgeable advice possible in order to help you make smarter buying decisions on tech gear and a wide array of products and services. Our editors thoroughly review and fact-check every article to ensure that our content meets the highest standards. If we have made an error or published misleading information, we will correct or clarify the article. If you see inaccuracies in our content, please report the mistake via this form.
Apple finds a brilliant way to make the iPhone 13 Pro exciting
Actually funny.
Does it all tend to wash over you?
ZDNET Recommends
Every year a new iPhone comes out. And every year Apple waxes endlessly about how much better its camera is than the camera it peddled the previous year.
How much better do you really need it to be?
I have an iPhone 12 and the camera does wondrous things on my behalf. It makes difficult pictures look delightful.
So when Apple pushes out ad after meaningless ad claiming its camera is now Hollywood standard, I tend to stare blankly and hope the NBA game starts soon.
Also: These phones have the best cameras
Suddenly, though, the Spaceship Brigade has emitted not one, but three ads that makes the iPhone 13 Pro camera seem like something you might truly appreciate.
Each ad uses a Hollywood trope. Each ad is blissfully funny. Which you can't say about every Apple ad you've ever seen.
The first offers two cops sitting in a car and a depiction of Cinematic Mode.
The dialogue is marvelous.
"Look at me, I'm all blurry," says the sidekick, realizing he's not in focus.
"Well, you're supporting cast," explains the hero cop.
The sidekick thinks there's only one way to get the camera to absorb him lovingly: pretend that he's the killer.
It's a touching way to show the feature, while being perfectly executed in every way.
Let's shift focus to the second ad. This time it's a classic horror movie.
We're in a dark house. A voice whispers -- very loudly: "Help me."
Our hero, in her nightgown, explores the house in search of the spectral source of the words.
They're coming from the basement. Don't go down to the basement. But the words are coming from the basement. Don't go down to the basement.
She doesn't want to go down to the basement and has a fine reason.
"The picture quality will suffer in such low light," she explains.
The whispered voice responds: "What? It'll be fine. Go downstairs."
"What about the close-up on my petrified face?" worries our hero.
Yes, this is Apple selling its very fine low light capabilities and I find myself emitting more than a low, light laugh at this one.
But let's now highlight the optical zoom, desperately needed if you're making an art house movie.
Pavel is seated, looking both dapper and miserable.
"Are you OK?" asks his girlfriend/wife/psychologist.
"Yes. Why?" he replies.
"This slow unnerving zoom suggests you are descending into madness," she says.
I confess I found myself descending into giggles.
As I did with all of these ads.
Perhaps I'm succumbing to the excessive generosity of the season, but this could be the first time I've seen camera features presented in an easily digestible and involving way.
Now if only Apple -- and the whole of the tech industry -- could make everything it does easily digestible and involving.
How's that for a New Year's resolution?