Following the launch of the iPhone XS, some folks have criticized the selfies taken with Apple's new flagship, saying that the device can overly smooth peoples' skin. Apple has now come forward to say that it's planning to address the "Beautygate" situation.
Apple says that with the update to iOS 12.1 will fix a bug that has caused overly smooth photos being taken by the front camera on the iPhone XS. There's no timeframe yet for when iOS 12.1 will be released to the public, but Apple has been testing the update with beta versions in recent weeks.
As for what's causing the overly smooth photos, Apple explains to The Verge that its Smart HDR feature is selecting the wrong base frame for its HDR processing when you take a selfie. Instead of using a short shutter speed to freeze your motion and preserve the detail, Smart HDR will sometimes select a frame with a longer shutter speed. This, in combination with the fact that there's no OIS on the front camera which can result in blurrier photos, results in a loss of detail.
The performance of the cameras on a smartphone are important, especially on premium devices like the iPhone XS, as many folks use them as their sole camera. Lots of people specifically like to use their phone's front-facing camera for selfies, so it's nice to hear that Apple has nailed down the "Beautygate" bug and will be fixing it soon. Stay tuned and we'll let you know when iOS 12.1 is released.
