U.K. Regulation Boards Approves iPhone X Studio Quality Language

A U.K. regulation board has recently given the green light to Apple’s marketing regarding the iPhone X’s “studio quality” photography. These involved commercials that Apple started airing in March.

[iPhone X ‘Fly Market’ Commercial: Song, Dance, Face ID, and Apple Pay]

Studio Quality

The British Advertising Standards Authority overruled objections to Apple’s commercials. They involve the company saying that the iPhone X can take “studio quality” photos when it comes to using Portrait Lighting.

Screenshots of portrait lighting on the iPhone X. U.K. Regulation Boards Approves iPhone X Studio Quality Language.
Portrait Lighting on iPhone X. From the left: Natural Light, Studio Light, Contour Light.

Two complaints regarding this were filed, from people who “believed that the phone could not achieve studio quality photography.” The complaints said that BCAP rules were violated, which forbid misleading advertising, or exaggeration.

But the BASA said that,

We considered that the lighting effects that could be used when capturing and after having captured an image allowed the user to mimic a photograph similar to those taken in a studio. We recognised that there were many effects, techniques and tools used in studio photography which played a vital role in capturing high standard images, many of which were not available to someone solely using the iPhone X.

However, we recognised the emphasis was placed on the significance of the lighting effects on achieving the quality of image the ad demonstrated, and we understood that those images shown were a true reflection of the capabilities of the iPhone X’s camera. For those reasons, we concluded that the ad was not misleading.

Basically, “studio quality” is a subjective claim rather than an objective one. Studio quality is not a specification or certification that camera manufacturers have to meet. Therefore, Apple’s claim wasn’t misleading because studio quality is an opinion.

[Review: Get Portrait Lighting on Your iPhone 7 Plus With Apollo]

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