Apple has limited its new Texture and Grain controls for Photographic Styles to iPhone 18 Pro models and specific iPhone Duo cameras, despite earlier wording that suggested broader iOS 27 compatibility.
When Apple announced the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max, its Newsroom press release originally said the Texture and Grain controls would be “available in iOS 27 on iPhone models that support the latest generation of Photographic Styles.” Copies of that launch-day release distributed via Business Wire and Notice Nearby preserved that original wording.
Compatibility confusion: Texture and Grain controls
Elsewhere, Apple’s iOS 27 User Guide listed devices that support the “latest generation Photographic Styles” as the iPhone 16 series, iPhone 17 series, iPhone Air, and iPhone 18 Pro models. Apple has since revised the footnote on its iPhone 18 Pro Newsroom announcement to say the Texture and Grain controls are available “only for photos captured on iPhone 18 Pro models and with the Ultra Wide, Main, and Center Stage cameras on the iPhone Duo.”
Apple also states in its iOS 27 User Guide that changing the texture of a photo can be achieved “on iPhone 18 Pro models.” Whether Apple initially intended to bring the controls to older devices and later changed course is unclear, and Apple has not commented on the revision. The original compatibility information now appears to have been published in error.
The change has drawn public reaction: a user tweeted, “wtf? Apple now says that the texture and grain will NOT be coming to older iPhones there’s no reason why this shouldn’t be coming to older iPhones this is what i despise about Apple. new software camera features almost never make it to older iPhones, even though those are…” (Noah Cat @Cartidise, September 22, 2026).
Photographic Styles are tone presets that adjust a photo’s color and warmth while preserving skin tones. The Texture and Grain controls, per Apple’s updated wording, are now explicitly tied to iPhone 18 Pro hardware and specified iPhone Duo cameras.
