One of the new features on the iPhone XS is depth control. It simulates the effect of stopping down a lens to control depth of field like you would on a dSLR. I adjusted this shot to simulate f/1.8.
This is the same photo taken with the regular HDR mode active on last year's iPhone X. As you can see, there are a lot more bright highlight areas, like on the lollipop in the center and on the faces, that distract from the image.
I prefer the more muted, smooth spread of highlight and shadow detail on the previous photo. But some people I showed this to preferred the greater contrast on this image.
For landscapes, you won't notice a huge difference between the XS and X, but I did find that the colors are a little less intense and saturated on the iPhone XS.
Time to get into low light. Here, the detail is retained around the lights, although there's not as much difference between this shot and the next one to my eyes.
